Skip Barber Summer Series - Laguna Seca Rounds 9&10

Rounds 9&10 was a very exciting weekend with many ups and downs. But the ups were amazing! Going into the Laguna Seca weekend of Skip Barber summer series I would be competing in 4 practice sessions, 4 qualifying sessions, and 4 races. In my first session I was just getting up to speed when another driver that had done the lapping session the day before and has been to this track a lot in his career came up on me. I let him by thinking this was a good opportunity to run behind him and find some speed, and that’s just what happened. I was able to run 5 or 6 laps behind him and after the session I was able to shave a second and a half off my time. I was very pleased to have that amount of speed after my first session and having never driven this track. I thought to myself this is a perfect weekend to grab a good bit of point’s sense I was doubling up.

In the first qualifying session of the weekend, I was able to grab my very first pole position. I was so thrilled with that result, but I knew I had to stay focused because I still had 1 more qualifying session and 4 races. I was very nervous going into my first race where I would be leading the pack on to the front straight to the Starter. I was asking everyone I could for some info on what the rules are for when I could accelerate and to make sure I didn’t get jumped on the start.

In race one I was leading for about 4 laps and I just couldn’t get into rhythm and ended up losing the lead and dropping back to p2 to which I ran there for the rest of the race. In race two I was starting second having just missed pole by .005 of a second. (so close!). Going into that race I knew I couldn’t afford to take so long to get into rhythm or the leader would pull away. I was able to focus and settle in to an rhythm and stick right with the leader. I was on his tale for almost the whole race pressuring him and looking for the right opportunity to make a move. As the race was reaching the end I knew I had to make a move. I was flashing everywhere, looked inside than outside making him look in his mirrors, pressuring him looking for him to make a mistake. After about 3 laps of pressuring him I caught him out and he spun around. As I drove on by I had over a 18 second lead. I remember just thinking to myself, “keep this think on the road and bring her home.” And that’s just what I did I was able to bring home my first career win. I was absolutely thrilled as I pumped my hands in the air just thinking to myself “I did it.” In Skip Barber history when you get your first win you come in to the pits and they dump the ice bucket or cooler on you and that’s just what happened. Even though it was freezing cold it felt amazing. Thank you again for all my competitors for coming up and congratulating me. Truly a moment I will never forget.

I wasn’t able to enjoy it for very long, as I had to jump right back in the car for my third race. In this race I would be starting in the back due to being behind schedule I wouldn’t make my flight in time so I had to jump in the earlier race. This race I was able to go from 14th to 4th in just two turns. Another competitor and I began to chase down the leader. About half way in to the race we got up to p1 and p2. I was pushing hard to win another but just didn’t have the speed that race and brought home another p2. I just remember thinking this is the best 3 days of my life! It finally came down to the 4 race as I would be starting p2 again as our gridding positions were based on our fastest race lap of race 1. Thisrace I was running p2 the whole time. I was starting to have car troubles, as every time I went to push the clutch it would stick to the floor. It was making me have to slow up allowing the leader to pull away. When about the half way point in the race rolled around the clutch caught me out and spun me around. I then couldn’t get the car to fire back up and went two laps down to finish 10th.

Even though I was very upset to not finish off the weekend strong I was very pleased with my results at Laguna Seca.  As I was driving from the track to the airport I called my dad to let him know how it all went. He was currently at Pocono for the Indy car race. After letting him know how my weekend went my dad let me know about the tragic accident that evolved a very close friend Justin Wilson. I couldn’t believe it, Justin was not only a friend but a best friend, a mentor to me and someone I hope to be some day. Justin was a huge supporter in my career, if it was helping me out with driving gear or taking away family time to spend hours on the sim helping me prep. One thing I will always cherish for the rest of my life is that my dad and just had a quick chat before the race and Justin was able to hear that I was able to win my first race and to me that is so special and bitter sweet. If you didn’t know Justin, he wasn’t only an amazing driver and person but he was an amazing husband and father with his wife Julia and his two daughters, Jane who is 7 and Jessica who is 5. If you would like to support Justin’s girls the there is a link at the bottom as you can donate to the Wilsons Children Fund. I will miss you more than ever but it was so bitter-sweet to hear you knew I got my first win. It is a weekend in my young life that I will never forget and will cherish for the rest of my life.

Rest in peace Justin “Badass” Wilson

Link: http://justinwilson.co.uk/donate

Skip Barber Summer Series - Homestead Speedway Rounds 7&8

Rounds 7&8 of the Skip Barber Formula Summer Series was an event that I was looking forward to and excited for since I first saw the 2015 summer series schedule. I was just excited to experience a “roval” (combination of a road course and an oval) along with my first night race. Homestead speedway brought many ups and downs along with many variables and challenges. Such as the the heat and a greasy race track.  Before the weekend I used iRacing.com to get better prepared which is always helpful, but the heat was a huge factor throughout the weekend with 90% humidity and an ambiant temperature of 95, it was “hot” to say the least and tough to simulate. Going in to the weekend I didn't really know what to expect. The weekend started good, as I took the first few practice sessions to get up to speed and get use to a “low-grip” track with a track temperature of 135 degrees.  At the end of day one and running 4 sessions the heat definitely exhausting.

It was a very cool to also experience my first time going around the banking of an oval. Very different but so cool. It was crazy going into it the first time with many different G loadings going on your body. Usually in the car the driver feels the lateral or side loads when going around a corner, with 20 degrees of banking you experience an additional vertical load that pushes you “down” into the seat. The first session of qualifying didn't go as planned. I wanted to make sure to get out there and run with someone else so that I could use their draft to help better my lap time but was unable to link up with anybody. As I was running by myself I made a mistake by getting a little gas and brake and went off at turn 2. In the Skip Barber rules it says if you have a spin or four off during qualifying you have to start at the tail end of the pack. Going into race 1 and starting at the back I knew I needed to get to the front running pack as soon as possible before they pulled away. At the start I pushed hard and was able to get up to 7th place in the first lap! On lap 2 I was able to grab 6th and still stay in the draft with the front runners. As the race went on I was able stay right there behind the pack but with 4 laps to go I made two mistakes in one lap from just pushing too hard and fell out of the draft. I continued to push and was able to close out finishing P6. After race 1,  My friends and I ventured out for some great sea food at Snappers on Key Largo. Then I went back to hotel to study how to get that little more out of the car to make sure to be a contender for the top spot in race 2 along with being prepared for cooler temperatures as it was going to be a night race .

The next day was qualifying 2 and race 2 at night. In qualifying I strung some laps together and was able to qualify P4. At the star of the race I was able to pass on the outside of turn 2 to take over 3rd place. Charles Striecher (P2) and I were working together to catch the leader Jonathan Sugianto (P1). Just as we were reeling him in we were gifted with a full-course caution to stack us all up. As this was my first ever restart, when the green flag was dropped I mistimed the jump and fell out of the draft. I pushed to catch them but I just couldn't reel them in and came home in 3rd place and to grab my second career podium.

It was such an eventful weekend with new experiences and so many new variables. I was happy to bounce back to get a solid result. I was able to learn so much this weekend. Thank you to all my supporters and sponsors, Hitcase, Invisible Glass, and Uswag. Also, a thank you to Oswaldo Negri for the help in picking me up from the airport and his support.

The next rounds of the Skip Barber summer series takes me to Mazda Laguna Seca for Rounds 9&10 on August 21-23th. Looking forward to the “corkscrew” and will have a lot more to write about as I will be in 4 races this weekend to make up for not participating at Lime Rock.

Skip Barber Summer Series - Road America Rounds 5&6

Round 5&6 of the Skip Barber Formula summer series took me to a track that I have been visiting for years throughout my childhood and dreamt to race on. Road America is the most iconic North American track. I had been waiting for this weekend since I saw the summer series schedule. Going in to the weekend I was looking forward to picking up where I left off at Road Atlanta. The weekend started off better slow as I was getting around pretty fast but I was still searching for that last second to put me up front. Going in to the first race of my weekend, I qualified 4th to start the race. During the race I was only able to finish 4 laps when I started having trouble grabbing a gear and could not finish the race. I was really upset because at the beginning of the season I told myself I want to see every checkered flag to gain as much experience as I could. But fortunately they called it a mechanical problem allowing me to have another race in group three. I was very pleased to hear that but since I wasn't able to qualify that means it put me in the rear of the grid at the start. I had a really good start and slowly settled in to a rhythm and charged to the front. Not being able to see the front running guys I still pushed to grab the best finish I could. Unfortunately for my other competitors they had some issues and errors giving me some positions, allowing me to finish 4th overall. I was amazed and was very pleased with that finish considering I started dead last.

Race 2 was a lot better I was able to shave two seconds off my time to qualify 4th for race two. I was very happy with that but it was time for race 2. I had a wonderful start and was able to grab 3rd place at turn 1. As the race went on me and the top 2 pulled away from the pack. As me and 2nd tried working together to keep 1st in our sites we couldn't hold the same pace as him. This allowed Dakota Dickerson, was running 2nd and I to have a great battle going back and forth switching positions, fighting for 2nd.  Coming to the Checkered flag I was able to set turn 14 up well as I drafted along him and was able to pop by him 50 feet before the finish line and was able to grab 2nd place and my first ever podium in my career. I was so ecstatic about the outcome of the race and proud of myself for battling back the whole weekend to grab a strong finish along with some good points towards the championship. Huge credit to the Skip Barber instructors and my dad for allowing me to keep my head up and push forward.

Overall this weekend was absolutely amazing being at Road America with my dad and gained some great experience. It also was amazing experiencing the cool small town of Elkhart Lake. It was such a friendly environment and just such a great racing town. But overall a good weekend and I can't wait to continue what I have learned and gained and take it to rounds 7&8 at Homestead coming August 6th.

I want to thank everyone for the support along with my sponsors Invisible Glass, USwag, Burton, Hitcase, and iRacing. See you guys in Homestead.

Skip Barber Summer Series - Road Atlanta Rounds 1&2

Race 1

    It was just less than a year ago that I attended the Skip Barber 3-day Racing School at Sebring International. Three weeks ago I found myself driving down to Road Atlanta for my first ever race weekend with nerves and excitement. In the first day of practice I felt really good. I had 4 practice sessions scheduled to set a baseline and to get familiar with the car again in preparation for the upcoming races. A practice session is  30 minutes and I was able to complete about 15 laps.

The goal going into the weekend was to be consistent, chip away at the lap time and be mistake free.

At the end of the first day I felt great but was super wiped out from running over 60 laps that day. I had about 1 second to find on the track but I was determined to do well. The morning session of Day 2 was a twelve minute qualifying session and I slowly chipped away at the lap time to qualify 3rd for my first race ever. I was really excited about placing 3rd because the “draft” plays a huge part at  Road Atlanta and I was able to set that time running on my own. I had a lot of confidence going in to the first race. I was looking for another strong race, and to gain as much experience as I could.

When it was all said and done I was a little too conservative and dropped back to 6th at the start and got locked in to a hard battle with 5th place. I tried every technique I knew and had practiced in iRacing.com. I stayed there till the checkered. I was disappointed in the result, but kept my head high as it was my first race and grabbed “Rookie of the Race”.

Going into the last day I concentrated on the lessons I learned from the day before and the feedback from my Skip Barber coaches. The track was hot and greasy and the field was so close - I missed P2 by one tenth, resulting in qualifying 5th for race two. During the warm up I got a freebie when 4th place spun during warm up resulting in me starting P4 for Race 2.

Race 2

Going into Race 2 I was determined to take what I learned in Race 1 to better myself. I was running fourth for a majority of the race until I got caught out in the draft that would drop me back to 7th. I had to keep my head straight and not let it get to me. I continued to press forward. I got back to 5th with about 5 laps to go and a 5 second grab to the lead group. I settled in and was determined to catch them. As the final lap came around I was right behind the lead pack, finishing 5th and recording the Fastest Race lap and a new personal best.

As the weekend came to an end I had to remind myself that my goal for my first race weekend was to gain as much experience as I could and to see the checkered flag.

With over 105 laps completed without a mistake, scoring solid championship points along with Rookie of the Race honors and finishing with a Fastest Race Lap, I was pleased to hear that I accomplished what I set out to do.

But in no way am I satisfied with the final results. This will only fuel my motivation for rounds 3 and 4 at Road America on July 7-9. I cannot wait for round 3 and 4 at Road America and to get strapped back into the Skip Barber formula car.

Ben to Race in the 2015 Skip Barber Formula Summer Series.

2015 Promises to be an exciting year for Ben and his racing career.  He will compete in the sixteen-race Skip Barber Formula Summer Series. Ben will be up against some of the best young international driving talent in the world. 

The Formula Summer series will give Ben the opportunity to race on famous racetracks such as Road Atlanta, Lime Rock Park in CT and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Beyond this summer’s Skip Barber Formula Summer Series, Ben plans to be a part of Mazda’s “Road to Indy” program.  Keep an eye out for Ben as he chases his dream of one day competing in the Indianapolis 500!