GEVISS Tapped for AFRICA DUTY!

TEAM DAKAR USA Names Turbo Tom as "Driver of Record" in new Robby Gordon MAN Race Support Truck

FOX Racing SHOX Athlete & Off Road Racing Champ Joins Robby Gordon's TEAM DAKAR USA at DAKAR Rally

DirtNewz Staff

Orange, California (December 15, 2006) - In the late 1970's at Riverside Raceway, a tall lanky 12-year boy sloughed around in the pits of some of the nation's fledging off road racing teams. Many thought the 6-0 foot stringbean was 17 or 18 years old, that until he opened his mouth and made a 12-year type of remark.

Fastforward some 30 years and five SCORE Baja 1000 Championships.

Leading the nation's top drivers to the podium time and time again thrashing through the deserts of North America in search of adventure, Tom Geviss now heads to Africa in what some experts have regarded as the most difficult off road race in the world.

Molded by one of the most respected team owners in off road racing, Jon Nelson, the young 12 year-old punk kid has turned into one of off road racing's premier dark horses.

Back in the day, Jon Nelson recruited the young lad to his powerhouse team that eventually would reign as champions of the desert for consecutive years. However, in the early building process, one of the legends of off road racing - Jon Nelson, spent valuable time with Geviss developing his talent that many rate to this day "as second to none."

Nelson said, "When I came in and took over the team, they had a huge contingent of support personnel. We went from having legions of people to a handful of very qualified team members that could simply get the job done. Turbo was one of my go-to guys and he just always got the job done, regardless of the task. When we brought in Jimmy Johnson to drive the second truck, it was a natural fit to put Turbo in the right seat with Jimmy. They did well and overcame some incredible challenges. Who would have known back then that Jimmy Johnson was going win the NEXTEL NASCAR Cup Championship a few weeks back and Turbo would be racing as the driver of record in DAKAR with Robby."

Geviss, affectionately know inside the world of desert racing as "Turbo Tom," has had a storied desert racing career that has seen him be part of championship winning teams in several different facets. Of course, racing with Nelson & Nelson in the days of the Chevy Vortec / BFGoodrich era, Geviss was an intregal part of four SCORE Baja 1000 Championship victories.

And dating back even before his Nelson & Nelson days, Geviss won a SCORE Baja 1000 Championship with a 1-2 1600 team that he was part of.

In all, Geviss has to his credit five SCORE Baja 1000 Championships and more recently, the 2004 SCORE Class 1 Series Championship. An impressive record for a snot-nose hellfire kid from the hills of northeast San Diego county.

The 2004 SCORE Desert Series was a cinderella season for Geviss who co-drove and navigated for long time desert racing icon, John Marking.

Marking, a privateer desert racer with limited sponsorship, recruited the likable Geviss to the right seat after many years of friendship. Together with small group of friends they took on the world's best Class 1 teams prepping their JIMCO Dominator Class 1 in Marking's home shop two days a week.

"I think Tom is the only guy crazy enough to ride with me. That's why he got the job," said a smiling Marking. "Turbo's got some talent and he'll do well for Robby in Africa."

Marking and Geviss stunned the world of off road desert racing when they captured victory at the 2004 SCORE Class 1 Series Championship and stole it away from the heavily-funded money teams that had long been dominating the class.

While racing with Marking in 2004, Geviss was called back to duty with his mentor-Jon Nelson who was then involved in professional rockcrawling. Nelson and Geviss captured several world-class victories until the rockcrawling scene began to fizzle.

Since his days with the Nelson&Nelson Race team, Geviss' services have been in high-demand, In fact, more than one team has offered him the opportunity to join the best of the best.

But the truth is, Tom Geviss is a working stiff.

As the owner of Action Turbo, a Santee, California based turbo-repair company, Geviss manages his racing schedule while juggling a shop of employees who all claim the guy is never at work.

In 2005, Geviss was called to duty by television's Monster Garage Creator-Jesse James. In the final espisodes of the Monster Garage life, James, with the assistance of Marty Fiolka, recruited the nation's top off road racing fabricators to build a SCORE legal trophy truck in 7-days. Geviss was named "Project Manager" and stardom was born.

Jesse James' plan was to race the SCORE Baja 1000 in November 2005 and his co-driver/navigator was the one and only - Turbo Tom Geviss. They indeed finished the build and made the start line of the 2005 SCORE Baja 1000.

On that fateful day in mid-November 2005, James and Geviss flew through the first 100 miles of the Baja 1000 before suffering a devasting love tap from a "fierce" competitor, which relocated the rear shock mounts and ultimately end their day. Nonetheless, Geviss starred on the show and sucked up his 15 minutes of fame.

Geviss is also one of the few elite FOX RACING SHOX athletes joining the likes of CORR Champion - Johnny Greaves and a handful of others.

With nearly 30 years of racing under his belt, Tom Geviss was a natural selection for TEAM DAKAR USA.

In fact, after months of work on the support trucks and the Hummer H3 Race Truck and attending team practice sessions in the Mojave Desert, it was announced that Thomas Geviss would pilot the MAN Race Assistance Vehicle as the "Driver of Record."

Joining Geviss in the MAN Race Support Truck is Navigator/Mechanic - Paul Mischel and SCORE Class 10 Veteran Racer - Will Higman, also an expert mechanic.

"Having the chance to go with Robby to Africa is one thing. But after a couple test sessions in Parker and Glamis, Robby asked me if I wanted to race the new MAN he bought for this race and I shrugged my shoulders and said "Let's do it," said a wide-smiling Geviss.

The MAN Race Support Truck will first and foremost provide on course assistance for Robby's HUMMER H3. Geviss and Higman will wrench, fabricate and get the HUMMER H3 back into shape if such a problem would occur.

And in the meantime, they'll be racing the TEAM DAKAR USA MAN Truck in the T4 Class.

No doubt the pressure is on Turbo Tom Geviss to bring home the truck in one solid piece and put TEAM DAKAR USA lead racer - Robby Gordon on the podium.

Wrapping up our short visit with Turbo Tom at his quiet Santee shop, we asked him what his expectations were in Dakar and he answered, "We're going over there to WIN."

Stay tuned for DAKAR Rally race coverage right here at www.DIRTnewz.com

DAKAR Rally Information:

The Dakar is a race, the toughest rally in the World: over two weeks of hard work and thousands of kilometres over various tracks. Each year since 1979, crews including men and women, enjoy an intense rivalry in the middle of the desert. The final result always rewards an incredible winner. Indeed, more than elsewhere, success on a Dakar comes from a synthesis between performance, determination and regularity.

Beyond the borders of victory, the real essence of a Dakar is the challenge. A competitor battles both with the others but also with himself, in a context where humility is just as important as going beyond oneself. With objectives that match their capabilities, the candidates in this adventure have in common this search for balance.

In 2007, the rally will start for the second time of its history in Portugal. The race will then head through Morocco, Mauritania, Mali and Senegal.

Sources: www.RobbyGordon.com and www.Dakar.com