Podium Finish for Havrda in Formula Regional Americas Season Finale at COTA

Shift Up Now Athlete Nicole Havrda closed out the 2024 Formula Regional (FR) Americas season with a seventh-place finish, followed by a third-place podium at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) SpeedTour on October 31-November 2, 2024.

Driving the No. 6 Valley Kitchens / Colonial Countertops car for Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport, Havrda hit the track Thursday for practice and qualifying. Despite not having new tires for practice, she ran inside the top ten among one of the biggest fields of the season.

Later that day during qualifying, Havrda felt she had strong speed in her Ligier chassis, but got caught in traffic during laps where her Hankook tires were at their peak. Nevertheless, the Courtenay, Canada native set the seventh-fastest time on the 3.426-mile, 20-turn track.

The first of the weekend’s two 30-minute races began on Friday afternoon in dry, warm weather conditions. Havrda lined up on the inside of row four for a standing start in the penultimate race of the season.

She made a strong start and had her sights set on the sixth-place car. Her opportunity came as the field headed into turn 11. She passed on the inside, but her slipstream allowed her competitor to draft on the back straight and return the favor in turn 12.

The cars in fifth, sixth and seventh ran nose-to-tail through the stadium section before the second lap played out almost exactly as the first had. Once again, Havrda made the pass for sixth, then ceded it and returned to seventh. This time around, the group added another car to the battle, creating a four-way fight for positions five through eight.

Ten minutes into the race, Havrda made her pass for sixth stick, just a half lap before an incident brought out the safety car and a lengthy caution. Only five minutes remained at the restart, which was initially strong. Havrda held sixth-place through turn one and the esses, but was forced to defend the inside line when her competitor used the slipstream to make a pass on the final lap. A clean, side-by-side battle ensued into turn 13, but Havrda ceded. Unable to find a way to pass in the last few corners, she finished seventh.

Despite starting from the same position for another 30-minute competition on Saturday, the Texas weather was significantly different and would prove to make the race tricky for the FR field. This time, the COTA track was damp and drying, but had some notably wet patches.

The entire field elected to start on slicks, and drivers worked hard to generate heat in their tires during the formation lap. Havrda had a clean start once again and moved up to sixth place on the first lap.

During the second lap, the field was packed tightly together, struggling to find grip in the treacherous conditions. Havrda slipped back to eighth place, then spent the next two laps regaining her sixth-place spot. About halfway through the race - and just before the Safety Car was deployed for an incident on track - she advanced to fifth.

Six minutes remained at the restart. One lap later, Havrda was passed heading into turn one, putting her back in sixth place. When still-slippery conditions caused a car further back in the pack to spin, the checkered flag flew one lap early to avoid having the rest of the field race past the incident.

After the finish, several drivers were assessed time penalties for race contact, and Havrda’s clean driving moved her up to third place. The result earned her a sixth-place spot in the FR Americas Championship standings for 2024.

“Race two was a hectic one with damp conditions and trying to maximize the track grip,” said Havrda. “We all had slick tires and spent the first few laps just trying to stay on track. But that was actually one of the most fun races I’ve ever competed in. It was definitely challenging but I had a blast.

“I want to say a huge ‘thank you’ to the whole Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport team and my amazing parents for making all this possible. I also want to thank my sponsors, Valley Kitchens and Colonial Countertops, for supporting me this season.”

The 2025 FR Americas season begins at NOLA Motorsports Park on March 27-30, 2025.

Shift Up Now Foundation Helps Launch “The Safety Bank” with Donation from Sabelt America

The Shift Up Now Foundation is excited to announce its partnership with Taylor Ferns in the launch of The Safety Bank, made possible by a $30,000 racing safety gear donation from Sabelt America, a long-time, valued Shift Up Now partner.

The Safety Bank was created by Ferns to provide adequate safety gear to more racers through donations from those with greater access to products. She explained that, as drivers advance in their careers, those with higher profiles are likely to develop partnerships with manufacturers. And over time, they can accrue excess safety products that go unused.

In an effort to allow drivers to easily donate spare items, The Safety Bank will distribute bins to various sanctioning bodies and race tracks, in addition to select motorsports events. The Safety Bank locations will be shared via the organization’s social channels and website. Though logistical details are still being ironed out, The Safety Bank team will also post on social channels about donated items that are available, and will operate on a first-come, first-served basis for distribution.

Ferns said her own long-term racing gear partnership allowed her to amass a suitcase full of extra gloves, shoes, Nomex and other items. And that’s where The Safety Bank idea was formed.

“I’d rather give my extra items to someone who needs them than sell them for a meager cost,” said Ferns. “I know I can’t be the only one with a surplus of safety gear. I think there is a need and I hope to fill the gap. I love racing and only want to help make it better and more accessible for everyone.”

Sabelt America has been an invaluable partner to Shift Up Now for nearly five years. Based in Boca Raton, FL, Sabelt is the global leader in development and manufacture of original equipment, and number one in safety since 1972. Sabelt America provides racewear, harnesses, seats and more for race car drivers.

“At Sabelt America, we believe that safety is the foundation of successful racing,” said CEO Erik Krammer. “We’re proud to support initiatives like Shift Up Now and The Safety Bank, as they align perfectly with our mission to make sure that every racer has access to the equipment they need to stay safe on the track.”

In addition to the significant Sabelt America donation, and as part of its partnership with the Shift Up Now Foundation, 10 female racers across several series have been gifted new Sabelt gloves and boots for their 2025 seasons.

“When Sabelt America approached us about a larger donation of safety gear, we immediately thought of the racing community as a whole,” said Shift Up Now CEO Pippa Mann. “Initially, Sabelt was aiming to have us help facilitate and distribute to our Athletes, but when we connected with Taylor Ferns, we realized The Safety Bank created an opportunity to get the gear out to even more racers who might need new shoes, gloves, suits and other equipment.

“We’re thrilled to help Taylor get this idea launched, and that our partnership with Sabelt America means that The Safety Bank is going to be stocked with a significant amount of gear right from the beginning.”

Drivers and race fans can get the latest updates about The Safety Bank by following along on its social channels: @TheSafetyBank on Instagram, The Safety Bank on Facebook and @thesafetybank_ on X.

AE Victory Racing Earns Best WRL Finish Yet at Watkins Glen

Shift Up Now Athletes Erin Vogel, Sarah Montgomery, and Laura Hayes took home a seventh-place finish, logging their best-ever result, during race one of a World Racing League (WRL) double header weekend at Watkins Glen International (WGI) on October 18-20, 2024.

Continuing their season-long partnership and driving the No. 119 Shift Up Now by AE Victory Racing Audi R8 GT4, Vogel and Montgomery were joined for the WGI weekend by reigning WRL GTO Champion Laura Hayes. Her impressive resume in GT4 racing brought knowledge to enhance the existing expertise in the AE Victory Racing garage. Hayes is also the Pikes Peak GT4 Trophy by Yokohama turbo class champion – the fastest woman ever up Pikes Peak.

The WRL weekend at “The Glen” reflected a similar format to the season’s other events, with a full day of unofficial testing on Thursday, followed by multiple combined practice and qualifying sessions on Friday.

Thursday's test sessions gave Vogel the chance to shake down the car as the team had recently worked on refining the Audi’s setup, and were confident that the continued development would bring on-track performance improvements. Hayes also had the opportunity to become familiar with the Audi, and she got up to speed on her Yokohama tires quickly.

Vogel, Montgomery, and Hayes hit the track Friday morning for practice and qualifying on the 3.54-mile, 12-turn racetrack. Montgomery set the team's qualifying time on sticker tires in the first session after lunch, and she and the other drivers continued to dial in the race setup during the later sessions of the day.

On Saturday, Montgomery was behind the wheel for the start of the eight-hour endurance race. She took the green flag and began carving her way through the competitive field. Despite her progress being hampered slightly by multiple Code 35 periods in the first half of the race, she gained three positions in her stint and advanced to P16. When the team called her into the pits for a splash of fuel during the second Code 35, the Audi R8 was cycled back in the order.

Montgomery then continued to work her way up the timing charts before handing the AE Victory racing machine to Vogel for her mid-race stint. Vogel picked up the charge and swiftly battled the GTO class competition, tackling the famous esses and advancing several spots in the running order. By the time Hayes was preparing to take the wheel with just a few hours remaining in the race, Vogel had moved into the 12th-place spot.

Hayes wasted no time attacking the track, taking over 11th place in her first few laps. In the final three hours, she advanced to 7thplace, where she’d take the checkered flag, clinching AE Victory Racing’s highest-ever finish.

Race two began on Sunday morning, with Montgomery behind the wheel once again, this time for seven hours of competition. During her starting stint, she gained an impressive 10 positions as she charged through the field. The driver order reflected Saturday’s race to give all three drivers the opportunity to evaluate setup changes made overnight. Approximately 2.5 hours in, Vogel took over, then handed the wheel to Hayes for the finish. Hayes crossed the finish line just outside the top 10, culminating a successful 15 hours of clean racing by the AE Victory Racing drivers.

The WRL season continues next at Sebring International Raceway for the penultimate event on November 8-10, 2024. The season finale then takes place at Circuit of the Americas on December 6-8, 2024.

Top-Ten Finish for Cook after Rebounding from Adversity

Shift Up Now Athlete Sabré Cook ended a chaotic week with a ninth-place finish in the Porsche Carrera Cup North America season finale at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) on October 18-20, 2024.

During the first race of the previous event at Road Atlanta, Cook’s car was collected by a competitor spinning on track. The damage to the right rear corner of her chassis made the car irreparable, and Cook was unable to compete in the second race.

On Monday morning, just three days before the paddock began loading in at COTA, she found herself in a race against time. Her goal in contacting every partner, sponsor and supporter was to find not only the funding to pay for the crash damage, but also a car to rent from another team, so that she could be on the grid to complete her season.

It wasn’t until Thursday morning that all the pieces came together. Once loaded into the paddock, Cook worked to get her sponsor logos on the car while the ERA Motorsport team scrambled to put their setup on the rented No. 37 Porsche 992 Cup car.

During the only practice session of the weekend, competing in a 36-car field with a chassis she’d never driven before, the Hagerty supported racer was immediately in the top 15 in practice in her Penfed /privé Porsche Cup Car.

Qualifying took place on Saturday morning. The team had made additional changes since practice to dial the car in further, and Cook ran inside the top ten for most of the session on her Yokohama tires. However, when a few competitors set their fastest lap times late during the qualifying session, she was pushed back to 13th place, where she would start for both races.

Later that afternoon, Cook had a strong start to race one, although she appeared to pop out of line a little too soon as the field came to green. Nonetheless, she advanced to 12th within the first lap and was looking to make a pass for 11th in the stadium section when a full-course caution emerged for an incident in the esses. After a lengthy cleanup, the race restarted with 25 minutes remaining.

After a clean restart, Cook was once again looking to advance to 11th when another incident deployed the safety car before she could make progress. This time, only 12 minutes remained at the restart. The field then had just a few laps of green-flag racing before a third incident occurred, and the race finished under yellow. Post-race, Cook was assessed a 10-second penalty for the start violation, dropping her down in the order.

On Sunday morning, Cook was once again lined up on the inside of row seven for the start of race two. The field went cleanly through the first lap and similar to the day before, Cook looked exceptionally strong in the stadium section as she put pressure on the cars ahead.

Running in a tight pack of four cars, she watched both mirrors and defended appropriately while focusing on moving forward. With a great run onto the front straightaway, she moved to the inside but the car ahead defended all the way to the pit wall. Undeterred, she switched to the outside and made the pass around the outside of turn one.

Now running in 12th, she spent the next lap defending her position and running side-by-side several times, but then began to gap the cars behind. The 11th-place car was several seconds ahead, and Cook’s only option was to focus on laying down her fastest-possible laps. Despite warnings from race control, cars throughout the field continued to violate the COTA track limits rule, but Cook kept her car clean.

With just a couple of laps remaining, she was forced to take evasive action at turn nine to avoid a car that had spun. This advanced her to 11th place, where she would take the checkered flag. However, when track-limits and incident-responsibility penalties were assessed post-race, Cook’s clean and smart driving advanced her to ninth place.

This top-ten finish would be her ninth of the season.

“I feel like I’ve made great strides in my second season of GT racing,” said Cook. “And after switching to ERA Motorsport mid-season with no loss of momentum, I was really looking forward to the last two events of the season, supporting Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta and F1 at COTA. However, after I was collected last weekend and my car was too damaged to repair, I thought I might have to end my sophomore season on the sidelines.

“I am so thankful to all of my partners who have not only supported me since the start of this season, but who stepped up again to help me make this weekend possible in Austin. From trying to find a car, to getting it set up and ready to compete for my ninth top-ten finish this year, the past ten days have been a roller coaster of emotions. So I’m incredibly grateful to have gotten a finish our program - and my partners - deserve.

“I also want to thank ERA Motorsport one more time for their part in helping me overcome hurdles to competing this weekend, and their commitment to ensuring I was on the grid in a competitive race car.”

This offseason, Cook is working to return to the Porsche Carrera Cup North America series for 2025. The season kicks off at Sebring International Raceway during the Mobil1 Twelve Hours of Sebring weekend, March 12-15, 2025.

Shift Up Now Foundation Raises $80,000 to Support Female Racers in 2025

The Shift Up Now Foundation is honored to announce that it raised $80,000 as part of a multifaceted fundraising effort during the month of September.

Most of the funds - approximately 80 percent - were raised during the inaugural, “Night with the Shift Up Now Foundation presented by PenFed Credit Union,” an in-person event featuring a silent auction. Held at Tom Wood Porsche during the IMSA race weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, attendees dressed up in their best blue for an unforgettable gathering of support for the Shift Up Now mission.

The remaining 20 percent of funds raised came from an online effort called, “25 for 25,” in which Lucas Oil matched the first $5,000 in donations, advancing the campaign to its first $10,000.

By reaching the total target of $80,000 for just its third year in existence, the Shift Up Now Foundation will be able to double the amount previously distributed to talented female racers during its first two years.

Funds raised from both events will go toward the 2025 Shift Up Now Foundation grants, which are used to award opportunities to racers believed to have the talent and aptitude to succeed in motorsports, giving them access to more competitive equipment, seat time for testing and practice, and resources to help grow their careers.

Despite the widespread popularity of motorsport worldwide, female participation is significantly underrepresented. The Shift Up Now Foundation is committed to changing this narrative, and any contribution to this campaign is an investment in the future of female racers who are poised to make history.

"I’m thrilled that our first-ever Night with the Shift Up Now Foundation was a successful event, and that we were able to raise a serious amount of money to write grants for female racers in 2025,” said Shift Up Now Foundation Vice President Pippa Mann. “I’m so thankful to PenFed Credit Union, and James Schenck for backing our first-ever event as the presenting sponsor, and to James personally for making a matching donation that helped us meet our goal.

"We were thrilled to bring together so many businesses and people who support our goal of closing the funding gap for female racers. We also love how many local Indianapolis-owned and female-owned businesses stepped forward in support of our event.

"I also want to thank Lucas Oil for their matching donation in our online '25 for 25’ campaign, and all the race fans who took part - twenty-five dollars at a time - to help us raise more than $80,000 total. Online campaigns always feel like a marathon, but as always, our incredible supporters stepped forward, and collectively carried us across the finish line."

During the upcoming off-season, the Shift Up Now Foundation will be inviting female racers to apply for the grants, which if awarded, will be applied to their 2025 season.

In addition, plans are already in the works for the second-annual “Night with the Shift Up Now Foundation.” Details will be provided when available. In the meantime, event attendees can relive the incredible evening by exploring the photo gallery here.

Fundraising to provide opportunities for Shift Up Now Athletes will continue throughout the year. Anyone who would like to contribute to the mission and support talented female racers can donate at www.shiftupnow.org.

The Shift Up Now Foundation would like to thank all of our partners who helped us make both A Night with the Shift Up Now Foundation presented by PenFed, and our 25 for 25 Campaign a success.

Shift Up Now Foundation Chosen as Recipient of Parity Week Grant

The Shift Up Now Foundation is honored to be selected as a recipient of a $5,000 grant during the second annual “Parity Week by Gainbridge®: Investing in the Future of Women’s Sports.”

Gainbridge®, Parity, and the Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF®) reviewed more than 150 applications, of which only 21 deserving organizations and athletes that support girls and women through sports and/or education were selected.

The $5,000 grant that each recipient will receive is in honor of Gainbridge® ambassador, sports icon, and social justice pioneer Billie Jean King, who started WSF® 50 years ago with a $5,000 check. WSF® is one of the first organizations to recognize the powerful connection between sport access, equity and society.

King expressed her pride in the grant program saying, “Thank you for all you do in making a difference in all these girls and women’s lives. I want you to know how much you’re appreciated. The time, the expertise you put in to helping others makes such a difference.

“What Gainbridge and Parity have done giving these checks, I hope this is a way to promote your organization, help your organization, but also get more money for your organization.”

The Parity Week grant will be applied to the Shift Up Now Foundation’s own grant program. These grants will provide the financial support necessary for racers to compete at higher levels, purchase critical equipment, and access opportunities that would otherwise be out of reach.

“I’m so proud that the Shift Up Now Foundation has been chosen as a recipient of a Parity Week Grant from Group 1001,” said Shift Up Now CEO Pippa Mann. “With Parity’s ethos and drive to help pay female athletes across all sports more equally, I’m thrilled that we have this opportunity to work in collaboration toward our own mission of raising funds and paying female athletes in motorsport.”

Gainbridge®, a Group 1001 company, and its sister company Parity will be showcased on signage during the upcoming “A Night with the Shift Up Now Foundation” presented by PenFed Credit Union event. Taking place at Tom Wood Porsche on Friday, September 20th during the IMSA race weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, this event is aimed at raising additional funds for the 2025 Shift Up Now Foundation grants.

To secure your ticket(s) for this exclusive event, “A Night with the Shift Up Now Foundation” presented by PenFed Credit Union, please visit https://onecau.se/shiftupnowfoundation.

The Shift Up Now Foundation is also hosting an online fund-raising even for those unable to attend the event, with a goal of raising an additional $25,000 towards Grants for the 2025 season. To learn more about the online event, and to donate $25 towards our goal please visit: https://onecau.se/sunf25for25