Contreras Looks Forward to First Race on Home Track

Subtitle:Rebel Rock Racing Driver Ready For COTA

Carlos Contreras has been at Circuit of The Americas many times since the sparkling facility in Austin opened in 2013. The former regular in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has been there for Formula One races, the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series and Moto-GP. But each time he’s been on the outside, observing the action.

This weekend, he finally gets the opportunity to tackle the challenging 20-turn, 3.4-mile layout when he competes for Rebel Rock Racing in Friday’s Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge race. He’s eagerly awaiting the challenge.

“This is my first time actually on the track, and I’m really looking forward to racing there,” said Contreras, a native of Mexico City who has lived in nearby San Antonio for the past nine years. “I’ve been practicing a lot on i-Racing to learn the track.”

Contreras will quickly get up to speed getting from his home to the circuit.

“For sure, this is my home track,” he said. “All my family now lives in San Antonio – my mom, my wife, my sisters. We are about 50 minutes from the track, and we have the fastest highway in the United States (Route 130 with a speed limit of 85 mph in the stretch just south of Circuit of The Americas), and it leads right to the track.”

Contreras will be racing for the third time with Rebel Rock Racing, co-driving the No. 08 Porsche Cayman with fellow Mexico City native Ruben Pardo. They finished 25th in Street Tuner (ST) at Road America, and 14th in the most recent race at VIRginia International Raceway. He had one prior race in the series, finishing 32nd at Watkins Glen in 2007.

Contreras became the first Hispanic driver to compete in the Camping World Truck Series when he qualified seventh and finished 14th at California Speedway in 1999. He ran three full seasons in the division for Impact Motorsports and Petty Enterprises, running in 71 races with five top-10 finishes. He then ran a limited schedule in the NASCAR XFINITY Series, running in 34 races, and drives in selected races for Rick Ware Racing.  He also ran in 76 NASCAR Mexico Series races from 2008 through 2013, with 23 top-10 finishes and one pole.

Pardo became the first Mexican-born driver to win in the NASCAR K&N Series East at Lime Rock in 2006, also taking Rookie of the Year honors. He is a four-time winner in NASCAR Mexico Series competition, including the 2015 season opener at Phoenix International Raceway.