ABOUT US
BUILDING CARS FOR OVER 40 YEARS!
Raw Motorsport’s is owned and operated by well-known Off-roader, Dana Cote, who has been building cars for over 40 years.
Dana’s career started, in his mind, at age 5. He began by drawing elaborate sketches of race cars and trucks. As he got older at the age of 12, he started applying what he had dreamed of as a child. He bought his first VW at the age of 12 and rebuilt the motor and restored the car. He has never stopped building cars since.
Dana’s professional career started in 1979. A man named Walker Evans asked Dana, who was working at a muffler shop next door to Walker Evans Racing, to build an exhaust system for his race jeep. Dana and Walker hit it off and Walker knew there was talent in that young man. Dana worked for Walker for many, many years, winning a lot of championships in off-road and stadium racing. From that experience, he learned what it was to be a true “car builder”. When working for a manufacturer sponsored race team, nothing but perfection would do, because the difference between 1/1000 of an inch could be the difference between winning a race and ending up in the wall. Dana has applied that “no room for error” philosophy to his company and to building all types of vehicles. Long hours are spent building and assembling our “Hand-crafted” cars and only the best parts available on the market are used. He holds his suppliers to the same standard.
In 1993 Dana eventually moved on to Team Chevrolet with Jon Nelson. He had the pleasure of working with some of the great drivers – Ricky Johnson, Jimmie Johnson and Larry Ragland. In 1994 Dana became Team Manager and had the responsibility of running a 1st class, professional race team. This entailed campaigning (2) Trophy Trucks and (2) Stadium Trucks. This team went on to win three consecutive Baja 1000’s and was one of the most successful sponsored race teams in the history of Off-Road racing.
Today, Dana and his wife of 39 years, Melanie Cote, own and operate RAW Motorsports in Temecula Calif. Dana’s infatuation for cars has worn off on his wife and son’s, Dustin and Trevor, who were born with the engineering mind and the bug to create something from a piece of metal. It is truly a passion for the whole family and we enjoy seeing our cars and projects come to fruition after hours, days and sometimes long nights to make our clients dreams and visions come to life. RAW Motorsports is one of the leading manufacturers of buggies, off-road and specialty vehicles in the industry. Dana is known for his vast knowledge of the Off-Road racing industry and superior engineering capabilities. RAW Motorsports has customers from all over the country and internationally who travel far for his expertise.
