Vintage Formula Vee Racer Kim Madrid Discusses Last Year's Success and New 2014 Challenges
- 26.02.2014
That's a common thread that runs through the spirit of all racers, regardless of how well they finish, it's never quite fulfilling enough. It's what drives them to improve. "I had to keep telling myself that I am driving with the big dogs now. I had to chalk the 2013 season up to being a learning season for me," she adds. "It was all new racers I was driving against and a lot more hard core. I love it though! It made me step it up on my driving, and it has, and will, continue to make me a better driver. I just sit back and watch and listen to the old timers that have been doing this for years." Another trait racers share is a need to push personal limits and redefine challenges. For the woman from Rancho Cucamonga, California, with the trademark hot-pink Caldwell and matching Mohawk helmet, heading down to tracks in the south and thumping good 'ole boys has always been a source for pure motivation, and 2013 was rightfully no exception. "My highlight for last season is my win with the vintage guys at the 50th birthday party of Formula Vee. That race was back in Savannah, Georgia. It was at a track called Roebling Road. I went there with expectations to finish in the top-ten. The funny thing is that back in the south they didn't want to acknowledge that a woman can drive/race as good as a man, and I found that to be ridicules. Well, I ended up winning pole position for qualifying and then the main race. That was awesome!"
This season Madrid will be focusing on the SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, a winner-take-all, single race format. "This is the first time in 20 years that the Runoffs are going to be on the West Coast. They are going to be held the week of October 6-12, 2014," Madrid explains. "This is a race that I need to qualify to be eligible to run in and I'm already halfway there. I will only be driving the Lazer MK 2.5 Vee for this season and this series. We are going in hardcore this year. My engine builder, Quixote Racing, is building my engines more on the edge and to the limit for this. We have been working and testing engines and the Lazer a lot so far this year to make sure we are going in with the right setup. We had a long day of testing at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California on January 12th with Speed Ventures just to make sure all the changes we did to the Lazer were going to work and be ok, and it went well. I won't say great, but ok. We did have to turn a few more wrenches on this thing (busting butt trying to dial it in)." For Madrid and her crew the season started at ACS with Cal Club on January 17-19. "There were 18 formula Vees," she says, "And I figured that I needed to finish in the top-9 to earn enough points per race to qualify. I ended up finishing 8th so I reached my goal for that day. My fastest lap was a 2:02.845, which was a second off pace with the front runners, but I bettered my own time by three seconds." "Sunday's race was not as great for me. I had a horrible start. I started 8th, fell back to 14th, and ended up finishing 8th again, but I was stuck behind this driver that kept bouncing off other cars (LOL). It was not a bad weekend though, as I have received 26 of the 48 points needed to make it to the runoffs." Madrid's next race is February 21st - 23rd at Inde Motorsports Ranch in Wilcox, Arizona. "It is the 2nd SCCA West Coast Division Majors race of the year," she adds. "This is a more technical track and I tend to do better at these so let's see how goes. It's going to be a very exciting season." |
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