Hey there, Nic Jonsson here!

This past week has been a very exciting week from many aspects.  I went to Houston and met with my team owner and co-driver of Krohn Racing, Tracy Krohn to do some go-karting.   We have two 125 shifters at the Houston Motorsports Ranch that we use as a tool for both conditioning ourselves and for training when it comes to brushing up on techniques that we use for the different race cars we drive.  Along with the seriousness of using this as a constructive racing tool, it's also just a blast to go out there and run bumper-to-bumper for a few hours.  However, we also get reminded about the many different muscles we never thought existed along with getting a bruised rib cage. I don't remember getting this bruised up back in the day when I was running karts fulltime...of course you know this has nothing to do with the fact that I am a little older! 

While on the subject of training and Tracy Krohn, I thought I would share a little history of how we formed our relationship not only as teammates but as friends.  I have had the opportunity and privilege to work with Tracy for the past 6 years.  I first met Tracy at the Panoz Racing School where he was competing in the Panoz Pro-Racing series.  I was working as an Instructor from time-to-time there. Tracy raced in this series for a couple of years before he decided to enter into pro-racing.  Tracy first hired me as his co-driver to race with him and his team in the American Le Mans series driving a Lamborghini in the GT1 class before we moved on to the Grand-Am series where we have been competing together since 2005.  Tracy's start into Grand-Am was first with a Porsche in the GS KONI Challenge series where he competed for a few years and we were able to win our first pro-race together at Barber Motorsports Park. We then moved into the Daytona Prototypes and managed to win the 6 Hours at the Glen (Watkins Glen) that same year in the DP class along with our teammates finishing a close second.  This was a great day for Tracy and the team! 

The real exciting part for me working with Tracy is that he's an extremely driven (no pun intended) and competitive individual on all levels.  He's obviously been extremely successful in business as he started with nothing and built his company, W&T Offshore to a market leader in the oil and gas industry. But what I really admire of Tracy is how he conducts business in a race car.  He is quick to solve and change strategies in order to go faster.  Coming into the racing scene as late as he did and to be performing among the best race car drivers in the World speaks volumes for him.  He's not just racing in some of the biggest races in the World, but also achieving it very competitively with fantastic results!  Tracy is also very dedicated to understanding what's going on with the cars from an engineering standpoint.  Being an Engineer by trade in the oil & gas industry, Tracy has a very good understanding for that side of the racing aspect as well.  His dedication to everything he does is very refreshing to see. 

It is very rewarding for me as Tracy's coach and co-driver to see how eager he is to improve his driving skills and to be so involved in the testing and development of our Krohn Racing, Proto Auto LOLA cars.  This competitive edge is something he has developed over many years since he was also a pro racquet player and a scratch golfer for years before he broke his neck and back several times...once while skiing.  Let me note, none of his injuries occurred with me so he can't blame me for that...even though he would probably like to!  J  Ha!

If you've met Tracy, you know he has a great sense of humor and is a practical joker...which I am normally on the receiving end of!  However the best thing is he's a great sport about it and can take a joke pointed in his direction as well. 

To summarize, Tracy and his team are a great group of guys and it's a privilege to be driving for such a professional and dedicated team as Krohn Racing.  Everyone is very experienced with key strategist like Jeff Hazell and David Brown leading this talented group of personnel that Tracy has allowed them to assemble.

Well...until next week, stay safe!

Your friend,
Nic