Desert racing mastermind, mentor Butch Dean passes

Butch Dean, who helped launch the careers of many desert racing stars from his shop in Las Vegas, passed away Friday. He is survived by his sons Pat and JC and grandsons James and Jordan, all of whom are also desert racers.

Dean ran Butch’s Speed Shop, an off-road prep shop in Las Vegas that opened in 1968. Known as “Papa Butch”, he used the shop as his hub to sell and prepare desert race cars. He also lent his services and mentorship to local upstarts who would go on to become the discipline’s greatest names such as BJ Baldwin, Rob MacCachren, and the Herbst and Gaughan families.

“Butch spent a lot of time in the shop, he spent a lot of time out in the desert testing,” commented Tim Herbst. “He spent a lot of time with the drivers and the people who were working on the cars. That’s proven by the success of all these drivers who have done very well in the sport. They are all a product of Butch Dean.”

Pat, James, and Jordan are close with the Gaughans and have competed in desert races like the Baja 1000 with them; Jordan recently won the 2023 Baja 1000 in the Trophy Truck Spec class with Riley and Troy Herbst.

He turned over the shop to Pat in 2007, and the store was moved to a new location in 2022. Dean was inducted into the Off-Road Motorsports Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2022.

“I wouldn’t be sitting here today if it wasn’t for ‘Papa Butch’ Dean,” said Troy Herbst. “He taught me how to drive from the shop. He didn’t sit next to me; he wasn’t out on the course. You’d come back to the shop and the bumper was gone and he knew exactly what happened. An amazing friend to Jerry Herbst. We would not be where we are at today without his mentorship and knowledge.”

“He was part of the foundation and a pillar in desert racing in Southern Nevada. His legacy will live on and he will be missed and remembered by all in desert racing, especially SCORE International,” reads a statement from the sanctioning body.