Brad battling through turn one for position.
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In racing the best way to become a better driver is to spend as much time as possible in the car, driving, but even though you are driving you may still not have the racing mentality. The only way to fully get into the racing mentality is to actually be in a race. Brad Deberti is a strong believer that practice makes you stronger.
The podium of Brad's first race and his first win.
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Brad started racing Pro Lites in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series in 2015. In his first two races in the national series he won, sweeping the weekend. This is the first time someone has won the first two rounds in their rookie season in Lucas Oil Off Road Series. Brad had the lead in points for half of the season until he had a bad crash at Estero Beach, Mexico, where he was hospitalized. Brad missed a few rounds of racing in which he lost the lead in points, but he still won Rookie of the Year in Pro Lite. One of the reasons Brad has had this success is through hard work and practice. Brad and his father Doug would go to the track as often as they could, trying to get in the truck at least three times a month and getting the most seat time that they could.
Brad leading in Round 4 of Lucas Oil Regionals.
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This year you will find Brad at the Lucas Oil Regionals Series using the prepped track for great practice and a good amount of seat time. Brad races his Support the Troops, Deegan 38, and K&N Filters Pro Lite, along with driving in the Pro Production UTV class in his Cognito Motorsports Polaris RZR 1000. The Pro UTV class has been mainly RZR 1000 until this year, when the Yamaha YXZ was introduced with more than 30 additional horsepower and a sequential five speed transmission to give it a huge advantage over the RZR. With this type of an advantage Brad doesn't get the choice to drive smarter or harder, he has to do them both. In Round 4 of the regional series, Brad had great success in his RZR and he was able to work his way up to the top five and finished in fourth place. This is the first time this season that a RZR has finished in the top 5 against the Yamahas. With this being his first top 5 finish, you can find Brad in third place in the points race.
Passing the Yamaha YXZ in the turn with his Polaris RZR.
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Brad uses the regionals for practice in the Pro Lite to try new set ups on the truck. Brad qualified second, but Doug and Brad decided the best way to push Brad is to start in the back for the start of the race. This would make Brad think how to work his way through traffic and get towards the front. Doug said "Pushing Brad to do better is easy, because Brad is so motivated to be better. Not only as a driver, but also mentally and physically. He puts 110% of his life into it, from what he eats to how he trains. It makes it fun to be a part of that, it is more of helping Brad strive for his goals." With the start of the race Brad did exactly what they wanted to, working his way through the field avoiding contact with the other drivers and anticipating what they may do. Brad was able to work through all the traffic and make it to the front, where he held on for the win. Brad is also leading the Pro Lite points battle.
Normally Brad would be done with his race weekend, but Jason Weller came over after qualifying to ask if Brad would fill in for a driver in the SR1 class. Jason is the main person behind the SR1 class pushing it forward. Jason asked Brad to fill in for the points leader, who got injured during a crash in qualifying. The SR1 crew looked at Jason with questionable looks on their face, thinking he has never driven one of these before. Brad said, "When someone asks me to drive it is a compliment because it shows they have trust in my driving. My first two thoughts that popped up in my head was, do I fit? Second, is the car prepped well? If I fit and its prepped well it is always a go if I'm comfortable." Brad hopped into the SR1 with only enough time to do a quick pass in the parking lot to get used to it. Brad would have to start at the back of the 20 SR1's in the field. Getting used to the shifter and the handling of the car took a few laps to get used to. Once he got comfortable with it, he started working his way through traffic. Brad was able to get all the way up to third by the end of the race. This showed the SR1 team that Jason had chosen the correct man to fill in for their driver. Brad battled through the traffic for a first, third, and a fourth, giving Brad great practice and a lot of great seat time.
This helped Brad head into Utah for rounds 5 and 6 of the national series in his Pro Lite. With the high altitude of the track, Brad said, "K&N air filters help me win races because it's all about the air. It allows my motor to pull in the air it needs to get optimum horsepower." Brad was able to battle for the lead for several laps and then battled for the third spot. While battling for third the two drivers put on an amazing show with the two trucks going around the track side by side, going through the turns and flying through the air to finish on the podium in third place. Brad is a good example of hard work, practice, and plenty of seat time is the best way to become a great racer.
Jumping down the front stretch in his Pro Production RZR. |
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Battling side-by-side with Brocker Heger putting on a show in Utah. |
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Brad in the SR1 filling in for an injured driver at the regionals. |
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