The 2015 season of the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires kicked off this past weekend, and it was certainly exciting. There were plenty of ups and downs including a big disappointment at the end of the last race, but the entire experience was a great way to start the season.
During Friday’s practice, we had wet and rainy conditions. It was still great to get out on the track and put in some laps. The skies really poured down during our second practice session, but we pushed hard and made some progress.
Saturday was qualifying and Race 1, and I felt ready to go. We had a spin in qualifying, but we were able to regroup, and still put in a few good laps before time ran out. In the race, I didn’t feel quite as comfortable with the car as I had felt in practice and qualifying, but I continued to push, and I easily won the Expert Class race and finished 13th overall.
Sunday brought on Race 2, and I really felt ready. My coach pointed out some deficiencies in my pace lap routine, so I worked on that during the pace lap of Race 2. By the time the green flag flew, I was ready to go. The changes we made to the car were good, and my lap times continued to fall. With three laps to go, I was sitting in 9th place overall and on my way to my second Expert Class win in two races. However, coming out of Turn 1, my drive shaft broke, and my car lost all power. It coasted through Turns 2 and 3 before coming to a stop. My race was over, and I finished 12th overall.
All the hard work in the offseason really paid off. I started out faster and finished stronger than ever before. We also found plenty of things that I still need to work on in order to get faster and start better. Those will be our focal points as we move forward to the next race of the season.
The previous weekend, I was up at Texas A&M for the rollout of the Formula SAE team’s 2015 competition vehicle. There was a great turnout of family, students, former students, and supports. Plus, it’s hard to beat any event that includes Double Dave’s pepperoni rolls!
The Aggie students have worked so hard on this car, and I’m sure the hard work will pay off. I’ll be spending many days up there in the upcoming months to continue coaching the drivers. We have a fast group of guys, and I know they will be ready for the national competition this summer.