April and Paul Duke -  D4 Racing

Columbia, Louisiana

April and her husband, Paul, co-drive a Polaris RS1 in UTV cross-country and short courses mostly as part of the Louisiana Cross Country (LACC) series. The tracks are typically half motocross and half woods.

April has been racing for five years. She first got into racing as a copilot for her husband, Paul. After seeing how much fun Paul was having as pilot she realized that it was her kind of fun too! Her first car was a Polaris 800, but it wasn’t built for the demands of the kind of racing April does. She is very satisfied with the RS1. She likes how you sit center and how the length and width are just right. The first thing they did was change the cage out to an aftermarket one that can withstand if/when rollovers happen and of course they added harnesses and fire extinguishers.

April finds that woods racing, as compared to short-course racing, takes a lot of self discipline. You can’t just get in your car and go. You have to actually learn to drive them slow before you can go fast and by that I mean you have to learn how to navigate your car through trees , stumps, creek crossing,etc. without breaking or you won’t be able to finish your race . You have to always be watching for places that you can safely make a pass on your opponent , or watching for a set of trees that you can barely fit through, cars that are broke down in the track ,etc. There are a lot of different obstacles that come with woods racing versus short course style racing.

April loves the adrenaline rush and liberating feeling that come with racing. She also has a deep appreciation for just how much skill and training goes into racing. Her greatest challenge is seeing over the hood of her car because she is only 5'2". Outside of racing, April is a mother, wife and barber. She loves just about anything to do with the outdoors, including hunting, fishing, water sports, gardening and much more!