SVRA: Joey Selmants on an unconventional path at VIR

Any conversation about vintage racing conjures up an image of a mature driver living out a bucket-list dream at a point in life after he or she has raised a family and established financial security. Not so with 22-year-old Sports 2000 racer Joey Selmants. He arrived at this weekend's Sportscar Vintage Racing Association Heacock Classic Gold Cup vintage races at Virginia International Raceway with a string of seven pole-winning performances in seven races.

To hear Selmants say he's considering a professional career at the lofty levels of IMSA or IndyCar might raise eyebrows but the articulate Ohio State University senior is comfortable carving his own path. The Sports 2000 driver believes the purpose-built racecars, despite their age, offer the kind of speed and agility that help him develop his racecraft.

"It's relevant seat time," he says. "I know this isn't conventional but I believe these cars give me experience both in terms of the feel of a racecar and also learning major venues where the top professional American series compete."

Selmants (LEFT), who is excelling in his studies of business marketing at Ohio State, says he is keeping his options open. He reasons the motorsports industry is a broad field and there are any number of ways to build a career beyond driving. Selmants, who also raced an SCCA spec Miata and served as a marketing intern for CJ Wilson's Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge team, believes success in racing is all about seat time and making contacts.

"Everywhere I go I learn things and meet influential people," Selmants says. "I take what I learn in the Sports 2000 to the Mazda and the reverse is true. This SVRA paddock is full of people with great networks and willing to help me."

All along Selmants has had his father by his side. It's always been about fun, just as it was when they started karting when he was just six years old. He's done a lot of i-Racing on line and entered SCCA club racing with a spec Miata. He has raced Sports 2000 in both SCCA and SVRA. He's happy to see the "S2" cars find a home in vintage racing and run their own races.

Joey's machine, owned by Jack Velden (pictured with Selmants, TOP) who he credits with being a generous mentor, is a 1987 Swift DB-2. Despite having a variety of constructors, Selmants agrees with virtually every Sports 2000 enthusiast that the cars are very evenly matched. A two-liter overhead cam Pinto engine powers his car. The tires, he says, go for $1,000 a set and have the durability to last through several weekends of racing.

"You'd have to send a lot more money to go as fast as these cars," Selmants says.

RIGHT: Selmants awaits practice in his 1987 Sports 2000 Swift DB2 on a sunnier day earlier in the year at VIR.

He should know. This year Joey has not only qualified at the front but also picked off four race wins at great tracks like Sebring, Mid-Ohio, VIR and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Selmants likes the big fields in Sports 2000 vintage. It gives him the chance to test himself against evenly matched competitors. One of them, SVRA Chief Driving Instructor Peter Krause, who is also a front-running Sports 2000 driver, agrees.

"Joey's the real deal," says Krause. "I don't think it's such a stretch to think he can find his way into professional racing. He loves to learn and he's smart. He's making a lot of connections with people that would enjoy helping him succeed."

Life is full of options for Joey Selmants. He's not exactly sure where the future will take him but he has faith it will be some place good.

"There's a lot of people who would kill to have the opportunity to do what I am doing," he says. "Making a living as a driver is an uphill battle. The experiences I am gaining will serve me wherever I go in the sport. If all I ever do in driving is vintage racing I will be grateful to share this with my dad and a lot of great racing people."