What is the off-season really like?

What is the off-season?

I’m a little late getting to this- my intent was to fill you in about the off-season during the off-season but I’m now getting ready to travel to our first race of 2022! I guess that goes to show how fast the off-season really can fly by!

For each driver, the time when last season ends and the new one begins can be very different. I’ve had some years where I was lucky enough to be driving in multiple series and during that time there really was no off-season. That’s how it seems to be for some of my past and recent co-drivers. It doesn’t seem to matter the time of year if I’m calling Spencer or Andy- if they aren’t driving in an IMSA, SRO, or Nascar race, they are in a race car somewhere else coaching or testing. So I’m going to say no off-season for those guys.

This year for me I’ve had a pretty good gap. The final race of 2021 was Indianapolis in October and it wasn’t until February that I had my first test of the season and first race coming up February 25-27 in St. Petersberg. So what happens during that 3-4 month gap?

It’s definitely a nice time to get in an actual “family” vacation or two. Yes, we travel a lot during the race season and sometimes Brooke and all the girls come along, but it’s a very focused time and I’m not really very able to have my mind on anything other than the race that we’re at and all the other commitments that come with each weekend. So this year we made time for a few getaways. We spent time with both sets of parents and all the kids over the Thanksgiving holiday, and then got back to our old family tradition of a Hawaiian Christmas and New Year! There was a lot of surfing, eating REALLY well, some spikeball and just some great time being together.

Now those are the fun parts and the re-charge that we’ve found so necessary. The other part of the off-season is to put in the work to A. – make sure you have a season, and B. – find ways to be one step ahead of your competition when you show up to the first race. Brooke and I used a lot of this time to talk about next steps for Fastlife, both the book as well as the docuseries. We’ve made some great new relationships and think the project is going to re-gain some momentum and we’ll have some fun stuff to share soon! This is also the best time to put in the training. Simon Hayes takes care of my physical training program and we’ve been putting in some very focused work to be in top shape for the 2022 season. I’ve also added a Neuro training program with Grant Hayes at Soma that has made a huge difference both on track and off. Once the season starts and travel begins it’s a lot harder to stay consistent so I’ve found it necessary during the offseason to create good habits, and to get ahead of things physically and mentally. It’s always a big boost in confidence when you show up to the first event feeling totally ready and prepared!

Oh! I kind of left out the business side of it. This is what I referred to above in regards to making sure you have a season. Its time to renegotiate sponsorship agreements, add new sponsors, make sure you have a co-driver ready to jump in for next year, and get things set with the team you’re going to drive with. I was lucky this year that all of that shaped up during our 2021 season. My co-driver from 2016 was ready to come back and his business Rebounderz Adventure Parks was eager to promote along with us and be our primary sponsor for 2022. My position and relationship with Kevin Buckler and the entire crew and team at TRG also made the team part of the decision a no-brainer. TRG has become a family and Jason and I look forward to picking up where we left off in 2016. I really think a championship is within our grasp!

I’ll try to be more consistent with these blogs and maybe if I am they won’t be so long winded. For now, I’m getting off the computer – there is work to be done in the gym.

-Derek