Before First Gear

Travis Wyman is a MotoAmerica rider who comes from a racing family. Him and his brothers have racked up loads of wins and Travis road in the 2008 Red Bull Rookies Cup during the year it was in the US. More than anything though, it's fascinating to hear from the insiders perspective of going from Flat Track to road racing and sport bikes to baggers.

Pretty cool getting to chat with Louis Deletraz to hear more about his journey to becoming one of the top endurance drivers around, but also learn about his experience in the #f1 paddock as a reserve drivers, as well as being teammates with Robert Kubica. A few weeks after this interview Louis also went on to win the 12 Hours of Sebring with Wayne Taylor Racing.

I met Misti when I went to the California Superbike school as she's a coach at the school and has become an absolute professional at helping riders gain speed. She also rips. She raced a few years in AMA, which as a female rider in the early 2000's was certainly a unique path to take. Speaking with she shared her story around how she worked to develop the skills to get all the way to AMA.

Corey has a pretty wild story, with some early connections to the Andretti's, but overall just a load of skill mixed with some luck and timing! His career has led him to Lamborghini, racing internationally and becoming the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Champ, as well as winning a Daytona 24hr GTD championship.

Pretty wild story hearing how Cater started indoor karting at a relatively late age and with a minimal budget, yet has managed to develop a promising career as both a professional racer and instructor.

Ryan has made it all the way to Xfinity following a successful early start in Bandolero's, then a ride in the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program which really opened the door for him. More than anything though, his speed, but also determination around how he's raised sponsorship dollars and managed to succeed despite minimal funding sums up a pretty awesome story to where he is today.

Jake Gagne is absolutely one of the top American motorcycle racers today. He's won the MotoAmerica Superbike Championship that last 3 years in a row, raced in World Superbike and Moto 2 and is currently riding for a 4th MotoAmerica Championship for Factory Yamaha. He's a master at living in the present, and his laid back mentality has driven enormous success on the racetrack.

Sergio Pena is an insanely talented driver, having won multiple karting championships in the early 2000's and progressing right to the lower ranks of open wheel. Like so many drivers though, running out of funding to make the jump to the next step of the ladder in open wheels led him to find alternatives. In this case it was the early days of the NASCAR Drive for Diversity program which put Sergio right on a track into Xfinity.

Davy is a Le Mans winner, Daytona 24hr winner, and Indy 500 runner up. His early days had him on a path to Formula 1 but the path that was dealt to him guided him back to Sportscar. He's raced with guys like Aryton Senna and Martin Brundle and has stories for days from all kinds of series he's driven in. One of the most interesting conversations I've had based on the success that Davy Jones has had and the era that he raced in.