Packer Carroll
| Packer Carroll | |
| |
| Age | 39 |
| Nationality |  American
|
| TM Master Cup Series | |
|---|---|
| Car # | 71 |
| Years Competed | 2009-Present |
| Debut Season | 2012 |
| Current Team | Lawrence Gravity Racing |
| Former Team(s) | Gravity Racing, Inc. Majestic Motorsports Volpi Racing Team Manticore Engineering |
| Championships | 0 |
| Pole Positions | 0? |
| Wins | 2 |
| Podiums | ? |
| First Attempt | 2008 Round of Decatur |
| First Start | 2009 Round of Australia |
| First Win | 2012 Round of Quebec |
| Last Win | 2017 Round of Ohio |
| Last Start | 2018 Round of Decatur |
| Best Result | 14th |
| TM Lights | |
| Years Competed | 2011 |
| Debut Season | 2011 |
| Former Team(s) | Gravity Racing, Inc. |
| Championships | 0 |
| Pole Positions | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 1 |
| Best Finish | 3rd |
| First Start | 2011 TM Lights Round of Las Vegas |
| Last Start | 2011 TM Lights Round of Decatur |
| Best Result | 20th |
| FARC Lowe Dollar Series career | |
| Years Competed | 2009-2011, 2013-2015, 2017-18 |
| Debut Season | 2009 |
| Former Team(s) | Gravity Racing, Inc. |
| Championships | 0 |
| Pole Positions | 1? |
| Wins | 3 |
| Top 5 Finishes | 15? |
| Top 10 Finishes | 35? |
| First Attempt | 2009 Smash Beer 100 |
| First Start | 2009 LendMaster 100 |
| First Win | 2009 TirADE 100 |
| Last Win | 2015 ProLaps 100 Sprint 1 |
| Last Start | 2018 Oktoberfest Nationals Final |
| Best Result | 4th |
| Dash Cup career | |
| Years Competed | 2013 |
| Former Team(s) | Gravity Racing, Inc. |
| Championships | 0 |
| Pole Positions | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Best Finish | 26th? |
| First Start | 2013 Eurospeedway GP |
| Last Start | 2013 Spa GP |
| Miscellaneous | |
| @PackerMan71 | |
| Created By | PackerMan71 |
| TM Canon Driver | |
—Packer Carroll |
Jared Lyle Carroll (born April 6, 1985 in Chillicothe, Ohio), better known as Packer Carroll, is an American race car driver, team owner, and businessman. He is the owner of Gravity Racing, Inc., and co-owner of Lawrence Gravity Racing. Packer currently drives the #71 Surge/Burger King Volpi for LGI in the TM Master Cup series, where he has two wins and won the Independent's Trophy in 2017.
He was given the nickname the "Emerald Warrior" by his ever-growing fan base, due to his green hair and his seemingly endless fight through the adversity that has plagued him since he first joined ARLA in 2009. Packer is considered one of the most popular drivers in the sport today, having won ARLA's Most Popular Driver award in 2009.
Bio[edit | edit source]
Packer Carroll was born on April 6, 1985, in Chillicothe, OH. He began watching racing on TV from an early age. At the age of 10, he got his first go-kart, and showed he had some impressive driving ability for someone his age, and considered a career in racing.
At the age of 14, he moved up to local short track racing when his family moved to Columbus, Ohio. He raced regularly in the Crazy Compact division at Columbus Motor Speedway, Kil-Kare Raceway, and Ohio Motor Speedway. In 1999, he won the Crazy Compact track championship at all three venues in the same season. In 2000, at the age of 15, he moved up to the late model division and won the CMS track championship.
After the 2000 season, he decided to take his racing talents to more fertile ground, so Packer headed west to California.
California Extreme Street Racing Championship Series[edit | edit source]
In 2001, at 16 years of age, Packer entered the California Extreme Street Racing Championship Series in San Francisco, competed with regular cars modified and reinforced with roll bars and racing seats. Different than any other series, the CESRCS held two 24-race seasons per year. Packer first entered in 2001 Season 1 and immediately made an impact. Driving for Turbo Motorsports, he won six of his first thirteen starts to clinch his first CESRCS championship. 2001 Season 2 started off even better for Packer. He won 9 of the first 13 races, then went through a five race slump off the podium before winning four of the last six races, easily winning his 2nd championship by 62 points on the strength of 13 race wins. In total, he had 23 wins out of 48 starts that season.
It was during this time that Packer met his future team co-founder and crew chief, San Francisco native Rush McCloud, at the final race of the 2001 season. The two became fast friends, and after some deliberation, decided to form their own team the very next season.
With the winnings they earned from the previous season, Packer and Rush formed Gravity Racing, Inc. in 2002, and for the next 4 years, they continued to run in the CESRCS, as well as other lower-tier local series, slowly building the team's budget before making the transition to modified racing in 2006 with a massive sponsorship bill. After the 2008 season, Carroll decided it was time to take GRI to new territory, so he prepared to move his team up to the ARLA Elite Series for his rookie campaign in 2009.
2009 Season: Humble Beginnings[edit | edit source]
—Packer Carroll after his first career ARLA Elite Series victory at Boston |
In 2009, with high-profile sponsor Shiny Wax and French manufacturer Gasnier, Packer would make his ARLA Elite Series debut in the first Rookie Shootout at Daytona, a special dash for cash just for rookies that will help them get their feet wet. For the winner would be a guaranteed spot in the 2009 Smash Beer 100, the season opening event. Due to a random draw, Packer would start 19th in the 25 car field. Packer would begin making his way to the front early on, but on Lap 4, while running in the top 10, he was hooked coming off of turn 4 by TM Master Cup Series driver Marcos Leonard, but somehow managed to save the car. He dropped to the back of the field, probably to catch his breath. His luck ran out on Lap 14, when in turn 3, the cars of Phineas Marshal and Lucas Sweeney came together, and 13 cars were involved in the big wreck, including Carroll's #71 which actually flipped over. He climbed out of the car okay, but his race was over. His trip to Daytona got even more sour when he failed to qualify for the Smash Beer 100. The next race at Pikes Peak, the LendMaster 100, was where he would make his official ARLA Elite Series debut, finishing in 7th place. However, Packer struggled through the first half of the 24 race season, making just 5 of the first 12 races. As a result, Shiny Wax stated that they would end their sponsorship of the #71 team after Watkins Glen. Fortunately, another sponsor, Grape Soup, stepped up to become the #71's primary sponsor. The newly designed purple car that Packer now drives would become one of the most recognizable cars in the field.
Packer would also seem to become specialized in qualifying races. He won his first Q-Race at Grand Detour of Southern Illinois, and ended up finishing in fifth in the main race after leading 14 laps. His next Q-Race win was on the road course in Vancouver, dominating by leading all ten laps, then finished 9th in the main race despite being spun out. Then he won his third Q-Race at the Milwaukee Mile, but didn't have as good a main race, finishing 25th.
Packer's major breakthrough came in the 18th race of the season, the TirADE 100 in Boston. After starting in 13th, Packer took his first career ARLA Elite Series victory in just his ninth start.
Then, after taking a victory lap, a comical event occured. Packer started to climb out of the car, but instead of getting out, he sat on the door, halfway in and halfway out. Then, with the checkered flag in his left hand, he started doing victory burnouts at the start/finish line, and all you could hear was the roar of the crowd. In victory lane, Packer dubbed his victory celebration the Bronco Buster Burnout.
He would add one more Q-Race win, at Lake Afton. He made the final four races of the season, and wound up finishing 31st in the points standings, with a win, 3 top 5 finishes, and 6 top 10 finishes in 14 total starts, with a mind-boggling 4 Q-Race wins. His exploits earned him Q-Race Driver of the Year, and he was voted Most Popular Driver by the ARLA fans.
Packer also made two starts in the TM Master Cup Series in 2009, driving his own car, which was sponsored by Fallout 3. He made his TMMC debut at the Round of Australia, but fell out after colliding with Damien Snyder midway through the race. His second start came in the season finale, the Decatur Grand Prix. After winning the Q-Race, he managed to avoid all the carnage that had befallen most of his competitors, and finished in 15th, not bad for a driver in just his second career TMMC start in his own car. He was offered a part-time ride with Majestic Motorsports to drive the #71 Diet Delano Gasnier, which he accepted.
2010 Season: Mr. Reliability[edit | edit source]
Before the 2010 ARLA Elite Series season began, Packer sold his Thunder Trucks program to make room for a Street Stocks team, and a CRL Modified Division team. In addition, due to the new manufacturer rules in place in ARLA, Gasnier was now exclusive to GRI, which enabled Packer to expand his team to three cars. In ARLA tryouts midway through 2009, he discovered Henrietta LaVerne, a Canadian female driver, and Sara Hackson, who at 6 feet 7 inches, would become the tallest driver in the field. In addition, Packer was signed to drive the #110 Michelin Gasnier for Greg Whittaker Racing in the TM Junior Series. It was gonna be a busy season for Packer. It also helped that due to some of the teams in front of him dissolving or dropping down to the ARLA Thunder Trucks, Packer's #71 team was one of the 22 cars locked into Daytona.
The 2010 Daytona 200 saw Packer starting in 34th position, but made his way to the front due to the drafting that happens at Daytona, and would actually lead a lap during the race. However, midway through the race, he was slightly involved in the crash that injured Leslie Riggs, but stayed on the lead lap and salvaged a 23rd place finish. Despite some incidents at Iowa, Packer finished 9th, and jumped to 11th in the points standings. The next race, the Hattiesburg 125, showed just how durable his #71 Gasnier really was. On Lap 17, the #17 car of Joseph Howard drifts into the wall in turn 3. Coming to the start/finish line, Howard for some reason drifts down into the path of Packer's car. Packer tried to go low, but couldn't as there was another car on his inside. As a result, Packer swerves high to avoid Howard, clips the #17 car and slams the wall. Worse, another car hits his in the rear and triggers a massive pile-up on the front stretch. Despite significant damage to his car, Packer was still competitive and salvaged a 14th place finish, which propelled him up to 9th in the points standings, the first time he had cracked the top ten in the Elite Series.
His next two races, however, at New Hampshire and Memphis, saw him DNF both events due to crashes. He bounced back by finishing in the top 20 at Talladega, but was met with disappointment when he finished 26th at Mansfield, his home track. More trouble struck at Texas, when the #71's engine unexpectedly failed on Lap 51, resulting in a 32nd place finish, and he was now 20th in the points standings. Little did he know that Texas would be his last DNF of the season.
As his team was preparing for Albuquerque, a shocking announcement rocked GRI. Sara Hackson, the driver of his #3 Smudge Erasers Gasnier, was involved in legal trouble and had to end her involvement with the team. Stunned, Packer appointed Regina McCloud, Rush's wife to drive the #3 car at Albuquerque, but she was involved in a crash on Lap 2. Packer finished 14th.
At Tampa Bay, the midway point of the season, Packer hired former TMMC driver Eric Jackson to drive the #3 car for the remainder of the season, and nearly won the race until Jason Bates wrecked him late in the race. Packer finished in 6th place, his second top 10 of the season, and was very critical of Bates after the race. His 12th place finish at Dwyer put him back into the top 10 in points. His good runs continued at Grand Detour when he finished 3rd, his best finish of the season, and he was now 7th in the standings. He finished 15th at Buffalo Downs, then finished 3 laps down at Watkins Glen in the rain, but still managed to finish 19th, and moved into the top 5 in points for the first time. Packer struggled at the next race at Mosport, finishing 24th, but bounced back at Blue Ridge with an 8th place finish, and a 10th place finish at Appleton, keeping him firmly entrenched in 5th in the points.
The next race was at Decatur Championship Weekend, the semi-final event for the Elite Series. The b 34 Decatur saw Packer finish in 20th, moving him up to 4th, but his shot at the championship was over. The 2010 Rockford 200 saw Packer finish in 13th, but due to Kevin Monroe crashing out early on, enabled him to finish 4th in the final standings. He was still able to go to victory lane, however. His crew chief and business partner, Rush McCloud, pulled one of the biggest upsets in ARLA history when he won the Rockford 200, leading the final 7 laps of the race after passing Amy Harrison for the lead.
His TM Junior Series campaign saw him finish in the top 5 six times with 8 top 10 finishes. He also earned his first TM podium, a 2nd at the season finale at Decatur. He finished 5th in the final standings, giving him two top 5 points finishes in the same season. Packer also made a killing at the awards banquet. His team won the Soda World Team of the Year, Eric Jackson won the Roberto Moreno award, given to the substitute driver of the year, and Packer won the Competitive Spirit award, given to the driver who completed the most laps in the season, and the LendMaster Comeback Driver of the Year award, for jumping from 31st in the standings in 2009 to 4th in 2010.
His TMMC ventures were not as successful. He only qualified for two races, and finished outside the top 25 in both of them.
In addition, he reformed his Thunder Trucks team after selling his Street Stocks team, and hired Zach Gott to drive in 2011.
Teaming With Volpi[edit | edit source]
Midway through the 2010 season, the owner of the Volpi Racing Team, Cyril Volpi, expressed interest in joining forces with an ARLA team to create a developmental program for his TM Master Cup Series team, considering his make of car didn't have much of an influence outside of the TM series. One of the teams he expressed interest in was Gravity Racing, Inc.
During the week of the TMMC's visit to Grand Detour, Volpi, VRT driver Alexis Rainsford, Packer, and Rush had a series of meetings at GRI's race shop in Columbus, Ohio to discuss how their partnership would work. Volpi would provide manufacturer support for Packer's ARLA team, which would allow him to expand to four cars in 2011. He had signed Eric Jackson to the #3 car through 2012, and would also sign ARLA Street Stocks driver Bruce Wilkinson to drive the new #7 car, and ARLA regular Anthony Griffith to replace LaVerne in the #00. In addition, Volpi would give support for a two-car TM Lights team and a two-car ARLA Formula Overdrive team. Packer and Wilkinson would be the pilots of the Lights cars, and Packer would sign Regina and Brazilian Ronaldo Ventura to drive the FO cars. Also, Volpi signed Packer as the main reserve driver for the Volpi Racing Team, and with Rainsford scheduled to run the Indy 500 in 2011, Packer would be tasked to drive her car for the race she misses and others if Rainsford decided to run more races in the V8 Champ Car Series.
2011 Season: A Season of Injuries and Adversity[edit | edit source]
Packer's 2011 season started at the TM Lights North opener at Las Vegas, where he led nine laps and earned his first TM Lights podium when he finished third. The first race of the season for the ARLA Elite Series at Texas was the first event to run a twin-race format. Packer was in race 1. On Lap 42 after a restart, Packer managed to get under the #66 of Edwin Schwarzloski for the lead. He led two laps before falling back due to a bad push on the car. He finished in 14th. The next race was held in the rain at St. Petersburg, and disaster struck. Midway through, he spun out avoiding a wreck and crashed into the tire barriers. Ricky Flush also spun out and slammed into the back of the #71. Packer was still holding onto the steering wheel, as he was preparing to try to back up and continue racing. When the #31 car hit him, it jerked the steering wheel sharply to the right. This resulted in a broken right wrist for Packer, but after being outfitted with a brace and a cast, was cleared to race the next week at Talladega. Packer led 4 laps at Talladega, but finished 35th after being involved in the big one with 15 laps to go. At the 2011 Las Vegas Deuce, Packer finished 16th, but a top 5 went down the drain late in the race.
The next race was the first on the Canadian tour, the Xenos Alberta Duels. Packer finished a close 2nd after a drag race to the line with Allie Riggs. He led the most laps for the first time in his career, leading 11 laps. Packer would miss the next ARLA race in Alaska, due to him being in Germany for the sixth round of the TM Master Cup Series season. Rainsford was racing in the Indy 500, and it was up to Packer to drive the #1 Volpi in place of Rainsford. Packer had a great qualifying run as well, starting in 7th. Despite racing with a broken right wrist that's still on the mend, Packer managed to come home in 10th, maintaining the #1 team's top ten streak and points scoring streak.
Packer's next race, the Mosport 300K, saw him earn his best career Elite Series start when he qualified 2nd. Packer finished 23rd, 3 laps down, after being collected in an accident by a spinning lapped car. Packer would bounce back by starting in third for the Verdugo 250. He eventually took the lead and led 40 laps, the second time he has led the most laps, but ran out of gas with 3 laps to go. He wound up finishing in 8th, but still got to go to victory lane, maybe not as a driver, but as an owner, in both races. Anthony Griffith won race 1, and Todd Wodarczyk won race 2, which meant that Packer would make history, becoming the first car owner to sweep both races at an ARLA event since they went to the twin race format. But Packer would crash out of his next two races, the 2011 OX200 @ Buffalo Downs in ARLA, and the Round of Daytona in TMMC.
Packer finished 7th at Albuquerque, but had a disastrous TMMC outing at his home race in Ohio. Packer called it the most embarrassing performance of his career. But he bounced back at Road America, where he scored his best career TMMC finish to date: 4th. He was running in the top 10 at Grand Detour before engine failure put him out. At Indianapolis, he finished 15th, scoring valuable points for Volpi in the manufacturers championship. His final guaranteed start at Michigan saw him not even take the green flag due to the car not being able to start.
In ARLA's 150 Laps of Dwyer, Packer would team up with Alexis Rainsford for the race, but she never got a chance to get behind the wheel, as brake failure forced the #71 out in last place. Packer would finish 14th at Waltham.
Then came the 2011 Watkins Glen Twin 150K's, where Packer scored his second career win after passing early leader Seiju Dejao near the halfway point of the race.
Packer went on to dominate the second half of the race, sailing to his first victory of the season in the No. 71 Grape Soup Volpi. After the race, Packer would treat the fans to his patented Bronco Buster Burnout down the front stretch.
He finished 15th at Darlington despite being involved in a spin, and he finished 10th at Appleton. At Decatur, Packer started in 31st and couldn't make any ground, winding up 23rd. Packer is currently 21st in the ARLA Elite Series points standings for 2011 with just the Rockford 200 left to go. He initially failed to qualify, but Zach Gott, who qualified the #7 car in the A-Main, gave his spot to Packer, which allows him to start his milestone 50th ARLA Elite Series race. He finished 11th, and would finish 16th in the final points standings, earning his second straight points trophy.
As for his TM Lights and TMMC Decatur outings, Packer finished 20th in his race, and finished 20th in the overall standings, and 8th in the North Division standings. In the Decatur Grand Prix, driving the Alexisports #27 Volpi, Packer started 25th and would earn his fourth points finish in eight starts in 2011, finishing 13th, right behind the owner of the #27, Alexis Rainsford. Altogether, he scored 96 total points in 2011, good enough for 35th in the final standings despite not running all the races, and 62 of those points helped the #1 Volpi team win the 2011 TMMC Owner's Championship.
2012 Season: A New Beginning & Rivalry with Kevin Dwyer[edit | edit source]
In the offseason, Carroll was signed with the Volpi Racing Team to drive the #2 MaiaSoft Volpi VC04 for the 2012 season, his long-awaited first full-time season in the TM Master Cup Series, with his teammate being English driver Divina Henton, who would be driving the #6 Lynxe Volpi. Carroll's signing raised some eyebrows, with some saying that he was too old and too accident-prone. In preseason testing, he matched his teammate's pace on a regular basis, and it was clear that the 2012 Volpi was probably not a regular contender for wins.
The first race of the season at Las Vegas saw Carroll start in the 7th position, and he would eventually charge to the front and led the first laps of his career in an actual TM Master Cup race. Carroll did not run a clean race, as he checked crowd favorite Kevin Dwyer into the wall early in the race. Dwyer, not appreciating how Carroll had been racing him, hooked the #2 Volpi on the frontstretch, taking both cars hard into the inside wall. Both continued on with heavy damage, and crew chief Rush McCloud was furious, shouting over his radio for the officials to penalize the #72 car for rough driving. Carroll finished out of the points.
This controversy was fueled by accident, as the Channel 44 cameras missed the initial contact, although Dan Mullen was quick to catch it from the booth. Dwyer made his views clear after the race, reminding Carroll that he was willing to take him out again if the need arose. Carroll seemed to get the message, as the two did not make contact until qualifying for the 2012 Round of Queensland, although they've nearly come to blows several times.
Carroll was involved in another accident at the next race at Road Atlanta, where he received damage as a result of contact between Zelda Ashby and Scott Bates on the opening lap. He managed to turn it around with a great run at Carbondale, although pit strategy and a few bugs in the handling caused him to fall to 14th place. Still, it was his first points of the season.
On the first leg of the European tour, at Brands Hatch, Packer finished 11th despite a Lap 1 incident with Ian Cooper, which Carroll accepted blame for, but earned the wrath of Cooper. He was penalized 15 points and sent to the rear of the field for the Round of France. Carroll appealed the points penalty, but was unsuccessful. Reportedly, VRT owner Cyril Volpi was not impressed with Carroll's decision. He was on his way to a top ten run in France before an accident involving himself, Louis Kingston, and Blake Camphausen. Afterwards, Kingston ran him into the grass, prompting Packer to spin the #17 car getting up to speed, which earned him a 30-second ATP, causing him to finish out of the points.
Packer was sent to the back for Sweden, but despite starting 35th, fought his way through the field very cleanly and showcased his road course prowess, earning his first top 10 finish of the season when he finished 9th, but then, the curse of Karjala returned. Packer finished 17th in his prequalifying race, three spots from the main qualifier, and failed to qualify for the Karjala Grand Prix for a fourth straight year. He was so upset with his performance, he immediately left the track without talking to reporters. It was here that rumors began to circulate that Carroll would be dropped in favor of Chris Davenport for the 2013 season.
He salvaged a 17th at Russia after a tough race that saw him start back in the 28th position. Then, at Wales, Packer started in the 6th position, but quickly made his way up to 4th in the first couple of turns. He remained in the top 5 for the majority of the race. Then, without warning, the engine expired on the #2 Volpi, and Packer's top 5 run went up in smoke.
After a disappointing European tour, Packer was glad that he was finally heading home to the States. The TM Master Cup Series has three weeks off before the next race in Michigan, which marks the halfway point of the season. During the long break, Packer's services in his home state of Ohio were in high demand. The most notable appearance was a radio interview he did with 96.3 WLVQ, which gave fans a new perspective on what Packer was like away from the track.
The next race, the 2012 Round of Michigan, which was boycotted by the MCMA, saw Packer start in 4th, and he led his second lap of his career, but his engine expired right when he led it, leading to a 21st place finish, and one of only two drivers to not score points. Crew chief Rush McCloud was very vocal about the reliability issues of the Volpi equipment after the race. As a result of this and for other transgressions, Volpi fired McCloud and replaced him with long-time Volpi Racing Team mainstay David Stoyanoff. This did not make either McCloud nor Carroll very happy, but it was all rendered meaningless when Packer got word that his mother had passed away after an extended illness.
Emotional Quebec Triumph[edit | edit source]
A little less than a week after his mother's passing, Packer refocused his efforts on the next race, the 2012 Round of Quebec, which took place on the nearly 5 mile Road Gatineau. Packer was 2nd fastest in practice and qualified in the 2nd position, both times behind Mathias Taube. Packer was able to run a clean, solid race, and with his main rivals encountering trouble during the race, Packer cruised to a relatively easy victory, leading 20 of the race's 26 laps. The victory lane celebration was emotional, as Packer got the Gatorade bath while he saluted the fans, and for the first time in what seemed like months, Packer was smiling as reporters interviewed him. In victory lane, he dedicated the win to his mother.
It was perhaps because of the incredible timing of this victory at Road Gatineau that caused VRT owner Cyril Volpi to decide to resign Packer back to the 2 team for the 2013 season.
His Ohio homecoming was a lot better than last year. For the second consecutive race, Packer was starting on the outside of the front row, once again just missing the pole. At the halfway point, Packer found himself in the lead thanks to stellar pit strategy and fast pit work from the #2 team. When Packer took the lead, the roar of the crowd was deafening. However, he was eventually passed by Jose Luis Martinez, and being stuck in the outside lane, would fall back to around 7th, which was where he would finish, his third top ten of the season after leading 25 laps. He followed that up with his second career podium, a 3rd, at Grand Detour. Despite being sent to the back at Road America, he rallied for an 8th place finish, his fourth top 10 in a row and fifth of the season.
Before Indianapolis, Packer announced that he was withdrawing from the Formula Overdrive Hanmore World Championships to focus on his Master Cup rookie campaign, which sees him as the likely 2012 Rookie of the Year. Rush would take his place in the #3 Grape Soup machine in preparation for his Formula Overdrive rookie season in 2013.
Packer finished 12th at Indy after starting on the front row for the third time in 2012. He was taken out at Calder Park in a crash caused by Adrien Devereux, finishing 30th. He recovered and delivered a solid 9th place finish at Queensland. But an engine failure at Brazil left him with a 34th place finish, his worst of the season. He would suffer another engine failure on the last lap at British Columbia.
It would prove costly, as he dropped to 14th in the points standings. Then, he failed to qualify for Decatur, which left him 14th in the final points standings. He was the highest finishing rookie in the points standings, but finished 2nd to Melanie Clevenot for Rookie of the Year, which is determined by the four best finishes a rookie has. Overall, despite the win at Quebec, 2012 was a massive disappointment for Packer and his team.
2013 Season, Roughest of Rides[edit | edit source]
Packer comes into 2013 with great expectations. With Leonid Roderick coming to Volpi and becoming Packer's new teammate, it now falls on Packer to live up to the expectations he set for himself when he joined Volpi in 2011, and with Roderick on board, the weight of those expectations has increased significantly.
His first race of the season was in Dash Cup, the 2013 Eurospeedway GP. He had a strong car and led several laps, but was involved in a violent crash in turn 3 that sent his car for several rolls. Packer was unhurt, but his race was over.
His 2013 Cup campaign has had a disastrous start. He had finished 10th at California, but was excluded from the results for rough driving, and had a 30 point penalty to boot. His next two races saw him finish 28th and 24th at Carbondale and Road Atlanta. He suffered a mechanical failure at Brands Hatch, then accidentally took Luciano Soveral out of a win at Circuit Theirry Sicotte, which resulted in him being suspended from Sweden, although he suffered a broken wrist in the accident, so it was highly unlikely that he would've been cleared to race anyway.
Packer would have surgery on his wrist to repair the damage, and returned for the 2013 Karjala Grand Prix. He finally qualified for the race by placing in the top ten in pole qualifying, but suffered an engine failure early in the race, continuing his season of woes.
He currently sits last in the championship with -30 points.
Rivalry With Brian Sendack[edit | edit source]
Although he certainly has the respect of the majority of his peers, Packer has had a rather intense rivalry with TMMC driver Brian Sendack. It all got started at the 2009 Round of Decatur, when Packer accidentally wrecked Alonso Tosia and the lapped car of Woody Watts in the first Pre-Q race. Sendack, driving for Ocean Motorsports at the time, was very critical of Packer, and promised to send him "packing" in the main qualifying race. Packer did not take kindly to those words, and in the main Q-Race, Packer and Sendack were 1st and 2nd after pitstops. In turn 3, Packer nudged Sendack out of the way to take the lead. Sendack tried to retaliate at the Hill, but could not spin Packer out. Packer would go on to win the Q-Race and qualify for the Decatur Grand Prix. Sendack and Packer had some heated words after the race that almost came to blows. Ironically, Sendack started right behind Packer in the race.
At the 2010 Karjala Grand Prix, Packer, now driving for Majestic Motorsports, won the 1st Pre-Q race and started on the pole for the main Q-Race. Unfortunately, Sendack started right next to him, and going into turn 1, Sendack dumped Packer into the sand trap. Sendack finished 2nd, qualifying for the race, while Packer failed to qualify for a second straight year. Packer, furious, met Sendack with a hard shove on pit road that sent Sendack to the ground. The crews had to hold the two archrivals back.
They also had another heated confrontation at the 120 Laps of Dwyer endurance race later in 2010. Fortunately, there were no on-track incidents between the two.
In 2011, at the TM Master Cup Series finale at Decatur, Packer and Sendack traded some paint during the first lap of their Pre-Q race, but there were no other incidents between the two, and both qualified for the main Q-Race. Interestingly enough, they both qualified for the Decatur Grand Prix and started in the same row, though there were no incidents between the two.
The rivalry between the two has settled down in 2012.
Frustration at Karjala[edit | edit source]
One thing Packer would like to rid himself of is the disappointment of not qualifying for the Karjala Grand Prix in each of the past four seasons.
In 2009, driving in his own car #48, he started 20th in his Pre-Q race, and was 8th at the end of the first lap. But his engine lost a cylinder midway through, and he finished last, failing to Pre-qualify.
In 2010, driving the Majestic Motorsports #71, he won his Pre-Q race and was on pole for the main Q-Race, but was spun by Sendack on the first lap and failed to qualify.
In 2011, driving the Volpi Racing Team #28, he again won his Pre-Q race and was in position to qualify, but with 8 laps to go, he crashed into the tire barriers trying to avoid the spinning car of Juho Kivela in the Dwyer S, and failed to qualify for a third straight year.
In 2012, driving the Volpi Racing Team #2, he finished 17th in his Pre-Q race, 3 spots from qualifying for the main Q-Race, and failed to qualify for the Karjala Grand Prix for the fourth straight year.
In 2013, still driving the Volpi Racing Team #2, he finally qualified for the race by placing tenth in pole qualifying, but lost his engine midway through the race.
Personal Life[edit | edit source]
Packer currently resides in Columbus, Ohio, in the small town of Groveport. Whenever he has a chance, he heads to Columbus Motor Speedway on Saturday nights during the racing season.
He is currently single. He went on a date with ARLA driver Leslie Riggs, but it appears to be a one-time deal.
He is also good friends with fellow TM Master Cup driver Ryan Matthews.
Career Statistics[edit | edit source]
TM Master Cup Series
| Year | Races | Poles | Wins | Podiums | Top 5 | Top 10 | DNF | DNQ | Season Rank | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | N/A | Gravity Racing, Inc. (#48) |
| 2010 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | N/A | Majestic Motorsports (#71) |
| 2011 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | N/A | Volpi Racing Team (#1, #28), Alexisports (#27) |
| 2012 (R) | 18 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 14th | Volpi Racing Team (#2) |
| 2013 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 38th | Volpi Racing Team (#2) |
| Totals | 36 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 12 | 7 | 14th (Average) | 4 teams/3 seasons |
TM Lights Series
| Year | Races | Poles | Wins | Podiums | Top 5 | Top 10 | DNF | DNQ | Season Rank | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 (R) | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 20th | Gravity Racing, Inc. (#71) |
| Totals | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 20th (Average) | 1 team/1 season |
TM Junior Series
| Year | Races | Poles | Wins | Podiums | Top 5 | Top 10 | DNF | DNQ | Season Rank | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 (R) | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 5th | Greg Whittaker Racing (#110) |
| Totals | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 5th (Average) | 1 team/1 season |
ARLA Elite Series
| Year | Races | Poles | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | DNF | DNQ | Season Rank | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 (R) | 14 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 10 | 31st | Gravity Racing, Inc. (#71) |
| 2010 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 4th | Gravity Racing, Inc. (#71) |
| 2011 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 16th | Gravity Racing, Inc. (#71) |
| Totals | 50 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 17 | 12 | 10 | 17th (Average) | 1 team/3 seasons |
Dash Cup Series
| Year | Races | Poles | Wins | Podiums | Top 5 | Top 10 | DNF | DNQ | Season Rank | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | N/A | Gravity Racing, Inc. (#48) |
| Totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | N/A (Average) | 1 team/1 season |
Season Breakdowns[edit | edit source]
2009 ARLA Elite Series
| Round | 2 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | PPIR | INDY | ROV | LPZ | QUI | CLA | DWY | MIL | BOS | AFT | NY | APP | DEC | RFD | Pts. Finish |
| Result | 7th | 42nd | 18th | 22nd | 5th | 9th | 25th | 25th | WIN | 31st | 21st | 5th | 27th | 9th | 31st |
2009 TM Master Cup Series
| Round | 13 | 19 |
|---|---|---|
| Event | AUS | DEC |
| Result | 26th | 15th |
2010 TM Junior Series
| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | TRM | AUS | BRA | NY | MAN | CAL | POR | KAN | ROCK | DAY | QUI | WIS | DAR | BRI | TAL | DEC | Pts. Finish |
| Result | 30th | 5th | 11th | 26th | 4th | 34th | 5th | 4th | 8th | 31st | 35th | 5th | 6th | 39th | 14th | 2nd | 5th |
2010 ARLA Elite Series
| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | DAY | IOWA | HAT | NH | MEM | TAL | MAN | TEX | ABQ | TB | WILK | DWY | QUI | BUF | GLEN | MOS | ALB | APP | DEC | RFD | Pts. Finish |
| Result | 23rd | 9th | 14th | 32nd | 36th | 18th | 26th | 32nd | 14th | 6th | 7th | 12th | 3rd | 15th | 19th | 24th | 8th | 10th | 20th | 13th | 4th |
2010 TM Master Cup Series
| Round | 3 | 10 |
|---|---|---|
| Event | BRA | ITA |
| Result | 23rd | 34th |
2011 TM Lights Series
| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | LVA | WIS | INDY | QUE | BC | DEC | Pts. Finish |
| Result | 3rd | 33rd | 32nd | 4th | 7th | 20th | 20th |
2011 ARLA Elite Series
| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | TEX | PETE | TAL | LV | ALB | MOS | VER | BUF | ABQ | DWY | WAL | GLEN | DAR | APP | DEC | RFD | Pts. Finish |
| Result | 14th | 33rd | 35th | 16th | 2nd | 23rd | 8th | 37th | 7th | 42nd | 14th | WIN | 15th | 10th | 23rd | 11th | 16th |
2011 TM Master Cup Series
| Round | 6 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 20 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | GER | DAY | OHIO | WIS | QUI | INDY | MIC | DEC |
| Result | 10th | 32nd | 31st | 4th | 39th | 15th | 38th | 13th |
2012 TM Master Cup Series
| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 20 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event | LVA | GEO | CBD | ENG | FRA | SWE | RUS | WAL | MIC | QUE | OHIO | QUI | WIS | INDY | VIC | QLD | BRA | BC | Pts. Position |
| Result | 29th | 26th | 14th | 11th | 23rd | 9th | 17th | 31st | 21st | WIN | 7th | 3rd | 8th | 12th | 30th | 9th | 34th | 25th | 14th |
2013 Dash Cup Series
| Round | 1 |
|---|---|
| Event | EURO |
| Result | 26th |
2013 TM Master Cup Series
| Yr | Entrant | Car | Number | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | Standings | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Volpi Racing Team | Volpi VC05 | 2 | CAL 38 |
CAR 28 |
GEO 24 |
ENG 35 |
FRA | SWE | KAR | RUS | WAL | SCA | QUE | OHI | QUI | WIS | INDY | COL | VIC | QLD | BRA | NYC | VAN | DEC | NC | -30
|
Trophy Case[edit | edit source]
Picture Gallery[edit | edit source]
71 Shiny Wax Gasnier Dragoon driven by Packer during the first half of the 2009 ARLA season.
71 Grape Soup Gasnier Dragoon driven by Packer from the second half of the 2009 ARLA season through the 2010 season.
Packer in his Grape Soup fire suit.
71 ZombieBusters.com Gasnier Dragoon driven by Packer in select events during the 2010 ARLA season.
71 NOS Energy Volpi VC03 driven by Packer during the 2011 TM Lights season.
71 Grape Soup Volpi VC03 driven by Packer during the 2011 ARLA season.
1 Lynxe Volpi VC03 driven by Packer in select events during the 2011 TM Master Cup Series season, subbing for Alexis Rainsford while Rainsford had V8 Champ Car duties.
2 MaiaSoft Volpi VC04 being driven by Packer during the 2012 TM Master Cup Series season.
Packer in his MaiaSoft fire suit.
