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Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Driver Brad Deberti Shows How to be Consistent in 2016
Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Driver Brad Deberti Shows How to be Consistent in 2016
30 mar 2017
K&N Sponsored Brad Deberti in his Support the Troops Pro Lite at Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series
Being behind the wheel of a car is one of the best ways to stay sharp and become a better driver. K&N-sponsored Brad Deberti is one of the talented drivers that believe this is very important. Many of the top drivers in the world drive several different kinds of vehicles to help them in different aspects of racing. Brad is one that does the same, and he drives his K&N Filter and Support the Troops Pro Lite in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series as well as his Cognito Motorsports Polaris 1000 in the Regional Series by Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series. Brad likes to go to Lake Elsinore and Glen Helen Raceways in California for practice, and he and his dad would take both vehicles with them and rotate from one to the other to make each of them work the best way they could. Having to switch the driving style back and forth between the different racing class vehicles is very mentally demanding. They would spend all day at the track counting off laps and only breaking for fuel and swapping cars. As important as it is running laps in practice, it is still impossible to replicate race mentality other than in a race. In 2016, Brad raced in thirty-seven different races between the three classes.
K&N-sponsored driver Brad Deberti in his Polaris RZR 1000 at the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Regionals
In the Polaris RZR 1000, Brad would go up against twenty to twenty five other talented drivers in each race. In this class there were also Yamaha YXZs, which have thirty plus horsepower and also a five speed sequential transmission, giving it a major advantage over the Polaris. This meant that Brad had to work his way to the top by staying focused every single lap and making sure he was consistent the entire race. By doing this, he would be the fastest he could be and just out drive the competition and wait for the others to make a mistake and capitalize. Brad was able to stay consistent and fast the entire season, and there were only one or two races that another Polaris would finish in front of him when he had some trouble. With those two races in mind, they would also be the only races all season that he didn’t finish on the podium, and with all the Yamahas in the class this was a huge success. With his consistency Brad was able to finish third in the championship points race, and be the only Polaris in the top five while only a few were in the top ten. Brad said, “It would have been great to bring home the championship, but I still consider this a victory. Being at a huge disadvantage being up against the Yamahas and still beating most of them.”
Brad Deberti showing why K&N air filters are so important in off-road racing
Brad also raced Pro Lites at the Regionals, and he had two different Pro Lites which he drove as his back up truck in the Regionals. These Regional races would bring around twelve Pro Lites in each race. Brad would qualify in the front almost all of the races, but would start at the back for the best learning opportunity possible. This is something that Brad and his father decided would be best. This would help with working his way through traffic towards the front and learning how to watch and see what other drivers are thinking and to anticipate their actions to make a clean pass. These races also had other drivers from the national series trying to get seat time as well as some regional racers working their way into the national series. Brad was able to keep his motors running clean and powerful while going through the dust and dirt thrown up by the trucks in front with his K&N air filter protecting it. With that power Brad was able to work his way towards the front in each race and finish on the podium in every race, winning six races and getting third in the other two. These great finishes and consistency helped Brad win the Championship in the Pro Lite division of the 2016 Lucas Oil Off Road Regional Series.
Brad Deberti watching himself race on the big screen, while he is still racing in it.
In the national series of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, Brad raced in his Pro Lite that he got from Brian Deegan the previous year. This was Brad’s second season in Pro Lite, and was hoping for a great year. Coming off his rookie year where he got fourth in points and got four wins, Brad was looking at improving on that. The 2016 Pro Lite class was a full of talented drivers, which didn’t make it easy on Brad along with several drivers you wanted to stay away from. During the races you had three distinct groups and you always wanted to be in the front. In the front group you had mainly clean, fast racing that usually pulled away from everyone else. The second group was mid pack and you had people frantically pushing their way towards the front and damaging most of the trucks. The third group was the racers in the back that had already damaged their trucks or just had bad luck. So qualifying was very important to help you stay away from the people pushing to the front. Brad did very well at keeping himself towards the front group by racing hard and fast. But, like any other racer, he had some races where he found himself in the group of people pushing harder then they should have been. This is where the practice from the Regional races came into effect and being able to work back to the front with out pushing people out of the way. Brad started the season out strong, standing on the podium three times in the first five races. He ran into some issues through out the season, but was able to finish in the top five in eight of the races. He just missed beating his rookie season result by finishing fifth in the championship points.
K&N-sponsored Brad Deberti showing the fans some flames while soaring through the air
When asked about having highs and lows this year, Brad said, “ It was a season of all highs. No matter how we finished in the race, I was at the races with my mom and dad enjoying every second. Also finishing with a first, third, and a fifth is a strong season, I also finished all thirty-seven races that I started in this year.” Unfortunately, Brad will not be racing full time in the 2017 Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series. He still plans on racing a race if possible and if any drivers needed a back up driver. But with some big changes coming his way, the crew of himself and his dad would be over extending themselves, and they believe if they are going to do something they are going to do it right. You will be able to find him on the track still, but it is going to be on asphalt and hidden behind a bunch of tire smoke since Brad has just acquired K&N Filters’ own Vaughn Gitten Jr.’s Ford Mustang Drift car that he will be driving. Brad also has several other things in the works right now from a TV show on Discovery Channel to do car builds for Ford Motor Company. You will still be able to see Brad around and find him goofing off having a great time with family and friends, so stay tuned and see what is in stored for Brad in the future.
