Frank joins us to talk about horses, his 44 years in motorsports with some version of BF Goodrich and all things in between. It’s a great listen, Frank knows more about motorsports and marketing than most, come along for the ride by listening on your favorite podcast app.
Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to Conversations with Big Rich on your favorite Podcast Player
5:45 – When you can ride it, I’ll get you a saddle and bridle
15:45 – I got hired into BFGoodrich as a tractor-trailer driver
22:09 – I chauffeured a van full of ladies any place they wanted to go
34:15 – SCORE person of the year
44:56 – the start of my own business
54:23 – full circle with BFGoodrich
1:26:43 – the 49th running of the Baja 1000
1:43:47 – The next chapter is Champs Offroad
2:00:44 – my #1 passion
2:12:33 – become a voting member of the Offroad Hall of Fame
We want to thank our sponsors Maxxis Tires and 4Low Magazine.
TRANSCRIPT
[00:01:20.590] – Big Rich Klein
On today’s episode of Conversations with Big Rich, we have Frank DeAngelo. Frank has spent 20 years with Jackson Marketing and Motorsports and Events. Most everybody will know that’s listening to this will know him from that and his association with BFG through that he is also a two-time winner of the Baja 1000 in stock full class. He is an Ormhof inductee in 2013 and that’s the Offroad Motorsports Hall of Fame. He was a SCORE Person of the Year in 2016 and he’s now competing in the American Ranch Horse Association. And from what I understand, in 2021, he may have won a Championship or a national title with them, but we’ll get into all that here in just a second. First off, I’d like to say, Frank, thank you for taking the time to come and sit and talk and have this conversation and share your life with our listeners.
[00:02:22.750] – Frank DeAngelo
Well, Rich, thank you very much for the nice introduction there. And as I’m starting to slow down, I’ve got more time on my hands and I’m doing a lot of the things that I like. And when you reached out to me and said, hey, I’m doing this podcast that would really like to spend some time with you, hearing about your life story. I was graciously accepted, of course. And since that first time we talked and today I got to thinking about it and I thought, I don’t know that I’ve ever really shared my life story with anyone. So this could be very amusing to some, very interesting to others, and shocking to yet others.
[00:03:17.350] – Big Rich Klein
Well, I’ll tell you what, I do edit these. So if you say anything that I think that people don’t need to hear about, we’ll cut that out. I’ve done that with a few people. Where I go, wow, people don’t need to know that. Don’t worry. Just be at ease and tell your story and this will be fun. I’m looking forward to this. I always find out more. I try to do a little bit of research on everybody that I’ve interviewed. And just doing the research, I found out quite a bit about you. And I can’t wait to hear all the rest that got you to where you are today. So let’s start with the first question. And where were you born and raised?
[00:04:01.870] – Frank DeAngelo
Well, I was born and raised in northeast Ohio. Born in Youngstown, moved the next town over when I was too young to remember to Warren, Ohio. And if you look at that area, it is about 15 miles from the Pennsylvania state line and about 30 miles from Lake Erie. So definitely northeast corner of Ohio. And later on, I actually had moved a little farther north to a little town called Bristolville, which was right inside the snow belt. Okay. So spent most of my years in the Warren area and grew up, went to high school in Holland, which is like a suburb of Warren, Ohio, if you will, wasn’t in the town or city but wasn’t in the country. But we had a little bit of land. And I got my first horse when I was five years old and a little bit of a funny story there. The girl down the road from me had ponies. And I used to go there and ride with her when I was like five years old. And so I wanted a pony. And my dad was adamant there was no way. And my mom was adamant, oh, yes, there is.
[00:05:45.070] – Frank DeAngelo
And after about a year or a year and a half of going back and forth, that’s all I ever wanted was get your horse. And my mom saying yes. And my dad saying no. My dad came home with a pony and said, here you go. And handed me this pony. And boy, I was happy. And then I asked him where the saddle and bridle was. And he said, when you can ride it, I’ll get you a saddle and bridle come to find out it was a two, almost three year old pony that wasn’t broke.
[00:06:24.640] – Big Rich Klein
Oh, wow.
[00:06:26.650] – Frank DeAngelo
Yeah. And so after school every day, the girl down the road that had ponies would come down. She’d hold the pony. I’d get on it. She’d turn it loose. It’d go bucking and throw me off. We’d go catch it. She’d get on, I turn it loose. It would go bucking and throw her off. And that went on for about a month. And finally, after about a month of hitting the ground, I don’t know how many times, we got it broke. And so then my dad had to go out and get me a saddle.
[00:06:58.000] – Big Rich Klein
That’s awesome. READ MORE
