Postcards from the Paddock - Sonoma
Well, that was different! The first SRO America weekend of 2021 is in the books! It was the first for me in a new role, calling the action from a booth rather than updating viewers from pit lane. The weekend had an unexpected start when upon landing in San Francisco I learned that my colleague Calvin Fish would not be able to make the trip due to kidney stones. Cal is a font of information and knows North American sports car racing as well as anyone. I was planning on leaning on his experience heavily in my first weekend on the job and it was more than a little unsettling going into the weekend without that safety net.
With no shortage of help and patience from the Apex Productions crew as well as the SRO America staff, we were able to navigate Calvin's absence and my inexperience about as well as we could have hoped. I owe a debt of gratitude to John Watson, Joe Jordan, and Jack Baldwin for stepping in on short notice to serve in the analyst role throughout the weekend. Each of them brought unique perspectives and insights to the shows and were patient with me as I got my sea legs in the play-by-play role.
For my part, the countless hours I spend note-taking, especially in the off-season, were utterly crucial in helping to stay on top of over 100 entries across four SRO America series. If you've ever wondered what a racing broadcaster's off-season is like, for me, it's days of data entry as I try to keep my notes up to date year to year. As a result, I felt as prepared as possible despite the fact that my prior motorsports play-by-play experience was limited to the last three SCCA Runoffs and two summers as the track announcer at a local short oval in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
A sample of what my notes look like. There’s a page like this one for every car on the entry list.
No one had more learning to do on the fly than our new pit reporter Amanda Busick. I'm not sure if there are two more diametrically opposed forms of motorsports than her background in NHRA drag racing and sports car racing but Amanda was undaunted. I'm thrilled to have her as part of the team and can't wait to get to the next round at Circuit of The Americas when Calvin Fish will return and the full 2021 team will be together for the first time.
As for the racing itself, K-PAX Racing was thoroughly dominant in its return to Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS competition after spending much of last season in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup. The switch from Bentley to Lamborghini and a nearly complete overhaul in driver lineup had seemingly no effect on the team which has long been a standard bearer in this series. A pair of 1-2 finishes should have the rest of the series on notice.
The Pro-Am class featured good racing and will likely be the focal point this season given the solid car count and driver lineups. Fred Poordad and Jan Heylen leave the weekend in the championship lead after a win and a second place finish but DXDT Racing, Compass Racing, and Racers Edge Motorsports all had flashes of speed throughout the weekend.
The new GT America powered by AWS series made its debut last weekend and though George Kurtz won both races overall for DXDT the series looks like it is going to be very entertaining. The 40-minute, single-driver race format that features a mix of GT3 and GT4 cars was reminiscent of the old mixed GT/GTS Pirelli World Challenges races. The possibility of some GT2 entries at future rounds figures to add to the excitement should they materialize.
As usual, Pirelli GT4 America and TC America powered by Skip Barber Racing School featured competitive races across multiple classes. The NOLASPORT team of Jason Hart and Matt Travis are back at their strong start to the GT4 America season routine with two overall wins from the first event but with over 30 entries and exceptional manufacturer diversity the series continues to be can't-miss TV. The new TCX class of TC America made its debut with three cars and more are expected, while TC and TCA offered up some of the best racing anywhere. All in all it leaves me feeling extremely optimistic for the season ahead with more entries for all four series expected by the time we hit the ground at COTA in early May.
I'll close by saying thank you to everyone who took the time to offer compliments and encouragement since the news of my new role was announced. I feel extraordinarily fortunate to be afforded the opportunity to live out my dreams. I'm enjoying every minute of it and I hope the viewers, listeners, and readers at home are too.
—Ryan