Son of motorsport Legend takes the family name into the future.

To say that the Currie’s are car people would be a gross understatement on par with calling the Grand Canyon a “big hole in the ground”. They’ve been neck-deep in the automotive world for nearly sixty years. The company built a name for itself by building some of the world’s finest Ford 9” rear ends and has had long and fruitful relationships with many top-tier racing series, both on-road and off. Their motorsports history began with Frank Currie building a ‘32 Ford Roadster powered by a 705 cubic inch aluminum V8 and driving it from Anaheim, CA to the Bonneville Salt Flats, clocking 205 miles per hour, and then driving it home. He’s also competed in La Carrera Panamericana and numerous other events, but it’s Frank’s son Casey who probably best exemplifies the Currie family’s racing spirit.

Casey has been involved with racing almost since he was able to walk. At 5 years old, he began racing motorcycles and has been going flat out ever since. He began racing four-wheeled vehicles when he turned sixteen and just a few years after that, he became one of the youngest team owners in motorsports. The jump from being a professional driver on a factory backed team, Nissan in this case, to becoming a team owner is not one that many would or could make. Casey, however, saw how the business side of things worked with Nissan, he saw countless ways that he could take what they were doing and do it better. He could do it cheaper, better, and finish stronger than his opponents and he was willing to risk it all to prove it.

The first step in starting a race team was finding space in which to set it all up. Luckily, Casey owned a dirt bike shop with a sizable building, so he sectioned half of it off and set up Currie Racing there. After the first year Casey’s father, Frank Currie, told Casey that he should quit sitting on the fence and choose between the dirt bike shop or the race team. Casey gave it some serious thought and decided that he wanted to keep racing and make it work. He promptly sold the dirt bike business and moved Currie Racing into his dad’s garage for the next two years, racing on his own dime. Before too long, he was able to secure major sponsorship and Currie Racing went on to compete in series such as TORC and the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series, as well as events like the legendary Baja 1000 and the grueling King of the Hammers.

Today, Currie Racing builds all of their own race rigs in-house. Casey’s feeling was that it was better to know when they’ve done something right and be wholly responsible for a win or a loss, than to leave it someone else’s hands. Currie Racing is a one-stop shop and handles all of their own race fabrication for TORC and King of the Hammers, as well as building Kawasaki UTVs for racing and various Jeeps for the 25 or so Jeep events they do in an average year. Somehow, with all of that going on, Casey still found time last year to build one of the best received Jeeps at SEMA 2014.

His JKRK Jeep is an incredible 1000hp Magnuson-supercharged, LSX-powered monster with an independent front suspension conversion and Bilstein coilovers. JKRK also features a custom MagnaFlow exhaust system to help keep the huge 427 cubic inch engine’s sound just barely on this side of sane. It’s an extremely clean, functional build, and managed to attract a lot of attention at SEMA even from those who wouldn’t normally be interested in a Jeep. When asked about his plans for SEMA 2015, Casey plays things close to the chest, but did let slip that it will change the way a lot of people think about Jeeps and will be running some crazy tires that nobody has put on a Jeep before. If it’s half as good as JKRK, it will definitely turn a lot of heads.

Both Currie Racing and Currie Enterprises are based in Corona, California. This makes them something of a rarity in the automotive world, with so many companies packing up and moving to places where it’s cheaper to do business. When asked about that phenomenon he stated that “Most of those companies that are moving aren’t that successful. It costs more to do business here because good employees cost more, but in the end you get a better product. That’s why companies like Currie Enterprises, MagnaFlow, and Monster Energy are thriving here. They have good people and make great products.”

Casey Currie has taken a unique path through the world of motorsport. He has managed to stand out in a family of individuals who were talented in business and behind the wheel. Every time he gets in a Jeep to race, he pays tribute to his famous family and their sacrifices over the years to make the family business what it is today. Casey has a close relationship with his father and his grandfather still comes to nearly all of Casey’s SoCal events. Casey, as always, has a busy race schedule for the rest of 2015 with numerous Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series events and Jeep events. He also plans on running the Baja 500 in June and if that goes well, the Baja 1000 in November. Casey is definitely the type of man who never goes half-throttle in life and that’s why we are so proud to work with him. He’s an incredible racer, a great guy and we can’t wait to see what he does in the future.