Maybe a future F1 driver....

[77T]

Barber is a busy circuit and a classic Euro design with rolling terrain so he is getting some good experience.

[K7Baixo2]

I flew to Indy on Thursday to watch Victor's series there. I had never been to Indy so having full access to virtually every area was kind of cool.

When I arrived Thursday afternoon, the drivers were knee-deep into the data from earlier practice sessions with Pete the Engineer (far right), Gustavo M. (second from the right), Victor and a coach (far left):



Gustavo is a good kid also but he seems to be more interested in playing the role of a driver than actually being a driver. Great kid though.

We wandered around a bit and the Borg-Warner Trophy that was out for some promo shots:



Victor wasn't happy with the car so they changed out the backend - from the clutch back.... all in about three hours... in between qualifying and race 1 on Friday:



Rain poured just before the race so they went with the "rain"setup" and Victor took an early lead despite starting 4th. Victor is a great driver in the rain and if the rain hadn't stopped and dried out during the race, he'd won.

But it did and he didn't. In fact, he proved he was an 18 year old and came in too late for a tire change to slicks. He led the race early but with every lap, he was losing ground. Had he stayed in the race, he might have finished 5th or 6th but instead, he finished a very disappointing 15th. He did have the 4th fastest lap though so his starting position for the 2nd race which was held yesterday (Saturday).

Gustavo took a shortcut through the grass at one point. That necessitated a stop to clean out the grass:



On the grid Saturday:




The official pace car - very cool C7:



Victor started well and took the lead after about three laps and led for about 10 laps but he had brake issues which caused him to have to brake early. Braking early gives up too much time and he couldn't hold the lead. He maintained his cool and finished third. I think he's been on the podium at every series this year.

Being interviewed:



It was pretty cool to be up on the podium - I stayed off to the side and took a few pictures. The best ones were the champagne fight:





The trophy was cool and the bottle was nicely engraved with the grand prix logo:



All things considered, it was a good weekend for Victor and the team and it took an amazing amount of effort from the team to be successful.

[scottIN]

I saw his transport in the paddock on Sunday. Thought about walking up & saying 'I know who you are from posts on a Rolex message board.', but thought that might be kinds weird. :)

Funny to see all the dads carrying the used tires around on Sunday after race #2. Bet they were rethinking their 'souvenir' after a couple of hours...

[K7Baixo2]

Originally Posted by scottIN

I saw his transport in the paddock on Sunday. Thought about walking up & saying 'I know who you are from posts on a Rolex message board.', but thought that might be kinds weird. :)

Funny to see all the dads carrying the used tires around on Sunday after race #2. Bet they were rethinking their 'souvenir' after a couple of hours...

I would have enjoyed meeting you...but I left fairly early Sunday morning.

It was my first time in that kind of setting and I learned a lot. Victor's having issues with his main sponsor who knows even less than me about racing. While the team has had its fair share of issues, the fact remains that Victor has been on the podium for one of two races - if not both races - at each event.

As I'm sure you may confirm, it's a tough sport and it doesn't take much to keep you out of the running. Victor's 4th in pts and has the talent to stay in front.

[77T]

Originally Posted by K7Baixo2

Victor's having issues with his main sponsor who knows even less than me about racing. While the team has had its fair share of issues, the fact remains that Victor has been on the podium for one of two races - if not both races - at each event.

As I'm sure you may confirm, it's a tough sport and it doesn't take much to keep you out of the running. Victor's 4th in pts and has the talent to stay in front.

Thanks for the update - and glad he had a podium finish during the weekend. Sponsors need grooming - if Victor doesn't have a PR person yet (or if Dad is doing it) then some work with the sponsor is in order.

Winning is good but leveraging the sponsor's brand is key. For Vhero, Aflex, E-QUAL, and Novac Sports, it's showing each one the value proposition for their brand's key demographic and "impressions" made by visual brand appearance minutes on webcasts, press clips, photos in play, social media, sales, etc.

Hopefully he will be doing this for years to come - chasing the sponsors $$$ is just as hard as chasing an extra .1 sec per lap in the rain.

They're testing today on the full oval - hope all goes well

[K7Baixo2]

Originally Posted by 77T

Thanks for the update - and glad he had a podium finish during the weekend. Sponsors need grooming - if Victor doesn't have a PR person yet (or if Dad is doing it) then some work with the sponsor is in order.

Winning is good but leveraging the sponsor's brand is key. For Vhero, Aflex, E-QUAL, and Novac Sports, it's showing each one the value proposition for their brand's key demographic and "impressions" made by visual brand appearance minutes on webcasts, press clips, photos in play, social media, sales, etc.

Hopefully he will be doing this for years to come - chasing the sponsors $$$ is just as hard as chasing an extra .1 sec per lap in the rain.

They're testing today on the full oval - hope all goes well

Great advice. They're all new at this as am I so I'll pass this along. Victor's dad is kind of a "the sky is falling" guy and that feeds right into the sponsor's insecurities. The sponsor obviously has made a lot of money in his business but isn't educated in racing. My wife thinks he's highly embarrassed since he doesn't speak English and we've been unable to talk him into visiting the US and attending a race. It's a tough putt to keep him at the table and based on conversations with other drivers, not uncommon.

One of Victor's friends, another Brazilian, went from P15 to P2 in his race and was bumped by another driver towards the end of the straight away. He later posted that he didn't have the funds for the next race.

Here's Victor's first minute of Race 2. You can see him really fighting the brakes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNpp8...&feature=share

He was complaining to me after the race and I told him, "Victor, occasionally, you have to do that driver shit" and we both cracked up. With the car's data, they think they figured out the braking issue and as you noted, they'll be testing today on the Lucas Oil Raceway, a 5/8th oval, so we'll see. His dad has low expectations since he's never raced an oval. I know Victor's expectations - he expects to win every race.

[77T]

I see he's fighting oversteer perhaps due to brake bias too much on front and he's lifting - that invokes trailing throttle oversteer too.

I saw he was doing OK in the 1st novice-only session on the oval.

Funding is the mother's milk of racing and winning makes driver happy - but knowing Sponsor expectations is a major part of it. Victor may want to start building a highlight video from the webcast streams + his in-car. Then offer to visit each Sponsor to appear at a sales meeting or other staff function to show how their money is translating into positive brand representation.

[K7Baixo2]

Apologies for quoting myself but......

Originally Posted by K7Baixo2

His dad has low expectations since he's never raced an oval. I know Victor's expectations - he expects to win every race.

I just checked the USF2000 site and here are the only results posted so far this morning:



I just called him - he's getting ready to run again.

[joeychitwood]

Many a mediocre Indycar driver has raced in the series because he/she could bring a major sponsor to the table. The US National Guard has sponsored a NASCAR team for the past few years, but it was determined that despite spending $26,500,000 in 2012, not one recruit attributable to the deal was signed. Return on investment is very difficult to predict with racing sponsorships.

[K7Baixo2]

Originally Posted by 77T

I see he's fighting oversteer perhaps due to brake bias too much on front and he's lifting - that invokes trailing throttle oversteer too.

I saw he was doing OK in the 1st novice-only session on the oval.

Funding is the mother's milk of racing and winning makes driver happy - but knowing Sponsor expectations is a major part of it. Victor may want to start building a highlight video from the webcast streams + his in-car. Then offer to visit each Sponsor to appear at a sales meeting or other staff function to show how their money is translating into positive brand representation.

Yep - the data indicated the front brakes were kicking too much prior to the back brakes and with the rear getting unweighted, the rear was locking up. They made some on-the-spot adjustments just prior to loading the cars to move to Lucas.

He was in a great mood when we talked about 15 minutes ago. I think Victor needs help with his self-promotion to your point. I know a recent college graduate who wants to do marketing. I don't think she has a job yet so maybe I'll contact her and see if she wants to assist in building a video for Victor.

[K7Baixo2]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

Many a mediocre Indycar driver has raced in the series because he/she could bring a major sponsor to the table. The US National Guard has sponsored a NASCAR team for the past few years, but it was determined that despite spending $26,500,000 in 2012, not one recruit attributable to the deal was signed. Return on investment is very difficult to predict with racing sponsorships.

I saw that in the WSJ....it's a tough putt for any business to make that decision. I know of one Brazilian who was 5 days from starting his first F1 race when the sponsor pulled the plug.

[77T]

Originally Posted by K7Baixo2

I know a recent college graduate who wants to do marketing. I don't think she has a job yet so maybe I'll contact her and see if she wants to assist in building a video for Victor.

That would be a good start to get the clips together. But if you are in a pro series and want to go up the ladder, good pace, good media coaching and pro promotion brings the package together.

[77T]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

Many a mediocre Indycar driver has raced in the series because he/she could bring a major sponsor to the table. The US National Guard has sponsored a NASCAR team for the past few years, but it was determined that despite spending $26,500,000 in 2012, not one recruit attributable to the deal was signed. Return on investment is very difficult to predict with racing sponsorships.

Yes the metrics were poorly handled by National Guard marketing team. There were other benefits towards morale and sponsoring wounded vets at each event but the scale of investment needed better comm to the oversight subcommittee. This is when motorsports meets politics.

[K7Baixo2]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

Many a mediocre Indycar driver has raced in the series because he/she could bring a major sponsor to the table.

Or, at this age, bringing money from Mom & Dad counts also.

Here's where we are today: Victor elected to stay in Indy through tomorrow to network, enjoy Indy itself and race in "The Night Before Indy" series over at the Lucas Oil Raceway which I believe is a 5/8th mile oval.

The team ran three practice sessions, two practices and then they had qualifying and the race. Qualfying and the race was yesterday. This was Victor's first race on an oval and his father's expectations weren't too high.

Victor was consistent on the course - not fast/not slow - mainly running around 5th to 7th. In qualifying, he stepped it up a bit and qualified 4th position.

The series provides live timing and audio during the race so we're able to get a very good sense of the race. Aaron Telitz started 6th and had the best race of the field working his way up to first very, very quickly to lead for 51 laps out of 75 for the win. It was extremely impressive.

Victor made a very good showing also. Started 4th, slipped back a bit to 6th and then, easily moved up to 3rd for another podium win.

Here's a picture from the usf2000 site - Victor is on the right:



and a closeup of the trophy -



It's rather large but I hope he'll bring it to AZ with him tomorrow. He'll stay with us for a week or two until his next race.

[joeychitwood]

Wow! Third place in his first oval race is amazing. Congratulations to all.

[K7Baixo2]

Victor's sponsor has told them, 'no more funds' due to business conditions in Brazil. Victor and his dad have been as transparent as possible with the team and everyone is working to resolve this. Fabio, Victor's dad, is working the angles in BR.

I knew Victor was pretty good before going to Indy but after that trip, I realized that Victor is the real deal. That's not only my opinion but the opinion of everyone I talked to at Indy. He impresses everyone that he talks to.

He's 4th in the points and has been very consistent in his races. I've never seen a more dedicated 18-year old. Check out the picture that I took of him talking to the engineer - that's his normal operating process....studying the computer, gathering data, talking to others, acting as a sponge to absorb every bit of information possible. Heck, he wouldn't even taste the champagne from his Indy finish when I offered it to him.

The costs for a season of racing is $200,000. My wife and I will kick in funds also but he's still $35,000 short. If anyone has a company and wants this kind of exposure, let me know and we'll make the connections. There are 4 events left so there's plenty of exposure remaining and for that amount of money, it's a relative bargain!

BTW, the "Road to Indy" program on NBC Sports that was broadcast late Friday night featured Victor's win at St Pete! We dvr'd it and this morning, since we're unable to find a video link to it, we skype'd with Victor's parents and they were able to watch it on our TV via Skype. They enjoyed seeing it.

[K7Baixo2]

Oh yeah - I'd be cautious of anyone asking for funds on the 'net. Happy to be vetted by any means that someone would wish.

If you'd like to see a "History of Victor", I've had this thread going on another site since 2009. I've been on that site since roughly 2001.

I'm also a 29 year employee of the same fortune 5 company and I'm more than happy to provide my contact information at the office.

[K7Baixo2]

Originally Posted by joeychitwood

Wow! Third place in his first oval race is amazing. Congratulations to all.

Thanks! Victor is the top rookie at this point and hopefully, he can move up in the rankings.

[K7Baixo2]

Yep - the season started with tornado warnings in St Pete and ended with an earthquake in Sonoma. Victor ended up 5th for the overall season which is excellent given it was his first year at this level.

Better yet, it looks like he'll be signed for Pro Mazda next year and possibly the next step, Indy Lights. An owner apparently has recognized Victor's work efforts, professionalism and dedication and looks like it'll be a full ride with Victor responsible only for the first $30,000 damage to the car should he involved in an accident. I don't have the full details yet and don't want to say too much until it's a done deal but, the contract should be signed today.

[tkerrmd]

Cool

[pacific17]

Originally Posted by K7Baixo2

Yep - the season started with tornado warnings in St Pete and ended with an earthquake in Sonoma. Victor ended up 5th for the overall season which is excellent given it was his first year at this level.

Better yet, it looks like he'll be signed for Pro Mazda next year and possibly the next step, Indy Lights. An owner apparently has recognized Victor's work efforts, professionalism and dedication and looks like it'll be a full ride with Victor responsible only for the first $30,000 damage to the car should he involved in an accident. I don't have the full details yet and don't want to say too much until it's a done deal but, the contract should be signed today.

Congrats! It seems like he has a full racing career ahead of him.

[OmegaJJH]

Thanks for the update.

[77T]

Originally Posted by K7Baixo2

Yep - the season started with tornado warnings in St Pete and ended with an earthquake in Sonoma. Victor ended up 5th for the overall season which is excellent given it was his first year at this level.



Better yet, it looks like he'll be signed for Pro Mazda next year and possibly the next step, Indy Lights. An owner apparently has recognized Victor's work efforts, professionalism and dedication and looks like it'll be a full ride with Victor responsible only for the first $30,000 damage to the car should he involved in an accident. I don't have the full details yet and don't want to say too much until it's a done deal but, the contract should be signed today.

Earthquakes...I don't look forward to 10 days at MLSR in October - maybe I should sleep in a tent at the track.

Good luck on getting the contract. Perhaps he can separately sign a Contingency Contract with a subsidiary sponsor to cover his $30K exposure. Hopefully the primary sponsor's contract will allow independent secondary sub's for that purpose.

Keep us posted - the ladder system to IndyCar is a valiant effort to undertake.