Birthdate: October 10^th, 1988
Hometown:  Cleveland, OH
Residence:  Gates Mills, OH

After many successful years of karting since the age of 10, I got my first experience learning the dynamics of a real car by joining a Skip Barber three day school at Mid Ohio in 2007. I also attended the 2008 Skip Barber Karting Shootout at Sebring International Raceway. The experience was great, and definitely one that I’ll never forget. Being one of the few drivers there with the minimum amount of experience required to join (3 day and 2 day advanced course) I was at a clear disadvantage, but I overcame the lack of experience with the car, and posted respectable consistent lap times significantly quicker than any of the drivers with a similar lack of experience. From that point on I knew that my true passion was to race cars, and with a few more sessions to get acclimated to the car I would be right there. Moving up from karts to cars is a difficult step, and at the time, I couldn’t imagine being given the opportunity to ever compete in a professional series without support from a major sponsor. It’s extremely difficult to find sponsorship when your previous accomplishments have only been achieved in go karts.

In 2004 I was introduced to the rapidly growing culture of online computer simulation racing, and through my involvement in iRacing I discovered that I could fuel my desire to compete without having to actually be at a race track. Although the element of fear or feeling of G forces and speed isn’t there, it requires a similar amount of mental stamina to consistently rank at the top of the charts. Since the mental aspect of racing is equally as important as being in good physical condition I strongly believe that iRacing is an excellent training tool for any real life driver from club to professional ranks. Simulation racing has also been a great way for me to gain a large international following for myself, as well as much more exposure through online media channels.
 
2010 proved to be an excellent year on the racing side of things. I demonstrated that being one of the fastest simulation racers in the world really could translate to skills shown in a real world professional racing series, with a balanced mix of real world and sim experience. By virtue of winning an online simulation racing championship sanctioned by iRacing, I was awarded a fully funded scholarship to compete in the 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup. I was determined to make the most of this once in a lifetime opportunity. I did just that by winning Rookie of the Year honors with two race victories, four podiums, and being the only driver to constantly qualify in the top three at six of the seven tracks we competed on across Northern and Central America. My ability to quickly adapt allowed me compete against drivers with far more experience in the professional auto racing ranks.

Ever since I was young my #1 ambition was to compete in the Izod Indycar series. Infact, In the fourth grade I even aspired to be an Indycar driver when I grow up! For 2011 I decided to focus my efforts on where I truly wanted to go, which was the Road to Indy. In early July I competed in the third round of the formula F championship at Mid Ohio which was my first ever open wheel race. Immediately I began to realize that open wheel cars with slicks suited my driving style. Starting from first practice I was able to top the time sheets, and stayed there throughout the whole weekend. Setting a pole and fastest lap along the way, I became the first driver in series history to sweep both races in the same weekend with two wins. Just a few months later this past October I made history in a similar fashion, sweeping the weekend with two poles and two wins, amongst many long time SCCA National champions, and the best formula ford drivers in the country.

I am committed to moving up the ladder in 2012, and will push to have a full time ride in the USF2000 National Championship, or the F2000 Championship series. Both of which are highly competitive and will be a great advancement in my learning experience. Now that I have the team behind me capable of giving me continued success, I'm really looking forward to working with Quantum next year!