Late to Grid - Grassroots Racing
We share the stories and inspiration that will help get more people behind the wheel and on the track. Track days, HPDE, SCCA, NASA, ChampCar, LeMons, and autocrossing - we interview drivers and industry insiders that will help drivers along their motorsports journey.
The name, Late To Grid? In the past the host, Bill Snow, was always late to the track, late to get the car ready, and hence - Late To Grid. His goal with the podcast is to grow the sport and highlight the tools and resources that will help you get to the track and faster behind the wheel.
Late to Grid - Grassroots Racing
Eric Baun - From Music to Motorsports, Racing with MS & a Love for the Track
Bill Snow welcomes Eric Baun, a sales rep and avid racer, to the Late to Grid podcast. Listen as Eric shares his motorsports journey from his first track day in a Volkswagen to his current passion for karting and endurance racing, including his surprising start in wheel-to-wheel racing, his experience managing multiple sclerosis, and his goal of reaching the next level in motorsport.
Get Eric's advice on how to get started in racing, the resources he uses to improve his driving, and his vision for the future. You won't want to miss this inspiring story!
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Track ready setups for time trial drivers and others
Thanks for listening and taking an interest in growing grassroots racing. The Late To Grid podcast shares the stories and inspiration that help listeners along their motorsports journey.
Find all episodes on the Atomic Autosports website.
Hi, it's Bill with the Late to Grid podcast, and I am back in the Atomic Auto Sports Studio to bring you another interview with an exciting guest. To learn more about their motorsports journey. Today I'm joined by Erik Von with Autobahn Motorsports. And Erik, thanks for being here. Thank you so much for having me, Bill. I'm excited to be here. And I took 17 times to do that. Intro. Oh, it's all good. Well, before we get to the motorsports stuff, you're, no stranger behind the microphone, right? Drummer in a band? Yeah, he used to play drums. Still play pretty daily. Honestly, keeping the cardio going more than anything, because I hate running. But, yeah, you used to play in a band back in the day. Reconnect, toured a little bit, recorded some albums, but, yeah, I had fun in the studio. So the microphones. Not a big deal, you know? Yeah. That's awesome. So I've seen some of your, your posts and your videos with the drums. Do your neighbors complain? Absolutely not. I'm really surprised. The one neighbor is always like, hey, I would like you to bring this outside and play. I'm like, well, I don't think the rest of the neighborhood would like that. But, yeah, thankfully, my my neighbors get along, with me pretty well so they don't mind the drumming. They don't mind the cars. So. So everything's good. That's great. So you got involved in motorsports through Jeff. And Steve was a young player special. How did you get connected with them? Well, so I've always kind of been around cars. Got into the show cast off more than anything, specifically Volkswagens, and then just kind of met Steve and then his son Mike through that. And then, we're part of a car club of lower expectations. For a while. We did a lot of fun stuff with there. And then, you know, I think it was 2013. I did my first track day, in my Volkswagen and kind of, you know, drank the Kool-Aid. Never looked back after that point. And I just remember there was one Christmas party and Mike looked at me like, hey, my dad needs people for his team. And the rest was kind of history. After that kind of started commune with him. And then, one day Jeff looked at me. He goes, when you get in the car. I thought, okay, if you guys trust me enough, whenever you want, here we go. So it's, you know, like I said, drank the Kool-Aid and never looked back. Yeah. Why? Volkswagens? Well, I think at the time, like, considered back in the BMX days, it was around the skatepark. A lot of the I call them the cool guys had it, had the Volkswagen. So everybody kind of wanted to emulate them, if you will. So went with the mark for golf on that one and had started the journey there and just kind of went from there and to build what you got and run what you got type scenario also. Right. And What was it? So in 2013, what was that first track day? That first track day was out at Nelson's Lotus? Just, you know, just a normal track day. And funny enough, the car that I ended up driving for my very first actual competition, the the Jetta that we used to run for Junk player. They actually, for the, you know, beginner group since, you know, had to have, somebody out in front, believe it was Brian Bartz. He actually drove the Jetta as the, like, pace car, if you will. Oh, yeah. Yeah. And I was like, oh, pretty funny years later to actually get in that car and do my first race at Nelson's was, was pretty interesting. Oh that's neat. Did you ever think that you'd get involved with wheel wheel racing? Yes and no. Like, I always wanted to, but never knew how to get there type thing. And it was just kind of the stars kind of aligned and met the right people. And I, I've been very thankful, been able to get, connected with the right people to pull me along, if you will, and teach me the right things. Yeah. So that first track day, do you remember some of the feelings and the excitement or the anxiety that you were going through? Yeah, I mean, pretty much it was all that, just the just excitement that, oh my gosh, I'm here. And then it was also the fear of I put this car together. Is it going to hold up like, you know, going down to turn one flat out like a little bit of brake turn in and it's like, is this car going to hold up to that? Yeah. It's just being the other cars on track. You know, that first one kind of whizzing by because, you know, obviously I wasn't pushing that hard because I did, I went off, so, so yeah, it was definitely interesting, but it was a it was a good feeling. It, it I want to say it kept you safe, but it was almost like, okay, you didn't push too hard. But then the more I got acclimated to it, it was like, okay, let's let's keep spinning this thing and see what happens. And how long of timeline time wise was it between that first track day and when you did your first wheel the Wheel with Junk Player Special? Honestly, it was it was a couple of years, honestly. Because I started, like I said, started off crew and I think it was 2 or 3 seasons that I was crewing with Junk Player, before actually getting behind the wheel. Now, when I was doing those crewing days, I was also driving on some practice days on Fridays, trying to get the feel of it, as well. So it didn't have any issues there as far as, you know, traffic on there, you know, the track, you know, not worried about point bys or anything like that and just kept going with it. But yeah, it was it was a couple of years until I actually got the, the first wheel to wheel drive, if you will. So yeah. So crewing and then you were able to do some Friday test days. How did that help you prepare for ultimately getting behind the wheel for a race weekend and driving, you know, close to two hour stints? It was really nice to see how well, one, how the organizations work, you know, the rules and everything, how pitstops operate. Just watching people in and out of the car, helping people in another car, knowing what I'd be in for, like pit lane procedures, just everything. Or around the track that you really should, know like that they go over in the new drivers briefings and stuff, but it was nice having that for a few years of just kind of, okay, this is the lay of the land. This is how a weekend operates. Just knowing all that going into it versus just going into it completely blind going, oh, what do we do here? All right. I kind of knew that. So I wasn't anxious about that. So all I really had to do is think about driving. Oh yeah I think that's really interesting that you had that perspective because a lot of folks just, you know, might pay for a seat, show up and just jump in. Yeah. They don't understand how everything too orchestrated and how a pit stop goes down and what is happening outside the car. You know, as a driver, you know, you're just sitting there maybe jumping in or out. You don't see everything that goes on. So that's probably super valuable to have that aspect. Yeah. And just knowing like it helps with situations in the car to not having the radio in or like oh my gosh, I got to bring this car into the pit. Now something happened just like okay, this happened. How do I drive around this, you know, and what have we done in the past so that those situations definitely helped? Yeah. So let's talk about some of the tracks you've raced as we talked about Nelson Ledges, I know that you've raced at pit. Where else have you raced? Mid-Ohio and then, Watkins Glen. And then I did a just a track day down in, Virginia at Dominion Raceway. There was a big, Volkswagen event down there. So actually, Steve took Stella down there, and I took my car down there, and ran down there. And so just won off there. That was like I said, HPD. But yeah, as far as car tracks, yeah. It's just so the listeners know he, Steve didn't take his wife or his dog. Stella is what they call, the car they race. Yes, yes. Yeah. Good, good. Good story on that one. Everybody thinks that we, you know, are just drinking all the Stella beer in the pit, and that was the name of the car, but, yeah, but, yeah, it's kind of evolved. This is Stella to 2.5, actually, at this point, but, yeah, it came along. So what of all those tracks, which one has been your favorite? So, all those tracks definitely going to be Watkins Glen as far as favorite. Just the sheer size of it, the speeds there. And just kind of the history there too, you know, just the old F1 and just NASCAR and everybody that goes there currently is kind of nice to be like, see that track on TV? Oh yeah, I've race there. Yeah. Any exciting moments that you can share with us about, you know, the bus stop everyone talks about or maybe just trying to learn a new track? Yeah. I mean, so learning the new track, I know everybody's going with, iRacing. I'm balling on a budget, so I definitely did the for the experience, if you will, but I, I drove so many laps in Forza before going to Watkins Glen that for the most part, I had a good idea of which way the turns went. You know, granted, feels a little different in real life versus the, simulator. If you will. But yeah, really, the bus stop is definitely in real life. Something. Okay. You got to be a little braver than you do on the simulator, right? But, yeah, I've, I've lost the the, ehm, solo off the dash a few times, going over the gator bumps and things like, look up and I'll be in the toe of the boot and like, where'd the aim go? Oh, it's at my foot. What do you know. Oh, boy. But, But yeah, for the most part, no, hair raising experiences or anything at Watkins. Just plenty of fun. Going up through the, the S's, climbing those that hill, at full throttle, I did that. That's a fun experience. Just even with, the rear of the car kind of moving around a little bit. It's an experience. Oh, I bet. And that was in the Volkswagen there as well. Ever driven rear wheel drive? Not in anything competition wise. I did a track day in an old, BMW e90. I had so all wheel drive on that, but, yeah, that was just my daily driver because the Volkswagen wasn't ready and, traded in week later. So in one word, what do you love about karting? Probably. Rush. Yeah, just the sheer rush of it. Let's talk a little bit more about go karting. So you've been doing the endurance racing and the HPD stuff when in karting and or the picture. So this is the fifth year that I've been in karting. It's kind of came along as, looking at everything money wise. Okay. It's a little more affordable than some of the car races, or at least it used to be that way. Yeah. I think you should put affordable in quotations. Very definitely affordable quotations. But yeah, a friend to, talk to through BMX actually kind of got me into that. And he's like, oh, you're in the racing cars when you come out and race karts, he's race cars, karts for a long time. And just kind of another one of those, picked up a cart and didn't look back. So it's, definitely helped me in the, car driving as well, getting a lot more of that wheel to wheel experience. Just taking all the anxiety and everything out of it because, you know, not having a body around you or harnesses or anything, it's like you're exposed. You're you're right there with it. Yeah. But yeah, that definitely, just the sheer rush of it, like, I, I always joke, I liken, driving the car like the back straight at Mid-Ohio, going down there. Or how in Talladega Nights the guys going down the street drinking his macchiato, it's like, that's really what it feels like in the car to have that much time. Whereas the cart, it almost feels like you have to be on it every second because, oh, there's the turn, there's the turn, and just the sheer inputs have to be just that much more precise because, you know, you turn the wheel in a car a quarter of the way, okay, it takes a second to move and it's not that much. You move, you know, the steering wheel on the car just a little bit, and then you're pointed, you know, the complete opposite direction. So it's definitely that rush of like just having to be on top of it. And like everything's so much more in the moment. You know, you have time to think, but not the time you do in the car. When you got started. Where are you doing a drive and drives or do you buy a complete package? I bought, complete package. I actually went down to, there's a good swap meet. Every year that they hold down the, the, Ohio Valley Karting Association, they hold a big swap meet. And I went down there with my buddy that was getting me into it, Dillon. And, I just bought, a used car there, and admittedly, it was the wrong kart for what I was doing. I bought a shifter kart chassis for a four cycle. Oh, yeah. But at the time, it was like, okay, what I could afford and what was available at the swap meet that year. And I drove that chassis for about two years and like, kind of getting the hang of it. And then, I switched to the chassis that a lot of my friends were kind of on just kind of be like, okay, well, we go to boss, and I bet you and we getting these things and I can't hang something's here. So I'm like, all right. If I put myself on equal equipment and I still can't hang, it's me. But as soon as I got on that equal equipment and something that would actually respond to the tuning I was doing, it was like, all right, here we go. Hey. Yeah, that's why me. It's hell at the Robert Center. Yes, it is. It is even for people that don't go karting, I say go, it is a blast. You get to see all kinds of equipment, see all kinds of racers. They have some good sessions where people can learn about different things. Do you still go back there and look for equipment? I, I went, one of the year sons, I was going to go down this year, but I had something come up. Didn't, wasn't able to go down, but, but yeah, I definitely it's on my calendar again this year because I need a few things. So it is a hike for us about four hours. Yeah. Yeah, that's always the thing. I'm like, okay, I know I'm going to save some money, but at the same time, do I just pay the shipping to not drive the four hours? Yeah. But. Right. So, the so now you run into, you run for cycle 0206. I'm going to gas. Yeah. Where's your home track? My home track is, always going to be Freemont. I've cut my teeth out there, you know, live in the rain now. But I've always been an Erie County boy. I grew up in here on, So Fremont is definitely the first track I ever ran on the car. And, you know, like I said, where I cut my teeth there. Great friends there. I will have a track next year. Opening about a mile from my house there in Lorain. Yeah. So I will kind of be a transplant, but I will still always claim Fremont as my home track. And you get to go to some other tracks because you're doing the Buckeye series. Yeah. So we travel around, Fremont and Thompson, are kind of my go to tracks. I'm actually kind of smack dab in the middle of them, which is kind of nice. But we do do other stuff in the, Buckeye series. Like, they just ran Wilmington, two weeks ago, I think it was. Unfortunately, I was unable to make that one. I discovered, my cart was broken, crack in the chassis, as I was prepping for everything. So kind of sat that one out. I saw the pictures of that cracked. Well, that you posted on Facebook. Yeah. Unfortunately, it's kind of a common thing. I actually have two that I need to repair. This one here, but. Was it a seat? Stay. Yeah. Stay broken on it. I didn't have this issues in the past, but I did move up to the the master's class, which is a higher weight. So I'm thinking the additional 30 pounds of, ballast ultimately. Yeah, is causing an issue on that. So that's another thing this year I'm gonna look at is, weight distribution on that, see if I can get the, the ballast a little bit more spread out. So it's not going to keep cracking. The seat stays. Right. But you've you've done some things beyond Buckeye right. Yeah. Yeah. I've also ran with cup karts. We've done the Grand Nationals for a few years. Out in Indiana. Big, big track out there, Newcastle Motorsports. It's great track as well. But yeah, go out there and do the, Grand Nationals out there. It's always a fun event, brings a ton of cards out. You know, we're talking in the hundreds of cards, so. Yeah, that's awesome. I love the karting community. I love how it is so fundamental to our sport. You know? Absolutely. All the great racers start there, much like yourself. It's so fun. I don't want to say it's simple, but yet it is right. You have a you have a chassis that has no suspension other than what you do with the tires. Right? It's the purest form of motorsports. Yeah, really, really is. You know, I've heard that from, a couple of my friends, you know, that actually have raced like, SCCA events. Doug Marsh, used to be NCA champion. Yes. You know, he has told me that multiple times, like, there's there's no better experience racing experiences a car over a car. So, you know, and for him to say that too, it's like, okay, I take that a little bit more, to heart, you know? Yeah. So doing the karting while you're also racing cars, how has karting helped you be a better driver on the big tracks? Well, really, focus is definitely one thing. Like I was saying before the the reaction time needed in the kart versus a car, it's helped me recover in certain instances in the car where it starts to get out of shape a little bit. And before I not so much struggle to maintain it. But like I would always spend those first couple of years, there wasn't a session on track that I didn't spin the car. Yeah, but hey, you don't find the limits until you go past them, right? That's exactly. Right. But definitely with the car control. It's helped me with the car control more than anything. It just situational awareness more than anything as well. Just with the other cars or carts on the track. Just people being that close to you at speeds, you know, negotiating in a corner, not being like, oh, I got to brake. I'm scared. I'm just like, now just fight into the corner. It's really open that up. And then Racecraft especially too has definitely brought a lot out. With that to, with the, you know, car HPD, you know, you're used to. Okay, I got to give this guy a point by. So you're always trying to find where where you want to give him that point by. But with the car, you know, it's just. And there's no mirrors either. So you kind of got to rely on your senses around you. And so definitely the situational awareness has been helped and heightened by the car. I was telling Brett I did it backwards, you know, did some car stuff first and then I got in a car. It's but yeah, it's definitely played back for now. There has been weekends when I was doing cart one weekend, car the next weekend that some stuff did screw me up because there is some stuff that you do in a car that you can't do in a car like curbs. So tracks like, you know, cars, you can take the curb pretty much anywhere. Carts depending on the curb, they they're almost like a launch ramp or anything. So it's just remembering which ones I can hit and which ones to stay off of. It's like a back and forth just remembering that I've launched myself a few times. That's an interesting way to pass. Go over them. Yeah, right. Like a little jump? Yeah. Where do you hope all the karting leads, like, what do you have planned for next year? What's your big goal is karting. So next year with the track opening in the rain, I'm really kind of going to focus most of my time there. Just being so close to home, not traveling as much, still kind of wrangling in, finances from the past years of, racing, spending a little bit more than I should have, but, getting everything back on track, with that and just kind of developing the car program, hopefully being able to offer some driver coaching, this year as well, or this upcoming year as well. At the track, just being that close to it, I want to give something back. You know, I've had so much help these past five years with friends, helping me with, you know, racecraft, kart setup and all that. It's like, I want to give that back to, you know, who is ever coming up, because I know there's going to be with a brand new track. There's going to be plenty of people that are going to be hopping into it for the first time. So I kind of want to offer that. And I would like to do, you know, a couple one off events again next year, like, I would really want to get to Mid-Ohio for the dark kart event and run Mid-Ohio in the kart, as well as, get back to Grand Nationals and running some more national events next year. So that's that's my hope. We'll see. We'll see if we get there. Yeah. So in one sentence, explain to listeners who you're referencing. Lorraine. There's a there's a new complex being built there. So in a sentence or two, explain to listeners what's going on out there. Think of it as a all around motorsports facility where you're going to have indoor karting, rental karts, outdoor rental carts, some simulators, and then a bigger pro track for, you to cycle for cycle, karts. Really a lot of money going into it. A lot of progress has been made and, it's going to be a really nice facility. Yeah. The, listeners can can follow online as the construction is going on. But it went from talk, talk, talk to bulldozers and excavators going 100 miles an hour. Absolutely. So it's exciting to see for our sport for sure. Absolutely. Yeah. It's came a long way in a very short time. You know, there's always roadblocks with everything getting stuff rolling. But, once those roadblocks were down, full steam ahead. Yeah. I think back to a piece of advice that you got early in your motorsports career. What is it and how often do you refer back to it? I think relaxed is probably the best one. Everybody starts overthinking. I think a lot of things, you know, grabbing the wheel, gritting your teeth. And with that, you're not reacting, you know, I like I liken it kind of, to drumming. You got to stay loose, to play fast. You're stiff. It's. You're bearing sticks in the head. You're not getting the speed. You're not getting the agility, if you will. So it's just like always just breathe and relax. Usually on the cart stuff. When I'm going down the street, I'll take my hands and kind of fanned my fingers out and just relax the hands a bit, like I breathe. Remember? Take a couple breaths and, And definitely, definitely relax and breathe. I smiled when you mentioned grit your teeth. So, we were at the Bridgestone Firestone, testing grounds in Akron for an event, and they were showing us the new Bridgestone tires and these BMW, M3's, basically. And, you know, we I'm in the driver's seat and there's, there's an actual instructor or these folks all had race experience, some NASCAR or some IMSa. And I go out for my first session and the guy just says, you got to relax, man. You are gripping. He's like, you look at your teeth, you're just gritting your teeth. And I'm like, you know what? You're right. So the next sessions I did, I end up going fast this time of day. For everyone there except the instructors. Yeah. And and you know how many years I've been behind the wheel. But he was right. I mean, he could see it. That. So that's why I had a big smile when you said that, Mike. Oh, yeah. That's right. Oh, I definitely a big one. Just relaxing because you get too much in the moment, you know, trying to chase somebody down to yours, hyper focused like, but just relax and everything will come to you. Right? If someone were to approach you now and say, Eric, I want to get into this. Being motorsports in general, what would be the advice you offer them? I mean, really just look, see what you kind of want to do. And based on, you know, kind of my experience, too, with the Champ Car that we spoke on earlier, just, you know, see what's around because I, I've talked to friends that wanted to get into it and just kind of after they started looking at things, you know what? Maybe, maybe I don't want to drive. Maybe I want to do something different. So just look at all the aspects of it and kind of kind of learn, learn the scenarios, if you will. You know, you know, what's going on. I think that helps because, you know, you don't want to start spending hundreds, hundreds of dollars on stuff and you know that maybe this isn't the right for me. So was definitely looking to where you want to go talk to more than one person because everybody's experiences are different. You know, I've talked to guys that, you know, talked me into doing one thing, and then I get that I'm like, this isn't for me. And then talked about like, oh, no, that wasn't for me because of this. Like, oh yeah, I'm that way too. So it's definitely talked to more than one person. Kind of get the feel of everything. Yeah, I must say I'm carding for just another minute or two. So you spent a lot of time out of Boss Pro? Absolutely. Do you do, High Voltage as well? Yeah, not as frequently. But every now and then I get down there. All right, so for the listeners outside in northern Ohio, those are our two closest indoor karting facilities. So I know I see your name, you know, and the weekly series always at the top out at Boss Pro. How do you use that indoor karting to sharpen your skill in the off season? Really, going out to boss on the off season, it keeps the seat time, momentum going up, rather than just being very stagnant because I've taken like months off and I'll go there and I'm like, okay, I'm a couple tenths slower. What the heck's going on here? But yeah, it's just adapting. And the great part, at boss to when we do the challenge nights out there, it's not the same layout every time. We change up the track enough so I feel like that helps me anytime I go to a new track, learning different, layouts and everything. So even though I might be fast on this layout, I might not be as fast on this layout, and it's just relearning those turns as fast as we can because we get maybe one practice outing and then everybody go. So it really helps keep the seat time, fresh, more than anything. Yeah. And you think seat time is important? Absolutely. Yeah. It's like the the more I, I'm on it, I, the more I'm just laser focused on top of it and the more I'm out of it. It's, it seems a little bit to keep it going or to get it going again. So definitely would love to go every week. But yeah, at least once a month or so to keep it going in the off season. Yeah. We don't have the last name Rockefeller, so we're not going. Yeah. So I had you on the podcast earlier in 2024, and it was a goals podcast. You attended an open house. We had a track first and you shared something that I have not forgotten about, and it was a story about you were at a karting event and you had forgotten something. You had a run back. Yep. And for the listeners, you have multiple sclerosis. Yes, sir. And Ms.. And I want you to share that story, and I want to talk about how you manage it, because I think it's really important for the listener to understand that you don't have to be the perfect person to be in the sport. Right? You can you can be dealing with all sorts of different things, not be the fastest. Maybe there's some health issues. Tell us that story that you told, in that podcast earlier this year. Yeah. So, out at, Newcastle on Indiana, it was, for the Grand Nationals last year, actually, made it all the way to the final for the day. So kind of nice what they do for the, the very final, rather than just putting it all out on the, the false grid and then, you know, you know, when your heats up, go ahead and go, you actually push out on the cart, stand, onto the actual grid itself. They interview kind of like the top ten and go for there. So I had all this time in the world, and they're like, all right, time to get going. Take the carts off the stand. Me and my mechanic take the cart off the stand. I looked in the seat. Where's my helmet? My helmet was back at the trailer, which was probably a half a mile away, if I had to guess. Because we were pitted, almost at the far end. Like I said, hundreds of carts at this event. So each cart has a family with it and usually a camper or a trailer. So we were pretty far out. Without even thinking of it, just because who I am. I sprinted back to the trailer as fast as I could. I made it to the trailer, just collapsed when I got there, and I was like, okay, probably shouldn't do this, but we're going to do this. I put my helmet on, ran back to the grid. As they were starting, I see them leave and I'm hopping over the fence as they're kind of closing it. And when I landed because I couldn't feel my feet, because, well, that's one of my symptoms, like, start to not feel my feet if I have, like, episode. And when I landed, I just had no feeling to soar right to my knees and had the worst part was just staring at my cart maybe 50 yards away. Just like watching the field drive away. And I'm, like, looking at it like, you can do it. You can do it. But in my head, knowing, you know what could happen because, you know, it's it's very, physical. So if I was already at that point, I wasn't going to make it, and, the race director was like, you can make it, you can make it. And I told him like, nope, go ahead, pull the cart off. I'm like, I can't physically go out there. I'm like, right now I'm okay. But in a lap or two I'm just going to be a hazard. And I don't want to be a hazard and ruin somebody else's race. So I made the decision. Parliament pulled myself out of that one, unfortunately, was kicking myself, a lot for that. But, after speaking to the race director after the fact. Who? He said, you're one of the smartest races I've ever talked to, like no one else would have ever. You know, that I've ever talked to you would have ever been like, nope, take me out. But I just knew I was going to be a hazard just knowing I needed to listen to my body at that point. And I kicked myself every day for it. Yeah. But, you know, you learn. Disappointing for sure, but definitely the right call for you. Yeah. And for the other competitors. So how do you manage that? How do you, you know, knowing that this could happen? You know, a lot of people would probably just say I'm out, I'm not going to do this sport and I'm going to sit on the couch. But how have you managed it? And overcome it to be able to participate at some of the highest levels in our sport. So, like a lot of stuff, you know, see everybody in the cars with the, the cool shirts. Well, I have an ice vest that's very similar. A lot of the F1 guys, you'll see kind of wearing them if you see, like the red when they got the, just their, suits kind of halfway off. I like the ice vest better than the in car, like, cool shirts. Because I can wear it in the cart as well. Also good for 6 pounds of ballast, which is also good for. Something you. Need. Oh, yeah. Absolutely. So, yeah, just maintaining, just keeping my core temperature cool. Because thankfully, I'm pretty good with heat management. I'm actually on the other side of the coin. The the cold gets me. But most people with, multiple sclerosis, he is a big factor. And that's what shut them down. Oh. And I was honestly, when I was doing the, the SCCA physical, I was honestly kind of worried on it because of one of, you know, one of the questions is, you know, excessive cabin heating of over 100 something degrees. And I was worried my doctor was gonna be like, oh, what about this? But knowing my abilities and what I can do, they were fine with signing me off. And thankfully, you know, I've not had an issue with that. But, yeah, it's just really just listening to my body knowing, like, hey, if I feel something tingling or this isn't going to be good, I just know, hey, I shouldn't do this this weekend. And the other part is just the the mental stuff. You know, motorsports is mental on its own. But then adding the EMS side of it, too. Like, again, I do pretty well with my physical stuff, but I do struggle more with the mental, neurological stuff more than anything. So adding that on top of the motorsports mental stress, it's just having that positive mental attitude more than anything. And I always like to say I'm handy capable instead of handicap. I love that, just, you know, I look at something, you know? Okay, this is what's going on. How do I move past it versus just kind of throwing my hands up and giving up? And I think that's part of it. I remember when I was first diagnosed, my first treatment, they had to keep me in the hospital just to make sure I didn't have any reactions or anything like that. Go. Was that. Eight years? Yeah, about eight years, actually coming up. But the caseworker came in to see, like of, oh, what do I needed this or that? And I was actually, you know, laying there in bed researching, I'm doing all that. And the caseworker, I've never came into a patient's room and they're researching, you know, their own diagnosis, doing all of this. And she's like, honey, if you if you keep that attitude, you're going to be just fine. So that's always kind of resonated with me too. Like I just keep with it and go with it. But yeah, just knowing that I'm capable of do it and just listen. Your body goes in there. Yeah. So PMA positive mental attitude that's so important. Matter of fact, I don't know if you know Marlin Sumlin. Yes okay. That's his license plate PMA wins. Yeah Marlins. Awesome. Yeah. So I'm glad that you have that at the, at the center of of what you do. Have you been able to almost be an advocate for PMA. Other people with Ms.. And getting more involved in sports. In somewhat of a way. You know, the one cool thing that my team actually did, the 488 performance team, when we got our suits made, year before last, I told the guys going, hey, I wouldn't mind an orange ribbon. Just on my suit for Ms.. Awareness. Like I said, I kind of want to be an advocate for being. Hey, I want to show you that Ms.. Isn't like, it's not a death sentence. You can still have a fun life and do fun things. But when we got all the suits, I was it was kind of cool because everybody on the team put the, orange ribbon on there for Ms. awareness. So I was, like, pretty happy about that. And then after that it started and I put Ms.. Society on there as well. After that I'd be at the track and people would start asking me about it, like, oh, who do you know that have a has? I'm asked my so-and-so has Ms.. I'm like, well, actually me in no way really. So it's really like just advocating. So I actually love talking about it because nobody thinks of it that way, you know? I bet people are like, oh, really? I didn't know you had Ms.. I'm like, yeah, no, I like it that way, that it doesn't define me. So I love that too. One last thing about karting. So I believe it's it's the Buckeye Karting challenge that you're most proud racing moment. Yes. Tell us about that. Racing in the rain right. Yeah. So back in 2022 for the Buckeye Karting challenge that year. You know I haven't had much rain race experience in the car and it's it's always in everybody's head like, oh man, it's raining, but it's the great equalizer. What do you do? So I was actually able to do, a perfect round, you know, max points. I, first in qualifying, first in the pre final, first in the final with the fastest lap in the final. I was blown away that I actually pulled that off. I didn't realize that until after the fact. We were out at dinner and my buddy, actually ran the points, and he's like, you realize that was a perfect round, and we got a Taco Bell, and I couldn't stand up. I was standing in line waiting, ordered. I just dropped, like, you know, crouched down like, are you kidding me? So, yeah, just to do that and then to be in the rain, like I was, I was really happy because, you know, that that being like a regional, almost national type event. Right. There's no slouches, I'll tell you that, it's just great to run with, peers that are on your level and to have that type of, fight for it and come out ahead like that. I was I was very happy. So probably proudest karting moment there for sure. Really cool. So I am going to have to wrangle you up for, you know, we did the, gosh, what do they call it? It's an endurance karting series. It travels the country. We we did it a bit this year. A bunch of us on the race team. And so we might have to, course you into, being on the team. But I'm open. Yeah. That was actually that was a really fun event and yeah, very competitive. We were probably in the bottom third. Most of our team had never been in a cart, you know, like that before. Like, you know, that cart coaching, you know, to get you guys going next year. We we we could use it. Let's talk a little bit about your career. You work with a company, Di. Yeah, I've seen you at trade shows, I, I think. Are you making it out to Sema this year? Yes. Yeah, actually, right now we're, putting the final touches on our new booth for this year. I had it out, here in actually a couple weeks. Yeah, yeah. So being my PR again this year. Yep. Awesome. So what do you do for Dia? And what is di. So di design, engineering? A lot of people when I started were like, oh, my gosh, you're working for Dale and her engine, right? And I'm like, no, no, no, design engineering, out of Avon Lake, Ohio. I'm a sales rep. We do, heat and sound control for, aftermarket. You know, anything racing, automotive, even do some, home, marine and industrial stuff as well. So basically any heat or sound problem you have, we got to cover it as far as, like bookmap for damping material or exhaust wrap, reflector gold. Any heat issues? Let's get you going. Yeah. You keep you away from where it where it wants to go, right? Yeah. Tell me about how this fits into your your racing life. Is there some overlap? Do you get to learn some stuff from your job or run into people that can help you in your motorsports career? Yeah, a little bit of both. There definitely is some overlap. Every now and then it can get a little overwhelming of like, okay, I just, I just want to break away from motorsports for a day. So it's like, you know, racing 2 or 3 weekends in a row and then go work a tradeshow or back and forth. But now it's great being able to meet people. You know, I don't I don't think I'd ran into you if I wasn't there, you know. Yeah. So, you know, definitely, has helped me. And then just as well as, you know, looking for for sponsorship as well. Like what? We, work with, with people seeing what people ask for. Of seeing what not to ask for, to certain things with that, and just being able to travel and meet people and go to different places too, that I never thought like I've, you know, years and years I've always wanted to go to Sema but never had a chance, and here I am. Yeah. All right. You hit on sponsorship. What's the craziest sponsorship requests you've received? That just was like, what in the world are they asking for? I think most of the time it's, the amount of money people are asking for. For what little they say they're going to do, or don't even say they're going to do anything. I think a lot of people don't realize it really is a two way street. It's not just like, hey, I'm going to give you a couple thousand dollars and you put a sticker on the car on the product. It's like there's a lot more that's needed. I know, you know. Yeah. But yeah, we'll get a lot of requests and I'll just it's honestly made it hard for me to kind of ask because I look at it and go like, I don't want to ask that because I know my reaction sometimes, you know, just having that, deliverable, like, I see a lot of wants with no deliverables. That's really the biggest thing. Yeah. That's crazy. It probably gives companies a bad taste as well as, hey, here are these racers grassroots racers? Yeah. I was like to use the old. Hey, give me $500 and I'll put your logo on my quarter panel. Oh, that does me no good as a business. Right. So, So what? Where do you want to take the motor sport? The endurance racing mean where do you hope that leads to? So the endurance racing, I mean, I just really just want to keep driving as much as I can, and just hit. I'll call them bucket list tracks more than anything. You know, growing up looking at these tracks, driving on the simulator, watching them on TV, it's like, you know, definitely a couple tracks. I wouldn't mind hitting the I know Champ Car and other endurance race series go to. So to getting the, the feet wet. If you are now getting the experience to maybe step up to something like doing more or World Racing League or something like that, a little bit higher end. But yeah, with that comes a little bit more buckets of cash too. So you gotta work on that part. That is true. Do you set a budget each year or is it sort of just yeah, we'll see what happens. It's the past couple years has been really like, all right, let's see what the schedule looks like. Let's see what everybody else is kind of going to do. Kind of mesh those together and then kind of start knocking stuff off. I wouldn't say I have a budget, but I would have a cap of like, okay, I don't want to go over this. Unfortunately, I have most years. I have to say, no. Isn't it? Yeah, it really is. So yeah, it's having a budget is is good, but I always tend to go over it. So anytime I plan it never works out. So I think I'm just going back to winging it. You want to learn more about a track? You want to learn more about the handling of your chassis and your 260. You want to learn more about how to do better. In the car, where do you go for resources? I go to YouTube. I try to watch as many driver videos as I can. Again, back to the don't just watch one, watch multiple ones. You know, I'll, I'll try to find a video. Like, if I'm watching a car and it's a BMW with the rear wheel drive BMW, I'll try to find something that's front wheel drive, like the Volkswagen, just to make sure. But I also watch the rear wheel drive, too, because you never know different lines. You might be driving a better line. Doesn't matter on the car. So yeah, I'll watch multiple videos, on YouTube. Car or cart doesn't matter. I'll even pull up aerial views of the track. A couple track maps. I purchased and kind of gone through page by page making notes while I'm going there and talking to people that I know that might have been on these tracks. And then once I'm there, track walks are imperative. Those more than anything. A few years ago, I was able to do a track walk at Mid-Ohio, with Dave Lancaster. And, he showed me some things going into on the club course going into the keyhole that I cut 4 or 5 seconds off my time the next day, and it was just like all I did was walk the track and I, you know, I'd watch so many videos, everything talk. But until I was actually standing on the track looking at the curve, talking to Dave, it was it didn't click. And then same thing with the cart stuff. Pretty much every turn. One of my friends taught me is like, okay, especially in the car. Okay, sit down at the end of the turn, don't just stand there because, you know, you're a couple feet higher than you're going to be on the track. So actually sit and look at the apex. Okay. How am I going to go from here to there. Sit at the apex, look at the, the exit of the turn, see where you want to end up. And just all those things, because again, in the car, everything is going by so quick. It's like, yeah, you know, actually sitting there and thinking about it, it's definitely. But yeah, track walks are imperative unless you don't know what's changed from when the video was shot. Has it been repaved? Has it been resealed? Is there something that happened at a support race or, you know, a race earlier in the week that might have changed the surface of the track? You don't know. So, right. Definitely walk the tracks. And you have a personal car that you want to get back on track, right? Yeah. Tell us about that. So that was just honestly the first car I ever bought with my own money. What is it? Volkswagen Mark four. The Mark four we talked about earlier. Okay. Yeah. So I bought that my senior year of high school, started life as a diesel TDI, and it was great at the time doing the BMX because I was traveling around the country, writing contests, doing that. And I had a bike rack on top, so I'm like sold. Yeah. And like I said, I'd check the box of like, okay, volt, Volkswagen. Cool guy skate park where we're good. So it's been through plenty of iterations of it. Like I said, after the first track day, it was like been full on race car after that, but, had some self-induced, electrical gremlins, been chasing for the past couple of years, but I've had so many other things been able to do so many options with, you know, running Champ Car, running the cart. It's kind of been a back burner type thing. And now moving, moving into this year, I've. It's the itch is there to get back going with it. I've been able to work through some of those problems, self-induced problems with, a good friend that's, Volkswagen tech that came over, worked through those electrical gremlins. I used to be an MSP certified installer. Oh, yeah. So I had a little bit too confident and lighting lightning. My harness, a little bit too. Too much liquid confidence. Honestly, when I was doing it, I've been I've been chasing those gremlins for a while, but thankfully, I think we're on the right path now, and it's just, I would love to get that car back on track next year. It's really only speed, but seeing what I could do to it, to get it to some wheel to wheel like I really would like to get back and doing maybe grid life with it next year again. But doing doing something with it, getting back on because it being on the Champ Car team has taught me so much more that I didn't know with this car, that going through kind of fixing my mistakes of, oh, I should have done this, but I didn't know any better at the time, right? Yeah. So that's kind of the goal for one of the goals for next year is getting that thing back on track. But so far so good. I can't wait to see it out there and see you out there throwing some laps around. I can't wait. Yeah. Is there anything we didn't talk about you'd hoped we'd cover? Well, I can't really think of it honestly now. Yeah. All right, so that leaves just one question. Okay. Have you ever been laid to grid? Minus the, the helmet issue? Thankfully, no. No. Yeah, I minus the helmet thing. And I think that's one of my just me as a person. I was always growing up. It's, if you're not five minutes early or late. So I always try to be of the very early person. I'm usually the first one there, so. So that's that's your secret is, you know, early is on time. Yes. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. That's something that's just been, you know, ingrained into my, my brain as a kid is like, if you're not, you know, if you're on time, you're late. So yeah. And late is fired. Yes, yes. Yes, I want to be fired. Well, Eric, it was great having you on the podcast. Thanks for sharing a very personal motorsports journey with us. Oh, well, thank you so much for having me, Bill. I'm very excited to be here.