The author of the BFG pits program, co-driver extraordinaire, off-road legend Bob Bower shares insights into his early days. Bob is a practiced speaker, Rich and Bob had such a great interview, we split it into two episodes. This is part one.
5:13 – earliest memories were reading MotorTrend and a feature article on Bill Stroppe’s teams on the PanAmerican rally
7:32 – learned to drive in a 5 mph old military jeep
10:58 – worked in a body shop and that immersed me in to being a car guy
16:56 – Tom Johnson’s Union Oil was a rite of passage in the neighborhood
19:05 – Religiously cleaned all the windows, front and back – but wait, that’s plexiglass on that Corvette
21:38 – cruising VanNuys Blvd in a Corvette
23:14 – I have an opinion
24:37 – I was getting trained as a speaker – and I didn’t know it yet
26:28 – wouldn’t you like to hook up with the people who set the trends instead of follow them?
32:26 – I didn’t know squat about tires
36:19 – slow hands, slow feet – that’ how you pit
42:40 – recognizing what is at stake when I’m talking
48:58 – here’s why off-road racing is expensive
53:37 – See’s Candy marketing built the BFG pits
56:50 – my first co-driver gig – I had finally arrived
59:11 – made ESPN’s Crash of the Week with that one
1:03:25 – if you’re in the air, you can’t accelerate, you can’t stop and you can’t steer
1:06:01 – the key to winning a long-distance desert race is not going faster, but going a little less slow
1:08:47 – Retired from racing on my terms with a win at the 50th Annual Baja 1000
Join us next week for some more great insight with Bob Bower for part two of this interview.
We want to thank our sponsors Maxxis Tires and 4Low Magazine.
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