Tomassi Staying Busy During Rookie Year
Tyle Tomassi has been all about racing since Thursday. He got to compete against NASCAR star Kyle Larson at Monza Indoor Karting at Foxwoods Resort Casino.
“That was a lot of fun, you know, surprised that I made it into the race to begin with,” Tomassi said. “I was pretty nervous going in there. Not sure if I would qualify, but it made it in, got to race against him and it was a lot of fun.
The Speedway Children’s Charities event encouraged a single fast lap instead of competing for the full race. Cautions and lapped traffic could make getting an uninterrupted, clean lap difficult.
“During the qualifying, I did a really good job. There wasn’t that many people on the track I did a 38.3, I think. And then during the feature, I was in the 39s just had no luck, a lot of cautions and bad starting spot, a lot of traffic, but it was a lot of fun, once in a lifetime opportunity. So yeah, I enjoyed it.
Tomassi actually returned to Monza Friday as well.
“It definitely takes a lot of skill. I love it. Especially it’s great that it’s open to the public, you know, they have a go kart place where you can go to and you actually takes a lot of talent and skill. If you’re going there just to have fun, you can have fun. But if you know a true racer that wants to put down some good lap times and be challenged, you know, then you get a good 3 or 4 seconds on a guy if you’re better than him. A lot of fun.
A former Bandolero Outlaw competitor, Tomassi moved up to the Everett’s Auto Parts Late Models this season, driving the family’s gold and black No. 76.
“A little rough the first race we got wrecked and then the second one, you know, got a bad penalty. But a few weeks ago, we finished eighth out of 20 out of 20 cars. We did pretty good that race and then sadly the next week we wrecked but coming off a strong finish last week, sixth place after starting 13th and being involved in a lap one wreck. So after sixth place last week, the car’s a little rough tonight. Not handling that well. But maybe it’s because the track’s a little wet. But we’ll see how we’ll do. Hopefully, we’ll be all maybe get a top five.”
He has fared better in the extra-distance races, where he has recorded 2 top tens.
“The 50 lapper was probably my best race even though I finished only eighth and the last one I finished sixth. But it was definitely a smoother racing. I feel like if it’s a long race the fields a lot more calm. You know, tonight’s only 30 laps. So soon as the green flag drops, you know, it’s go hard or go home from the start. And it can be really rough sometimes.”
Tomassi noted the challenges of the ACT Late Model package compared to the restricted Bandolero cars.
In the Bandoleros, Tomassi could run wide open and stay on the yellow line. “As long as you did that you had it in the bag.”
“Balance the gas and brakes and stuff, and be able to roll through the corner, and not overdrive it.
… This You know, every lap you have to hit your marks a guy could be literally five car lengths behind you and you miss your mark in just one corner and he closes the gap and he’s right on you. So you have to be perfect the whole time. You know, same thing when you’re on the inside of somebody get loose, you can dump them you know, the outsides really tough I’d say that’s probably the hardest transition is trying to roll the outside.
Tomassi also frequently competes on the iRacing simulator on his computer.
“It can be hard sometimes because it’s hard to feel the car under you, but I love doing it. It’s a lot of fun. And yeah, I do it all the time. I was actually racing on it one o’clock in the morning last night. I didn’t fall asleep until 330 because I you know, I was all hyped up on adrenaline. I was like Whoo. So yeah, that’s fun though.”
Tomassi’s car is sponsored by Tomassi Law Associates. He thanks his parents, RLS Performance, his crew chief Richard Sprague and teammate Ryan Lineham, “and all the fans people who continue to support me no matter what.”
“Especially having Ryan as a teammate, you know, he’s a track champion. So he gives good tips and Richard he knows how to work on these things. And if it wasn’t for them, I’d probably be way off my line and the car probably would be nowhere close to good.”
Tomassi’s goals are top-five finishes and bring the car home in one piece, improve his position in the standings and possibly a win.
Sources: Nicholas Teto, YankeeRacer.com