Spring 2021 Catch Up-

On December 31st, I made some pretty big New Year Resolutions for 2021:

1) Let a new owner take over the Drift Mustang.

2) Get my last Stock car updated for Vintage road racing.

3) Update my towing vehicles.

4) Continue to grow my Driver Coaching and Driving Simulator Coaching business.

5) Progress with the Porsche Driving School to be as helpful to them as possible as they grow their many programs.

6) Help my friend Steve Davis get back on track with his endurance racing program.

7) Begin a Dirt Late Model racing program with my friend Colten Miller.

From all info I hear, it seems as though the mighty Mustang is in good hands. Its new owner is going through everything to get themselves acclimated to the car. Its engine is getting freshened-up and I hope when it’s back on track, I’ll get to see some great videos of it do what it does best. I wish I had been financially able to continue that drift-program and from what I hear, the first event of the FD season was a bash at Road Atlanta. You never know what opportunities might appear down the road and maybe we’ll get a chance to get back to the Formula Drift series in the future? The sport is amazing, continuing to grow and I’d jump at the chance to get back to sliding if the right deal came along. For the record, I do miss that car every day and I hope to see it back out shredding tires again soon.

The stock car has been a much bigger project than I ever thought it would be both time-wise and financially (shocker, I know). It’s almost finished (after sitting dormant for over 15-years) and the guys at Rhine Built Enterprises are doing an amazing job with it. As of last week, it’s down to updating the cooling system, getting a new windshield made/installed and then finally, me getting back over to Charlotte so I can get a seat-insert made for my new Lajoie seat. Things just couldn’t happen quick enough for us to be able to do the Barber race next week but with any luck, we’ll be turning laps in it very soon. I think it’s going to be a super-fun car to drive and can’t wait to sit in it for the first time.

Many years ago I was very lucky to find a great deal on a small 28’ trailer that served our drift program very well. As we had clearly out grown that trailer the last couple of drift seasons, we made do with what we had. However, I am happy to report that not only do we have a new custom-ordered 2021 Ford F250 4×4 for a tow-vehicle. Add to this, the guys at Jason Dietsch Trailer Sales did a great job in hooking us up with a new United Super Late Model Trailer. Both Miguel Gomez and Jason were incredibly helpful. Miguel went over and above to make sure our special-order trailer had all the features we need going forward and I can’t thank him enough for walking me through the exhausting ordering process. Spec’ing this 40-footer out from scratch was a big job but thanks to friends like Richard Parks & Nick Lundgreen, it came out with everything we need and nothing we don’t, so thank you one and all.

Now that folks are starting to get out & about again, the Coaching Business is picking up. I’ve got some great clients that I’m working with and its really fun to see their progression and share my passion for the sport. This year is quickly ramping-up to be my busiest season yet and with folks wanting to do more Simulator Training, there will not be any “virtual” grass growing under my feet in 2021.

Continuing on the coaching theme for a moment, I’m happy to report that we are super-busy at the Porsche Track Experience Driving School here at Barber MS Park. The entire staff puts in such a great effort to ensure our students have a great time. I consider it an honor to lead the programs that I do and just as pleased when I’m simply helping our Chief Instructor Cass Whitehead, keep the days flowing along as smoothly as possible.

I’m excited to report that Steve Davis and I are putting plans together to get the Ginetta back on track. The two of us are looking forward to doing more races with the World Racing League and it’s great that all of their events have been filled to capacity this year.

I did jump in OTR’s Ginetta G55 briefly at the WRL event at Barber in March. The car was so good that inside of the 8-laps that I did, I was able to clock set the 2nd quickest time of the weekend in the GTO class. These Ginetta’s are so underrated, I’m surprised to not see more of them racing here in the US and I’m really looking forward to back in our CMZ Motorsport car.

Finally, there’s not much to report on the Dirt Late Model program, Colten and I are still waiting to get the car delivered from the manufacture and I couldn’t be more anxious to get it going. Hopefully it won’t be too much longer but with so many raw-materials being short these days, any timeline at this point is pure speculation. I’m glad to see the Crate Racin’ USA Series is getting good car-counts at their events and I hope we can get out there with them, sooner rather than later.

So, that’s about all there is for now. Continue to stay healthy and I’ll look forward to letting Y’all know things go with my next adventure.…

-DVB