SCCA Pro Racing

Coming off of back-to-back wins at New Jersey Motorsports Park, Dylan Tavella currently sits second in the Formula Regional Americas Championship Powered by Honda (FR Americas) driver championship standings. A native of Massapequa, N.Y., Tavella's in his second season racing under Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport banner in FR Americas competition. With three wins and nine podium finishes in 12 races, Tavella is just 51 points out the championship lead in his No. 14 Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport Ligier JS F3.

What topping absolutely never belongs on a pizza?

Dylan Tavella (DT): “Pineapple. That’s an easy one.”

Do you believe in luck?

DT: “Yes. I think there’s a whole mix of things that can go into it, but I very much do believe in luck.”

What emotions do you go through during a race?

DT: “Focused, determined, slightly anxious. I can be a little anxious when I get in the car, but I don’t focus on that. The main goal is to be calm—the calmer you are, the smoother you will be.” 

If you were developing the next big social media platform, what would it be used for?

DT: “Anything with four wheels. Racing and cars, that’s all I want. I’d have it use pictures and videos—especially how-to videos.”

How did you come up with your autograph?

DT: “Well, mine was pretty simple. I learned in second grade how to write cursive and that turned into my autograph.”

How do you decompress after a tough race?

DT: “I pull the suit down, grab some water, maybe change my shirt—we do sweat a good amount in these cars. A few minutes later, I go talk to my team about the car and how it was, and then we just continue on.”

If you didn’t drive racecars for a living, what would you do?

DT: “I’d probably be a car journalist. Not like a writing journalist, but like the Top Gear guys—I like how they review cars. Jeremy Clarkson, Chris Harris, Throttle House —all those people have really cool jobs.”

Who in the paddock have you known the longest and how did you meet?

DT: “Do they have to be driving?”

No, it can be anybody.

DT: “Michael d’Orlando—he’s here [at New Jersey Motorsports Park] this weekend. We started racing at the same track when we were five years old. We raced at Oakland Valley in New York and here at New Jersey Motorsports Park. We raced against each other all around the world.” 

I know you really enjoy working on cars and it’s something you’re pursuing further education in. If you were building your own street car, what would you build?

DT: “I’d either have to go with a Twin-Turbo Huracan or a Full Bolt-On Nissan GT-R. I’d do a lot of customizations to it; it’d be fast.”

Last week I talked to Raoul Hyman and I asked him for a question to ask you. He wanted to ask, what’s your hair routine before a race?

DT: “Believe it or not, I sleep and this is how I wake up. I just take a shower, sometimes I leave a slight bit of conditioner in my hair, but that’s it.”

Do you have a question that I can ask the next driver I interview? It will be Jason Alder.

DT: “That was a good question from Raoul! I don’t know Jason that well. Oh, I’ve got one! His engineer used to be my engineer, so ask him how hard is Tim on him.”