AFTER THE BEACH
Go Racing Magazine talks with Joey Hand
Originally published in Go Racing Magazine, May 2007. Photos: Mark LaCour/MLP Imaging
Not long after the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Go Racing caught up with former Go Racing Magazine cover boy/karter Joey Hand. In between his busy race schedule Joey was kind enough to give a quick insight on the race, karting, and a bit of what it’s like to be him.
Go: Tell me about your ride for Long Beach. Car, number, team, sponsors -- all that.
Joey: I am driving the #21 Panoz Esperante for PTG Team Panoz. We are sponsored by Advan/Yokohama and Performance Friction Brakes. My teammate is Bill Auberlen. (Editor’s note: Bill also is a former karter).
Go: You guys had a good run going all day but lost a few positions near the end, what happened?
Joey: Ya, we got up in the top three with some great strategy from Tom Milner, our team owner. Unfortunately we didn’t have the speed to stay in the top three. When I came out of the pits on new tires I made a hard charge at the guys in front of me. That hard racing used up my tires and I just didn’t have enough to hold off the cars that pitted later and had fresher tires.
Go: You were always a factor when it came to racing on temp karting circuits, does any of that experience carry over to a race like Long Beach?
Joey: Of course. All that street fighting I did in karts has been extremely helpful to me in cars. I’ve had the greatest races of my career on street circuits. From karts in Laughlin and Quincy In the Park to Atlantic in the streets of Vancouver and Houston. Now the American Le Mans Series in Long Beach.
Go: Do you feel you excel on circuits like this where track time is limited or would you rather spend weeks testing at a place before going there?
Joey: I always say, my third lap on any new track is my fastest, meaning I seem to learn tracks very quickly. I love new circuits and minimum amount of time to learn them, although at Long Beach I have lots of experience and I already know this track like the back of my hand.
Go: How big a part did karting play in your car career? Does it still now?
Joey: Karting has played a huge role in becoming a professional racecar driver. When you are young racing karts, all you think about is making it to the top and driving racecars at some of the coolest racetracks in the world, and getting paid for it. Without karting, I would not be getting paid to drive racecars. Today, I still use karting for exercise and to stay sharp, on top of just starting a new kart shop entitled Kartel Motorsports. I love karting and will be part of the karting world for the rest of my life.
Go: Who gave you the biggest break in karting, and then in cars?
Joey: Linda Emmick gave me my biggest break in karts. With only a year under my belt, she saw something in me and decided to give me full sponsorship. I spent 12 years driving for Emmick and won lots of races with them. Linda also sponsored as I stepped into racecars while running my own Formula Mazda.
Dede Rogers at DSTP Motorsports, Inc. definitely was the biggest break in my racecar career. DSTP had just come off a championship winning season with Buddy Rice and did a shoot-out for the 2001 driver – which I won. I had three great years at DSTP, which allowed me to win some big races and keep my name on the radar screen to continue my climb up the racing ladder.
Go: Of the drivers in the paddock who most do you want to beat, and who do you have the most respect for?
Joey: I’m not particular on who I beat. I go out every session, every day, and every weekend, to beat everyone and be fastest. Someone I do respect a lot is my current teammate, Bill Auberlen. Bill always keeps me on my toes and I’ve never seen anyone be able to go so fast in a racecar consistently.
Go: After you who is the best driver in your series?
Joey: Without being a kiss-ass to my teammate, in all seriousness, Bill would be the guy.
Go: As a Californian do you consider Long Beach to have a home court advantage for you? Is your fan base larger here than anywhere else? I’m guessing you have a fan base driving a cool looking car, running with a notable teammate. Having won some races along the way probably doesn’t hurt either.
Joey: Long Beach definitely does give me a home-court advantage, even though I’m a nor-cal boy. Long Beach is my number one favorite track in the world and at the top of my list of races I’d love to win in my career. No, my fan base is the largest when I go to Sears Point or Laguna Seca, due to location (Nor-Cal tracks).
Go: Where does the famous Hollywood Hand stay when he is racing in the LBC? And did/will your wife and baby come with you?
Joey: We stayed in the lovely town of San Pedro, Holiday Inn, but normally like to reside at the Hyatt inside the race track. Or this year would have been nice to stay at the Westin being our paddock was outside the course. Yes my wife and baby boy came with me to the race.
Go: What was your schedule for the event? You left home when? Drive or fly? How many team obligations/functions did you do? Autograph sessions? Take me through the typical race weekend for a young talent like yourself.
Joey: I left home 5:00 a.m. Wednesday morning and drove to Buttonwillow Raceway for a test day that day with Sigal Sport DP team (Grand-Am, Rolex Series). After the test day we carried on down I-5 South to Long Beach. Thursday there was a track walk. Friday we had a pit visit where we show people the cars and explain a little bit about our race strategy and we had one mandatory autograph session Saturday afternoon. Race started at 5:00 p.m. Saturday. Since the race was late, we stayed the night Saturday and slept in a bit and headed home Sunday and arrived home around 4:00 p.m. in the afternoon.
Go: How are you still involved in karting?
Joey: As I said earlier, myself and friend Erik Bartolero just started a new kart shop selling TopKarts called Kartel Motorsports. I also spend a lot of time coaching kids at race events all over the country. The three main kids we help are Brendan “Mini” Phinny at Stars of Karting and so-cal IKF races, Neil Alberico at so-cal IKF and Rotax Max Challenge races and Ashlie Couch at our local club events at Prairie City Raceway. I think karting plays a big part in the health of Motorsports. Our next professional racers will come from our local clubs, IKFs and Stars of Karting. I have a great time coaching and mentoring young talent and love associating myself with winners.--
Go: Single piece of advise for young karters moving up?
Joey: Show people you are the best; don’t tell people you are the best.