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It takes a special breed to get into racing. Derek West, a prominent racer in the W.E. Rock and Ultra4 series, has been in the game for years now, and shared some insights with us as he prepared to cap off his racing efforts in 2017.
After his father helped him get a Jeep at 15, Derek got bit by the bug. “I had several Jeeps throughout high school,” he said. “I did a lot of camping and trail stuff back then.”
Derek got his start in off-road racing with W.E. Rock and XRRA competitions. He moved on to Ultra4 races in 2007, and was at the 2009 King of the Hammers.
In 2002, Derek made the jump to competitive off-roading. Being based out of Springfield, Missouri, this led him to XRRA and W.E. Rock. “In 2007, I linked up with Jimmy’s 4×4 out of Cortez, Colorado, and we built my first buggy,” explained Derek. “With W.E. Rock, I won most of their national championships, and about five of their series championships. I won the XRRA championship, too.”
Derek stands next to his buggy at an event circa October 2015.
It was around this time that the King of the Hammers was getting started, and Derek wanted in on it. He raced his first KOH in 2009. “I was actually prepared for it, since I learned technical rockcrawling from W.E. Rock, and ‘go-fast’ racing from XRRA,” explained Derek. “The only things I was not prepared for were the logistics and nor the 10-plus hours of racing.” Nevertheless, by his second KOH, Derek managed to take third place in his class.
Derek's buggy uses an E85-fueled LS3 built by Sho-Me Speed in Ozark, Missouri. It uses an Edelbrock supercharger and throttle body, and is connected to a Turbo 400 transmission and Trail Worthy Fab three-speed transfer case. The axles are custom-made Spidertrax 9-inch axles.
Now with so much experience under his belt, Derek feels at ease no matter where he races. Part of that is thanks to sponsors like Edelbrock. Through friends of friends, Derek managed to reach the company and secure a sponsorship. He currently runs the E-Force supercharger on his race vehicle’s LS3, as well as an Edelbrock throttle body. With bigger injectors and other upgrades, it reportedly makes over 400 horsepower to the wheels.
Derek and his team have just one more race to attend this year before signing off on 2017 – the 4 Wheel Parts Nitto National Championship in Reno, Nevada. It’s taking place this weekend at the Wild West Motorsports Park, so if you’re in the area, make your way down and cheer on the blue, red, and black crawler. Also, if you’re interested in seeing what all Edelbrock can offer your rig, head over to its website and Facebook page.
Interestingly, Derek chooses to use E85 on his buggy. "It has a high alcohol content, so I find they're able to make more horsepower and keep the engine cooler," he said. "The downside is that we use more fuel. However, I have a 44-gallon fuel cell, so it's really not a big deal."
