I was in Daytona this past weekend for the final event in my 2022 motorsport calendar. It felt great to be in sunny Daytona Beach, Florida, for a fun weekend with two new clients who were running in the International GT racing series. The IGT field was healthy, as always, with over 50 entries in a variety of classes.
Both of the drivers were new to Daytona, which isn’t a surprise since they’re local to Watkins Glen in Upstate New York. They were excited to get out of the snow and come to Florida to learn a new track!
Right away, the high speeds of Daytona got their attention. Cars get to stretch their legs at that track, going over 170mph. There’s really nothing like getting to run on the high banks of a super speedway.
We focused on learning the most important aspects of the track, specifically the big braking zones as well as the corners that are critical for exit speed, such as turn six and the bus stop chicane.
It was a lot of fun working with these two drivers, and it presented me with some variety. They were driving different cars in different classes, and they each had their own specific goals they were focused on.
There was plenty of track time, including the practice day and three sprint races, plus a one-hour enduro on the final day. That was a lot of fun since I got to join as a co-driver in one of the cars! For me, it’s always nice to get some extra seat time at Daytona: it’s preparation for the first race of the season, which is just next month at that track!
In all, it was a really enjoyable weekend. We had a good time, things went smoothly, and those drivers got to check off a bucket-list track. I hope to see them both again next season as they visit other tracks on the IGT schedule. Working with them at Daytona was the perfect way to cap a fun and exciting 2022 racing season.