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Derek DeBoer is a race car driver who currently drives for the Racers Group in a Porsche, Cayman GT4 Clubsport MR/Evo. He’s an Ashland, Oregon native who grew up in a family where racing and the love of cars was the center of everyday life. His grandfather raced on dirt car circuits and his father ran a Top Alcohol dragster. In college, Derek was a pro-level wakeboarder and is today part of a start-up company designing and manufacturing wakeskates. He started his racing career 18 years ago at Laguna Seca in a Formula Dodge. He’s raced in the Formula Renault Open Wheel Series and the ST class of Grand Am. Derek has won at Le Mans, had a top 10 finish at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, ran multiple times at the 25 hours at Thunderhill, and competed in many IMSA Continental Tire Series races. He found a home racing in Aston Martins and Lamborghinis for The Racer’s Group and competed in the Pirelli World Challenge racing in both the GTS and Sprint X categories. His 2016 season included two wins at Road America and Utah Motorsports Campus and seven podium finishes at Laguna Seca, Circuit of the Americas, and Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. You can also find Derek on his Amazon Prime TV show Fastlife.
SHOW SPONSORS
Covercraft • MetronGarage • Bonanza • Christopher Kimball Financial Services
INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE
What good are wings without the courage to fly? – Atticus
CAREER & LIFE CHALLENGES
Racing is a sport with a lot of ups and downs. The ups are so great that they more than make up for the downs. Something I speak about in front of crowds is about having the courage to dig into yourself to find your passion and to find the dreams you want to chase, and admitting what you want to do out loud. I had to do this early on and had the support of my wife and family to pursue a racing career. I thought I had a sponsor in the beginning but it turned out to be fraudulent. I was really embarrassed because I had told everyone what I was going to do, and the rug was yanked out from underneath me. It was a difficult time, for sure. I learned that there a lot of people out there who are not honest and you can’t blindly assume that everything will be great. Ask the hard questions and go into new things with your eyes wide open.
FIRST SPECIAL VEHICLE
My first special car was a car I shopped for with my father. It was a 1974 Chevy Blazer. It was awesome and I have tons of fond memories of it. The first special race car to me was a Formula Renault I was able to test.
BEST AUTOMOTIVE ADVICE
Don’t set any limits on yourself.
RECOMMENDED RESOURCE
Simon Hayes, who trains race car drivers with specific fitness plans, has been a tremendous resource for me. He is a great person to bounce new ideas off of.
RECOMMENDED BOOKS
The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance, by Stephen Kotler
PARTING WORDS OF ADVICE
Have the courage to be honest with yourself. Find the dream you haven’t admitted out loud and take the steps to follow your passion.
WHERE TO FIND DEREK
Your opinion matters and I will greatly appreciate your support.
If you enjoyed this show, please go to Apple Podcast and leave me a five-star review. That would help tremendously in getting the word out and help others to be inspired by Cars Yeah.