The year 2012 is turning out to be a pretty good year for 16-year-old race driver Tristan Nunez. The Florida teen has already won eight races out of ten, set six track records, and become the youngest winner in IMSA Lites history. Now he has been chosen as a finalist for the 23rd annual Team USA Scholarship.
The Team USA Program helps young American drivers gain exposure to the wider world of racing by sending winners across the Atlantic to show their skills in front of the big international teams, dramatically increasing possibilities for a successful racing career.
Nunez and the other finalists will demonstrate their skills on high-tech racing simulators and in cars with advanced telemetry gear before the judges choose the winners..
“This has been awesome to move on to the next round in the Team USA Scholarship competition,” Nunez said in a press release. “I am really looking forward to showing what I can do in the simulators and on-track at Fontana. This is a huge honor and I really appreciate the opportunity.”
The finalists will first compete on racing simulators at Seat Time LLC in Santa Monica, Calif. These are not computer games; Seat Time’s simulators are state-of-the-art training devices used by professional racers at the highest levels.
Simulators are useful because any conditions can be safely replicated: drivers can dial up any kind of car with any level of power or down-force, and any track conditions, from heat to cold to darkness to rain, and mistakes don’t cost anything.
After working out on the simulators, the finalists will head to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif. to show their stuff in cars fitted with data-acquisition systems.
Telemetry systems, used in almost every modern high-tech racing series, will let the judges see everything that is going on in the car: exactly when and how hard a driver brakes, turns, and accelerates, how well he takes care of the engine and the tires, whether he wastes fuel or can go fast and still conserve.
This information helps judges decide not based just on lap times, but on driving ability. A driver with a lot of courage and not much finesse might be quicker on a single lap but will cost more in the long run in accident damage and wear, while a more careful driver will win races by not wrecking or ruining the equipment.
Nunez was chosen as one of 14 potential recipients, based on his current results and the prospect for development. If he wins he will be one of three drivers sent to England under the Team USA Scholarship/Cliff Dempsey Racing banner to compete in the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch on October 27-28 and the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone on November 3-4.
Another, slightly more experienced driver will be invited to contest the final two rounds of the Formula Renault BARC Championship at Silverstone on October 6-7.
After Nunez finishes the competition in California, he will have a week to get ready for his next two races at Virginia International Raceway on Sept. 13–15.
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