Earning their
Stripes
By Brian C. Mackey
Drive4USA wants to change the face of open wheel
racing. For the past several seasons, it has been
doing just that. Now, an expanded program in 2004
finds two drivers campaigning to earn their stripes
with the assistance of Drive4USA. Joining last season’s
successful affiliation with Bryan Sellers in Toyota
Atlantic, young Michael McDowell was added to the
Drive4USA driver line-up and has been tearing up the
tracks in the 2004 Star Mazda Series.
The
drivers of Drive4USA have been specifically targeted
as among the most promising young Americans in
professional training-ground series. The selection
itself is seen as reinforcing a driver’s
credentials as “one to watch” among the
stand-outs that routinely find themselves competing
against one another in any one of several premier
professional series. They all share common traits
that are key to their selection as Drive4USA driver
ambassadors. Besides bringing ample loads of driving
talent, desire, sportsmanship and a personable
demeanor, they must also be American, either by birth
or choice. Drive4USA’s sole objective is to
assist American drivers gain experience and the
funding needed to compete their way to the pinnacle
of open-wheel racing.
Recognizing
that American drivers were often missing from the
grids of many open-wheel series, veteran motorsport
enthusiast and part-time competitor, Rick Waddell
decided he would step up and do something to level
the playing field. He simply wanted to help American
drivers showcase their talent against often better
funded and stronger sponsored contingent of foreign
drivers. Never wanting to replace the international
flavor of open-wheel formula car racing, Waddell
wanted Americans included to compete against those
more generally perceived as the best and most
talented drivers in the world; those from Europe or
South America. He believed, as do many within the
open-wheel ranks, that American drivers do not lack
in talent, but rather the infrastructure needed to
cultivate their raw talent. The Drive4USA initiative
was born, originally under the banner called “Kart2CART”.
With the demise of CART, Waddell and his staff
decided to change the name to reflect more accurately
the program objectives and the landscape changes in
open-wheel racing. In those early days, several
drivers benefited including, Pete Mercier, Case
Montgomery, Andy Lally, Grant Ryley and the
aforementioned Bryan Sellers, all competing in the
Toyota Atlantic Series. Now, Michael McDowell
broadens the Drive4USA universe with his entry in the
Star Mazda series, signaling the beginning of a
broadened and more comprehensive approach to the
program. With its growing presence in open-wheel
racing, Drive4USA is ideally positioned to bring
added dividends to the sport of open-wheel racing in
general, and the spirited drivers selected to
represent Drive4USA specifically.
Selecting
a Drive4USA driver is a difficult task, but
recognizing one at the race track is easy. Each
driver selected to the program is entitled to wear on
his driver’s uniform, the Drive4USA racing
“stripes” logo. Only Drive4USA drivers can
wear the “stripes” and displaying them on
the driver’s uniform makes each driver instantly
recognized as being selected for the program. It’s
considered a distinct privilege to be selected and
displaying the stripes is the driver’s visual
confirmation as being entrusted with representing
Drive4USA’s menu of goals and ambitions.
The
2004 crop of Drive4USA drivers appears to be taking
their selection seriously. Bryan Sellers took 2nd
place at the Cleveland round of the Toyota Atlantic
series marking his highest finish in the series to
date and Michael McDowell scored his 2nd
victory in two races at the Lime Rock Star Mazda
event on
July 3.Two American drivers. Two winning race car
drivers. And one driver development initiative that
is helping them drive their careers to the pinnacle
of racing.
So the next time you find yourself in the racing
paddock observing the next generation of race driver
stars, take a second look at the drivers climbing in
the cockpit of their race cars.You may note that a
select few are already earning their stripes, the
racing ambassadors of Drive4USA.
