Brock Heger, an off-road racer from El Centro, recently completed his sport's Triple Crown as part of a run of seven consecutive victories.
Heger is currently winning nearly every race he enters as the top Polaris UTV off-road driver in the world. His recent victories include the Baja 1000 in Mexico, King of the Hammers near Big Bear, and the Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia.
"Everyone on the team here, they work their butts off. Polaris Razor puts in a lot of effort to myself and everyone on here. For me, the easiest way I can repay them is going and winning," Heger said.
The Dakar race in the Middle East serves as the ultimate worldwide test. Drivers navigate the two-week course without GPS, relying only on a navigator and a rough outline provided minutes before the start.
"It's 13 days. I think we do over 5,000 miles. Yeah, it's insane," Heger said.
"You know, just to finish it is huge. I've been fortunate the past two years to win it and hopefully excited to go back and go for a 3-peat," Heger said.
Growing up in the Imperial Valley, Heger initially wanted to race motorbikes, but his parents had other plans.
"My parents kind of shut that down. Put me in a cage. Put me in four wheels, and told me I'd probably thank them when I'm older," Heger told ABC 10News at the Polaris RZR garage in Vista. Of course, four-wheel driving isn't always safe, either.
"You're not really sure what's on the other side of the dust. Most of the time, you're driving blind," Heger said.
When he is not navigating the unpredictable conditions of off-road racing, Heger spends much of his time working on his family's farm in El Centro.
"I go really fast when I'm out racing and doing all of these things, and outside of racing, I get in a tractor and go really slow," Heger said.
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