Suppose you take a kid raised on a ranch in Elko County and give him a lawn mower, specifically his mom’s. He would take the mower apart piece by piece setting each piece out as it was disassembled and carefully screwing the hardware into the ground in their order. After carefully removing each screw, bolt, nut, and wire, he would reassemble the lawnmower, making it run just as well, if not better than before. He wanted to know what it took to make the lawnmower work. This indicates that this kid will grow up to be a motorhead. His other love was circle track racing of any kind, motorcycles, go-karts, and race cars of any kind.
That is the case with Jeremy Porter. He and his wife, Heather, own Driven Off-Road. After graduating high school, he joined the Navy. After retirement, he decided that working for someone else was not how he wanted to spend his time.
With the help of his wife, they opened a garage in Fernley, focusing on vehicle customization on UTV/SXS, offroad vehicles, service, repair, race preparation, welding, and fabrication. Which is all centered around racing, but their focus is on off-road racing. Jeremy and Heather team-drive with vehicle owners from California and Florida in the Pro UTV Class Championships. The Florida vehicle is maintained and housed in Arizona. When it is time for a race, the owner travels from Florida to the race location. Jeremy and Heather travel from Fernley; once on location, she will be the race navigator, and he will be team support for whatever is needed, as a relief driver or tech.
Heather also navigates for Driven Off-Road racing vehicle driver Tim Fitzpatrick, owner Chad Thornton, and the California team. She is responsible for knowing the course and being able to navigate her teams throughout a race that can be upwards of 585 miles, such as the race that starts in Las Vegas and culminates in Reno. Each vehicle must be technically inspected to ensure all the racing requirements are met. For the Las Vegas to Reno race, this inspection is done on Fremont Street in Las Vegas.
During the desert race in March, the Driven Off-Road team had traveled about 250 miles into the race, and the UTV lost its brakes. Jeremy said, “When Tim knew there was a turn or dip in the course, he would run into a brush to slow their vehicle down.” After racing 10 hours, one minute, and 42 seconds, team Driven Off-Road ended the race in Reno in ninth place, with no braking system, and after starting in thirtieth place.
Team Driven Off-Road, in the Pro UTV Class, has won two championships, with a third upcoming, if they can complete the race, for the 2024 season championship. The vehicle can reach up to 120 mph and over in these races. Jeremy says the Utah races are very technical and his team’s favorite because the team shines on the technical side. These races are often 700 to 800 miles long, with a staged start; four vehicles start every 30 seconds to keep the starting area from being accident-prone.
Jeremy, Heather, and the Driven Off-Road team greatly respect their sport and fellow competitors. After a Nevada race a cattle-guard was damaged and found after the completion of the race. Out of respect for the sport, Jeremy repaired the damage to the cattle-guard for future races.
Both Jeremy and Heather were quick to give their support team the most credit. The support vehicles are staged between 80 and 100 miles apart for fueling, tire repair, or maintenance. Many thanks were also given to Laura Butcher, who does all the permitting for the Nevada races that take place each year. Without these permits, these races could never take place.
Driven Off-Road can be reached at [email protected] or by calling 775-217-3839.
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