St. Petersburg, Florida - Though D2D Motorsports driver
Andrew List has not competed in a Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship event since
the Louisiana NOLA round in April, the Rogers, Minnesota racer revealed the past two months
may just have been the busiest in his racing life.
“We were one
of the first cars off pit lane in the very first session,” described List of
the NOLA round. “Before sliding into the tire barrier I had never been so
pleased with our car.” With hard contact, nearly destroying the D2D
(Dare-To-Dream) Motorsports #61, that Monday’s meeting would set the itinerary
for the next 60 days.
“Though I
new our conference meant we’d be missing Championship rounds, I feel we made
the right call,” he explained. “We decided, while we were fixing the chassis, to
make whole-sale updates. The frame, suspension and body work; all would be reconstructed.”
If List had
only been faced with re-building the family’s Van-Dieman chassis, 60 days would
have been 30. But the big hearted racer is probably one of the busiest drivers
in the USF2000 Series powered by Mazda paddock.
As a
Driver Instructor at Brainerd International Raceway, List is happily blueprinted
into auto racing. The young racer spends many weekends guiding the even younger
with improving their race craft. He is perfect for the job.
He has won
awards in both Academia and Motorsports; starting with the Mid-West Karting
Association Briggs Junior Championship. Rotax Junior (2008) and Rotax Senior
Championships (2009) followed. List additionally pocketed multiple Regional Titles
in SCCA’s C-Sports and Formula Continental competition.
In 2011, he
made the Dean’s list at Minnesota State University, Mankato.
“Looking back a bit, I can see many of my
accomplishments have come about because of my participation in other life activities,”
he said, “starting with Varsity Wrestling. The discipline in your mind, and strength
building needed for the mat, helped my Karting and visa-versa.”
“Competition
and academic completion are helping me know as I look towards owning a team and
competing in IndyCar.
“I also
have events at Morrie’s Mazda in Minneapolis. I’m an instructor in their Young
Safe-Drivers program. At Morrie’s we discuss distracted driving and accident
avoidance. I think it’s a great program; very rewarding. For me, it doesn’t get
much better than saving a young person from harm.”
With the
#61 USF2000 car’s re-build completed, the third week in June was spent testing.
“We had a bit of transmission trouble, revealed List, “but I was pleased with
our progress. Most importantly, I was really, really happy with was our pace.”
List’s thinking,
is that the family program is now in the best shape since it entered into the USF2000
Series in 2014.
“I’ve put;
we’ve all put, a lot of blood sweat and tears into that car,” laughs List. “Now
that it’s completed that task has gained us much. From the driver side, I have
a greater understanding of how changes to the suspension tune a car. The simplest change in ride-height alters so much.”
D2D
Motorsports will return with the rest of the teams when the Mazda Powered
Series returns to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on July 30th (through
August 2nd), for Rounds 12, 13 and 14.
“I can
promise you I’ll be counting the days until Mid-Ohio”, smiled List. “Going
through the car this way has taught me so much. I can’t wait to compare my
gains against the other drivers.”
For more
information on Andrew List and D2D Motorsports:
Rick
Raducha
Cell:
860-796-7223
Phone:
727-914-0689
rraducha@sbcglobal.net
END