In short-course racing, nothing is guaranteed. There can be more carnage in a short-course race than some desert races. The fast paced, door-to-door, high action sport is not for everyone. We had the chance to talk to Darren Hardesty Jr. and discussed his weekend in Lake Elsinore.

Darren has come up through the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series starting with the Kart classes and then making his way debuting in Pro Buggy last year, but just enjoys racing. “I like the dynamics of all the turns,” Darren said. “How they are all different, the jump sizes, and the rhythm that goes with it. It is more competitive and technical than most people think.”

On the other side of the spectrum, racing does have its dark side. “The course gets really rutted up,” Darren said. “It is easy to make mistakes and not be able to drive how you want to. The last year I have been learning how to drive through the ruts and not get stuck in them.”

For those who have do not know Darren, or have seen his crew walking around an event they all have the nickname Hot Sauce on the shirt or in Darren’s case on his car. A name like this in racing is something unique and we had to find out why. “On my very first race, we were heading out to we stopped at a Del Taco,” Darren explained. “I stuffed my pockets full of hot sauce and I was drinking them all weekend. People started calling me ‘Hot Sauce’ so it just stuck from there.”

Darren had a rough weekend, on Friday night’s race, he came off the back table top to find a stopped vehicle in his way. The crash sent him into a nasty roll and damaged his vehicle to the point he needed a tow truck to be removed from the course.

“Friday night the team busted butt to get the car back together,” Darren said. “The crash broke the outside pivot point, ripped the CV out of the transmission, broke and bent a shock shaft, and the trailing arm was not usable. Doug from Bilstein helped get my shocks back together and Matt Major from Alumicraft headed back to Santee, California to make some parts for the car. My whole team stayed up all night working to make sure we could race the next day.”

With the season wrapping up later this month in Chandler, Arizona it is time to look towards the future. Darren has big plans for the rest of his off-road career. “Next year we plan on building a new Pro Buggy, something that will push the sport,” Darren explained. “After that, I am hoping to get into Pro Lite or Pro 2 and possibly dabble in desert racing as well. My dad and grandpa were both desert racers so I am trying to follow in their footsteps and become one of the few third-generation racers to win the Baja 1000.”

Darren has a bright future ahead of him and is still in the points chase for the Pro Buggy championship. If you are at Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park for the season finale make sure you stop by and check out Darren and his team.

Despite Friday night’s outcome, the team worked to fix the buggy and Darren Hardesty Jr. was able to get a top the podium the next night.