Oakley Drives Borrowed Can-Am to 4th in GNCC Opener
Derron Oakley's Big Buck GNCC UXC1 UTV Race Report

Middletown, OH (02/28/2018) - Can-Am/XPS Lubricants/CT Raceworx driver Derron Oakley finished fourth in the GNCC UTV XC1 Pro race at Big Buck in Union, SC. Oakley, who won the XC2 title last season, stepped up to XC1 this season and was racing a Can-Am X3 borrowed from Reese Nutter.

Oakley’s season nearly ended before it started when the company he hired to build his cars missed the deadline and he didn’t have a ride. Nutter lent Oakley his Can-Am X3, which happens to be the same car Kyle Chaney won the TORC Pro Modified title in last year.

“I didn’t want to miss out on the race,” said Oakley. “We got the car on Monday, got it ready, and that was the first time I’d been in an X3. We couldn’t have been happier with our results considering we were in a car that wasn’t setup for us. To get fourth was an accomplishment.”

Oakley was thoroughly impressed with the turbocharged X3, which was made legal in GNCC competition this year. Despite not being able to setup the car to suit his driving style, the car was competitive right out of the box.

“Can-Am builds such an awesome machine,” said Oakley. “After driving that thing for the first time I was just amazed at how well they build these cars. Jeff and Simon at Can-Am are awesome guys to work with.”

Though he had a slow start, Oakley hung tough. After making up several positions early in the race, he was bottlenecked behind two broken down XC2 cars. After losing 10 positions, he quickly made up time and finished fourth.

“I about rolled it on the first turn, but I saved it and buckled down,” said Oakley. “The track was fast and we got into lappers on the third lap. Two cars broke right in front of us, so we jumped off and couldn’t find a good place to get back on. Ten cars passed us, so that put us behind the eight ball. So we charged hard and made up some ground.”

Oakley hopes to have a new car ready for the next round of GNCC competition in mid-March. He is currently in the process of getting an X3 built.

“I’m planning to build a new car for the next race in Florida and I’m putting my own plan together now,” said Oakley. “Reese offered to let us use the car if we need to. I am shooting to build my own car to set it up for my driving style, but that is our backup plan.”

Oakley will return to competition when the series heads to Palatka, FL for the Wild Boar GNCC March 10-11.

Derron Oakley 2018 Sponsors:
Can-Am Offroad, Maxxis, DWT Racing, DP Brakes, Factory UTV, SSi Decals, GFORCE Suspension