Asphalt Donkeys Take To The Dirt
Robert Stout Braves A Whole New Element
Story By: Staff of UTV Sports Magazine
Photos Provided by: Robert Stout
We consistently recount stories of personalities with long standing history in various off-road environments. But what about the johnny-come-lately characters? The ones who weren’t introduced to off-road until their careers in racing had already been established on asphalt? It’s an astonishingly difficult task to make the transition, more often than not those that attempt the challenge fall short of their previous successes. Every once in a while there are those that prevail. Robert Stout has not only done so, but he has also earned some notable accomplishments along the way.
Born in New Jersey, Stout spent the majority of his childhood at drag strips watching his Dad grow his career as a motorsports broadcaster. This career eventually transplanted the family out to Brownsburg, Indiana, just outside one of the largest powerhouse motorsports cities in the world, Indianapolis. At the time, Robert was just ten years old, and as one would expect, a move for a kid to a new town where he doesn’t know anybody could be hard. Having his older sister Shayleen around made the move much easier. She helped give him the confidence to jump right into the fun Indiana had to offer.
Stout would continue just spectating at the races until the ripe age of thirteen. His Dad set out and purchased Robert’s first race kart, which they began taking out to the Mark Dismore New Castle Motorsports Park to compete. Competing in local points series evolved to an establishment that hosts national touring events every year, which later turned to sports car racing. From there, Robert continued racing sports cars and winged sprint cars among other race series, at a professional level for seven more years.
Robert: “Growing up in Indy was fun. In my first race ever, I was competing against now, two-time Indy car champ Josef Newgarden, and former F1 racer Derek Daly’s son, Conor Daly. We all grew up together and battled on a national level in the ‘Stars of Karting.'”
Soon after, Robert would gain the opportunity to move toward short course off-road racing. Kickstarting the off-road part of Stout’s career was Tommy Thompson Motorsports. They were legendary in drag boat racing and wanted to take racing to the dirt. The team wanted to support Robert in the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series (LOORRS) with a good bang for the buck being the incentive, so it made sense for everyone to get things going. Short course powerhouse Weller Racing supplied a turn-key Yamaha YXZ 1000R race car built for the Production 1000 class, and the new team was on its way.
Robert: “With absolutely NO testing or practice before our first national event, we jumped in head first! This didn’t bother me too much after years of switching series, cars, and classes. It just seemed like another weekend at the track—this one maybe being particularly more difficult than the rest. I found myself qualifying and racing outside of the top ten, which I was not happy with. It showed to me that even with a lifetime of spectating this series and having experience in many other disciplines, I still had a lot to learn.”
It was after that first weekend Robert had received a phone call from an old friend, Paul Yaw. Paul and he had worked together a few years back at the Bondurant Performance Driving School where Stout was working as an instructor. Paul was inquiring about a very special opportunity. He wanted to come on as a suspension sponsor/tuner. With this new partnership, the program began evolving quickly from there. Naturally, with both Paul and Robert being natives to a sports car background, their communication with each other was spot on.
Robert: “The attention to detail given was that of what I am used to in the asphalt world, and because of this, we had remarkable confidence in believing that it was a matter of when not if we were going to go win one of these races.”
Stout and his team, the “Asphalt Donkeys,” had their eyes set on the right path. With the added help of rookies Chris Boodram and Asa Carney who joined veteran Steve Croy to wrench on the car, Robert went on to earn the 2018 Rookie of the Year, while taking 4th in the points championship… Fast forward just one year later, and Stout and his team have inked their place in the record books as the 2019 LOORRS Production 1000 class champions!
Robert: “Even after now winning the championship, we feel as though we have not reached our full potential in this class, and look forward to more consistent performances through the changing conditions. As a whole, the motorsports industry has consumed my life. I spent my childhood at drag races, monster trucks shows, and karting tracks. I would of course find the time growing up to do many snowboarding trips, play guitar, and so on, but this industry has moved me all around the country. Now, at twenty-eight years old, I’ve been at BMW’s Performance Center country club race track, the Thermal Club, as their primary instructor for five years. It’s here I will hopefully be able to keep my skills sharp, and build relationships that will continue to carry me through this industry I’ve been lucky enough to spend my entire life in.”
We are excited to see Stout continue his career in the dirt, and will be watching along. You can do the same by following him at @rstoutracing.
