"BLACK RHINO PERFORMANCE SPONSORED ATHLETE JERETT BROOKS FINISHES 2018 ON THE BOX"
By Brett Carpenter
El Cajon, CA, October 29, 2018 - It was this very track that, almost exactly a year and a half ago in Round 1 of the 2017 Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series Jerett Brooks shocked the racing world by winning the opening round of the season in his very first Pro 2 race. It was one of the most exciting Pro 2 finishes in recent memory. Fast forward two full seasons later and Jerett would look to rekindle that same spark that jump-started his rookie Pro 2 campaign. Only 9 points separated Jerett from finishing the season in 3rd place in the standings coming into this weekend, which would put him behind only Rob MacCachren and RJ Anderson.
Jerett would quickly cut that lead from nine to seven points after qualifying 2nd for Saturday’s final round of racing, earning himself a spot on the front row to start the main event. All he would have to do is finish four spots ahead of Rodrigo Ampudia and he’d lock up 3rd in the standings. All was looking good as Jerett would lead for the first half of the race. A hard-charging RJ Anderson was hot in pursuit and gave Jerett everything Jerett could handle. Eventually, RJ would get by and Jerett would maintain the 2nd position to finish the season with a 2nd place finish.
In the process, Jerett sat exactly four positions ahead of Ampudia as the checkered flag waved for Jerett. Unfortunately, a half a lap back, there was contact between Bradley Morris and Brian Deegan in the 3rd and 4th positions on that last lap which allowed Rodrigo Ampudia to make a pass into the top 4 and finish within two spots of Jerett. The 4th place finish for Ampudia would clinch 3rd place in the standings for himself giving Jerett the 4th place finish in the final Pro 2 championship.
In the Challenge Cup, now that the points were sorted and the only thing on the line was a check for $30,000 and a spot on the trophy for the next winner’s name to be engraved, all bets were off. Jerett started in the 3rd row and had his work cut out for him. At the tail end of the lead Pro 2 pack, Jerett was the first Pro 2 to really feel the pressure of the first Pro 4. At the point in which the first Pro 4 catches the lead Pro 2 pack, the strategy goes from attacking to protecting. Easier said than done. Jerett would drag race with 4-time defending Pro 4 Champ Kyle LeDuc along the straight away from turns 1 to 2 and eventually lost the position. Then Jerett would battle with the next Pro 4 in line, good buddy Doug Mittag, as his hopes of a Challenge Cup win were seemingly out of reach. Jerett realized he was losing his rear brakes. With no choice but to head to the hot pit, Jerett DNF’d in the 2018 Lucas Oil Challenge Cup.
The season was no loss, however, as Jerett would finish the year with six podiums out of 11 rounds of racing and finished 4th in the Pro 2 championship standings. Improvements to the truck were consistently made, progress on the track was consistently made, and his position in the standings improved by two spots from his rookie season until now. The 2019 season will be a big one for Jerett Brooks, as he’ll look to establish himself as a front-runner in the championship standings early and compete with the heavy hitters of the Pro 2 class all season long.
On behalf of Jerett Brooks and everyone at Jerett Brooks Racing, we would like to thank all of our sponsors for their support – Rigid Industries, Bilstein Shocks, Toyo Tires, KMC Wheels, Buggy Whip, FK Rod Ends, Oakley, Maxima Racing Oils, K2 Coolers, Factory Canopies, Optima Batteries, Fiberwerx, Black Rhino, Aeromotive, Casper Concrete Busters, Oakley, Fortin Racing, Kroyer Racing Engines, CBR, Howe Performance, Magnaflow Exhaust, and Synergy Electric.