Lucas Oil Off Road: Rookie runs the table

Fresh out of the Regional series, Brad DeBerti introduced himself to the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series Pro Lite competitors in grand style

After two races in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, a rookie is leading the Pro Lite championship points. And when we say rookie, we really mean it.

One might expect a strong rookie in Pro Lite to have come from the Trophy Karts – someone like Sheldon Creed, who nearly won the title last year. But it's not one of the youngsters fresh out of Mod Karts, such as Brock Heger or Colo Mamer. It's a guy who until last year hadn't even seen a short course off road race. In that first race he saw in Arizona, he loved it so much, he bought a truck and took it back home to Pismo Beach to begin chasing the Southern California Lucas Oil Regional Off Road Series.

If you were paying attention to the opening rounds of the 2015 season at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park, you know by now that we're talking about Brad DeBerti, who not only did well in his first race on the national level, he flat-out dominated.

“I didn't even pull off one tear-off – we were up front the whole day,” the 20-year old said of the first race, where he started second, assumed the lead at the start and was never seriously challenged. The following night he started fifth, quickly worked his way forward and was in the lead by the time three laps were complete.

As a result, he leads the Pro Lite championship over RJ Anderson, the 2013 Pro Lite champ, and Jerrett Brooks, who dominated the final four events of 2014. Good company indeed and, if DeBerti gets his way, only the beginning.

“We have a good truck. We have everything we need to win this season. Brian Deegan has been helping me out a lot, and we've been putting in practice sessions once a week,” says DeBerti, who works with his father remodeling houses.

Deegan has been helping in large part because DeBerti bought one of his Pro Lites last summer. After campaigning the Geiser-built, former Jacob Person truck he and his father bought in Arizona for six Regional races, DeBerti stepped up to newer equipment and won immediately. “Brian said he thought I was ready, so we came straight here and we made a pretty good impression.”

Deegan's help is why the truck carried a big "Deegan 38" decal on the hood. With little other signage – i.e., sponsorship – it stood out. It's tough to find sponsors when you're a rookie.

“I don't really have experience in anything [motorsports],” DeBerti explains. “I live at the beach and I have a RAZR and I go play in the dunes, but other than that I don't have any racing background. It's hard to get sponsors, because we go to them and they want to know what I have done. Well, I haven't done anything.”

That's up until the opening rounds of 2015, of course. Anybody with some sponsorship dollars to spend ought to have taken notice. If that doesn't get them, a visit to the pits where DeBerti, along with buddy and crew chief Justin Yager, has his hands in every aspect of the truck's prep, might just seal the deal. Sponsorship or not, DeBerti is going to continue for one reason –he's having a heck of a time doing it.

“We come out with the same attitude every single time. My crew and everyone, we just like to have fun. If anything else happens, that's better. We're focused to win, but if I don't win, I'm not going to be mad, because I'm having a blast doing it. I went out my first time and got first place and led the whole race by 10 truck lengths with 20 of the best guys in the world out there. That's a huge accomplishment.”

With Deegan stepping out of Pro Lite for 2015 to add a Pro 4 program, there was sure to be shakeup in the smaller trucks. But nobody was ready for this kind of a surprise.