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To keep up with Tracy Valenta, you’re going to need to step up. At 84, Tracy is still the ultimate salesman. On Episode 231, Tracy shares highlights covering the racing years with the Party Ice team. Tracy was inducted in the Off Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2016. Tracy is why we say; legends live at ORMHOF.org.  Be sure to tune in on your favorite podcast app.

4:20 – I bought a ’32 Ford for 50 bucks and was able to rebuild it in Auto Shop 

12:34 – I went to Scott McKenzie and said, “ If I could get Rick Mears to drive for me, would you put together a car for me?”             

17:01 – There are so many fish in the little bay right at the Bay of LA, I’ve never seen so many fish in my life 

20:26 – I bought 1000 seats altogether and sold them at cost just to help Mickey get people interested

29:33 – I felt like I had made it at the Coliseum, Phoenix was big!

Special thanks to ORMHOF.org for support and sponsorship of this podcast.

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Phil Rawlings has his hands in a lot of things, he has embedded himself in off-road, like many of us. You’ll find him at Salt Lake Off-Road Expo, At Your Leisure, and many other places where voices matter. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

6:38 – I’m generally a very mellow and chill dude, but I definitely have an adrenaline addiction side 

11:52– I got busted for a fix-it ticket, but they’d been after me for a while             

21:13 – I have a photographic memory that doesn’t have any film now

36:02 – I found a job that was my favorite ever, I got to design and play with the coolest stuff 

49:26 – people said, “you’re from Utah – I didn’t know they had off-road companies in Utah” that bothered me, we’re like the mecca for off-roading!

55:53 – our guiding pillars – promote Utah off-road businesses, promote Utah, and unite the off-road community

Special thanks to 4low Magazine and Maxxis Tires for support and sponsorship of this podcast.

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Mark Jensen, founder and engineer of Off-Road Innovations is on Episode 229. Without a background in off-road, Mark got launched into it accidentally. It’s been a heck of a ride. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

4:32 – I lived in the mountains with redwood trees, coming to Toelle was like being dropped in the middle of the desert, left for dead 

11:56– I built an outside-the-box sandrail that was four-wheel drive – essentially the first side-by-side             

20:29 – “You know this would be more suited for the rock crawling world.” I said, “The what? What’s rockcrawling?”

26:45 – every time this rock crawling thing would evolve into something more violent, it meant more failures for me 

38:00 – Those two words, perfect perseverance and dedication to what you are doing, you will overcome!

51:33 – We’re learning a lot from the car, it adds credibility to actually finish races and be successful

Special thanks to 4low Magazine and Maxxis Tires for support and sponsorship of this podcast.

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Bill Sanders on Episode 228, a legendary journalist who excelled in elevating off-road racing to worldwide recognition. At 92 years old, history was made and retold in this interview. We talk about all the racing, writing and sport that Bill has been a part of. Bill was inducted in the Off Road Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2014. Bill is why we say; legends live at ORMHOF.org.  Be sure to tune in on your favorite podcast app.

4:26 – my first true love was a 1936 Ford three-window coupe flathead 

20:21 – I went to Europe by myself and traveled around for about 11 months on $5 a day.             

29:04 – “Where’s the rest of the slides?” And I said, I’m not the photographer, I’m the editor. 

37:55 – any questions?  “Do the service stations in Baja take credit cards?”

49:15 – these guys from Mexico would bring $50,000 cash in a paper bag to California and buy a truck

1:06:42 – about halfway through the race, the suspension broke, but Jean Calvin had her thermos full of coffee that she always took with her

Special thanks to ORMHOF.org for support and sponsorship of this podcast.

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Whitewater to Off-road, the background of our guests is always fascinating. Join Rich and Chris Walker from Overland Training Canada for more adventure on Episode 227. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

4:51 – very quickly, I found my passion was the outdoors – mountaineering, kayaking, flying, diving, caving and what have you 

12:34– Gosh, I hurt myself a lot, nearly died a couple of times             

17:37 – I’m not doing what I’m doing without their grit and determination to kick me into shape to be a good off-road driving instructor

25:14 – just jump out right here, grab your stuff, someone will come get you – I’m literally in the middle of nowhere, there’s no one in sight, I have no cell service and no idea where I am 

37:36 – that’s a really hard question, I’ve never found a concise answer…

55:01 – I’ve been doing a lot with a big expedition called the Transglobal Car Expedition

Special thanks to 4low Magazine and Maxxis Tires for support and sponsorship of this podcast.

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From Slot cars to NASCAR, Mark Stahl has a storied past in racing, catch up with him on  Episode 226. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

2:52 – I guess you could say I was a professional slot car racer 

7:29– We went to Tijuana and got a fake birth certificate so I could race at age 16; Cajon Speedway required you to be 18             

16:01 – Well, off-road racing, the motto was never give up

26:29 – I pull up at the finish line and Scoop is sitting there in the Blazer, and Parnelli Jones walks up and looks at the number on my hood and just starts cussing 

34:08 – If I ever want to race NASCAR, now’s my time – I need to make the move to the south

43:57 – my most memorable event from the NASCAR days was the ’87 Winston 500 at Talladega

1:01:18 – you go through a lot of wives in racing, not because you’re cheating on them, but because you like race cars more than them, race cars don’t talk back

Special thanks to 4low Magazine and Maxxis Tires for support and sponsorship of this podcast.

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“If I’m going to weld, it might as well be for myself,” we couldn’t agree more. Join Todd Gronsdahl from Aqualu Industries and Big Rich on Episode 225. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

6:57 – I took any job I could get because I really didn’t have any skillset 

11:15– Rich: I asked your wife, “Is that your boyfriend?” She says, God, no, that’s my husband, my boyfriend would be way older and way richer!             

13:30 – I bought a dilapidated Land Cruiser, and I was driving home one day when the roll cage fell through the wheel well onto the tire.

19:06 – the hardest part is just getting the aluminum body as close as you can to replicating the original 

30:18 – the biggest challenge of being in Canada and exporting is location, we are packed in a little town in the middle of the mountains, so transportation is a real pain

35:59 – my wife has plans for us to buy a diesel pusher, and hook the vehicle up and go have some fun

37:37 – my simple rule of thumb: don’t spend more than you make and be humble

Special thanks to 4low Magazine and Maxxis Tires for support and sponsorship of this podcast.

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Derek Trent, master fabricator and owner of Trent Fab joins us on Episode 224. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

9:11 – a couple of times I got in some trouble with the law and was told to push my motorcycle home 

16:16– I was 21 years old and I hit a point where I had to make a “What am I going to do?” decision             

24:31 – out of the box, a YJ was pretty damn tough

31:49 – Jason Berger was driving my car and eneded up breaking the TH400 case, I was really disappointed because all I was looking at was all the things that went wrong, that I didn’t do right 

38:18 – I was working a job after college and woke up one day and realized that if I didn’t get out then, that was all I was going to do with the rest of my life.

49:03 – I got the invitation to go the very first King of the Hammers, but I really wanted to take my new car and it wasn’t ready. So I missed the very first one, it would have been 14 instead of OG13

58:25 – that’s when the Top Shelf chassis was born

Special thanks to 4low Magazine and Maxxis Tires for support and sponsorship of this podcast.

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Bart Jacobs hails from Utah and has participated in every extreme sport the state offers – from skiing to mountain biking to OG rockcrawling. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

3:41 – I decided, as stupid 16-year-olds do, that drag racing would be fun. 

10:40 – I was still ski-jumping and ended up hurting my leg, for rehab, I started mountain biking, and doing longer and longer rides             

18:46 – XJ’s didn’t have a great reputation, and still don’t for the people who like frames and such

29:43 – …we watched a lot of other teams, and there was nothing in the back…and the light bulb went on and I thought “OH, maybe if we took some weight out of this thing, it might do a little bit better!” 

40:21 – In my first six events, I broke on the first or second obstacle on every event, it was frustrating

48:31 – I got so much from this sport, I feel blessed. The friends I’ve met, the relationships I have and the fun we’ve had doing it – I felt like I needed to give back to the sport

59:19 – I had the midnight to 2 am shift, we had just passed Bimini and started heading in a more Southerly direction…

Special thanks to 4low Magazine and Maxxis Tires for support and sponsorship of this podcast.

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Diesel mechanic – because he had to be – Logan Backus shares life in the trenches, the rockcrawling trenches, with all of us. Be sure to listen on your favorite podcast app.

4:48 – We were known for the kids in the neighborhood to build the biggest, baddest jumps out there. 

14:43 – my dad’s like, “I don’t know why you want a truck like that? They’re expensive and they break.”             

25:47 – this is the dumbest thing I’ve ever done – but the owner took me under his wing and showed me the ins and outs of all things diesel

31:38 – my first trip to Moab, you either have to go far right and get really sketchy or take the big undercuts – I’m sitting there thinking what did I get myself into? 

41:46 – that YJ progressed me so much in wheeling that it scared the sh*t out of me

49:20 – why would I spend money to go beat the crap our of my own vehicle – why does that sound like it’s not that fun?

1:01:38 – I hate Cedar City, it’s like 30 minutes from where I live, but I have this vendetta with Cedar

Special thanks to 4low Magazine and Maxxis Tires for support and sponsorship of this podcast.

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