UNDER THE HELMET - Meet Sam Berri

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Photo by Scot Harden

MEET SAM “SOLO” BERRI

A Conversation with Sam Berri and Scot Harden

When you look in the dictionary for the definition of the term “Off-Road Racer,” you will find Sam Berri’s picture next to it. He embodies the passion that lies at the core of the sport, and a sport that he has passionately embraced since the early ‘80s. Besides being a class act, he has been one of the top racers in the sport year in and year out. A multi-time Best In The Desert Series Class 1500 Champion and overall event winner, Sam has not missed a Best In The Desert race since it first started including Cars and Trucks back in 1996 some 25 years ago. His approach to racing is very simple and very personal. He stands out from most all the other race cars and teams as the only occupant of his Jimco Racing Class 1500 car.

In contrast, while others prefer to go with two-person teams splitting navigation, mechanical, and driving chores, Sam likes to tackle off-road racing solo. We sat down with Sam the day before the 2021 Jimco Silver State 300 to talk about his career in off-road racing, where he started, where he sees the sport heading, and his plans for the Jimco Silver State 300.

SCOT: Sam, welcome to Vegas and the Jimco Silver State 300. It’s always great to see you. Thanks for taking the time to sit down with us and answer a few questions. First, Sam, tell me a bit about your background. When did you first start racing? What brought you into the sport? I mean, you know, everybody knows that you’re always a threat, competing in every race for the Class 1500 win and a top overall finish. Everybody has to start somewhere. So what got you started in off-road racing?

SAM: I got started by helping a friend years ago, back in the early 80s. I started helping him by doing the mechanical stuff. He ended up buying a twoseater, and we started racing as a sportsman. I did all the work on the car, he drove it, and the agreement down the line was I would get a chance to drive it as well. So I started doing that for about a year. Then during one race we ran out of gas. He went off to find gas, and somebody came along and gave me gas. So I jumped in the driver’s seat and picked him up, and that’s when I got my first shot behind the wheel. I finished that year with him and decided, you know, I needed to get into my own car.

SCOT: So, what was your first race in your own buggy?

SAM: My first race was a VORRA race in Yerington, Nevada. I think it was the Yerington 400. I believe they are still running it. Back then, they drew for starting positions, and I entered Class One. Coincidentally, I drew first off the line. The promoter knew it was my first race and came to me and said, “Are you sure you want to be up here?”

I said, “Yeah, I’m good to go.” I ended up winning that race. It just so happened everything went great. We preran the course several times, and I had raced that course previously in the two-seater car with the guy who helped me get started, so I had a little knowledge of the course at that time. I felt comfortable but also nervous, that is until the green flag dropped. Every part of my body was shaking. Once I got that out of the way and started racing, I never thought twice about it. I’ve always done well in the VORRA series. It got to the point that I was getting stronger and wanted to try bigger and better things. I had many people helping me get there; a gentleman named “Big Don” helped me with the Volkswagen motors we ran back then. After about five years, I had won

Photo by Dirt Nation

Class One, four out of five years in a row going back to 1983-84.

SCOT: Wow, that’s quite a record and right from the start. What came next?

SAM: After that, we started running short course races and traveling back to Prairie City. I had stepped up quite a bit and had enough knowledge and enough people behind me to try all this stuff, especially helping me stay up with the technical side. VORRA was kind of a low-key real family-oriented grassroots type racing. It was awesome, and I really enjoyed that.

It got to the point, racing short course, and I was doing so well, actually dominating, that the promoter said, “You’re going to have to start last.”

So, I’d start last, and I worked my way through the pack and still win. They even started me backward one time because a lot of the guys were, you know, new, and they didn’t have real updated equipment. This was just before I started racing Best In The Desert. So, this part of my career was a real kick; it was just a lot of fun, you know, to do things like that. The promoter was fantastic, and they had an announcer who got the crowd into it. It was exhilarating.

I’m proud to say I was there when Casey held his first Best In The Desert Car/Truck race, Vegas to Reno, in 1996. I don’t know if you remember, but we actually paraded down Highway 15 out to the start in Sloan. We participated in the pre-fun run, which was a great adventure in itself. Back then, we could pre-run it. We did well right from the start, and I loved everything about it. As far as I know, I’m the only one who has raced every race Best In The Desert has put on. This next Vegas to Reno will be my 25th!

SCOT: Wow. Well, we have that in common. I raced that first Vegas to Reno as well on a motorcycle with Jack Johnson. I remember that parade down the Strip. You have had an amazing history with Best In the Desert, not to mention a big impact on the series. What are the most races you’ve done in a year?

SAM: Well, for Best In The Desert, that usually averages 6 to 7 races a year. With VORRA, we’ve always raced another five to six. So, I was

running 12 to 13 races a year when I first got involved with Best In The Desert, and then the VORRA promoter ended up selling out to somebody else. They had permit problems and this and that, so I ended up going down south and racing the Chula Vista short course series. That’s where I met BJ Baldwin, and he ended up getting bigger and better, as you know. I raced that for a year until VORRA got their permits situated. And then I went back to running VORRA in addition to Best In The Desert. Finally, I had an opportunity to buy an updated car.

SCOT: What year did you win your first BITD Championship?

SAM: I won my first championship, I believe, in 1989. You’ll have to check me on that. I can’t remember the exact year, but it was within a year or two of that. I won my first overall at the Silver State race. That was the year we ended up finishing in Mesquite, including the transfer section at the end, where we ran 25 miles an hour into Mesquite. That was my first overall race win, and it was a very special moment. We just kept stepping it up from that point on. At that point, I backed off of some of the other series because races were getting too close to each other and decided to focus 100% on Best In The Desert. I picked up a few more sponsors to help, you know, to make it all work.

SCOT: Your race car is so identifiable. It just stands out. The fact that it’s just one guy in the car is something that has always attracted me to your program; you know, it’s just one guy who serves as driver, navigator, and mechanic. When did you start racing the current vehicle that you’re running? And please tell us a little bit about it.

SAM: It was a few years back, yes, I think about five years ago. Everybody got together at PCI, and between Jimco, Redline, and Jamar, they, along with several other key sponsors, jumped on board to pull it all together. I took delivery on the car just before the 2016 or 2017 Parker 425 (I can’t remember). It took a little bit to get it all sorted out to the point it stands now. I had the record for finishing first in Qualifying up until just a couple of years ago. I think Rob Mac passed me, but it’s close. I’ve had 14 Top Qualifying positions for the Best In The Desert. In any case, I led that first race at Parker and had a two-and-a-half-minute lead at one point. At that time, I could

On the Ford Mesa after taking 2nd Class 1500 at the Silver State 300. Photo by Dirt Nation

Photo by Dirtfocus

run away from the Trick Trucks in the tight stuff. Unfortunately, I broke an axle and DNF.

In addition to the companies mentioned above, King Shocks also supports me, and they do a fantastic job. Same with the gang at Mastercraft. I can’t thank Mike Jolson enough for all his support in helping pull all this together. And Brett King for taking a personal interest and helping me get it set up just right. Our sport is full of some remarkable people. And now it’s working well, and that’s important you know, I’m not getting any younger.

SCOT: Well, for the record, Sam, how young are you?

SAM: I’m 67 years old.

SCOT: Well, that brings up a good time to talk about the changes you’ve seen in the sport over the years. You’ve been around a while and watched all the recent developments. You’ve been racing Best In The Desert at the very highest level of the sport. What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in the sport from a competition standpoint, especially the vehicles over the last five years?

SAM: What I see the most is, you know, a buggy can only have so much suspension because of the limitations with the CVs and stuff like that. I used to run away from some of the top Trick Truck guys like the McMillin’s, Rob Mac, and Robby Gordon in the tight technical stuff. I won the Best In The Desert Henderson 250 race overall a few years because I could run away from the Trucks in the tight stuff. The buggies could run away from the trucks in the tight technical and make enough of a gap to where in the fast stuff, they couldn’t overcome it.

SCOT: Absolutely. Nowadays, the Trick Trucks, including some of the 6100s, have upgraded to much bigger horsepower, longer travel suspension, and can turn. So what do you think about all-wheel drive? I mean, is that the big game-changer everyone thinks it is?

SAM: You know, it is, to a point. There are a few of them, and the guys are putting them upfront. But the two-wheel-drive Trick Trucks are still very competitive. The four-wheel-drive has a nice advantage coming in and out of the turns. They’re gaining

seconds in every corner. And in a race like Vegas to Reno, two or three seconds out of every turn adds up. So yes, the fourwheel drives are faster, but so are the two-wheel drives as well. The biggest thing that I’ve heard from most of those guys that run them is they turn so much better. They turn in the tight technical stuff. Can I run away from them now? Well, that’s to be seen. Several years ago, at this Silver State race between checkpoints three and four, a real technical section, I had a great race with Jesse Jones. And he’d be, you know, five, six seconds behind me, and I got out there and ran through the technical section, and at the top of one of the hills, I’d look back, and I gained a minute and a half on him through the technical stuff. I can’t do that anymore. Nowadays, there are certain races where a buggy could overall hold their own against it, but the odds are slim to none now because of how they’ve upgraded the trucks nowadays. And unfortunately, we can’t change that much in the 1500 class. You’re still limited by the suspension and getting the power to the ground. You have guys trying things, longer arms, engines, they’re trying. There are just certain mechanical limitations affecting the amount of power delivered.

SCOT: Well, just a couple more questions. With your long background in Best In The Desert, I have to ask you, what is your favorite race?

SAM: It’s close, but the Parker 425 is a race that I’ve always looked forward to. My only issue is that in all the years I’ve raced it, my best finish is second overall.

SCOT: So, you have unfinished business, is what I hear.

SAM: Yes, and three, four years ago, I was leading that overall. A lot of guys had problems. Unknowingly, I had a pretty good lead. I just was comfortably cruising along when I lost the CV joint and didn’t have a spare. I got out to find out what the problem was and when I got on the radio, I couldn’t get out. Finally, I called my pit crew on my cell phone to bring me parts. It was almost eight minutes before the first vehicle passed by. I had a fantastic lead. That was a huge opportunity for an overall win.

Photo by Dirtfocus