Having the support of a city like Austin was a top priority when we learned I was going to be progressing into a car this year, especially when it was announced that we’d be racing alongside Formula 1 at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in front of a home crowd. With the help of the Austin Chamber of Commerce, we’ve been able to get some great exposure to the people of Austin, building new, strong relationships along the way. This all culminated into a ribbon cutting ceremony on October 5^th that celebrated the new relationship between Ryan Shehan Racing and the Austin Chamber of Commerce and Austin Gives.

This ceremony was the perfect environment for new racing fans, diehard motorsports veterans, and everyone in between. The F4 car was brought down from the race shop in Dallas so attendees could get up close and personal with the same car that will be racing with F1 this weekend. Throughout the night I was answering questions, taking pictures, and doing a live show with Jonathan Green, who commentates our F4 races, and the F1 race at COTA.

Now that the ribbon cutting has concluded, it’s full focus on COTA for the last 2 rounds of the F4 U.S. Championship. Even though many would consider it my “home track” and I probably have thousands of laps in a simulator, this weekend will be my first time driving on the track. With all the history I have here, I’m sure my first out lap will be a bit surreal, but after that it’ll be heads down and maximum focus for the limited number of sessions we have. For more of my thoughts on the ribbon cutting and the upcoming race at COTA, take a look at the clip below, taken from my VIR Wingman Debrief where we talk more about my perspective on my incredible month.