Brooks Battles South of the Border, Brings Home a Pair of Podiums!

Coming off one of the biggest wins in his young career only one month ago during his Pro 2 debut, along with a pair of Pro Lite podiums in Chandler, Jerett Brooks went to Ensenada, Mexico for the Lucas Oil Off Road “Battle South of the Border” at Estero Beach ready to keep the momentum rolling. Sitting in 2nd place in both the Pro Lite and Pro 2 classes, Jerett was set on picking up right where he left off when rounds 3 & 4 kicked off in front of a packed house full of race fans. With some ups and downs throughout the weekend, along with some fast laps accompanied by some tough luck, he’d come away from Estero Beach with a pair of podiums. Full recaps below…

Round 3
On Saturday, Jerett would start the Pro Lite race on the 3rd row after a 5th place qualifying run. As the green flag dropped, Jerett was able to make an immediate pass on two trucks in turns 1 & 2 and he’d come into the dreaded rhythm section in 3rd place. Jerett would lose a bit of momentum off the first jump, however, and momentarily lose control through the next pair of whoops ricocheting his truck off the track briefly. With a miraculous save by Jerett preventing the #77 Rigid Industries Pro Lite from going upside down, he regained control and found his way back onto the track, now mid-pack. A spin on the very next turn would send Jerett to the back of the pack. After some encouragement from his spotter, Jerett would regain his composure and begin to make his way back to the front passing 11 trucks on his way to a 3rd place finish. “After making a couple mistakes sending me to the back of the pack, I knew I’d have to drive perfect to get back into podium position. This Pro Lite class is so stacked so you really can’t afford to make mistakes like that. Luckily, we were able to pick ’em off one at a time and climb back up to 3rd place”, Jerett said after the race.

In Pro 2, Jerett would start in the 3rd row again, like in Pro Lite. An immediate restart due to a lap-one rollover by a competitor would result in Jerett losing a couple of positions right off the start. He’d battle back though and crack the top 5 by the time the mandatory caution flag waved. Upon the restart, now on the tail-end of the lead pack, Jerett would run in 5th position for the next couple laps. Then, during a tough battle with Bryce Menzies on lap 8 for the 5th position, Jerett hit a deep rut coming out of turn 5 and needed to pull off the track. Jerett would limp into the hot-pit where his crew diagnosed a broken track bar, bent shock shaft, broken sway bar arm, and a flat tire. His day was over. That rut certainly got the best of the #77 General Tire, Bilstein Shocks Pro 2 but he’d come back stronger on Sunday for Round 4.

Round 4
Round 4 would start much better after earning the top qualifier position in Pro Lite. Jerett would start on the outside of row 1 and as the green flag dropped, he’d find himself in 2nd place behind Ryan Beat with Brock Heger right behind in 3rd place. The three would battle each other throughout the duration of the race without changing positions. Late in the race, Jerett made a couple attempts to dive underneath Ryan but wasn’t able to make the pass stick without getting too aggressive and would finish round 4 in 2nd place making it 4 for 4 on podiums in the Pro Lite class this year, along with the Optima Batteries “Fast Lap” award!

In Pro 2, a 6-truck inversion would put Jerett on the outside of Row 1, right next to his childhood hero, Rob MacCachren. A quick pass on Rob Mac right off the start in the slight left-handed turn 1 allowed Jerett to come out of turn 2 into and into the the rhythm section in 1st place. The bright blue General Tire, Bilstein Shocks Pro 2 ran smooth in clean air for the entire first half of the race. With Bryce Menzies now in 2nd after getting by Brian Deegan, Jerett knew he’d see some pressure from Menzies as the race restarted on lap 7. With Menzies now leading on lap 8 with Jerett hot in pursuit, they screamed down the front straight away in from of the grandstands. Jerett set the truck up off the jump coming into turn 1 and suffered an unfortunate flat tire. After a quick tire change in the hot-pit, Jerett would re-enter the track to finish in 6th place on the lead lap, saving some much needed points in the Pro 2 championship.

After Rounds 3 & 4, Jerett sits in 2nd Place in the Pro Lite standings and 6th place in Pro 2.
Rounds 5 & 6 of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series kick off June 24-25th at Utah Motorsports Campus. For more information, visit www.lucasoiloffroad.com.

Jerett Brooks Sponsors include include General Tire, Rigid Industries, Bilstein Shocks, KMC Wheels, Maxima Racing Oils, Optima Batteries, FK Rod Ends, K2 Coolers, Black Rhino Performance, Magnaflow Exhaust, Factory Canopies, Fortin Racing, Casper’s Concrete Busters, Eibach Springs, Howe Performance, Kroyer Racing Engines, Jones Racing Performance, Camburg, NoGrady Racing Engines, Adidas Motorsport, and Impact Safety.

Follow Jerett on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @Jerettbrooks77. Photos by High Rev Photo.