Brock Heger has spent most of his life driving tractors on his family's farm in California. Now, he's one of the world's top off-road racers, exploding onto the off-road racing scene.
Heger, 25, recently won the Dakar Rally, a grueling, nearly 5,000 mile race through the Saudi Arabian desert. He won in just over 59 hours, crediting his endurance to growing up on his family's farm in Southern California's Imperial Valley.
While a tractor's top speed caps around 20 mph, Heger's Polaris RZR vehicle rips through the desert at 118 mph.
"Having the ability to drive a tractor for 20 hours, being able to work long hours, was good preparation," Heger told CBS News transportation correspondent Kris Van Cleave.
How Heger became an off-road racing champion
Heger started racing at 6 years old. He won his first championship by 12. He exploded onto the off-road racing scene and has won six consecutive major events.
"I love pressure," he said. "I love trying to do things that, you know, people might think is hard or crazy to do. I've been able to have a really good run in off road racing. And with that comes, you know, nice red target on my back."
In January, he was a last-minute entrant to what could arguably be called the World Cup of off-road racing at the Dakar Rally.
He crossed the finish line on his 25th birthday.
"It was definitely surreal," he said.
Joe Heger, Brock's father, is his son's biggest fan.
"When he was younger, he used to tear a lot of stuff up. I used to tell him, slower, sometimes faster. It makes you more humble, and it makes you take care of your equipment. Teaches you how to respect, wake up everyday, go to work and and enjoy what you do," Jon Heger said.
Copyright 082025 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved.
布罗克·海格(Brock Heger)大部分时间都在加利福尼亚州家中的农场驾驶拖拉机。如今,他已经成为世界上顶尖的越野赛车手之一,在越野赛车界崭露头角。
25岁的海格(Heger)最近赢得了达喀尔拉力赛,这是一场在沙特阿拉伯沙漠中进行的、极其艰难的、近5000英里(约8046公里)的比赛。他用了59小时多一点的时间完成了比赛,并表示他的耐力归功于在加利福尼亚州帝王谷(Imperial Valley)的家族农场上长大。
虽然拖拉机的最高时速大约是20英里/小时,但赫格的Polaris RZR车辆在沙漠中疾驰的时速达到了118英里/小时。
海格(Heger)告诉CBS新闻交通记者克里斯·范克莱夫(Kris Van Cleave),“能够驾驶拖拉机连续工作20小时,能够长时间工作,是很好的准备。”
赫格如何成为越野赛车冠军
海格(Heger)6岁开始参加赛车比赛,12岁时首次夺得冠军。他在越野赛车界崭露头角,并连续六次赢得重大赛事。
他说:'我喜欢压力,我喜欢尝试做一些人们可能认为很难或很疯狂的事情。我在越野赛中一直表现不错,但这也让我成为了一个‘红色靶心’。
在1月,他作为最后一刻的参赛者,参加了在达喀尔拉力赛上可被称作越野赛车世界杯的赛事。
在他25岁生日时,他冲过了终点线。
他说:“这绝对是一种超现实的感觉。”
乔·黑格(Joe Heger)是布罗克(Brock)的父亲,也是他儿子最大的粉丝。
当乔恩·赫格年轻时,他常常会因为比赛而情绪波动,我常常告诉他,要慢下来,有时也要快一点。这能让你更加谦逊,让你更懂得照顾你的设备。这教你如何尊重,如何每天醒来、去工作并享受你所做的事情。
版权所有 © 2025 CBS Interactive Inc. 保留所有权利。