Tristan Nunez hit the racing like a multi-stage rocket, shooting to incredible heights, then igniting anew and heading even higher.
He started racing at age 11 and started winning not just races but championships immediately—first in karts, then in Skip Barber formula cars, then in IMSA Prototype Lites, where he absolutely dominated the class. He finished on the podium in his first race, and won 11 of 14 races in his first full season.
At 17 Nunez was driving in the two top sports car series in North America, going head to head with the best drivers and biggest teams in the world—and still winning. In both the American Le Mans Series and the Rolex Sports Car Series, the teenager racked up class victories against drivers with much more experience.
Next Nunez, still in high school, signed on to drive Mazda’s new LMP2 prototype for 2014 in the new Tudor United Sportscar Championship. For an 18-year-old to get a top-tier factory ride is almost unheard of; Mazda must have really liked what they saw in the young driver.
Tristan Nunez takes a night stint in the #07 Mazda at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Jan 25–26, 2014. (Chris Jasurek/Epoch Times)
The downside? Because the Mazda prototype was brand-new, Nunez would be more a development driver. In other words, he wouldn’t be racing to win. Instead, he would be turning laps with an eye to describing exactly what the car was doing in every situation, so the engineers could make adjustments.
Far from winning, Nunez has not even finished a race in the new car. At both the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the Sebring 12 Hours, the car broke down before the race ended, leaving Nunez to return to the pits on a tow rope. Worse still, the car was often the slowest on the track even when it did run.
The #07 Mazda died Sunday afternoon, failing to complete the Rolex 24; its sister car, the #70, failed likewise. Both cars would also fail to finish the 2014 Sebring 12 Hours. (Chris Jasurek/Epoch Times)
Suddenly the Florida teen’s career went from an incandescent arc to the top of the racing world, to fizzling into darkness. How does it feel for a teenager, living on the adrenaline of repeated victories, to suddenly find himself forgotten and ignored at the back of the pack?
The answer shows some of what makes Tristan Nunez such an exceptional young driver.
Tristan Nunez jokes with his co-drivers at the Roar Before the 24. He remains energetic and relaxed despite having his stream of constant victories interrupted; his eye is on the big prize. (Chris Jasurek/Epoch Times)
‘Investing in the Future’
“This is about investing in the future and sacrificing immediate fame in hopes of reaching higher heights,” Nunez said in an email interview.
“When you first start out, it’s all about lap times and winning. But as you progress up the ladder you have to learn how to conduct yourself off the track. In endurance racing, you must be patient and not take unnecessary risks. With the Mazda program, it’s not about the driver, it’s about the program so the longer you are on the track, the more data is acquired and the more we learn about the car.”
“At age 18, I know I will have many more victories ahead of me. It is rewarding knowing that I am a part of the development a new car. I feel it is important not only to experience the glory of winning but also experience the struggles and hardships. It only makes you stronger and makes the victories that much sweeter.”
Nunez loves the thrill of winning; he once said that winning a race was the best feeling in the world. Yet even at age 18, he has the maturity to realize that he has to put in the time, pay his dues, so to speak, if he wants to realize his greatest dream.
“My goal has always been to be an endurance racer and go race at Le Mans and someday win Le Mans, just like my mentor Derek Bell did,” he explained.
“When I raced in go karts, Skip Barber, then Prototype Lites and in Formula Ford, it was a single-seat effort and you receive all of the glory but in endurance racing, there is a team of drivers and we all share the glory. I knew this going into it.
“There is a different mindset that you need to have because it’s up to you to bring the car back in one piece to hand it over to the next driver so you must be patient and not take unnecessary chances out there.”
So how does he keep motivated race-to-race, knowing he will be lucky even to finish? How does he stay sharp stint-to-stint when he knows he is basically doing test laps and staying out of the way of the faster cars competing for the podium?
“To have been chosen to be a part of a development program for the Mazda factory team at age 18 is a dream …I still pinch myself!” he said. “I am learning so much about so many things which will only add to my value as a driver in the future.
“I don’t get frustrated because I know what the goal is and what I am hired to do. I remind myself everyday that there are so many talented drivers out there that don’t have rides, so to have a ride is a privilege in itself.”
Nunez drives the #07 Mazda Prototype in practice for the 2014 Sebring 12 Hours. The car didn’t last twelve hours. (Chris Jasurek/Epoch Times)
The biggest challenge for Nunez hasn’t been staying motivated, but to suddenly find himself in such a serious situation. Being a factory driver is in itself an immense reward, and he is learning more about the business of being an endurance racer than he could as the lead river on a small team. On the other hand he has had to mature quickly. Mazda expects him to operate at the same level as the seasoned veterans in the program.
As for replacing the thrill of winning, Nunez says, “It actually has been exciting to see the progress from race to race. There was a huge jump from Daytona to Sebring. We are getting faster and faster with more reliability.
“Mazda’s motto is ‘Never stop Challenging,’ which I have on my helmet, and we won’t give up. We will be on the podium one day, and it will be so sweet!
“The bottom line is that I feel grateful and honored to have been chosen to be a part of this program. My goal is to race at Le Mans and I hope it’s in the Mazda Skyactiv prototype!”
Watch Tristan Nunez and the Mazda Skyactiv diesel P2 prototype in action at the TUSC Tequila Patrón Sports Car Showcase at Long Beach this weekend.
Practice and qualifying start Friday at 10:40 a.m. ET and qualifying starts at 9:05 p.m. ET. The race begins at 6:10 p.m. Saturday, April 12. Tickets are available through the Long Beach Grand Prix website.
The race will be televised on Fox Sports 1 starting at 6 p.m. ET Saturday.
