Questions with Road Atlanta Winner Futrelle
Who are you?
Franklin J Futrelle IV born, raised, live in Augusta,GA
You took a dramatic Road Atlanta win, what are your goals for the rest of the year and how will you accomplish them?
I would really like to win the championship. The dnf in race 2 at road Atlanta is going to make that difficult so I will need to score a few more wins and score bonus points to get the lost points back. As close as the racing has been I believe most of the front runners will have a dnf before the season is out.
Who do you think is your main competition?
It's funny, I was asked this question during the test day at Road Atlanta by one of the new drivers to the series. I told him Goughary and Bamford would be up front at the end of the race. The person kind of smirked and said they haven’t been the fastest in practice and I responded with “yeah but I know that they can race”.
My teammate Brandon Angel is getting faster everytime he is on the track. I can see him contending as well. Brandon did not get any testing in before the season but he is coming around fast. Honestly there are 6-8 drivers with the speed to win a race, its just a question of if they can put the whole race together
How many of these “kids” have you personally instructed? Does it give you an advantage?
Five or six of the kids have been through Skip Barber and I have worked personally with three or four of them. My teammate Brandon Angel was actually one of my first students when he first came to Skip Barber, now we are teammates. I believe it may give me a little mental advantage but nothing big. Before every race I can tell myself I am the teacher and they are the student, however I got taken to school a few times at Road Atlanta.
What are the keys to racing an F1600 car successfully?
Playing the draft and race craft game for the most part. When we get to Mid-Ohio and Thompson you may be able to breakaway with a good car but places like Road Atlanta, Watkins Glen, and VIR there is going to be a five or 10 car draft pack and you just have to learn when and where to make your moves without losing too much time in the process.
How does the Raceworks Spectrum/Honda package compare to others cars you have driven?
The Spectrum is an amazing chassis. It really suits my driving style and the car responds will to changes. Last year I struggled with the Van Diemen and the way you have to drive it. We really did not get to do any testing before Road Atlanta except for breaking the motors in at little Talladega in Alabama. Even driving the spectrum around on the little Talladega track at ¾ speed I could tell that the Spectrum and I were going to get along.
Any hobbies besides race cars?
Sadly no, if I'mnot racing I am at the local dirt track or drag strip with my friends or playing iRacing. I pretty much hang out with only car people so even if we are watching another sport on tv we are talking about racing or cars.