Driver's Note: Indy 2022

October 6-9, 2022 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | SRO America TCX

Thursday

Indy was a wild weekend emotionally for the entire team. We had tons of guests from the sewell family of dealerships there to witness my (hopeful) double championship, but there was still work to be done to make that happen. Thursday’s practice was cold, but successful. We had the fastest car and a points lead going in to Race 1 on friday

Friday

After Qualifying second for race 1, and my closest championship rival qualifying 6th, I knew that all I had to do was stay out in front of him to win the championship. Unfortunately, during the race I was caught out after two competitors got into each other in front of me going down into turn 1. Leaving me with virtually nowhere to go, I crashed into another competitor damaging one of the radiators on my car and spilling water all over the track. The amazing team at Fast Track Racing changed the radiator in my car in the pit lane and got me back out in time to finish enough of the race to score points. This meant that I had a 9 point lead going in to the final race of the season that would decide the championship. A second place finish would crown me champion.

Saturday

There was no racing for us Saturday due to the Indy 8-hour, so I spent my day with friends trying my best to forget the situation I was in. I knew what I had to do on Sunday, and since I was starting from the back there was a lot to do, but it’s nothing I hadn’t done before.

Sunday

This was a huge day for us. Starting from the back of the grid and needing to finish second or better to secure the championship was a big ask, but I was up to the challenge. As the race started I tried my best to be methodical in the passes I made, only going to high percentage low risk moves that would keep me in the race. After all, if I didn't finish, the championship would be lost. I was able to make all the passes I needed to and get up to second place with my championship rival leading the race. It took a very large amount of willpower to stay where I was and not make the pass for the lead, especially with pressure from behind from other competitors. At the end of the race I finished in second place, giving me enough points to secure the championship for a second time. This season was definitely full of ups and downs, highs and lows, but I’m super thankful for everyone that made it happen and I’m extremely proud to fly the championship banner once again. I hope to be back again in 2023 to continue to establish my name in BMW touring car racing.