LAS VEGAS – Scott Velocity has practically performed all of it in terms of auto racing.
The Crimson Bull driver was one of many few American drivers to compete in System 1. He is raced on ovals in NASCAR and received a number of championships in Rallycross.
Velocity competed for Scuderia Toro Rosso 28 occasions between the 2006 and 2007 seasons. He was one of many final People to compete in F1 races earlier than Alexander Rossi and Logan Sargeant.
At the moment, the USA Grand Prix was a fixture on the System 1 schedule, and it wasn’t till 2022 when the Miami Grand Prix began and, final 12 months, the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
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Scott Velocity (USA) throughout follow for the 2007 Grand Prix of Nice Britain at Silverstone July 6, 2007. (GEPA photos/Franz Pammer by way of USA As we speak Sports activities)
Since 2023, the U.S. has hosted three System 1 races as the game’s recognition has skyrocketed.
“It’s out of control. It’s so, so different,” Velocity advised Fox Information Digital Friday. “Honestly, it was kind of nicer because I’m a bit of a reserved person. So, after I came back to America after my Formula 1 career was over, it was quite nice actually that no one recognized me or knew me. I could kind of just like start over from scratch. I honestly really enjoyed the anonymity.
“Now, clearly, it’s cool as a result of there’s so lots of my fellow People and so lots of my family and friends right here now that know what System 1 is, and so they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, you did that?’ And that’s fairly particular to have the ability to share with them. As a fan of motor racing usually, I’m so glad that, whether or not it was the Netflix present or lots of elements, it’s grown right here and that’s actually cool.”
Speed didn’t have the success of Mario Andretti, but getting to drive at the pinnacle of open-wheel racing is a major win.
Competing against the likes of Fernando Alonso, Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa is no easy task.
“System 1 is the head of motor racing, proper? However there wasn’t actually a path in America. So, it was form of like an formidable purpose, and I used to be very lucky to have a possibility with the Crimson Bull America driver search to have that chance to maneuver to Europe and to truly have a pathway from the Crimson Bull Junior Growth program to truly get there.
System One driver Scott Velocity (USA) throughout follow for the 2007 Grand Prix of France at Magny-Cours Motorway June 29, 2007. (GEPA photos/ Mathias Kniepeiss by way of USA As we speak Sports activities)
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“My biggest memories are just how special it was to be able to maximize those opportunities and actually get there.”
Velocity mentioned some of the tough elements of System 1 was to go from profitable quite a bit or competing within the entrance within the feeder collection to racing laborious towards the very best of the very best. And never all the time discovering victory lane or the rostrum was a “difficult thing to get used to.”
“Formula 1 is super special, and the cars are unbelievably fast. I think the most special, I mean, everybody will remember the first time they pull out of a garage in a Formula 1 car. And, for me, that was Barcelona in a V-10. So, I was also lucky to have the memory of the engines and they sounded amazing. Many great memories.”
Velocity raced in NASCAR for a number of years earlier than getting one other alternative to compete in one other completely different form of racing – Rallycross, which takes place on a closed mixed-surface circuit.
Scott Velocity drives the No. 41 Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross Beetle through the Crimson Bull International Rallycross race at Daytona Worldwide Speedway June 21, 2015, in Daytona Seashore, Fla. (Brian Cleary/Getty Pictures)
The Crimson Bull athlete received three consecutive International Rallycross championships from 2015 to 2017 and the Americas Rallycross championship in 2018. He advised Fox Information Digital he wished to provide himself a problem and race in a collection outdoors his consolation zone.
“There’s so many options that would have been a lot easier and maybe more of a natural fit,” he mentioned. “I really wanted to challenge myself and do something different.
“It’s in all probability the choice I’m most completely happy about as a result of it led me down a path of exploration and studying other ways to drive a car. And I fell in love with that facet of motor racing – away from being good at driving one kind of automobile a technique. I fell in love with, ‘Oh, this car, I need to, as a driver, do a lot of different things to optimize the vehicle.’ And I fell in love with that.
“With Rallycross after stock car racing, it was another evolution of that like, ‘OK, this requires something else,’ and I’ve just been always in love and fascinated with what it takes to try to maximize the physics of the vehicles. I’ve been lucky to have those opportunities to be able to go from all these different disciplines.”
Velocity additionally supplied recommendation to younger drivers seeking to break into the game.
“Don’t quit,” he mentioned. “I really believe you can have everything you want in life if you want it bad enough. It always comes down to being willing to pay the price that it costs and if you’re willing to put in the energy and time that it needs to do something. Anything’s possible.
Former NASCAR Cup Series driver Scott Speed during the Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Ariz., Nov. 5, 2023. (Mark J. Rebilas/USA Today Sports)
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“I believe that a very powerful factor is you’re keen on what you do. I used to be very fortunate to seek out at a really younger age that I liked racing, and I used to be in a position to pursue that and switch that right into a profession. However I believe the love of racing is the bedrock of that as a result of the hassle and power it takes to achieve success in one thing as tough as motor racing requires lots of power. And should you don’t love what you’re doing, you’re not going to be prepared to pay that value that it takes.”
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