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00:00All right, so we're here at HSR at Daytona. We're joined with the team owner of Automatic Racing, Mr. David Russell.
00:05David, thanks so much for taking the time to talk. Obviously, exciting weekend here at Daytona.
00:10You got your Aston Martin that you're running this weekend, so how excited are you just to be here and racing?
00:15And kind of a fun weekend as well for the team.
00:17Yeah, I mean, there's nothing like Daytona, and I think this is, this for us is a, you know, year 10 of an annual pilgrimage to come here.
00:25I think it's their 10th annual that HSR has put this together, so I love the event. It's an event, you know.
00:33It's a race, but for me, it's more of an event.
00:36And we brought a great car. This car has run this race several times, and I'm not sure if it was this chassis,
00:43but one of our chassis we were able to win Group G a couple years ago.
00:47Finished second and third in Group G a couple of times, so yeah, it's a pleasure bringing an Aston here.
00:52I know you guys ran pretty well in World Racing League as well last year when that race happened.
00:56I know you guys were up towards the front, so we know how good this car can be here at this track.
01:00But, I mean, how special is this for you guys, because you guys are based out of Orlando,
01:04so how special is it for you guys to be able to race here at this circuit, kind of like your home track, if you will?
01:08Yeah, I mean, you know, something about this place, you pull through the tunnel.
01:12And, you know, you drive through, and you look up, and you see the banking when you drive through.
01:16I remember the first time I drove through that tunnel, and it's awe-inspiring for sure.
01:22It can be intimidating for a while there, but I appreciate the speedway and the demand that it has on the car, namely, right?
01:33And the setup it has on the car, and so yeah, it's home track, right?
01:39So here in Sebring, Daytona and Sebring are the two places we enjoy the most.
01:43Absolutely. Automatic Racing. Where did the venture begin?
01:47You guys have been around for a while. You've been racing for 20 plus years.
01:50You're now getting into prototype racing in the World Racing League, which people don't know,
01:56it's a great developmental league for a lot of young drivers.
01:59It is.
02:00And you guys will be getting into prototype racing in the series, but where did Automatic Racing begin?
02:05Where did the idea of wanting to own a race team really start for you?
02:08Yeah, so, you know, it's funny how it all starts, right?
02:10So it's a really good question right now, and I enjoy telling the story because it was a fun ride for me.
02:15It still is, but I was lucky enough to work for a company by the name of Skip Barber Racing School,
02:22back when it was Skip Barber Racing School. It's a little different scenario now.
02:26And that goes back to when I started for Skip Barber.
02:32Around 2001, I was working at Sebring School, and one of my students was a guy by the name of Jep Thornton, right?
02:41Yeah.
02:42And he was going through the school and asking questions, and next thing you know, he's like,
02:48where do you live? I'm like, well, I just moved to Orlando from Fort Lauderdale.
02:51He's like, oh, I live in Winter Park, New Orlando. We should get together for breakfast someday.
02:55And I'm like, yeah, any time. So you hear that, and you think, never hear from him again, right?
02:59Yeah.
03:00So school's over on a Sunday. Monday morning, he calls me. You ready for breakfast? Right?
03:05So I'm like, sure. Where do you want to meet? He knows the area. I don't, so he's like, let's meet here.
03:09You'll really like this place. Since you're new to the area, I'll show you something different.
03:13So we went and met there, and he said, I want to go racing. I want to own a race team, and I want to drive.
03:22And I tried to talk him off the ledge and said, hey, you want to drive. You don't want to own a race team.
03:28It's a money pit. Don't own a race team. There's a lot of unexpected costs, right, in owning a race team.
03:33So I tried to talk him off the ledge, and he's like, no, no, no. I'm in the aviation maintenance repair.
03:38I understand all about unexpected costs, right? Just like this car.
03:43So he's like, I tried to talk him out of it. He's like, no, no, I'm going to do it.
03:46So we literally laid it out on a napkin. He did. He wrote his notes, wrote it down.
03:51This is what we're going to do. This is what we're going to name the team.
03:54And away we went, right? That was December of 2001.
03:59And what has it just been like to see this progression? Now you guys are in Mustang Challenge, and I definitely want to talk a little bit about that.
04:05You guys obviously are in the Michelin Pilot Challenge, which is the series below the WeatherTech Sports Car Championship.
04:10So what has it been like just to see this progression for the team and see where it is now compared to where it may have been at the beginnings?
04:16Yeah. So, you know, there's nothing like, I will say, and this is why I'm with, you know, I have relationships with different manufacturers.
04:26You know, Ford, Aston Martin, and Sebatone in this case, right? And others, but those are my three primary.
04:32But I think the business, not unlike life, is all about relationships.
04:37And if you can forge good relationships and you trust people, then I think it's, you know, those are the people that I want to do business with.
04:44And so on the Ford side, I knew a lot of the people at Multimatic, personal friends of mine.
04:50Same thing at Ford, right? I could name several, right? But I forget one, so I won't.
04:55So I knew the people, and I knew the product was coming, and I knew what they were trying to do.
05:00And they were like, hey, we'd love to have you do this. And I'd be like, I really see the, I see the vision.
05:04And so I jumped in, right? It was, you know, you could say it was a leap of faith, but I knew with Ford behind it and the people behind it,
05:12I knew it was going to happen, and it would happen within Flying Colors, right?
05:17So I was really happy to do it, so I owned the run, right? I'd love to take on and run two for next year.
05:23That would be my goal, is to run two of those cars in the Mustang Challenge on the MCIS side of things.
05:28But yeah, so that's how it started with Ford.
05:31What has it been like to see the competitiveness of the Mustang Challenge, especially this year?
05:34I mean, it has been really fun to watch. It's been exciting.
05:38Yeah, it's been a little too exciting sometimes, quite honestly.
05:42But I think the upside to that was at the end of the year, they closed it off with two full green flag races,
05:48and I think set the tone for the customers in the paddock that, hey, we need to conduct these races in a clean fashion.
05:57They'll be great races, and they are really good races, and the product's a nice product, a nice piece.
06:05So yeah, I think for me, I see the vision, and I want to keep doing that with the manufacturer.
06:11Yeah, you talked about manufacturers, and obviously that's such a big part of racing, is having those partnerships with the manufacturers.
06:17And to have Aston Martin, who's now going into GTP racing, you have obviously Ford continually expanding their horizons,
06:24adding in a new car in the GTD class.
06:27There really is now a true pipeline for drivers now within those manufacturers.
06:32So how important is it to be aligned with those manufacturers to be able to have a true pipeline for drivers?
06:36Well, I think you hit on it, right?
06:38To go back to Ford for a second, I think one of the beauties of that program is they are looking to promote people
06:46and move them up through the series of manufacturers.
06:49And I think it's a company that's going to probably under-commit and over-deliver on that with a ladder system, right?
06:58It starts in Mustang Challenge, goes to GT4, and goes to GT3.
07:02And let's face it, Ford probably won't stick around and watch everyone do the prototype thing.
07:06At some point, they'll probably jump in, right?
07:09So I think it's perfect for a young driver to potentially be that, quote-unquote, poster child for Ford now.
07:21So I think some people miss the boat with other manufacturers, and I don't see the light with that, but I do.
07:28Talk about 2024 for you guys, just kind of recap it.
07:31Obviously, again, it was an exciting year for the team.
07:35Obviously, a Michelin Pilot Challenge, adding the Mustang Cup.
07:38So just talk about 2024 as a whole and what you thought of the season.
07:41Yeah, so it was a transition year because, unfortunately, I lost a dear friend to pancreatic cancer.
07:48He was a big part of my entire program here at Automatic.
07:52He was half of my EPSA program, my WRL program.
07:55He was going to participate in the Ford Mustang.
07:58So on the business side, which is far less important than the personal side for me, it was difficult in many ways.
08:08So it's funny how when one door closes, another door opens.
08:15So that's essentially what happened with my relationship with Seneca.
08:22I have a lot of friends over there, too.
08:24It's been a long week dealing with them and the people there.
08:29So that's going to be something that we're going to race at the end of the year.
08:39The Soviet of the Americas, we're going to do the final race with one car.
08:43I take delivery next week. I'm very excited about that.
08:48But yeah, when I lost my friend, it really put a stall in my program starting in April.
09:02The season had already started.
09:04So I was trying to piece stuff together, quite honestly.
09:07Sometimes you're in a little bit of survival mode.
09:10But the customer base that I have now is super resourceful and kind.
09:20They're friends of mine.
09:21So we'll parlay that into running a two-car SEPA co-effort next year in WRL, which I'm excited about running a prototype.
09:30Like I said, I know the people. It's about the people.
09:32So we'll run two cars. We'll start off with one car of code.
09:35I'll take delivery of my second car at Circuit of the Americas in lieu of 2025.
09:42We'll run both.
09:45I'm working on the driver front.
09:46And again, my phone's active.
09:48So that's a good thing.
09:49It's better than not being active.
09:50Yeah, absolutely.
09:51And it's exciting doing something a bit different.
09:54Absolutely.
09:55And the reality of it is I love running the Aspen product in WRL.
10:00But the rules package didn't keep up with the newer cars versus the older cars.
10:07It's not a modern car.
10:12So efficiency-wise, it's not as good as newer stuff.
10:15So the timing of that going into the SEPA co-effort was very good for me.
10:19Being in these different platforms with WRL, IMSA, what are you able to gain in terms of data that can help you?
10:29I know, obviously, prototype racing is completely different.
10:31But I imagine there's a lot of things that can translate into one another.
10:34It can really help developments of the cars and such, especially when you're running Aston Martins in WRL and also in IMSA.
10:39I know the field's different.
10:41But there's definitely a lot you can take away from both series when you're racing them.
10:46Yeah, I would agree with that.
10:48I think we have a baseline with where we're at now.
10:52Now we're starting over.
10:55The pace of the SEPA co-effort is flip-flop, the pace of the Aston.
11:00It doesn't have the straight-line speed, but it has mega-cornering, downforce, and braking.
11:06So I think for my drivers that are coming out of the Aston, it will be something of a learning curve for them.
11:14And I think it will be something that they can take out of that that will enhance their driving for the future events.
11:21You talked a little bit about the future to come for the team.
11:23You mentioned, obviously, with maybe wanting to grab another Mustang to run the Mustang Challenge.
11:28What is next for you guys, maybe in 2025 or in the future?
11:33What do you hope to maybe bring to the table?
11:36I know SRO is obviously an option as well.
11:38What do you look for in terms of when you want to jump into a new series or a new event?
11:44I want a series that you can't substitute people that care about things, right?
11:50Absolutely.
11:51So that's what attracts me to those manufacturers, right?
11:54Yeah.
11:55And IMSA really cares about it, John do.
11:58You see him here even this weekend at HSR.
12:01I saw him on Wednesday test day.
12:03I was driving the car, and I'm like, there he is.
12:05There goes John again.
12:06I don't know how he does it, right?
12:07But you get guys like that that care about the product.
12:11There's no substitute for it.
12:12And anytime they need something from you, assistance, you're willing to help them.
12:17They're willing to help you.
12:18It is really essentially a family, right?
12:21Absolutely.
12:22So, yeah.
12:24Did that answer that question?
12:26No, it did.
12:27For sure.
12:28For sure.
12:29Yeah, I mean, it's obviously an exciting time to be in IMSA.
12:32I mean, you look at the grids now.
12:33They're expanding, especially the Michelin Pilot Challenge.
12:35You're seeing now in BP Racing Sports Car Challenge, you're going to have three classes heading into next season,
12:40which is going to be so much fun.
12:42I mean, talk about how exciting it is to be a part of this IMSA grid.
12:45Seeing the fans show up and really supporting not only the top series, but also even your guys' series as well.
12:50Yeah, yeah.
12:51I mean, the growth is just – I won't say it's horrible, but it's just – we're breaking records all year long.
12:58Everywhere we go, we're breaking a record.
13:00And you can see it.
13:01I mean, you go to the events, you're like, wow, it's packed.
13:03And look how early – look how early it's busy.
13:06You can see it coming early.
13:08And they've done a really good job of promoting it.
13:11And the manufacturers have done a really good job at helping that process, I think.
13:16Absolutely, absolutely.
13:17Well, David, hey, I really appreciate the time.
13:19Thanks so much for getting a chance to talk.
13:20Obviously, where can people go find the team, find you on social media?
13:24And definitely got to give you your chat out there.
13:26Yeah, yeah.
13:27So we're on social at Facebook and Instagram.
13:29So come check us out.
13:31And anyone that's at the track, please come by and see us.
13:35We'd love to shake hands and show you our cars.
13:38I love it.
13:39Awesome.
13:40Thank you so much, David.
13:41I really do appreciate it.