What was your most memorable season?
Probably 2003. I learned a lot that year and had my best finishes. I'd always had a strong race program. My machines were reliable. I rode almost everyday. But I was lacking in nutrition and didn't know it. It seemed every race I would have the fastest lap time, but could never land on the podium. Finally, about 2 weeks before Rauch Creek, Barry Hawk pulled me aside and said, "Listen! Do everything I say for the next couple weeks." He gave me some nutrition advice and I followed him exactly. At Rauch Creek, I got third! And then I followed it up at The Wisp with another podium.

Sounds like you got your program going in the right direction!
I did! I was excited for 2004. There was even industry talk of me having a shot at the championship that year if I could keep building on the momentum from 2003. But the bikes changed! 2004 was the year it became a 4-stroke world. I'd always ridden 2-strokes and the new machines were very different. I'm a small framed guy and the 4-strokes are a lot heavier. I found them more difficult to ride. And instead of testing and developing, I was so busy at the shop that I didn't really have the time to put into R&D.

I'm not sure that many of our readers are aware that you were running a business and racing at the same time. When did you start DeRisi racing?
I actually started it in 1999. I've always enjoyed working on the bikes and it was a natural progression. My dad owned an ironworks business and I would help him out, work in my shop, ride and do my own race prep. It was a lot! When 4-strokes came along, the timing was just bad for me. Obviously, I learned them pretty quick and how to build them, but I didn't develop myself as a rider!

You didn't just quit though. You kept after it and even after you "retired" you still came back and did some Vet A races.
Racing really developed the product. It was my experience on the track that gave me the ability to set up customer bikes, make power with the motor, set up suspension and all that. I kept racing XC1 until 2010.  And yes, after that, I did come back and race some Vet A races, but it was hard. My heart was on the front row.

What about these days? We always see you at the track with a smile!
I'm still building the business. DeRisi Racing is a full performance shop. We do custom motors, suspension, race prep and more. We have a program where a customer brings us his bike, we build it, haul it to the GNCC races, hand it to him to race, take it back, wash it, prep it and start the process over again. We started vending for Twin Air a couple seasons ago and that gave us the opportunity to be at the track full time. That's been a huge benefit for us and our customers. Since then, we've started vending MotoMaster Brakes and All Balls Bearings. Our trailer is stocked! I know everyone hates the dust, but Florida is usually a pretty good time for us and Twin Air! We try to stock a wide variety of bike models, so we are eager to help anyone that needs it! 

I know there are a lot of bikes out there with DeRisi graphics on them. Do you have any riders you're currently sponsoring?
We are actually helping Adam McGill right now. He has his own motor and suspension builders, but we get to the track and look his bike over and help with final setup. He's been a friend of mine for a long time and has helped us with R&D. I'm happy to see him doing so well in the XC1 ranks and hope he can win that elusive championship!

I know a lot of people are happy to have you trackside and supporting the sport. Just curious, how involved are your performance mods back at the shop?
We can do whatever the customer wants. We focus on maximum power without sacrificing reliability. We can do porting, over-sized valves, custom degreed cams...we just had one head go out of here that was over $5,000 without touching the rest of the motor!