Return to RACE101

This up coming weekend I will be headed back to Denver, North Carolina to attend RACE101 classes that I had earned scholarship to in January of this year. I will hopping in the RACE101 house car to do a few tests laps at famed Hickory Motor Speedway and get some training from RACE101 mentor and owner Tony Blanchard. My knowledge will be put to the test after many online webinars that took place throughout the racing season where we were given weekly assignments and research to complete. My marketing efforts will being closely analyzed and critiqued by marketing "Masters" and RACE101 mentors Adam Ross and Annamarie Strawhand. Also there will be Tony Stevens the reporter/tech savvy/jokester, making sure we are always on our toes with surprise interviews and hard to answer interview questions. I am excited to get back to class see all my fellow students/friends and racers and get the low down on the 2011 racing season. I will be making regular posts on Facebook and Twitter over the weekend so stay connected!

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RACE 101 students nearing the finish line; House car competes at Hickory and 2012 Premier Driver announcement around the corner

October 26^th, 2011, DENVER, NC - Success is measured in various ways. With 2011 coming to an end RACE 101 students past and present have surpassed many goals. 

While on-track results speak volumes RACE 101’s curriculum involves much more than competitiveness.

“Every one of our students comes with a different goal,” said RACE 101 Founder and head instructor Tony Blanchard. “We work with them to relate what we teach with how it can help them in the present.

“In many cases our students need sponsorship to continue racing at their current level, and in other cases they’re trying to advance through the ranks. Some of our students are happy where they are, and they want to learn everything they can to improve their situation. We pride ourselves in catering to each student’s individual needs.”

At the end of the program each year a Premier Driver is chosen to compete in the RACE 101 presented by Howe Racing Products super late model with McGunegill horsepower under the hood.

This weekend at Hickory Motor Speedway RACE 101’s premier driver from the class of 2010 Trevor Edwards will compete. Program founder Tony Blanchard spent a couple days last week testing. The first day was with current student from Maine Trevor Sanborn. The second day was with less-experienced Edwards.

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2011 RACE 101 Premier Driver, Trevor Edwards with the RACE 101/Howe Super Late Model

“The test day was amazing,” said Edwards. “The car feels awesome. I needed more work than the car, but I think we’ll be in great shape for the Hickory race.”

Edwards was chosen as premier driver for his outstanding efforts while in the RACE 101 program both on track and off track. He balanced competitiveness on the track with the necessary time focusing on sponsorship and promotional work to impress RACE 101 faculty. His reward is the opportunity to race the RACE 101 super late model with Tony Blanchard as crew chief. 

RACE 101 is now taking applications from race drivers for our 2012 Racing Scholarship Program. Learn more and apply at www.race101.net

Scholarship applications are open for the RACE 101 class of 2012, and the battle is on with this year’s group to be named premier driver for the current class. The program has seen great success in its second year. The proof is evident scanning through the current RACE 101 roster.

 Brandon Atkinson recently made his asphalt stock car debut. The impressive 15-year-old relocated from Virginia to Statesville, North Carolina, where he could chase his racing dream. Atkinson has seen success racing dirt cars, but the choice to launch a pavement career in one of Hickory Motor Speedway’s toughest classes was a difficult one. Atkinson had a great fourth place result in the prestigious Dwight Huffman Memorial 100-lap event for limited late models at Hickory recently.

Brandon Atkinson prepares to make his late model and pavement racing debut at Hickory Motor Speedway. The 15 year old impressed with a 4th place finish the first time out.

“I was confident we could have a strong finish if I kept my nose clean and stayed patient,” said Atkinson. “We only qualified 13^th, but I knew the car was better than that. I’m excited about the strong run.”

On the same weekend thousands of miles away Sarah Cornett-Ching attended the ARCA OK Tire Sportsman Series banquet. The charismatic British Columbia racer was awarded Rookie of the Year and Most Improved Driver Awards to go with her eighth place in the points standings. The stellar ARCA result was accompanied by her debut in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series driving the ‘Cruisin for a Cause’-sponsored Jason White entry.

 Canadian racer Sarah Cornett -Ching with her awards from the 2011 ARCA OK Tire Sportsman Series Banquet. Sarah was able to use many facets from the RACE 101 program to advance different areas of her career.

“This was a great way to end our season,” said  Cornett-Ching. “If you told me last winter I would have raced in the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series this year and won all these awards I’m not sure I would have believed it. I’m already overwhelmed making plans for 2012.”

One of RACE 101’s youngest students is Derek Robbie from Bellingham, Massachusetts. Robbie’s two open-wheel modified wins are impressive this season, but even more impressive is the extensive promotional schedule run by the 13-year-old. Robbie contacted his local Chamber of Commerce and opened numerous doors through charitable appearances and promotional events. The youngster plans to expand on that in 2012.

Derek Robbie combined his cross country running skills with a charity promotion that included appearing with his race car.  Derek has also been able to improve his press release writing skills working with RACE 101 instructors and has created a solid media and blog following for his racing.

“I can’t believe how much I learned this year,” said Robbie. “RACE 101 has shown me that there’s opportunities available to all of us. We just need to open the right doors.”

New England provided a great deal of talented young racers to RACE 101. Veteran Super Late Model racer Trevor Sanborn came to increase his understanding of the race cars he’s seen great success with while teenagers Tommy Stilphen and Sulo Burbank are newcomers to full-sized race cars in the northeast.

Sanborn recently enjoyed his test day with Blanchard in the RACE 101 house car.

“The goal was to get a good feel for the race car,” said Sanborn. “Every time Tony touched the car we got faster.

“At the start of the day we were hitting the rev limiter going into the corner. By the end of the day I was on the rev limiter at the start finish line. We did that just by adjusting shocks.”

Sanborn is among RACE 101’s more decorated drivers, but he fits right in with the rest of the class.

Trevor Sanborn in victory lane with his own Howe 101 chassis this spring at Beech Ridge Speedway. Trevor used what he learned about race car set-ups and applied it to his own program. He also wanted to better on his in-car communication skills and was able to do that working one on one with RACE 101's Tony Blanchard.

“The way we’ve developed our program it applies to an experienced racer as much as it does a rookie,” said Blanchard. “We teach theories and principles of racing that are relevant on dirt or asphalt and regardless of the division.

“The public relations and media relations side of the course is applicable to all forms of racing of any type. We’re confident that our curriculum stacks up to any in the market.”

Burbank’s season went better than he anticipated. The Maine teenager won Rookie of the Year in his family’s Super Late Model at Canaan Fair Speedway, and in the ‘Six Pack Series’ he is third in standing just 5 points out of first. 

Sulo Burbank worked hard on the track this year and also worked on promoting his team sponsors, seen here in his hometown Memorial Day Parade. Sulo is one of our younger students, but presents himself in a very professional manner.

“I came into this season hoping to win Rookie of the Year,” said Burbank. “We did that, and I was a competitive top five car every week. I have a full season under my belt now, and I’m looking forward to next year.”

While New England provided strong students, South Carolina also had its share. Daniel Alvarez, Amanda Lynch and Bryce Malcolm all attended RACE 101 this year from South Carolina.

Lynch suffered problems early in the season, and her race team is regrouping and looking towards the future.

Thompson Debut

For the last race of the season I would find myself at the famous 5/8 mile oval, Thompson speedway. The track I grew up around, and dreamed to be racing at one day. During the 2011 World Series of racing weekend I would achieve this goal.
The weekend got a damper start, when Friday's activities would be cancelled due to rain. This meant I would have no heat race, and limited practice to be ready for the race. On Saturday morning, before practice I would get coaching from Dan Meservey once again, to help me learn the track before I turned my first laps. I felt confident when I hit the track. The first 6 laps of practice went as planned. I was turning laps and getting use to the track. Going down the back stretch on lap 7 I felt the car to shudder. I quickly tried to figure the problem out but I was unable to and the car would just shut off. I had to be pushed back to the pits and hope we could find the issue.
After going thru the engine we discovered the distributor cap went bad. We switched it out with a spare and the car started but was not right. Next we would find out the distributor was bad. Now the next task was to find a distributor. Eventually we found a mini stock driver who wrecked his car and took his engine out to put into another car. We asked to borrow their spare and they let us use the distributor for the reminder of the race day.
Due to the distributor issue I would miss all the practice laps available and would have to jump right into the feature. This wasn't anything new to me. I had to make my Monadnock debut with 0 laps on the track as well. To be ready I would watch the rest of the races on the track and get focused. To be smart I would start last place in 17th for the race.
On the start I would not hold back and climb up into the 15th spot. I quickly started to try to maneuver my way around the 14th and 13th place cars driving up beside them several times. It wasn't till around half way till I would pick up 14th position. Right after I made the pass the caution came out for a spun car. I would have to give up 14th and slide back into 15th. Right on the start I would hold my position and started to make my move to get around the 75 and 86 cars. Coming out of turn 2 on lap 14 the 75 and 86 got together spinning into the infield. This would bring out another the caution.
I would restart in 13th place. On the start I would lose a position to one of my mentors, Mark Giordano. I quickly tried to get back around him. I had a few chances but I was never successful. In the end I would have to settle for 11th place. I guess the teacher didn't teach me everything.

RACE 101 Alumni Student Clifton Savage Expands 2nd Annual Charity Event - To Be Held This Monday in Virginia Beach, VA

October 21st, 2011

Newport News, Virginia -- Clifton Savage is gearing up for a weekend full of racing. It is the final race of the 2011 season and with Clifton sitting tied for 5th in points you would think he is more focused on what will happen on track this weekend. But that is not the case, for Clifton he is thinking about how many people he can talk to and how he can get to come out to support his charity race this coming Monday, October 24th, 2011.

After a successful inaugural event last year, Clifton is hosting his 2nd annual Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters Charity Go Kart Event at the American Indoor Karting of Virginia Beach. Having raised $1,782 in last years event, Clifton has really wanted to blow up the event and make it huge this year, and huge it has become! With a second race added to the night with events starting at 5pm the American Indoor Karting facility right across from Lynnhaven Mall will be jam-packed with over 100 local and even national racers from all styles of racing.

This event is holding 2 races each consisting of 10 teams of 5 drivers per team all running together for 100 minutes per race. The adrenaline and excitement will once again be captured by the local Langley Speedway photography crew of PYP and videography by TM Racing Videos. On the night of October 24th, the Virginia Beach facility will be packed with drivers, family and fans all watching the event and even the racing talk show, LetsTalkRacing.tv will be airing a special shoot that night where we will be having guests racers jump on throughout the night of the event as well as some special guests from NASCAR teams.

If you are in the area of Virginia Beach on the night of October 24th, come check us out from 5-9pm for an exciting night of go kart racing and raising money for a great cause! Check us out at http://www.cliftonsavagemotorsports.com/chkd100 or http://www.facebook.com/chkd100

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Dav Weekend at seekonk speedway

This past weekend I raced at Seekonk Speedway for the DAV weekend. The plan of the night was to re-learn the car with the new clip and stay out of trouble. We went into the first practice going to feel the car out and making sure nothing would fall off. As i got more into the run I kept picking it up to full power. Right before the end I got on the throttle hard. Car was tight out due to lack of stagger but it felt awesome to go hard after not racing for 5 weeks.



We made changes to grow the stagger in the rear and went to get ready for the 2nd practice. Due to time constraints we would only get one practice which was upsetting but we moved on and got ready for the heat race.



In the heat race I started 6th. On the start I fell back to 7th and gave myself some room away from the field to feel out my car. I passed the 86 car and started to bring the field back in. With 4 to go we would have a caution for the 86 stopping on the track with engine problems. On the start I missed up the shift but regained myself and caught up to the field again. I wasn't pushing the car hard so i stayed in 6th place to keep my nose clean.



For the feature I would start last, in 14th place. On the start I once again kept a little distance from the field. After an easy lap 1 I started to pick it up. I got by the 32 car and started to go for the 75 car and my first limited win. On lap 5 we would see our first caution for a spin. I restarted 11th. This time I stayed up close to the field but kept an eye out just in case a wreck started. I would get passed by the 5 car but fell into line and started running laps.



Around lap 6 would see a battle between me and the 75 car starting. Gaining every bit I could I got by the 75 car at lap 12 to claim the 10th position. From there, I started to run down more and more cars. 2 cars would drop off the pace and leave the track.



At lap 17 we would have our second and final caution for a broken car on the front stretch. I would restart in the 7th position. On the start I spun the tires but didn't lose any ground. It would take me a lap and half to clear the 75 again but after that I had no troubles and brought the car home in one piece and in 7th position.



With that finish I would get my first pro 4 mod limited division win and grab 2nd in the limited points. I would also move to 9th in the overall points standings. With my first limited win I have to thank my dad for all he did to get my car back on track from the last time we were at Seekonk and wrecked. Next week we will be at Thompson. Stay tuned for more exciting news.

Cold Hard Facts Of "Driver Development": It Takes MONEY to MAKE IT

As a motorsports marketing professional and instructor, I know that finding funding is the biggest issue at hand for young and up and coming racing talent today. I experience this daily. I firmly believe, and it has been proven time and time again, that if a driver is as good at marketing and getting his own backing as he is driving he or she will succeed. Young drivers must educate themselves on how to go out and raise the money and get the backing. It can be done. Many racers hire sales/marketing people to find sponsors for them, but few find success that way. Ultimately DRIVERS need to know how to sell themselves or they will not be able to advance their careers. ALL RACE DRIVERS need to invest the time into making the calls and sending out the emails just as much as they do driving. I have drivers/students signing sponsors as we speak, even in this economy. You are your best salesperson. Sponsors want to meet the driver, they want the driver to be their celebrity spokesperson. They want a return on their investment too, once they spend the money. Drivers must learn how to attract, land, and manage sponsors. It is more of a necessity today more than ever.

The RACE 101 program offers one-on-one marketing, sponsorship and PR consulting with our experienced instructors. We work with our students individually to make sure they are properly selling themselves and their racing programs, We teach them the basics to the advanced as needed - give them the tools and confidence to go out and sign their own sponsors.

Are you an up and coming talented race driver hoping and dreaming to get noticed by a big team or a NASCAR driver development program? Well you can get noticed but the bottom line is this - bring a BIG CHECK or you are back to the weekly home track racing off your own paycheck or mom and dad's. Do you know how to go out and get financial backing and make the proper connections to advance your career? Our RACE 101 students and alumni do. Don't get left behind. Educate yourself.  Sales and Marketing - it's a skill all race drivers must learn and apply to succeed. We spend equal time on our marketing curriculum as we do the mechanical and driving side of our program. That is how important it is.

We are very proud of our RACE 101 2010 Student Alumni Driver, Michael Cenzi. He was able to take what he learned at RACE 101 regarding marketing, sales and PR and landed a solid multi-year sponsorship program with Triple A (AAA). Michael serves as AAA's  spokesman and even filmed a PSA (public service announcement) for a Don't Text and Drive Campaign. Michael races late models in Florida, and is planning a move to NC with his 2012 program.

Check out this recent article on NASCAR.com "Finances change the focus of driver development -Future may have more to do with what's in the wallet than who's behind the wheel" http://www.nascar.com/news/110929/inside-nascar-driver-development/index.html - I speak the truth here and NASCAR confirms what I have have been trying to tell racers for years.

Unfortunately, in this day and age of the sport of auto racing it takes alot more than talent to make it to the top as a driver. Sad, but true. The cold hard facts are that you also need money (lots of it) and connections to get there. Our students learn how to properly make those connections and effectively raise funds and sponsorship for their own racing programs and beyond. At Race 101 we believe if you have both the driving skills and the marketing skills to get your own backing you can create your own success as a driver. The proof is in our students, and alumni who have already been successful at this. If you want to learn how to better your career, apply for a RACE 101 scholarship. Only YOU can change your future. To apply for a RACE 101 scholarship or to schedule an online marketing class - go to www.race101.net

I feel confident that when each of our students graduates from our program each year, we have taught and guided them based on our years of experience to go out on their own and land sponsorship. This is something that each one of our students must apply and work hard at. Nobody said it was easy - but if you have the knowledge, tools, you are open to learning, changing with the times and willing to step away from the car and pick up the phone you can make your own dreams a reality.

Questions? I am here to help. Email me at: race101pr@gmail.com

- Annamarie (Annamarie Malfitana-Strawhand, RACE 101 Co-Founder and Director of Marketing/PR/Web and Instructor)