Aaron Beckstead was born in Sacramento California in 1977. He currently lives in Clearlake, Ca with his wife, 5 year old son and 3 year old daughter. Aaron grew up enjoying the outdoors with his father doing activities such as camping, fishing, hiking, shooting, wood cutting and was hooked on dirt bike riding at an early age. Aaron's love for motorized recreation has only grown bigger throughout the years. At 18 he bought his first 4wd, a shiny red Ford Ranger. It didn't take long for Aaron to find rock crawling or the "disease with no known cure" as he often refers to it.

It all started pretty innocent with just swapping a straight axle under the little Ford Ranger. Then the disease with no known cure really set in. Over the course of many years Aaron has rebuilt and modified what was left of the original Ranger truck to suit his current demands. Aaron has gained invaluable experience from all the modifications he has performed on what's left of that little Ford Ranger. He has helped many of his four wheeling friends build up their rigs. Wherever Aaron is he can always be found answering questions about his rig and talking 'tech'.

His experience from lessons learned the 'hard way' after 10 years of recreational four wheeling really showed when he decided to take up Rock Racing in 2009. Modifying the Ranger yet again in early 2009 and just to be more prepared, he entered his first tuff trucks event in May. Again, learning valuable lessons about rig setup and pleasing the crowd at the same time.

He competed in all three rounds of the Nor Cal Rock Racing events during the summer of 2009. Aaron put his four seater family fun buggy to the test against more modern buggies that weighed less, were better built and had more power. After almost 10 years, he was still running the 4.0 v6, 5 speed manual transmission and doubled ranger cases from the little red Ford Ranger. A spectator at the Rock Races said “smart driving and skills in the rocks made Aaron a true competitor”. Each time on the track Aaron was the underdog in the race. With his never give up attitude, he pushed the outclassed buggy as hard as it would go and put on quite a show for the large crowds at the races.

Keeping our public lands open to the public is important to Aaron. He is a member of the Dysfunctional Rockcrawlers, who participate in work projects on the Rubicon Trail and created Cantina for the 'Con. A fundraiser that to date has raised almost a hundred thousand dollars for the Rubicon Trail Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit solely benefiting the Rubicon Trail. Aaron served a two year term on the board of directors for the Rubicon Trail Foundation. Is a member of California 4 Wheel Drive Clubs, Blue Ribbon Coalition, Friends of the Rubicon and is a graduate of the 2008 Volunteer Leadership and Land Stewardship class.

Plan to see Aaron Beckstead racing more in 2010. With plans to race the Nor Cal Rock Races again, VORRA, Tuff Trucks and hopefully gain entry into the King of the Hammers race by racing the Last Chance Qualifier.