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Created on Wednesday, 13 March 2013 10:16

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Fort Mill, SC – March 13, 2013.  In just his first year of Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series (LOORRS) action, Team GT member, Ryan Beat, had what some might consider a breakout year.  Posting seven podiums and his first career ProLite win in Reno, Nevada, Beat is certainly one to watch in 2013.  Beat’s youthful vibrance is infectious off-track and once he’s buckled in, he navigates the whoops, jumps and banking of a short course track with the finesse and skill usually found in a veteran driver.  Once again rolling on red letter Grabber’s under the Hart Huntington umbrella, Beat has high hopes for this season and talked to us about his expectations for the 2013 LOORRS season.  Check it out:

Q: How have you been preparing for 2013 in the off-season? A: Right at the start of the off-season, right after the last Challenge Cup race, I basically cut my truck into a million pieces.  I cut it apart and took all the stuff I had learned from last year, information of setups, chassis design, all that stuff, and put it into one compiled list of notes and just went to town on my truck.  Making changes, making it better.  In hopes to go out and win a championship this year.

Q: You built a lot of momentum in 2012.  What are your goals in 2013 to help build on that? A: Last year went really good for us.  Seven podiums and one win in my first season is really strong but I feel like we can be stronger.  I feel like we should be on the podium every race.  That’s kind of my goal, to be on the podium every race this year.  Basically last year there were times we had really good speed and there were times we had okay speed but I was able to race to the front.  This year I want to have the really good speed all the time so no matter where I am, where I start, or what happens, I know I can still race back to the front and still win and be on the podium every race.

Q: What are some of the challenges Firebird presents? A: That track presents quite a few challenges.  It’s got split lanes and the racing is really tight, so one of the biggest challenges is staying out of the carnage.  Not tearing up your equipment and preserving it for the end of the race and being able to race to the front of the pack and be on that podium.

Q: How important are tires in short course racing? A: Tires are, I’d say, at least 50 percent of the game in short course racing.  If you have the right compound and right groove, like we do with our General tires, that leads to forward bite and forward bite means you are going forward and if you’re going forward…you’re winning.  So they are very important.  The predictability of the tire, being able to tell what your tire is going to do lap in and lap out, tire fade, you don’t want the tire fading away half-way through the race and not be any good.  With the General’s I’ve found that perfect match.

Q: How helpful has it been to you to be a part of a big team and have access to such experienced drivers? A: It has been helpful.  They definitely share the input when we’re scratching our heads thinking about what to do next.  It’s cool because we can take all the information and thoughts and ideas of everybody we have underneath that tent and compile it into one.  Take all the data and asses it and come up with the best resolution or scenario so we can go out and win races.

Q: What’s the best part about racing in the LOORRS series? A: The best part of racing in LOORRS is the TV package.  We have a killer TV package that at pretty much any given time during the week you can turn the TV on and find one of us racing on television.  You can send sponsors, family and friends to watch us which is pretty cool.

Q: Did I read in the off-season that you were in a Midget or a Sprint Car? A: Yeah I’ve recently been doing quite a bit of Midget and Sprint Car testing.  I’m hoping to do some Midget racing this year.  One of my goals is to run Turkey Night at Parris Speedway and possibly the Chili Bowl in 2014.

Q: Give us a fun fact about Ryan Beat. A: Most of the time people only see me at the races and I’m really serious.  I’m really kind of a smartass and like to joke around a little bit.  I’m kind of a prankster.  I do have that side of me that’s fun and I like to laugh but at the races I’m usually pretty serious.

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