Preparation and Luck Finally Meet at Motoplex Speedway for Cornett-Ching

Impressive 2nd Place Feature Finish and Heat Race Win  For the Snap-On Tools Cadillac

The August 25 Hot August Nights race was a testament to how hard the team works, there had been  considerable damage done to the car in a pileup accident two weeks prior, where the back half of the car had been destroyed. The two weeks leading up to the race saw the team in the shop every night getting the car back into winning shape. Upon arriving at the track the team continued to chase issues and work out the kinks on the newly repaired car.

After not competing in the first practice session due to an unstable car, the team worked feverishly to get it to a more drivable state. In second and third practice despite the car still being a handful the #99 Snap-On Tools car was second on the speed charts.

"I think everyone was fighting the track in practice it was really green and the setups that were working here at the start of the year werent translating well here today." Said the determined youngster.

When qualifying time rolled around, the team made a big swing at the car with adjustments in the back end. Ending up third in qualifying of 10 cars, the car had gone from loose all day in practice to tight in qualifying which hurt the speeds a little but it was a good sign that they were closing in on the setup.

The first heat race was a dominating win, starting from 6th spot Sarah drove the 99 car straight to the front and took the lead with an outside pass on lap 5. After the ten lap heat race Cornett-Ching crossed the start finish line with a full second lead.

Starting the main event from mid pack, getting out front as soon as possible would be key.  The top three cars broke away in a pack and it was a three way battle until pit stops began around lap 20. The 99 team had a strategy to stay out as long as possible before pitting which ended up being around lap 45.

The pitstop was a huge success and on the stopwatch the fastest of the night, after a caution when the field lined back up for green the Snap-On Tools car was sitting in second place. After a hard fought battle on the outside Sarah fell back into line in 3rd place. The top two cars were battling for position keeping the 99 bottled up in 3rd.

When the front cars fell back into single file Sarah began working on moving to the front. When she made it around the 2nd place car taking the spot there were only 7 laps left in the 100 lap feature and not enough time to chase down the leader.

The team couldn't have been more happy with the finish considering how badly the car had been wrecked two weeks prior.

"It really says alot about the determination and heart of my team, especially my dad who really is the driving force behind this team. With more time between now and the next Arca race I wouldn't count us out, we have what it takes to win here."

A Special Thanks to: Snap-On Tools; Bill Smythe, Mike Ernst, Paul Wedlake, Jason Anderson, Melissa Hunt, Holly Parker, everyone else who has helped us out along the way, and most of all my dad Joe Cornett-Ching.

Cornett-Ching, one to watch in 2012

Arca Season Opener May 12, Motoplex Speedway, Vernon, BC

The first race on the Arca Ok Tire Series schedule had the teams travel to Motoplex Speedway in Vernon, BC. With countless laps and experience in Vernon Sarah and the #99 team always look forward to the events there. The team had been testing out a new setup which at the last practice session had been working extremely well and had everyone looking forward to competing with.

"I can't wait to try our  new setup against all the best talent in the province" said Cornett-Ching in the days leading up to the event. " We have been researching what we want and last practice gave me a lot of confidence in what we've been working on. Not only are we one of the only competitive teams who setup our own cars, but being able to compete for a win on any given night is a great feeling."

The first practice was a sign of good things to come as Sarah posted the third fastest speed of 21 cars. "The car was turning well but we needed more bite off the corner" said the talented young racer. The team didn't find the rear grip they were looking for in time ins which put them in p10.

With the invert in the field the #99 Snap-On Tools car would start on the pole of the fast 10 heat, with a great start and the rear grip the were looking for now in the car Sarah drove away with the race winning the 10 lapper by 4 car lengths. " It is a great feeling to put our car in victory lane to show our sponsors, crew and everyone who supports us we have what it takes, it also doesn't hurt to put a little fear in the competitors minds either!" said Sarah.

The Lordco 100 started off cleanly and Sarah got out to 2nd place right away. The field stretched out and she held the 2nd position for the first 60 laps. Sarah got a great start on the first restart of the day and held her spot but the second restart on the outside saw Sarah fall back in the outside lane.

Holding her line on the outside waiting for a spot to sneak back to the bottom would be where the trouble started for Cornett-Ching. A competitor a few car lengths back over drove into the 3/4 corner and slide up in the the side of the #99 car and that started a chain of events which ended with Sarah hitting the inside wall on the front straight away.

The car re-fired and Sarah was able to re join the field, unfortunately after the incident the car was no where near as quick as it had been in the beginning, finishing on the lead lap, keeping the car clean and passing a few cars in the closing laps would be the dashing end to a promising night for Cornett-Ching and her crew.

" Im disappointed with the finish but I can honestly say I can't wait for the next race May 26 in Williams Lake, BC we have a race car that's faster than a jet fighter and it will be in Victory Lane yet this year"

Check out www.sccracing.com for more updates and like www.facebook.com/sccracing for everything Sarah Cornett-Ching racing.

Become the Opportunity: part III – Three steps to creating productive relationships

by Adam Ross

If finding marketing partners for your racing career was easy - everybody would do it. Sure it’s not exactly the way the phrase was designed, but it applies. Every time I failed on the race track the same words fell out of my dad’s mouth; if it was easy, anybody could do it.
I can’t even describe the anger I would feel listening to it, but as time went by I understood what he meant more and more. As a young racer it’s hard to comprehend that you’re not as good as you’re going to get. In a sport that requires confidence to succeed it seems contradictory that you also need patience and humility.
Whether you race five times a year or 50 times a year I can assure you that you get more practice improving your racing skills than you do perfecting your marketing skills. Following that logic many racers never do succeed finding marketing partners because they never take the time to learn how. It’s not easy, and not anybody can do it. That’s precisely why you should learn how.
The phrase ‘Become the Opportunity’ was chosen as the theme for my series of blogs for a simple reason. If you change the way you look at ‘sponsorships’ (and I despise that word more every day in a racing context) you will realize that you’re not asking for sponsorships when you become the opportunity. When approaching a potential partner you are presenting an opportunity for them to market themselves. You are the opportunity, and they are the entity that will capitalize on you. You will receive their investment and offer them great return.
The entire process of creating a partnership takes time, and you have to invest energy, enthusiasm, creativity, and skill to make the partnership work. More than anything you need a plan, and your plan needs to have a goal. Whether you’re pitching an interview to the media, creating marketing partnerships, or even interviewing with a potential new team – you need a plan with goals. Why? How on earth will you know if you were successful if you didn’t set a goal and achieve it?
There are three basic steps you can apply to every relationship and every activity you create from a motorsports marketing standpoint:

1. Introduction
2. Call to action
3. Engagement

With your plan in place to nurture success you are ready to embark on your marketing journey. Media interviews, networking opportunities, trade shows, and daily activities will provide you ample opportunity to introduce yourself to potential partners. Without understanding that the introduction is merely the first of three steps it’s easy to shake a hand and walk away before realizing you left opportunity behind. Don’t leave opportunity behind.
Your introduction is the perfect opportunity to plant a proverbial seed. You not only want to introduce yourself, but you want to introduce a ‘call to action’. Simply stated – the call to action can be almost anything, but in this case you want the call to action to lead to further encounters. It’s hard to build a relationship when all you do is introduce yourself.
The call to action varies depending on the nature of the introduction, but it needs to lead directly to the engagement of your new relationship. If you are able to engage your new partner, then chances are you have earned the right to present an opportunity.
What’s your opportunity? That’s not for me to know, and it changes frequently. The opportunity is limited only by your imagination and the quality of the partners you have been able to harvest. What I can tell you is that the opportunity leads you back to step 1. When you ‘introduce’ the opportunity, it will again lead to a ‘call to action’, and once you are able to ‘engage’ your partner you can hope it leads to a marketing agreement.
The knowledge here doesn’t help you as a racer. Knowing how to apply the knowledge is where you will be able to achieve more than you thought possible.
Become the opportunity. Understand your potential. Seek guidance, and then go out and harvest relationships that lead to achieving your goals. If it was easy, anybody could do it. Good thing it isn’t easy because it’s worth knowing how do to it effectively.
For more information on the topics discussed in my blogs, email me at adamrossenterprises@gmail.com . If you’re interested in the RACE 101 program where we teach these principles among many others, visit us online at http://www.race101.net/ . Stay in touch for upcoming seminars in your area! Until then, work hard towards Becoming the Opportunity.

RACE101 Graduation Weekend (Premier Driver)

I had long anticipated the graduation weekend for RACE101 that took place last weekend. With hopes high to win the highly regarded Premier Driver Award my mother Elaine, father Kevin and crew member Dustin began our 14 hour drive south toward race city USA. I spent Thursday and Friday touring NASCAR race shops and taking in all that the motorsports oriented area had to offer. Saturday was of course the big day that all the RACE101 students of 2011 and 2012 had been waiting for. Who would be the next representative for RACE101 and who were the new RACE101 prospects for 2012?

As the evening drew nearer I relaxed and took the time to reflect on my time spent at RACE101 and all the accomplishments I had secured over the 2011 season as a result of the mentorship and knowledge I obtained in the program. I realized very quickly that no matter what the outcome and no matter how the awards were distributed I had already achieved my goals I had set at the beginning of the year.

The ceremony began with wise words from Adam Ross, Annamarie Strawhand and Tony Blanchard, mentors and founders of the RACE101 program. The energy was high in the room as parents and friends eagerly awaited for Adam to announce the graduates and award winners. My parents and I mingled with the Gage family over supper and talked racing for the minutes remaining. By this point my heart was racing and I had a feeling that I may be the one to shake Tony Blanchard's hand and receive the premier driver award. Although there was many other very deserving and hard working students I believed I had the extra edge needed to perform and represent the premier driver position. After a quick introduction of the premier driver award my name followed. " We ask you to please join us in welcoming.... Luke Whitteker." At this point I felt a huge sigh of relief. I did it! I had reached my goals and then some!It still feels a little surreal right now but I am motivated and ready to attack any task and take on the responsibility of being premier driver. I hope I make everyone proud!

I know that the students of RACE101 will go on to represent themselves and there racing careers to great success. They have all the strength and tools to reach any goals that they apply themselves to. As a representative of the RACE101 program and of RACE101 students I believe we are breed of our own and a forced to be reckoned with in the motorsports world. Keep an eye on each and every student!

Please visit www.lukewhitteker.com, http://www.facebook.com/lukewhittekermotorsports, https://twitter.com/#!/lukewhitteker

2012 RACE 101 Awards Gala & Dinner Recorded Broadcast from 2/11/12

 

Watch the entire broadcast from the 2012 RACE 101 Gala Awards Dinner and Graduation Ceremony. Originally streamed LIVE from the LaQuinta Inn and Suites in Hickory, NC on Saturday, February 11th 2012.   The event included the Graduating Class of 2011, plus special awards being presented to students and alumni as well as the naming of the 2012 Premier Driver. Also included is the introduction of the new 2012 class.

RACE 101 Gala and Graduation ceremony just days away; Event to stream live online at www.race101.net

February 7, 2012, DENVER, NC – RACE 101’s inaugural Gala Dinner and Graduation ceremony will be streamed live Saturday night from Hickory, North Carolina. The cybercast can be seen at www.race101.net, and it will start at 7:30 p.m. Saturday evening featuring the announcement of 2011’s graduating class along with special award recipients.

For the first time RACE 101 combined the graduation ceremony with the official introduction of the new class.

“It was important to us to combine a number of celebrations into the same event,” said RACE 101  co-founder and instructor Tony Blanchard. “We are honouring our graduates from last year’s class, but we also plan to introduce significant improvements to our program moving forward, and we wanted to include our new group as well.”

The program’s next Premier Driver will be introduced during Saturday’s Gala, and the faculty admits the decision was tough. One student among the graduating class will be named to compete in the RACE 101 Howe super late model for selected events in 2012.

“We learned that there’s no limit to what our students can achieve,” said co-found Anna Marie Strawhand. “They blew us away with their ambition and their ability to make great things happen. We have high expectations of all our graduates, but only one can be named Premier Driver. I’m confident that we made a great choice, and I’m excited to watch what all of our graduates achieve this year.”

Students from across North America attend RACE 101. It’s a program designed to assist young racers in their areas of need as they progress in the sport. The curriculum is balanced between technical understanding of a race car and its dynamics along with the marketing and media relations skills required to be successful.

“The Premier Driver is something every student wants to win,” said co-founder and instructor Adam Ross. “When you put a group of racers together and create a prize they’re going to compete for it. The Premier Driver is really a tool for us to promote the school, and it’s the best way for us to reward excellence. We believe every graduate should be excited for what lies ahead.”

Along with the Premier Driver title the school will name award winners in the categories of mechanical excellence and  marketing excellence along with a few categories that won’t be announced  until Saturday.

“The awards have great meaning to us,” said Blanchard. “We’re going to recognize some fantastic achievements, and we’re going to announce an initiative to keep our past graduates involved with the program. The knowledge we share is meant to help our racers throughout their careers even though the program is a one-year course.”

To stay informed on RACE 101 and its many students and graduates, visit www.race101.net. For interview requests or specific information, please email pr101@race101.net or adamrossenterprises@gmail.com .

Race 101 2011 Class Graduation Ceremony

Sarah Cornett-Ching Recaps her Year with Race 101
Summerland, BC, February 6th 2012   
    After what seemed like the quickest year ever, the 2011 Race 101 students are now taking the knowledge they have accumulated and putting it to the test on their own. Out of the 15 students in the class one will be chosen as the 2012 Premier Driver at the Graduation Ceremony on Saturday February 11th. For the first time the new class of 2012 will be there to join last years class and be introduced at the end of the Ceremony.

    Everyone is hoping to be named the 2012 Premier Driver and work with Tony Blanchard and the Race 101 house car next year but only one person will take the title.

   " It seems like it was just yesterday I found out I had been accepted into the program and would be making my first trip down to North Carolina, and now it has come time to chose next year's Premier Driver."
    "This past year is a blur, I know I tried my best at every assignment and had great success in my career due to that, but I can only hope it's enough to win the Premier Driver Award." Says the exuberant Cornett-Ching

    Learning something new about nearly every aspect of the race car doesn't even begin to encompass what was taught at the Race 101 shop in Denver, NC last year. After a weekend of classes to actually retain any of the information, vigorously taking notes and re-reading was a must.

   Sarah is proud to be graduating with her fellow students this weekend and has no regrets about her experience at Race 101. She will take everything she has learned with her wherever she races next and she will be able to use it to advance for the rest of her life. Race 101 is an amazing program designed to help young racers in their areas of need and it certainly does just that.