SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1508148
JIMCO 3.0 SCORE JOURNAL 37 The father and son took the reins in March 2023, after the untimely death of former owner Robbie Pierce in January 2023, through a deal that had been in the works over the previous couple of years. Long-time designer and company veteran Barry Karakas will continue in his important role as Director of Operations and R & D. Rafael III says, "It was going to be four guys in this thing. It was going to be Robbie, myself, my son, and Barry, all driving this thing. We're down to three of us, and Robbie's spirit will always be with us. Obviously, things change in terms of the overall vision when someone's not here, but we're off-road racers at heart, so we kind of know how to make it up on the fly." The original plan had been for Pierce to continue to work in partnership with the Navarros during a gradual ownership transition, but after the scuba diving accident that took his life in early January, the new owners are forging ahead on their own to uphold the legacy of both Pierce and the original owners, the Julson family. Founded in 1975 by Jim Julson as an outgrowth of building his own Class 9 1200cc vehicle for him and his son Mike to race, that first Jimco's impressive performance led to a high demand and rapid expansion for the company. Julson's success meant moving the business from his home garage to a shop in Santee, California, and leaving his job as a civilian engineer for the Navy behind, to build race vehicles as a full-time occupation. Mike eventually joined the business and then took over running it after Jim's retirement in 1989. Robbie Pierce then purchased the company in 2018, when Mike Julson retired. MIKE JULSON IN HIS EARLY DAYS OF OFF-ROAD RACING CREATED A RACE CAR LEGACY WITH HIS DAD JIM, INNOVATING NEW BUGGY DESIGNS Over the last few years, Rafael IV had been manufacturing parts for Jimco at his RTECH Industries machine shop, including those for the company's new all-wheel- drive Trophy Truck, and developed a good relationship with the business, and with Pierce. The bond between them was a natural result of the Navarro family's long- standing involvement in off-road racing and other forms of motorsports. He says, "In 2018, I raced with Robbie in his Trophy Truck in the SCORE Baja 1000, but the relationship with Robbie actually started through my dad with his other forms of motorsports, and it just grew stronger. We're racers. My dad's been racing since the '90s, and I've been racing since I was 13, and we knew what Jimcos were about. Our first SCORE Championship was actually in a Jimco."