Driver’s Spotlight – Mike Waltz

In this edition of the SCCA Sac Chapter Drivers’ Spotlight, we are highlighting member Mike Waltz, whom you may recognize as driving the 2019 Camaro SS 1LE. This is the same car that Mike has been Autocrossing since November of 2019.

Mike is no stranger to the world of AutoX though, as his dad, Jim used to run at Pleasanton in the 70’s, and that is how he was first introduced to this sport.
Mike did share that a lucky charm / superstition that he does have is that he always wears black and a ritual that helps him is that he will sit in the car, close his eyes to help memorize the course and visualize the entire run. To help him get pumped up and excited for race days, there are no particular songs or genres of music that he listens to, as he says that the sound of the engine is enough to get him excited and ready for the day.

Other than racing, hobbies that peak his interest are PC and console gaming, RC planes, cars and drones which would be an excellent skill to have to have been an engineer for the B-2 Stealth Bomber program, which is a pretty impressive fact to learn about Mike.

Mike stated that if money were no object, his dream car would be Mark Donohue’s 1969 Trans Am Camaro. On race weekends, when Monty Pack is racing, Mike will almost always have his eyes on the track, as that is the car he enjoys the most watching.

Between King Kong and Godzilla in a race, he believes that King Kong would be the champion, since he has “that jungle agility.” A silly talent that he has (that I personally would like to witness) is he can do a decent Arnold imitation. When asked what breed of dog he would be, he said a “mutt.”

The racing accomplishment that he is most proud of is when he earned the Fastest Raw Time at Reno in August of 2020. Some excellent advice that Mike would offer to a person who is new to the SCCA Sacramento club, or new to the sport in general, is that “you don’t need a fancy car, or tires, or anything. Just show up and send it!” His favorite memory at an autocross weekend was when he lost to Rafa Soto by six thousands in the beginning of March 2023.

An evening for dinner that he would like to have, would be pizza and beer with his Grandfather.

A superpower that Mike would choose is Immortality because he is terrified of dying and one thing that

he thinks that everyone should try at least once is substitute teaching. He thinks this because if you don’t hate it, then you would have the makings of a pretty good teacher.

Although San Diego is his favorite travel destination, his dream travel destination would be Germany for Nürburgring and Oktoberfest.

Thank you to Mike Waltz for sharing a bit about yourself with the current and upcoming members of SCCA Sacramento.