Driver's Note: Sonoma 2022

April 15-17, 2022 | Sonoma Raceway | SRO America TCX

‍

Friday

Going into this weekend, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. At the end of last season, I didn’t know I’d be coming back, but certainly was glad to be behind the wheel again. I was also glad to see the field size had increased. Friday’s practice sessions were all about getting reacquainted with the car since I hadn’t been in the cockpit for 6 months. The Pirelli tire compound had been changed since last season, so we had to try a variety of different setups to account for the altered dynamics of the car. By the end of the day, I was P2 overall and feeling good going into qualifying Saturday morning.

‍

Saturday

Qualifying was an interesting time. Rain had come earlier in the morning and left the track damp for our session. As a result, there were multiple accidents during the session that caused a red flag ending the session prematurely. The series decided to use the finishing order from Practice 2 as the starting order for Race 1, which had me starting P2. 

‍

At the beginning of Race 1, I made a move up the inside of turn 2 and took the lead right from the get-go. Battles behind me allowed me to pull out a decent lead and hang on to it until the end of the race. However those behind me weren’t making it easy. They began catching up towards the end of the race and giving me a glimpse of what racing might be like this season.

‍

Off the track on Saturday, I was working with my team on shooting content for the newly created social media platforms for Jacob Ruud Racing, signing autographs for fans who came to spectate the event that weekend, and getting headshots taken for the series.

‍

Sunday

Sunday’s race was when I realized how competitive the field was going to be this year. I knew I was going to work that much harder for a championship win this year. Although I ended up winning that race as well, I definitely had to keep my head down and focus for the entire 40 minutes to get it done. Once it was all over, I was glad to be coming out of the weekend with a double win and excited for the racing the rest of the season would hold.