UCD freshman feels the need for speed
“It’s like legal heroin.”
That’s how UC Davis freshman Andrew Novich describes professional race car driving — an experience very few get the chance to experience.
Local residents are invited to meet the racer and get his autograph Saturday at University Honda, 4343 Chiles Road. The exact time of his appearance will be announced later this week.
Since Novich was young, he has felt the need for speed. At only 11, he and his friends bought a go-kart kit online and built their own, using a lawn mower motor as the engine.
Until he was 15, Novich was an active racer on the tracks near his home in Novato.
“It’s an addicting sport. Once you start, you don’t stop,” Novich said.
On the race track, Novich showed potential. Volkswagen officials noticed him and offered him a contract to race their cars, and Novich jumped at the chance to drive something more powerful than a go-kart.
Since he was still a high school student, Novich had to work harder to finish his assignments and tests, but he was determined to race no matter what. He maintained at least a 4.0 grade-point average throughout his high school years.
Two years later, shortly before graduation, the racing program he was part of began to close down. But before Novich could feel disappointment at the loss, Honda signed him to deal.
Novich now races a Honda Civic on the Grand Am circuit; at 18 years old, he’s the youngest driver on his team. He manages to balance 30 to 40 hours a week of racing practice, and trips across the country for actual races, with his college studies.
Unlike NASCAR, which is built on cars that only professionals can afford, Grand Am races feature cars people actually see on the streets. Another attraction for spectators is that it’s endurance racing that can last for hours, with drivers taking turns behind the wheel.
“In Grand Am, it is not about who can drive the fastest, who has the most money; it is about who can overcome the racing,” Novich explained. “It is a team effort and you are totally dependent on the other drivers and the mechanics.”
Also, drivers in this kind of race don’t drive on oval tracks. They cover a route that has numerous twists, turns and elevation changes.
For practice sessions, sonar is used to carefully record the entire track. Every blade of grass and every elevation change is recorded. Then, using a computer simulation program, Novich practices driving the route using the exact car and the exact grip he would in a race.
“Most people think that drivers in races are crazy and are living on the edge, but it’s very calming,” he said. “When you’re in the zone, time slows down and you have to go with the flow and be smooth.”
Novich started the season in January with his team, Compass 360 Racing. He played a huge part in the team’s fourth-place finish among more than 40 cars in Daytona, Fla.
However, in the team’s next race in Miami, the transmission failed and the car broke down. They were running in the top 10, but were unable to finish the race.
In addition to the team’s affiliation with Honda, it also supports the Children’s Tumor Foundation. The foundation’s logo is on the hood of the car.
Short URL: http://www.davisenterprise.com/?p=26650
Posted by Jordan Souza
on Mar 29 2011.
Last Login:
Filed under Pro Sports, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
