Love Affair for Life
Goodyear's "Lil' Joe" Aguirre has spent a lifetime perfecting a balance between his two families–one that's personal and one in motorsports
by Mike Henle for Dirt Sports
Feb 1, 2006
The pungent smell is unmistakable. On any given Saturday afternoon during one of CORR's bi-annual stops at the Crandon International off-road raceway, waves of smoke billow from near the familiar blue and yellow Goodyear trailer. The smell of barbequing tri tip overwhelms the senses, and racers, pit crews and other guests anxiously line up to grab their share of a lunchtime favorite. With a smile, Edna Aguirre warmly welcomes one and all, while the familiar face working his magic behind the grill belongs to a man known simply as "Lil' Joe."
Joe "Lil' Joe" Aguirre might be one of the most devoted souls in motorsports. As off-road manager for Carroll Shelby Enterprises, Inc., the western distributor for Goodyear Racing Tires, he chases off-road racing events all over the country ensuring that loyal drivers are taken care of with everything from proper tires to getting their share of tri tip barbeques. And when he's not wearing out shoes chasing the sport, he's busy backing his daughter's big wedding in Southern California. He's a devoted husband of almost 52 years, a dedicated father of six children (three boys and three girls), grandfather of six and great grandfather of one.
It is this delicate balance between his love of family and love of racing that make Joe's story unique. The fact that it has lasted for more than fifty years makes it a miracle.
When it comes to red, white and blue true American success stories, it doesn't get any better than this one. Warner Brothers could make a good old-fashioned movie based on Aguirre's life, one that proves hard work and dedication do indeed lead to good things. At the ripe age of 18, Aguirre married his childhood sweetheart, Edna, who he met when they were in the fourth grade. In a country where half of the marriages don't last beyond five years, this one is going strong after five decades.
But long before Aguirre started his family, he went to work in a tire shop at the age of 14. One of three "Joes" at the place, he became Lil' Joe because he was the shortest.
"My dad had a truck stop, but I didn't want to work for him," Aguirre recalls. "I wanted to do my own thing, so I went to work for Boynton brothers working Saturdays and Sundays." Working around the pits at race tracks, Aguirre's ability to carve tires didn't go unrecognized. Without even realizing it, Aguirre was starting his own career, one that would lead him to a position as one of the most knowledgeable and respected tire people in auto racing.
"Word got out that I could groove tires," Aguirre said, almost matter-of-factly. "I had been working for a professional tire company at Whitman Speedway near San Bernardino Valley. A guy named Clem Proctor saw me working and asked if I wanted to go to work for Goodyear." Aguirre hesitated because he didn't want to get caught up with the travel of auto racing, but like many others who discovered the addictiveness of the sport, he caught the adrenaline bug and was hooked.
Before long, the company sent him to a race in Kent, Wash. where he sold out of tires so fast, he amazed his bosses. To a kid away from his Bakersfield, Calif. home for the first time, Aguirre had found a niche that eventually made him not only likeable, but highly respected. "I had never been out of Kern County," says Aguirre. "The furthest I had been was to Fresno. I had never sold a complete set of tires."
Now, Aguirre couldn't imagine doing anything else. He's gone an estimated 200 days a year and while he doesn't have a resume, the nearly 69-year-old man would need three pages just for the references and friends he's made over the years. Aguirre has been associated with Goodyear racing for more than three decades. In his mid-30s, he moved on to work with the Parnelli Jones Race Car Division at Firestone and was there for 11 years from about 1974-85 but he returned to Goodyear's Carroll Shelby operations after being urged to do so by Leo Mehl, the head of Goodyear's racing division in Akron, Ohio.
Aguirre is also a unique part of racing, one who spends his time in the background making others look good. He never had much interest in behind-the-wheel auto racing, although he did try his luck briefly in sports car events years ago. In modern day lingo, Joe Aguirre is a combination PR representative and a physician of the tire business. He's a quiet man who spends countless hours guiding others while spending no time bragging about himself.
TOO VALUABLE TO LOSE
The masterminds of motorsports are generally quiet and unassuming. They stay in the background dreaming up winning formulas so that their drivers can get the glory. Roger Penske is that way. So is Joe Aguirre.
He doesn't spend much time giving interviews, although he knows enough to be an analyst on most auto racing telecasts. Whether he's orchestrating massive barbeques for racers and support members or figuring out the right formula for a tire, Aguirre is as important as anyone when it comes to off-road racing.
The barbeques are hosted at CORR races at the Goodyear truck twice a year in June and September in Crandon, Wis. They have become so popular that Aguirre hosted another cookout last September at a CORR race in Chula Vista, Calif. In fact, even the other tire manufactures attended the event. "We started the barbeque one year in Crandon," Edna explains. "They don't sell tri tips anyplace in Wisconsin, so Joe has them sent next-day air. The people there really look forward to the barbeques. When we start cooking people are sitting there waiting for the meat to be done. Joe makes the tri tips and we do the rest."
It's not hard finding people who admire Aguirre both for his people skills and his auto racing genius. His list of friends reads like a Who's Who, no matter what form of racing you're talking about. In auto racing–where tires are as important as anything for not only performance but safety, too–he's been all over the globe hosting auto racing events. In fact, Aguirre is so entrenched in Goodyear's program that when he was brought back to company headquarters in Akron, Ohio recently, executives let it be known that they didn't want him to retire any time soon. To borrow a phrase that might be related to the tire business, they threw away the mold when they made Joe Aguirre. His friends tell over and over again how valuable he is and how he's helped them personally in their endeavors.
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He's simply too valuable, explains Jim Alexander, manager of off-road racing for Goodyear. "We quickly found that it takes a certain type of dedicated person who can put up with the dirt and dust of off-road racing. In Lil' Joe, we found a person who not only can drive the semi to the race but also someone who loved the sport. He knows the wheel and tire combinations and he became the perfect guy. He's very knowledgeable. We have been working together since 1989. He'd be very hard to replace."
While Alexander will be retiring this year, Aguirre is someone he says he'll never forget. "I think if there's anything which makes him stand out, it's got to be his undying devotion to this sport," Alexander adds.
Another big admirer is Las Vegas hotel magnate Michael Gaughan, a former off-road racer who has become one of the gaming industry's most respected businessmen. Aguirre was Gaughan's first sponsor. In fact, Gaughan now says that Aguirre was before his time when talking about the intricacies of tire wear and tire usage.
"He mainly had tires for the trucks, but he always helped me," Gaughan recalls. "Joe was the only guy who gave me anything. He really took care of us. He's always been a very classy guy and he feeds everybody. His trailer always has the best food. You won't find two nicer people in the desert than Joe and Edna Aguirre."
Legendary off-road racer Walker Evans, who now puts his efforts on rock crawling competitions, echoes Gaughan's praises. He adds that if Lil' Joe speaks and offers advice, the competitor should listen. "He has certainly been a great influence in my career," Evans says. "His knowledge in racing goes back a long ways and he shares that knowledge with every racer. He's been around NASCAR and everything. He's mounted tires for Pike's Peak and every style of racing. His knowledge has got to be respected."
TWO PARTS MAKE A WHOLE
Like any long-term love affair, the balance between Joe and Edna is the glue that keeps the couple together and happy. Aguirre credits Edna for her insight and foresight in helping him stay ahead of the game. He added that Mehl of Goodyear demanded that Edna be part of the team. "She loves the races," Aguirre says fondly. "She is my mentor and helps me so much with the business things we have to do. She has real instinct."
Edna loves the racing environment and what the sport has provided for the Aguirre family. "Everyone says we're a team," she says. "We've done this for so long that it's part of our life." Edna especially likes going to CORR events in Crandon, Wis. She loves the people of the Midwest. "Everyone there knows us," she says. "People always come up and ask how Joe is doing even when I go to the market."
To Edna, life has been one race after another. She wouldn't have it any other way. She said the reason the marriage has remained strong is because they're friends first and foremost. "We live by the racing calendar," she says. "We had to get married when there wasn't a race. There isn't anywhere we travel when we don't see our friends."
To Edna, Joe's success is based on a simple formula. "Joe knows auto racing," she explains. "With everything he does, he has a purpose."
For their extended racing family, the marriage of Joe, Edna, Goodyear, off-road racing and barbequed tri tip perhaps has a greater purpose than even they realize. It's a love story that proves anything is possible and invokes a time when love and marriage–to paraphrase that old Frank Sinatra song–do indeed "go together like a horse and carriage."
Mike Henle is a LasVegas-based freelance writer and the author of” Through the Darkness: One Man’s Fight to Overcome Epilepsy.” He can be contacted via e-mail at mhenle@aol.com, or through his Web site www.mikehenle.com.
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