Rookie Clark Toppe looked more like a veteran at Sebring International Raceway, kicking off the opening weekend of Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda championship with two podium finishes.
Toppe, 17, crossed the checkered flag in second and first place, respectively, in Rounds 1 and 2 of the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) Development Series on March 19-20. He is tied for the series lead with teammate Kenton Koch.
“I put in a lot of work this offseason to be where I am now, so I’m not too surprised by my results at Sebring, to be honest,” Toppe said.
Toppe’s transition to IMSA has been smooth with the support of familiar faces from his team, JDC Motorsports. Toppe, from The Woodlands, Texas, raced for JDC in an open-wheel car in 2013 and 2014. So he felt right at home making his sports car debut with the Minnesota-based team.
JDC Motorsports’ Prototype Lites roster also includes fellow young standouts Koch and Matt McMurry, giving Toppe teammates to learn from each weekend.
“It’s really great to have three good guys all on the same team to be able to share data and see where we are losing to other teams in certain areas,” Toppe said.
“If we’re vying for the championship at the end of the season, I really don’t think sharing data will be a problem. We are all really good friends and just trying to do our best for the team.”
At 6 foot, 5 inches, Toppe uses his height to score points for his high school track and field team. He runs the 110- and 300-meter hurdles and high jumps as a junior at The Woodlands High School.
“Track has actually been a very key component to my training for racing,” Toppe said. “We work out every day during and after school. We do anything from running 12 200-meter dashes to lifting in the weight room. I also work with weights at home by myself after those hours.”
Toppe started racing karts in 2008 and continues to develop his racecraft through karting. He works as a mechanic and coach for a go-kart team in the greater Houston area.
“I get to drive for fun, which keeps my reaction time and racecraft up, and it’s the best job I could ask for,” Toppe said.
After completing just two races in his rookie IMSA season, Toppe is adjusting to a Prototype Lites machine with ease. He’s focused on winning the 2015 championship but would be satisfied finishing in the top three after the season finale in early October at Road Atlanta.
That result would help pave his path toward his goal, a professional drive in sports cars.
“My aim is, for sure, sports car now, maybe even the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship,” Toppe said. “It has a little bit to do with my height, but there’s actually been a similarity between the prototype cars and formula cars with all of the downforce and the amount of grip there is.
“I really think IMSA is the place to be. I think these cars are actually a little harder to drive than the Prototype Challenge (PC) cars, without the power steering. We go to the same tracks and the speeds that we have with the Cooper tires through some of the turns are sometimes equal. It really is a great learning series to put you in a potential PC or P2 ride sometime in the future.”
Rounds 3 and 4 of Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda action will take place April 9-12 during the Indy Grand Prix of Louisiana at NOLA Motorsports Park in Avondale, Louisiana, located 15 minutes from the historic French Quarter in New Orleans.
For more information about Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda, visit www.imsa.com, follow hashtag #CTPL @IMSA on Twitter or IMSA on Facebook.
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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