Driver’s Spotlight – Randy G

This edition of the SCCA Sacramento Chapter’s Drivers’ Spotlight, Randy G. has volunteered to share some fun facts about himself and racing career with the SCCA Sacramento Chapter. 

Some of you may know Randy by the one and only vehicle he has ever AutoCrossed, and that is his 66’ Mustang, #254. A veteran Auto-crosser, Randy has been participating in this sport for eight, going on nine years. 

He has always been into motorsports and wrenching but lacked the money and time to pursue it.  Racing was beyond his wallet, and he learned early on that broken parts are costly.  Everything changed when he decided to volunteer.  In 2015 Randy started working for a performance marketing group supporting motorsports events.  This gave him the opportunity to meet Mike Maier and Chad Ryker, along with many other incredible drivers.  At 16 years old, his very first car was a ’68 Camaro, and he had always loved Chad Ryker’s ride.  Chad’s calm demeanor showed Randy how to breath and focus, and not “wig” out prior to a run.  Other drivers that he admired were Jane Thurmond, Alexandra Zust, and of course Mary Pozzi.  Those ladies turned autocross into a chaotic ballet of smoothly calculated maneuvers.  Randy believes he is such a “gorilla behind the wheel compared to these ladies”.  Mike Maier and Ol-Blue was a big influence in his racing ventures.  Mike always provided input and advice on building Randy’s Mustang and showed him that you CAN be competitive in a vintage car.

He truly didn’t know autocross existed until he started volunteering in 2015.  Drag racing and road racing were strictly spectator sports for him, but neither really hit the target.  When he saw autocross for the first time, he immediately knew this was the sport for him.  Autocross showed Randy that you could build your own car, bring your car, and not spend crazy amounts of money.  It lasts longer than 13 seconds and doesn’t cause a fortune in damage if you go off course.  Funny note, during this time, he was in the middle of a multi-year restoration on my ’66 Mustang, and literally redirected a nearly completed project to focus on a street-able autocross car.

Randy shared that he does not have any particular rituals, or good luck charms, but he does the majority of the physical work in the garage prior to race day so that he can focus on staying relaxed when he is on course. He avoids wrenching on race weekends unless it is something simple, so that he can stay in that relaxed headspace. If something unexpected occurs during the race, he prefers to load it on the trailer, rather than scramble in the heat of the moment to avoid possibly causing any more damage. Relaxing and breathing is critical, as Randy said that the Sac Enduro proves that point. 

Besides racing, Randy stated that his hobbies include “Fixing $@#T”. He loves to tinker and fabricate but is far from a professional. He and his awesome wife try to travel as often as they can with their dogs. If King Kong and Godzilla were to have a race, he strongly believes that neither would win, because well… “Batman Forever”. If he were to be a breed of dog, being the animal lover that he is, he would be anything that does not yap or need to be versed. His silly talent is that he can do the 3 Stooges finger snap clap, made famous by Curly. 

Randy noted that the music that gets him pumped up and super excited for race days is anything 90’s, all the way. To include the likes of Foo Fighters, Soundgarden, Bush, Screaming Trees, Pearl Jam, STP, Chili Peppers etc. Anything louder is better for him. Given the choice of anyone to have dinner with, living on passed on, it would no doubt be Paul Newman, the race car driver.  If money were no object, in his life, his dream car would be a 1968 Z/28 Camaro. NOT 1969, but 1968!

His biggest life accomplishment in his life is without question, his wife and family. He believes that people do not see the fruits of their labor until years later and those rewards are becoming more apparent in his retirement. 

In regard to racing, his biggest accomplishment is and continues to be building and racing his own car. On race weekends, you may find Randy intently watching the vintage cars, as those are his favorite and most enjoyable cars to watch. The memory of one of his favorite Autocross weekends, is not necessarily any one event. He says that every weekend is awesome, especially when the competition is close, down to the tenths. He always looks forward to the Larry Park Memorial at Crows Landing mid-season and the Enduro at Sac, which closes out the season. (Remember to breathe!)

A tidbit of himself that people would be surprised to learn about him is that even though he has been racing for quite some time, he still considers himself to be a “newb”. He is not a big competitor, and his personal reward is the fun and comradery with the other racers. Running mid-pack is completely acceptable to him, however, if it is a .003 difference between him and the next racer, that really gets him excited. Some excellent advice that Randy would give someone that is new to the SCCA Sacramento club is to not be intimidated by the cars, drivers and course. Everyone there understands that it is overwhelming at first. So go out, enjoy yourself and ask questions. The AutoCross folks are some of the nicest people in racing. Oh, and do not drive your daily driver, if you can avoid it, you might have to be at work in the morning. 

Randy enjoys traveling and his favorite travel destination was to San Sebastian, Spain. The one superpower he would choose would be to time travel, so that he can go and visit places, things and people. His dream destination was fulfilled a few years ago, when he visited the orphanage in Stuttgart Germany, that he was adopted from as a baby. He was able to see his origin, then followed by fun and celebration at the Oktoberfest. Something that he thinks that everyone should try at least once, is a finely cooked escargot or foie-gras and a 50-year-old vintage port. 

Randy, thank you for sharing this with the fellow members of the Sac Chapter SCCA.