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While other drivers are ditching
their familiar open-wheel racing mounts for the lure of stock-car racing, Rob
Bunker is bucking the trend. After manhandling horsepower in the ARCA RE/MAX
Series, he will return to compete in a Star Mazda Championship race this week.
He hopes the skills he has acquired in the heavier, higher-horsepower stock car
will boost his performance in a nimble Pro Formula Mazda car.
Bunker, of Bridgewater, N.J., will
drive the No. 77 Velocity Motorsports Mazda in the Oct. 5 race at Road Atlanta
in Braselton, Ga. He tested the car at Carolina Motorsports Park in Kershaw,
S.C., last week and immediately saw improvement.
"We made sure we didn't sacrifice
any throttle. In a 900-horsepower stock car, it's hard to go right to the floor,
so it was cool to have a car that I could literally flat-foot. Last year, I
thought I was really driving at the limit of the car and I showed myself at
Kershaw that there's more there," he said.
"In a formula car, once you start to
lose grip, it goes away fast. Last year, if that was to happen, I was rolling
'way out of the throttle. I didn't have the confidence to carry a big slide all
the way through a corner. But we were dealing with a little bit of oversteer
during the test and I could literally – with whatever amount of throttle I
needed – fix it with my hands. With a stock car, you've got to put a whole lot
of movement in your hands. So with a few inches of radius that I have in a
formula car wheel, I can do a lot."
Bunker, 19, has set a goal to be the
most versatile driver among his peers. He believes experience in different
series will hone his talent in all forms of racing. The Road Atlanta race will
be a test of both driving skill and career strategy.
"Being in something with a lot of
grip like a formula car and then being in something with a lot of horsepower
like a stock car really helps you take the best of both worlds, or the best of
however many series we're going to end up running in. You can take the best tips
from each series, combine them into one mental state and it helps to make you
the perfect driver," he explained.
"This is a chance to see if what we
learned in stock-car racing can help in formula cars. We're keeping all the
doors open, so I want to make sure that I'm on top of my game in stock cars,
formula cars, maybe one day prototypes. I want to be the most well-rounded
driver out there for my age. I want to be able to go to any track around any
sort of cars and be able to sell myself to team owners. I don't want to be
limited to just one thing."
After a season of learning new cars,
tracks, teams and series, Bunker is looking forward to returning to the
2.54-mile Road Atlanta road course – a circuit he knows and
enjoys.
"It's a track I like a lot; I know
it like the back of my hand. I can do laps in my head and I know that they're
going to be spot on," he said. "It won't be as big a mental challenge. I'll just
get to go out and focus purely on racing and bettering myself. I won't have to
worry about learning the track or getting reacquainted or anything like that.
I'm right there."
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