By: Tommy Sneider <[email protected]>

How did you start go-carting?
My dad is an IndyCar engineer and he’s with Andretti Green Racing.

Have you been in any competitions?
Yeah, I had a competition two Sundays ago. It was my first Senior Class race, and Thomas Scheckter was in that race and he qualified third, and I qualified second so that was pretty cool.

Have you placed in the races.
That was my first race of the 2008 season, but last year I went to Daytona and I qualified 14th and finished 12th.

What kinds of awards have you won from racing?
In 2006 I got my first win in TAG Junior Class. All you have to do is touch the car and it starts. In 2007 I won the Yamaha Junior Can. I won two races at Newcastle and Motor Sports Park and that’s where I do most of my racing. In 2007 I came in third place out of 24 in my class, so that was pretty big.

What’s the most challenging part about the sport?
Probably just staying consistent and getting the cart set up right. The track is always changing and you have to adapt to the track. Since there’s sprint races, it’s pretty important to qualify really well. You want to qualify in the front row to have a chance to win.

Do you have your own cart?
Yeah, I actually have two. I use one for the TAG class, and I have another class called the HPV cart and that’s just so I can get on the track.

How do you help in maintaining and keeping it running to its potential?
We send our engine to an engine builder, so you just bolt it in and go. For the cart, there’s a lot of grease involved, so after everyone season you have to clean off the cart. Also, between races you have to make changes to the cart. The way the cart is altered makes a big change.

When was your first race?
My first national race was in South Bend, but it was more of a regional race. My first big national race was in Daytona. I also raced at Charlotte, but I do most of the racing at Newcastle Motorsports Park. It’s one of the best in the U.S. You’ll see a lot of IndyCar racers out there. There’s a lot of top-notch competition.

What is your favorite place where you competed?
Probably Shawano, WI, just because the track has so many different elevation changes and it’s a big track with a lot of fast runs.

Have you had any bad crashes or injuries from racing?
I broke my thumb. What happened was there was a cart spun out in front of me and I T-bonded him and I got my finger stuck in the steering wheel and I fractured it. Another time I got loose and another cart drove over the side of my body.

What do you want to achieve in your racing career?
I just want to keep going as long as I can. Just see what opens up ahead. I would love to do some open wheel.

Describe your most exciting moment.
Probably my first big race a day after my birthday. It was a great feeling of accomplishment finally getting my first win and fighting for the next one.

What kinds of speed do you race at?
In the TAG cart you can get up to 70 plus miles per hour, and that’s about as fast as you’ll find me on any track. In the year before this, it was 65.

What racer do you idolize and why?
Marco Andretti just because he’s accomplished so much and he’s only 21 years old. He races flat out, no matter how the cart handles, he just drives.

How do you balance school and practicing for races?
The races are normally on weekends, and we’ll go occasionally to the track to practice. There’s a lot of down time on the track, so when other classes are racing I’ll do my homework then.

What do your practices usually consist of?
We test to see how the cart feels based on the changes we make to the cart. We’ll just test different components of the chassis, and we’ll test a qualifying run and try to cut down time making little changes. A race is only 12 laps, so sometimes we do 12-lap runs to see if the cart continually handles right.

What’s the most difficult part while racing?
Probably staying focused and making sure you do every corner completely right and hit your apex completely right and get on the gas completely right. Also, knowing what is going on around you.

Do you think you’ll continue racing later on in life?
Yeah, I would really love to. But if it’s not an option, then no; I just want to see how far it will take me and go through the different formulas and hopefully reach IndyCar open wheel or NASCAR, whatever presents itself.