Balancing Act

Subtitle:Bullock Happy To Juggle Demands Of Family, Racing, Work

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 28, 2015) – So far, 2015 has been filled with seconds rather than firsts for Tony Bullock.

This is his second year in the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda series, his second year visiting many of the tracks on the schedule, and he and his wife, Nancy, welcomed their second child, a girl named Alicia. She joined 8-year-old brother, Anthony, in the growing family this spring.

One second that has yet to come is his second win in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA)-sanctioned Official Development Series.

Bullock, from Auburn, California, has faced stiff competition in his hunt for the podium this year. He fell just short of a podium finish in Round 3 in mid-April at NOLA Motorsports Park, placing fourth in the No. 12 Comprent Motor Sports entry. As a rookie in 2014, Bullock earned his first win in Round 3 and a third-place finish in Round 4, both at Kansas Speedway.

While Bullock continues to push for the podium, he keeps an aura of calm and enjoyment.

“I enjoy Prototype Lites because of the cars and the camaraderie,” Bullock said. “This great group of drivers; it’s a great group of people. Not only the drivers, but all the people on the various teams and the officials. It’s a great group of people to be around.

“The cars are fantastic. They’re so much fun to drive, and they’re so fast, with the downforce that they pull. And also the tracks … to be able to come out and drive world-class tracks. Road America, I can’t wait to go because I didn’t have the opportunity to go there last year, Road Atlanta and Sebring are two of my favorites. Definitely the tracks, the people and the cars are really what keep bringing me back and why I enjoy it so much.”

Bullock, 36, jokingly admitted his first year may have yielded better results, but this year he’s still having fun and enjoying the familiarity.

“I definitely feel more confident,” Bullock said. “It’s nice to worry about the car and getting the car setup right as opposed to having to learn the track as much, which has been nice. The series has provided some good testing, as well, so that’s been good.

“For us, it’s been about having fun and having a good time, which we’ve been doing. I share in it with my family, so we all come out and have a great time.”

Bullock travels from the West Coast for every race. But he’s used to the grind and stresses of transit: He has a round trip of nearly four hours for work every day.

Racing and time with family help reduce the stress. So does another passion for the Bullock family – baseball.

Bullock balances his time between baseball, work, family and racing. His son, Anthony, is an avid baseball player at the ripe age of 8. Tony Bullock dedicates a portion of his time to coaching his son’s baseball team and helping his son develop in his sport of choice.

“It’s tough balancing work and racing, especially because my work is always away from where we live,” Bullock said. “I work in the San Francisco Bay area, yet we live north of Sacramento. So even when I’m not racing, I’m away quite a bit for work. But my son knows and he understands. As long as I’m there to play ball with him when I get back, then it’s all good with him.

“Anthony typically doesn’t come out to the track. His big thing is baseball. I help coach his baseball team. He’s been out to the track before. He’s more in to his own thing. He’ll bring his little skateboard or his Razor scooter out and ride that out.

“Fortunately, he hasn’t got bitten by the racing bug yet. I don’t know if I can afford for him to get into it, so baseball’s good. He’s trying out for one of the top teams in the country, so it’s awesome.”

Balancing family life has become a bit hectic for Tony and Nancy Bullock with the birth of their daughter, Alicia. Bullock is happy to have the new addition to the family and happy to have his wife back at track after pregnancy.

His daughter has yet to make any appearances at track this year.

“We haven’t brought her out yet, but it’s great to have my wife back out here with us,” Bullock said. “She really enjoys sharing in the racing with us. My mother-in-law has been a savior on taking care of the new little one while we’re gone.

“It’s been rough going back to the diaper phase. We have an 8-year-old, so we’ve already gone through a lot of the phases, and we have to go back. So it’s like, ‘Oh, yes, I remember what that was like now.’ But she’s already sleeping through the night, so that’s a huge win.”

Bullock and the Cooper Tires Prototype Lites Powered by Mazda field next compete in Rounds 9 and 10 on Aug. 7-9 at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Fans can follow the action through live timing at scoring.imsa.com or on the official IMSA mobile app for iOS, Android or Windows, or follow live commentary on Twitter at @IMSALive.