With two more race wins and two more track records at Road America over the weekend, 16-year-old Tristan Nunez kept up his streak of amazing performances and broken records. Though in only his fourth year of racing, this is a driver race fans should watch; the way he has been driving this season, Nunez will be getting a ride in a top-tier series very soon.
Nunez started strong in his first full-time season in the IMSA Cooper Prototype Lites series in March, setting a course record at Sebring and winning two races by large margins. He kept up his successful season with another win at Miller Motorsports Park in April and two at Laguna Seca in May.
With three more wins in the next four races, Nunez took a 22-point lead over his competitors, most of whom have many years’ experience. Nunez drove a sports prototype for the first time early in 2011 and raced one only four times that year. Nunez doesn’t have experience, but he has talent, in copious amounts.
Nunez has eight wins out of ten races so far this season; only when his car has broken has he not won. He was leading at Miller when his car broke three laps from the finish; he came back the next day to take another win. He swept both races at Laguna Seca, but met more bad luck at Mosport.
In the first Mosport race, Nunez started last after mechanical problems prevented him from qualifying and fought his way to third—setting a race-lap record en route—but couldn’t get by Jon Brownson of Eurosport Racing or race winner Mikhail Goikhberg of JDC Motorsports.
Nunez started on the pole for the next day’s race and managed to hold off Goikhberg, despite having engine problems near the end of the rain-shortened race.
Every other race has followed a simple pattern: Tristan Nunez qualifies up front, turns a series of perfect laps, leads the whole race, and crosses the finish line first.
Nunez has the backing of an excellent team, Performance Tech Racing, but it is not just the team that gives him an edge. If it were, his teammates would also be winning races–and while his teammates do often claim podiums, it is Nunez on the top step.
The young driver makes the most of the Performance Tech crew. “My strongest points are how well I adapt to cars and my feedback about the car to the team,” he explained. Another strength is his attitude; helped by driver coach Jonathan George. Nunez has learned to find the positive in every situation; he sees errors as learning experiences and hardships don’t seem to upset him at all.
Not that he has had a lot of hardships or errors to overcome this season. With eight wins, six speed records, and the record for the youngest IMSA Lites winner ever, Tristan Nunez has had a season of successes.
According to team owner Brent O'Neill, those successes haven’t gone to his head.
“He has a natural ability to run these tracks. If you watch some of his videos that we’ve posted, it looks like he doesn’t even have to work hard,” O'Neill told prototypelites.com. “He’s really a pleasure to work with too.
“There are a lot of kids that, if in his position leading the championship, would show up at the track and have an attitude, but he has no attitude at all. He just gets in the car and goes fast.”
‘Dnt txt n drV’
When he isn’t racing, Nunez promotes safe teen driving, with his partners AT&T and the Safe America Foundation. Nunez, a brand-new teen driver himself, attends safety fairs and other events, sometimes with his race car which in emblazoned “Dnt txt n drV.”
He also has a popular Facebook page, from which he distributes “Dnt txt n drV” bracelets—hopefully a teen driver reaching for the phone will see the bracelet and think a gain.
“A lot of my friends have gotten into accidents. I know some people have died because they were texting and driving. So why not bring awareness to the public about such a big problem,” Tristan explained.
“Texting and driving is just a huge distraction—people really don’t even know it. They just think it is so easy to drive—they don’t really understand the dangers of driving on the street.”
Public Service in Polynesia
The Florida teen recently spent three weeks in Fiji, working with local teens on public improvement projects, building septic tanks, maintaining public buildings, and teaching in local schools. Nunez dressed and lived like the Fijians, wearing the traditional sarong, bathing in cold water and sleeping under a mosquito net.
The trip was organized by the Rustic Pathways organization, to give teens a chance to learn about other cultures and help out in developing nations. Nunez was deeply affected by both the poverty and the happiness of the Fijians.
“My community service trip to Fiji was the most amazing and memorable experience I have ever had. The people are so friendly and are always smiling. Even though they don’t have nearly as much as what we have here, they seem to be a happier people in general.
“I can’t explain how rewarding this trip was to me. I left that Island with such a sense of gratification for what I gave to them and what they gave to me. They taught me to disconnect from the modern world of electronics and social media and to enjoy the simple things in life, and especially to cherish your family, friends and community.”
Tristan Nunez will be back on the racetrack on September 13, when he and the rest of the Performance Tech team will head to Virginia International Raceway for another pair of races–and, if statistics mean anything, another pair of wins and maybe another record or two.
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