The Off-Road Culture Thrives with Randy Romo
Story By: Cody Carney
Photos By: Staff of UTV Sports Magazine
When you’re in the off-road industry, you’ll notice you start to develop a sense of camaraderie with other people very quickly. It’s not very often you’ll go to a race or event and meet people who aren’t there to have a great time and share their experiences with you. Every once in awhile though, you’ll come across a character whose enthusiasm for the sport just pours from them as you engage in conversation, or see them around. When it comes to raving enthusiasm, there’s few that weigh in as strong as this month’s Campfire Chat, Randy Romo of Romo Motorsports.
I met Randy very recently at the Trail Hero SXS Rally, and just by the energy and spirit he gave off, I can honestly say he’s very well one of the most approachable guys out there. Randy is originally from California and relocated to Henderson, Nevada back in 1979 where it’s remained his stomping grounds since he was five years old. He met his wife Claudia at age fourteen while in middle school.
The two of them lived about two blocks from each other and were in the same neighborhood. It’s often spoken the rarity of high school sweethearts running the whole nine yards with one another, where Randy and Claudia take it a step further back. Their feelings blossomed and they got married in 1992 when Randy was seventeen years old and Claudia, sixteen. The same year the Romo’s had their first daughter Lacey and about eight years later had their second, Sierra.
Randy’s competitive nature was passed down to his daughters who were both involved in sports for a majority of their lives. The Romos were always traveling—for Lacey it was softball and for Sierra it’s been racing. The family has dedicated many hours to the thrill of sports. They’ve been in the desert, water, snow… pretty much any sport that was out there, they were doing it. Being located in Nevada, they have been part of the desert since the early 90’s as a family.
Together, as ardent off-road enthusiasts, Randy, Claudia, and Sierra make up Romo Motorsports, a very family-oriented SXS race team. Jointly, they compete all around the Western United States. Randy and his daughter Sierra compete in WORCS and Best in the Desert races which are for the most part, based centrally around Nevada. They’ll travel to California, Arizona, Utah, and Washington where they are able to get to race in a mixture of off-road environments such as dry lake beds where they’ll hit up to 100 MPH, or forests where they’ll bob and weave through trees anywhere from 10 to 30 MPH.
Randy mentions that as a parent, he’s had to overcome some mixed emotions about Sierra racing. One reason was the apparent risk of injury when getting involved in any type of sport. Over the years though, he’s gotten a lot more comfortable with it as Sierra’s skill as a driver continues to increase. He knew when her confidence was starting to get stronger because he started hearing her throw more and more banter through the radio coms during races. Now Sierra challenges Randy as one of the top competitive racers and they’re always going head to head. Randy says, “If was going to get beat by anybody, I would hope it’s her.”
Outside of off-roading, Randy runs an air conditioning business alongside his wife. They have about twenty employees that help with the day to day operations. Besides running the business, a typical day for Randy is spent hanging out enjoying some down time or spending it wrenching in the garage to prep the vehicles. During the summer, they’ll even take the boat out to Lake Mead which is only about a fifteen minute drive from the house—practically in their backyard.
In the short time I spent with Randy, I was able to get to know what I consider a very genuine guy. He’s proven to be passionate about having fun, spending time with family, and racing off-road. If you’re racing either WORCS or Best in the Desert, be sure to look out for #927. I’ve seen this guy rip across water going 87 MPH in his brand new Polaris RZR XP Turbo S… I can only imagine what he can do in the dirt.
