Full speed ahead

Westphal competed in the event last year, where his team finished 11th out of 30 GT cars. This year, Westphal competed in the Rolex Sports Car Series, transitioning from the open wheel, formula cars he had previously been driving in the Pacific F2000 series. In 2008 Westphal won a record nine of 12 races in the F2000.

"Winning the F2000 didn’t validate me personally, but opened up a lot of eyes to people at higher levels (in the racing business)," Westphal said.

Even with a breakthrough series championship, Westphal got a crash course in racing 101. The down economy has affected just about everyone in the sports world, especially the auto-racing industry. Westphal quickly learned that if he wanted to move up in the racing world, he had to market himself 24/7.

Funding, sponsorships and money are hard to come by, and it takes a lot of money to fund a racing team at any level. Westphal is constantly looking to establish new business connections for his Fresno-based PR1 Motorsports team. In fact, Westphal spends most of his time on the business aspect of the job.

"That’s really the bulk of the work as a race car driver, unfortunately," he said. "Eighty percent of the time you have to be a businessman and salesman. It was a shock to me getting into the business. A couple of years ago I had no idea it was like this."

Of course, experiencing up to four Gs at 200 mph in a race car makes everything worth it for Westphal, whose career has been nothing short of meteoric. With virtually no previous experience, Westphal finished 26th out of 120 drivers in the Red Bull Driver Search at Infineon Raceway four years ago.

"For me to do that against outdoor kart pros opened my eyes," said Westphal, who is also an instructor at the Jim Russell Racing School at Infineon.

From the Red Bull event, Westphal competed in formula cars in 2006 at Infineon before going to the F2000 series. Westphal has always been fascinated with racing, but in high school he played two years of varsity football and soccer.

He then went to San Diego State for two years before going full-flight into racing. Ultimately it would suit Westphal if he could make a living out of racing. He prefers driving open wheel cars and road courses but isn’t opposed to anything, really.

"To be quite honest, (if the higher-ups) need you to drive on an oval, I’ll drive on an oval," he said. "I would consider NASCAR (if it came up), but it’s not my first choice."

When he’s not in the car or taking care of the business side of things, Westphal is in the gym strengthening his core and balance. Gone are the days of the out of shape, overweight driver — Tony Stewart is the exception nowadays — and being fit is a virtual necessity.

"Core strength is very important for your balance in a race car," the 6-foot, 168-pound Westphal said. "When your center of gravity is more solid, you can feel the car that much better. It might only give you 1/10th of a second on every lap, but for 100 laps that’s quite a bit of chunk of time. Every second counts."

Speed has always interested Westphal, who grew up watching and taping races every opportunity he got. So Westphal is literally living a dream, with a chance to advance his burgeoning career. He knows it’s going to be tough — it takes roughly $1.2 million a year to fund his current team — but in the end it’s part of a challenge he’s willing to face head-on.

"Things are going in the right direction," Westphal said. "The contacts I’ve been making are starting to pay off. I just love to drive and race cars, and I love to compete."

Westphal describes his career as one of fast moving but also being an uphill battle containing a steep learning curve. The best drivers are the ones who can relay the best information to his crew chief to make the necessary adjustments on the car — before, during and after a race.

"My engineer John Hayes was impressed that I would notice a large difference in the car with only one click on the shocks up or down," Westphal said on his Web site. "So much so, that we would often make one millimeter or less increment adjustments to the car to suit my style at each track."

Of course, a driver’s success depends as much on his talent as his team. Without a great car, crew chief and pit crew, a driver will go nowhere. With all things being equal, however, the more talented driver will prevail over the competition. Westphal plans on getting to that point one day, and he feels the only thing he’s lacking is experience, something that will come with more time in the car.

"Ultimately it comes down to preparation, focus and determination," he said. "The guys who are successful usually are the ones who are at the track at 7 in the morning and don’t leave until 10 at night. It takes a lot of dedication on and off the track, and it’s something I’m willing to do."