Joey Granatelli won $1,800 in the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series event at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Complex last month. His dad estimates the team spent a couple hundred dollars on tires and gas, a few hundred more on hotels and food. The $1,800 went quickly, as is the case more often than not in motor sports.
Granatelli, a 16-year-old driver from Moorpark who competes in the Super Lite class of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series, never sees much of his prize money. His dad, Joe Granatelli, says his son receives a monthly allowance, about $30, for doing household chores. The money his son wins racing goes to a college fund, or so his son thinks.
Those familiar with the history of the Indianapolis 500 might recognize the Granatelli name. Joe Granatelli Sr. and his two brothers built a turbine-powered car that Parnelli Jones drove in the 1967 Indy 500. Jones came within a few laps of winning the race that year. The engine blew up near the end.
Joey Granatelli, the grandson of Joe Granatelli, is the only teenager racing in the Super Lite division of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series. He has been on the podium and posted top qualifying times throughout the short existence of the division and the off-road racing series.
Granatelli’s dad is no stranger to motor sports. He was an NHRA driver, taking a different route to auto racing than his father and uncles. He raced in the Pro Stock division and had a moderate amount of success. He also raced open-wheel cars for a time, in a way following his father and uncles’ lead.
His son’s off-road racing career is just starting, but Joey has been racing since he was 10. He started in go-karts and moved up to a division called trophy karts, essentially a go-kart that looks like a four-wheel drive truck.
Joey Granatelli has shown improvement every race. In the last race at Lake Elsinore in June, he posted fourth- and second-place finishes in the two races over the weekend. His second place was his first podium of the Lucas Oil Off Road Racing Series.
The races in Lake Elsinore turned out to be his best yet in the off road racing series. The races in Arizona in May might have been his scariest. He was involved in an end-over-end crash that knocked two tires off his truck. His car was so severely damaged, his team could not make repairs on it in time for the race the following day.
“Racing’s everything,” Joey Granatelli said. “I do it as much as I can every weekend. Racing’s my main sport. It’s the best sport out there.”
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