It’s always so rewarding to see longtime clients and friends take the next step in their driving careers. I’ve been fortunate to know one group of drivers for many years since they’re local to Virginia International Raceway. In the time I have known and worked with them, they have successfully gone from campaigning a grassroots Chump Car entry to having a finer-tuned endurance racing program.
The team is comprised of several drivers who are all co-workers. For them, the racing is a team-building opportunity, giving them a fun escape on the weekends while also improving camaraderie and a feeling of teamwork.
Over the years, they have invited me to help them in various aspects, like honing their skills at their home track of VIR or bringing me across the country to help them learn Sonoma Raceway, a track that was part of their Chump Car championship series.
Now, they have taken yet another step in their driving careers. Last weekend, I headed across the country to Sonoma Raceway again. I have a fond memory of working with this team for their Chump Car race there a few years ago, where they both won the race and the championship! Back then, who knew that I’d be returning to Sonoma to help them make their pro racing debut?
I was excited to coach this group of drivers during the opening SRO World Challenge weekend at Sonoma. There was a huge turnout of cars across all the classes competing at that event, and despite cold, rainy weather at the start of the week, we had breezy, sunny conditions for race day.
Sonoma is a unique and challenging circuit, for the drivers as well as for car handling since it has a low-grip surface and lots of blind elevation changes. So, for me, this was a fun challenge to coach the drivers while also helping them dial in the setup on cars that are brand new to them.
Setting goals coming into the event was a bit of an unknown, since this was the team’s first pro racing endeavor. It was hard to guess where they would stack up amongst the competition. First and foremost, our goal was to complete all the laps of all the races to gain the most experience and valuable championship points possible.
Once qualifying and racing came around, it was exciting to see just how competitive the drivers were. Austin Dodge came away with a 5th-place finish in his pro racing debut, and Farran Davis secured the Hard Charger Award after advancing 11 places in the race.
Overall, it was an incredible start to their racing season, and the team exceeded their goals to make their pro racing debut that much more special. Next up for them is Circuit of the Americas, which will present its own unique challenges, especially since none of the drivers have been there before. I’ve given them some advance homework to get them prepared!