Driver: Randy Howe
Hometown: Lebanon, N.H.
Date of Birth: 10/22/72
Family: Wife – Val; Children – Alex, Jenna
Favorite Food: Lobster
Hobbies: “I work all the time!”
Started Racing: 1984 – Age 12 (go-karts)
Accomplishments: Won 13 track championships at Canaan Fair Speedway; Three-straight 358 Modified track championships at Bear Ridge Speedway (1992-94); Sprint Cars of New England Rookie of the Year (2009); Rookie of the Year titles at Canaan and Bear Ridge; Rookie of the Year in the Modified division on asphalt at Claremont Speedway; NASCAR Whelen All-American Series Vermont State Rookie of the Year (2017)
Division: Sportsman Modified
Car No.: 82
Car: Bicknell
Car Owner: Randy Howe
Crew Chief: Mark Gardner
Team Members: Bill Gokey, Craig Belyea, Val Howe
Sponsors: Mike’s Automotive (Tilton, N.H.), Iron Horse Roofing (Tunbridge, Vt.), Randy’s Service Center (White River Junction, Vt.)
Randy Howe in victory lane at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on August 6, 2017. (Barry Snelling/Devil’s Bowl Speedway photo)
“I’d have to say it was all from my dad. He always had a Street Stock or a B-Coupe or something when I was a kid, so I got into early. Then I started racing go-karts when I was 12 and I haven’t really stopped since then.”
Do you have a favorite driver besides yourself?
“I like to watch Kyle Busch these days, but I seem to remember always following Punky Caron when I was younger.”
What is your favorite moment of your racing career?
“We won on a Friday night at Bear Ridge, on Saturday night at Canaan, and then there was another special show on a Sunday or Monday at Canaan and we won that, too. I couldn’t tell you the dates, maybe it was the fourth of July or something, but I remember we did it once and it was helluva weekend. I won a couple races on the pavement at Claremont, and that was pretty special – one of them was a Wednesday night when all the big guys were there and I remember beating Steve Park. And I remember back in ’99 we bought a new 2000X Bicknell chassis and we won a 358 race at Devil’s Bowl the first night out with it.”
What is your most embarrassing moment?
“Oh, there could be a bunch of those over the years, but I had one this year at Devil’s Bowl. I hit the wall in Turn 4 and broke the steering, but I never got off the gas and I went all the way to Turn 1 and hit that wall, too. One of my guys is sitting right next to me laughing at me as I tell the story.”
Randy Howe at Devil’s Bowl Speedway on August 20, 2017. (Justin St. Louis/Devil’s Bowl Speedway photo)
“Right now it’s Tremont, Quenneville, and LaDuc. But back years ago, Butch Elms was always tough, especially in the open shows with the wings. We always ran the same type of stuff on our cars, so he was a pretty good rival. And the Sanvilles, they were tough, too.”
If you couldn’t drive your car, who would you want to be your substitute?
“I let Kevin Chaffee drive for me for a while back when I had two or three cars going. I would put Kevin back in a car again.”
Are you looking forward to the new ½-mile dirt track at Devil’s Bowl?
“Yeah, I am. The bigger tracks are fun. I’ve been to Lebanon Valley a couple times and I liked racing at Granby in Canada whenever we went. Those tracks are just too far away, so it’s nice to have one local.”
What are your racing goals for 2018?
“I’d like to win the track and state championships. We’re looking forward to it.”