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Paul,
a resident of Rancho Cucamonga, California, was
born in 1960 and works his day job as Director of
WLC Construction Services. After graduating college
with an architecture degree, Paul did some autocrossing
and Solo 1 racing. But the love of driving fast
quickly took hold, and in 1992 his wife bought him
a two-day racing school with the FastLane School
at Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond,
California.
The
following year, Paul was racing in the Southern
Pacific Division of the Sports Car Club of America,
known as the SCCA. He began racing on the SCCA Showroom
Stock Racing circuit in 1993 and SCCA Club Racing
in a Honda Civic at Las Vegas in 1993. In 1996,
Paul was the National Champion at the Valvoline
Runoffs in Showroom Stock C. In addition, Paul placed
8th overall in the PPG Neon Challenge Championship
Series through several top five finishes.
After
a good run with the Neon, it was time to move on.
Paul developed the 1997 Mazda Protegé Performance
Race Package for SCCA competition, and was the Southern
Pacific Divisional Champion in Showroom Stock C
that year. Paul remembers, "I helped develop
the Protegé's suspension, and it was a lot
of work. I learned a lot about the car and increased
my seat time through testing and racing the most
races in one year since I started. This process
really established a relationship with Mazda and
gave me a lot more confidence in my abilities."
In
addition to the SCCA Club racing, '97 was the year
Paul scored a few podium finishes in Speedvision
Cup for Stock Sportscars in the Compact class and
was voted the 1997 "Driver of the Year"
in the California Sports Car Club (CSCC). After
all the hard work on the Protegé in '97,
Paul did not run a single regional race in '98.
His first win in '98 with the Protegé was
at the Runoffs in Ohio. Paul was the '98 National
Champion at the Valvoline Runoffs in SSC, where
he also earned the pole position in qualifying.
He repeated as the National Champion at the Runoffs
in '00, taking the pole position and his third SCCA
Club Racing Showroom Stock C National Championship
in five years driving the Mazda Protegé.
2001
represented Paul's rookie year in the Speedvision
World Challenge Series, where he campaigned a Tri-Point
Mazda Protegé in its first year of touring
competition, ending the season with a top 10 finish,
driving nine races, recording a season-best finish
of ninth at Road Atlanta. In addition, Paul continued
in SCCA Club Racing, competing in his own Protegé
to a 5th place national ranking in Showroom Stock
C (SSC) at the Valvoline Runoffs at Mid-Ohio Sports
Car Course.
Paul
feels SCCA Club racing is great preparation for
the pro ranks, but Paul did not go it alone. The
connections he had made in Club racing translated
into solid help for his pro effort in World Challenge.
"It's mostly my money, but I do get bonuses
and 1099's from my company if I put their name on
my car. Mazda and TriPoint are really helping me
out a lot to be in the car."
Today,
Paul is glad to be racing the Protegé in
World Challenge: "I'm thrilled to be with Mazda.
They build really neat cars. The latest Protegé
is a great car, I'm racing the MP3. The latest generation
is really a great street car, and I'd recommend
it to all of my friends over all of the compacts
out there. The Protegé is dependable, it
responds well to suspension upgrades and it's a
good base for a touring-type race car." Looking
upmarket, Paul sees some more possibilities: "The
RX8 would be a nice fit for me, it's a four-seat
sports car, which really fits my needs--maybe they
will be interested in winning the 24 Hours of LeMans
again. I'd love to move into faster cars. A lot
of it is going to depend on Mazda and TriPoint."
Clearly,
Paul is very happy with his relationship with Mazda.
"My most important observation about Mazda
has less to do with the cars, and has more to do
with the Mazda team approach, and the manufacturer's
support for Mazda race teams. Mazda Competition
Parts is always available to get the parts and information
to the teams. Their contingency awards system is
great. When you go to Mid-Ohio to the runoffs, you
have the confidence that if you wreck your car,
you can get the parts you need to keep going. For
me, that is a huge confidence builder, because you
can let it hang out just a little bit more than
the guy who can't get the parts."
For
the immediate future, Paul looks forward to continuing
to develop the Mazda Protegé ES into a road
race championship car, and is now eyeing this year's
Speed World Challenge Touring Car Championship.
He will also be collaborating on racing the new
Mazda Protegé MP3 race package.
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