Connor DePhillippe, age 19, has been racing since he was five years old. He'll be racing in the Long Beach Grand Prix, and you're invited (more than 170,000 people are expended to attend) to join the weekend of fun which includes Practice, Sat., qualifying and the race on Sunday. Connor shared his long road to racing success.
From age 5-14 he raced go carts, at age 14 made the transition to race cars. He's worked his way up the circuit and this past May he won on a smaller oval near the Indy track, the night before the Indianapolis 500. When he won, he was given the opportunity to speak before the crowd, one of his most memorable races. Mazda is motor racing's major sponsors of racing. Connor raced in the Star Mazda race last year and won a $60,000 scholarship, which provides a transition and foundation from kart racing to auto racing, and got him to where he is today.
Auto racing is growing and provided the demographics nationwide. As the racers move up the ladder, win sponsors, they have the opportunity to race with more powerful race cars. Connor is looking for sponsors, unfortunately he did not win the most recent scholarship. But he has sponsors that are allowing him to race in Long Beach.
Auto racing requires physical and mental endurance, requiring the driver to be focued every minute and sustain durability, about 2 hours on a 3 mile racetrack with 17 corners. Connor endures 1.5 hours of training daily to get ready for a race. Formula cars are the pnnacle of the racing series. The cost is $400,000 per car to get to the game. Watch and route for Connor!
