SCORE Journal - The Official Publication of SCORE Off-Road Racing
Issue link: https://read.uberflip.com/i/777057
In Memoriam Casey Folks SCORE International mourns the passing of Casey Folks who suffered a heart attack in Parker, Arizona and died January 12, 2017. Folks was the man behind the Best In The Desert and Vegas To Reno races, as well as an avid racer, promoter and advocate for off-road racing. Folk’s career in off-road began in 1968, when he opened Sportsman Cycle Sales with his racing partner and friend, Tom Scales. The dealership opened as a Husqvarna Dealer with only two motorcycles. Over the next few decades Sportsman Cycle grew into the premier motorcycle racing shop in Las Vegas. Later, Sportsman Cycle birthed and nurtured many racers that went on to have very successful racing careers. Folks was the first to Ironman the SCORE Baja 1000 in a motorcycle in 1980, and amassed 16 various motorcycle racing championships in his career. He started Best in the Desert in 1984 for motorcycles. Then he introduced the “Vegas to Reno” race in March of 1996, adding for the first time cars, trucks and quads to his races. He competed in almost every type of off-road event throughout the Western United States. His portfolio included over 30 races in Baja, Mexico, and the Tunisia Rally in Northern Africa. He served as the American Consultant for the Incas Rally in Peru and was the event coordinator for the Nevada Rally, representing the company “Acerbis Adventure” based in Italy. In 2012, Folks was inducted into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame, joining the ranks of off-road racing’s greatest legends and honored by off-road racers worldwide. His many friends at the Bureau of Land Management had respect and trust in Casey’s judgment and stated that Casey’s high standards established the rules for safety in off-road desert racing. Folks is survived by the love of his life, Diane DeLauer, son Daryl Folks and his wife Sheri, son Bryan Folks, sister Joan Ragona-Suarez, and three granddaughters: Adrianna, Morgan, and Marlee. The SCORE International family and friends honors Casey Folks for a lifetime of dedication to the sport.