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Tooele • This summer continues to be a memorable one for rookie auto racer Madison Snow. In May, the 15-year-old stunned the racing world when he became the youngest class winner in the history of the ISMA GT3 Cup Challenge by sweeping two races at Miller Motorsports Park.
This month, the Waterford student continued his winning ways by taking both Gold Cup wins at Lime Rock Park in Connecticut. With four victories under his belt, Snow has extended his lead in the Gold Cup championship (a semiprofessional road-racing circuit) and has just one goal in mind: "Win the championship," he said. "I know if you win the championship, you're invited to a big party in Germany."
Being the youngest driver on the racing circuit isn't his biggest worry this season. At times, he's struggled with the venues. "For me, it's about learning the tracks. All the tracks are different," Snow said. "For racers that have been doing this for a long time, they know what to do on the tracks. I have to learn all that stuff on the go."
Still, it takes big bucks to travel and compete on this auto racing mini-tour — somewhere in the neighborhood of $150,000 per season, to be exact. For now, Snow is sponsored by his father, veteran Utah auto racer Martin Snow.
"He's good," said the elder Snow. "He's been finishing on top, so he's probably as good or better than everybody there. But he's still got a lot to learn. Once he moves up to another level, he's going to get tougher competition."
Martin retired from competitive racing in 2009 and decided to give his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car to his son for his rookie season. "Yeah, it was my car," Martin said, as he tinkered with the vehicle in preparation for this week's race in Toronto. "It was kind of funny, I told him, 'You drive my car, because I'm getting old.' But I can still run up there pretty fast. The last year I drove was '09, and I was usually first or second.
"To me, I'm not going anywhere at my age, so I get more enjoyment out of having him drive and working with him a little bit. We've had a good time this last year. I was going to have him wait a year, but he's just taken off."
And there's no question the elder Snow is mildly surprised by his son's success halfway through the racing season. "I'm a little shocked; it's not easy out there. There are people that have raced in that series for years. He seems to finish well," he said.
Naturally, there was a tendency to underestimate the first-year driver's ability to perform under pressure. But that idea was quickly dispelled after Snow began to win.
"When we started at Sebring, our goal was to just stay on the track," Madison said. "At first, I'm not sure if [other drivers] trusted me on the track or if they knew I'd make the right decisions. But after a while, they realized that I've been at this for a while, and I was just like everyone else out there."
Snow is now looking to finish the season strong. If he wins the Gold Cup title in a couple of months, there could be bigger and better opportunities ahead. Sponsorship is a key goal, as is securing a spot in the prestigious 24 Hours of Daytona race. —
It's Snowing at the track
R 15-year-old Madison Snow races out of Miller Motorsports Park and has won four IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge races this season.
Snow is the youngest winner in the history of the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge series.
The Waterford student, who leads the Gold Cup championship race, will drive again this weekend in Toronto.