Two weekends ago, I was at Watkins Glen for rounds three and four of the MX-5 Cup Series. I stayed there an extra couple of days for a Chin Motorsports event, where I worked with a driver trying to learn the track in a Spec Miata. Ironically, we had a beautiful couple of days after the snow we got on Sunday!
The day after Watkins Glen, I headed back to the Southeast for a driving event at Road Atlanta. I was doing the data coaching for participating drivers, including my dad! It was fun getting to work with him, and he had a great time.
Lining up for the Grassroots Motorsports Magazine cover photo shoot.
After that was the Grassroots Motorsports Ultimate Track Car Challenge at Virginia International Raceway. It’s always a hugely popular event for drivers all over the Southeast. I was there helping out Dan Connor, a friend of mine from Raleigh who owns Bimmer Performance Center. We had a great day and Dan’s car won the Editor’s Choice Award for his BMW E30 3 Series, which has a 5-liter V-8 M5 engine, E36 M3 suspension, and E46 brakes. Overall, a very unique and finely-engineered Bavarian hotrod.
From VIR I was off to Road America to coach Ashton Harrison in practicing for the MX-5 Cup races at the June Sprints. We had one of the most successful test events to date, and it was reflected in both her pace and focus.
Traveling to all of those tracks and working with so many different people in such a short time can have its challenges. Each job presents its own nuances that require different levels of detail and different priorities depending on what the client is trying to accomplish. Setting up a car for an ultimate lap time at VIR is very different than working with someone learning a new track or reviewing data with driving event participants.
Luckily, since I have experience at all of these tracks, it’s easy to flip a mental switch when going from track to track so quickly. The hardest part is that first morning at each track, planning what’s going to best help the client or drivers I’m working with.
Each discipline is something that I really enjoy, and I feel fortunate that I have the ability to add value to each driver’s experience. It’s fun for me, and it’s fulfilling to see the sense of accomplishment that the drivers feel as they make progress.