Jake Cummings has joined DRG Racing back in November of last year, to compete in the inaugural VSCA SportsCar Championship season in 2022 and made his series debut in January's 24 Hours of Daytona.
VSCAracing.com: Welcome Jake! Thanks for being with us here today.
Jake Cummings: Thank you for having me. I hope you’re doing well!
V: Yeah, the pleasure is all mine and we’re excited. So let’s get this going. Let’s start by talking a little bit about your season opener. Your season started off with an 18th-place finish in the 24 Hours of Daytona. The race seemed quite a bit difficult for you guys, at times. How are your preparations going for Sebring and what are your expectations, as a team, for the rest of the season?
J: Yeah, Daytona was a little crazy. I couldn’t tell you how many times things didn’t go our way, or there would be a crash or wheel issues, electrical issues and some other things going on. We put that behind us at this point.
I’ll be totally honest. Preparation for Sebring has been a bit rocky and not as flowing as I wanted it to be. Maybe not for the entire team, but for me, personally. Because there has been a lot going on, otherwise, whether it be work or school or other commitments to other hobbies that require my attention at certain points.
Now that this update [the new iRacing build] has come up, I’m definitely getting more into the groove of things, to figure it out and get that right setup down.
Our expectations for the rest of the season... we’re still forming it, to be honest. I think we have the foundations to do really, really well. But we’re also doing a lot of changing; even just after Daytona.
In the few weeks after that we have brought on a couple of new drivers and some other drivers who raced at Daytona might not be racing in VSCA at Sebring and will be doing the iRacing official special event instead. We’re just making sure we’re getting an equal amount of track time, with whatever we’re doing.
To quote my team manager Grant [Yingling], he was warning us to just sort of get a groove on and just focus on not having mistakes and having some good vibes because ultimately that will bring us a pretty good results once we go through the season.
V: Speaking of Grant; we have been in touch with him before this interview a little bit and have heard that he’s quite a bit sick and under the weather. So we’re sending our well wishes to him. Grant, if you’re listening to [reading] this: We’re hoping you’ll feel much better soon. Get well soon and we hope to see you at Sebring!
V: So Jake, how did you get into sim racing originally? And how did you end up driving for DRG Racing in the VSCA SportsCar Championship? How did that come to happen?
J: Sim racing is a long story. I know not nearly as long as yours or some of the more experienced folks in VSCA. I think I was 12 years old, when my mom got me a NASCAR game for the Wii. It looked terrible but you got to use the Wii wheel to mess around with it.
That was, when I learned to have some sort of car control; at the age of 12 standing up in my living room for hours on end because you couldn’t work it sitting down, very well. That’s where I sort of learned to enjoy racing games really well, instead of Mario Kart, because that’s not really “racing” racing if you know what I’m talking about.
And from there on I got a PS3 to get the more advanced NASCAR games like 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015. That’s when I really started to enjoy getting into league racing. I thought that was super cool.
And then eventually, I got an Xbox One where I would play the official Formula One games from 2017 until summer of last year, where I finally decided to make that switch to iRacing.
And I kind of got my feet wet within a few months in the middle of last year. Then towards the end of last year I wanted to maybe get into some leagues and special events and I got the advertisement of VSCA on social media.
I knew immediately I had to get into it, because it looked so legit and it was so cool they were focusing on it so much and were so passionate about it. They actually spread the word out there on social media channels.
So once I got into the VSCA Discord, I was just looking around for people who might need a driver. I wasn’t sure how easy of a time I’d have, because I was totally new to the league and endurance racing. I had only done one prior to that.
But I saw an advert that a team manager made, looking for people for their GT3 entry. So I messaged him [Grant Yingling, owner of DRG Racing] and we had an awesome conversation. He is a really good conversationalist. I talked to a few other people as well, but the conversation and how much I clicked with Grant right off of the bat made it really easy to make that decision. And I enjoy being with the team ever since.
V: Yeah, that’s how we know Grant, isn’t it? He’s a very captivating guy, such a fun person to talk to.
J: Yeah, it makes it a lot easier.
V: It sounds like you’ve had a bunch of experience in sim racing in different types of race cars, different types of series, basically different types of racing. Let me ask you: Between sprint racing and endurance racing, especially when we look at multi-class endurance racing; which one would you say is more challenging and why?
J: Well, it’s really interesting that you ask this question specifically. Because, especially that last year I’ve been thinking a lot about what qualifies as a sprint race and what qualifies as an endurance race.
I mean, with the 24 Hours of Daytona, you don’t get much more endurance than that, whereas a sprint race can be like an online lobby that’s five laps. But it could also be an hour, two-hour race.
And then obviously the ones in VSCA are two hours 40 minutes, which sounds pretty long for me, if you’re doing it by yourself. But obviously you still have another team-mate or two to help you along with there.
So, in terms of what’s harder: I would say that in endurance racing it’s definitely a long grind. Because, back in the 24 Hours of Daytona, I was doing the special event for another team, as well as the VSCA event and they’re happening pretty much at the same time - one started like an hour later than the other, I think.
I got up at 9 am on Saturday and towards the end of the race, I think it was about 5 am on Sunday morning, I was in my last stint for the VSCA race and before my last stint in the special event one, my right heel and my right thigh started to go numb on the straights.
So eventually, what I had to do was, I’d have to use my left foot, which was supposed to be used for the brake pedal, on the straights on the gas pedal instead. Just to lift my right leg and get some blood flowing to it.
V: Oh my god...
J: Yeah, so in terms of physical attrition, endurance racing definitely is really tough. But I’d also like to give a shout out to sprint racing, because I definitely have more experience in that sort of style.
Mentally, especially in the VSCA SportsCar Championship, it can be pretty draining. It can really affect how you perform out on track, if you let it get to you.
With this Sports Car Championship and the Sprint Cup races, obviously not everybody in your team is going to be able to represent the team in these races. You get chosen. If you get chosen to do the Sprint Cup races, then you’re like “OK, people are counting on me to be better than average, like better than most everyone on the team, as a good choice to do this, whether it be for availability, pace or consistency or anything like that.
It's quite a bit on your shoulders, to be one of two or three drivers on your entire team to represent yourself. You have to be a hundred percent focused all the time in those shorter races, because those little mistakes that might not seem they even made a difference in those endurance events, mean a whole lot in the sprint races and they can make or break your race, just by one spin or one bit of contact or one missed pit entry, running out of fuel.
There is so many variables that could totally ruin your race in a sprint race, that might not mean a whole lot in an endurance race.
I really couldn’t tell you which one is more challenging overall.
V: If you ever had to think back on one person who gave you good advice – what was the best advice you ever got and from whom?
J: I have sort of gotten this from a few people in my life. Let me think about this for a moment.
I work at a fast food place in my local town. It’s pretty close to Charlotte, where a lot of the NASCAR teams are located. We also have a Go-Karting place up in Concord, which is about 45 minutes away from me.
So, there is a lot going [in terms of racing] and if you get lucky you might run into someone, who is within motorsports.
I’ve met... I don’t remember his name... but I was 16 or 17 years old and I went to this karting event, where it was sort of like a training session. It was a hundred bucks, which was a lot of money for me at the time, because I just started working. It was someone that was on the pit crew of a Xfinity Series team and I was asking him, while we were doing a track walk:
“What do I have to do, to get into motorsport or be successful, because often times it is so difficult, even just in sim racing to get your feet wet and really get yourself planted. And he told me:
“It’s all about networking and who you know and getting yourself out there. Because even if you might now know a whole lot about actually getting behind the wheel and driving the car in real life, just because you can’t get in one, as long as you know people, who eventually will come to like you and want to help you with that sort of thing, that makes it a lot easier.”
Since then, it has been a lot easier to be outgoing and sort of get to know as many people as I can in the motorsport world. Especially as I get older it becomes more easier, because you’re seen as less of a risk I suppose. And you seem to know what you’re doing and you get better every single race you do.
I don’t remember his name, I apologize. But that definitely was some good advice. I didn’t quite understand it at the time. But I’ve come to understand and appreciate more as I’ve gotten a little older.
V: As someone that is living in the Charlotte, North Carolina area, maybe you have had the chance to meet some drivers or famous people from motorsports. If so, who was it? If not, who would be someone that you’d like to meet someday?
J: Well, I’ve met a fair amount, not drivers, but people from within motorsport. The Go-Karting place, that I was talking about, there was a NASCAR Truck Series driver there, his name is Spencer Boyd.
It was really a funny coincidence, because the only reason I knew him was, because he followed me personally on Twitter a few years ago. I think he was just trying to network and people to notice him.
I followed him back and we had a nice conversation over Twitter, I think it was 2017 or 2018 when this happened. I thought that was really cool. I like to think he is one of my more favorite drivers at this point, because of how outgoing he is.
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| Jake Cummings (left) has successfully taken part in various competitions at K1 Speed Go-Karting Center in Concord, North Carolina, including a third-place finish in the season finale of the 2018 GP Challenge. |
He came to the K1 Speed [the Go-Karting Center in Concord, North Carolina] during one of the monthly race series that they’re doing. And I had a nice conversation with him there and I was like: “Yeah, you’ve followed me on Twitter!”
I thought that was a nice coincidence, that of all people, it was the person that I kind of already knew, just digitally.
Aside from that, when I was working at the Taco Bell Drive-Through, one day, I was working the Drive-Through and I heard this person over the speaker and he sounded really professional, sort of like a news anchor or commentator or something.
But I wasn’t paying too much attention, but he got to the window and he kind of looked familiar and then I got his card and the first name was right, it was Rick, but the last name was something different and I was like “Well, that’s a funny coincidence then.”
So, I give him his card back and I said: “You know, it’s kind of funny. You have the same first name as a NASCAR commentator that I know.”
He asked “Rick Allen?” And I said “Yeah, that’s Rick Allen!” And he said: “Yeah, that’s me.” So I thought that was kind of funny, that he had a different last name.
V: That’s awesome!
J: Yeah! I don’t know whether it was because he didn’t want people to know. It was just, as soon as I’d given him his card, I was like “Wow, Really?”
I wasn’t paying too much attention. But then, the more I thought about it, as he was there and his pickup truck at the Taco Bell Drive-Through, I was thinking to myself: “This is really cool!”
So, we had a chat and conversation and he was telling me “Thank you for watching NASCAR!”. It was his off-season and he wasn’t commentating any races at the time, because it wasn’t his turn for his broadcast network. But we had a nice conversation and I got a picture with him. I should have gotten his autograph as well. But it was a Drive-Through, so it was a busy time.
And then eventually, I messaged him on Twitter one day, to ask him about how I can get into motorsport and I also received the same sort of answer about the networking thing as well.
He is probably the most upwards motorsport person that I’ve met.
But who I’d really like to meet is probably Clint Bowyer. He is a retired NASCAR Cup Series driver. He retired a couple of years ago and now he is commentating for FOX Sports, for their length of races.
I just love him. He is an absolute character and a great personality. He is really fun. Just to hear him talk. But I would love to meet him someday, I’d think that would be really fun.
I almost met him about four years ago, when I went to a NASCAR race. I got a HotPass, courtesy of the President of NASCAR. My mom actually sent him an email, asking to get me a HotPass for the race I was going to. And he gave it to us.
V: Good job mom!
J: Yeah, I know right? It was kind of embarrassing she just willingly did that. She had to find his email based on an algorithm, because it was not publicly available. But she got it right and then he just said “Yeah, here you go.” (laughing).
V: Way to go, mom! That is awesome.
J: Yeah, this was really cool. I didn’t quite make the most of that HotPass. Maybe next time I have a better chance.
V: Sounds like a plan!
V: So, outside of sim racing, when you’re busy in VSCA for example, what keeps you busy between races? You’ve told us a little bit something already, but what do you generally enjoy doing in your spare time?
J: Yeah, that’s been something that’s been changing a lot in my life, especially recently. I transferred to a university after I got my associates degree at a community college. That’s been a lot different. It’s a bit further away of a drive. Obviously it has a big campus, a gym, a lot more people and a lot more to do. So, I keep myself a little bit busy with that.
I’m on spring break right now, so fortunately I have some time to chill out, which is nice because it’s been pretty crazy the first seven, eight weeks of the semester. But yeah, that takes up a lot of my time. I enjoy some of it and some of it I also don’t enjoy (laughing). It is a lot of work.
But recently, I’m also going through a move, because my parents are moving. We talked about this last night a little bit. So that’s been occupying me as well. That’s not something I enjoy doing; I really hate moving, to be honest.
But in terms of what I actually enjoy doing: I’ve recently been pretty successful with my YouTube channel, that I’m growing. I think we’re almost at 200 subscribers as of today.
One of my videos is just getting 4000 views per hour. It’s really cool. It’s something I always wanted to do for I think eight years or so. And now I finally have the means to do it, as I’m a little older. It’s really cool to sort of see that come to fruition.
And other than that, I don’t really have a lot of time to do a whole lot. I like to hang out with loved ones, whether it be in my relationship or with family or pets, I guess, that’s always fun.
V: What kind of pets? A dog or a cat?
J: I have a dog and two cats, actually. I have a golden retriever and I don’t know what kind of cats, they’re long hair and they’re fun. Yeah, so I take good care of them, but they’re fun to have around.
There is not a whole lot else, that I have time to do. I’d love to go do actual go-karting. But it’s a bit [far] away for me, to do it so often. But I’d say that’s about it. During the summer, my answer might change.
V: We know from talking with you in preparation for this interview, that you had a bit of an awesome racing experience in real life some time ago. Do you want to tell us a little something about that, about the NASCAR racing experience?
J: Oh yeah, that was really fun. So, it was a high school graduation present from my parents. We’re sitting in a restaurant and they give me the slip for it. It was something that I looked at, because back when I was 11 or 12, first getting into racing and NASCAR especially at the time, I would just look at my little laptop for hours at night, just trying to find ways to make racing something I could do in my life for a living. That’s still ongoing today, obviously!
I was just looking for hours and hours at different websites, YouTube videos and just articles about what you can do – whether it’s getting a child into racing or yourself.
I remember the NASCAR racing experience was something that was an option but at the time I was 12 years old and I was looking at the price tag: 400 Dollars, man! I’d have to work in the back yard for a good six years to make that much. So, it was never something I could do.
And even if you wanted to do it, you had to be 18 to actually take the wheel and 16 to be in the passenger seat. So, it was always something I was looking forward to doing one day. And then they finally surprised me with that as a high school graduation present.
I went there on my birthday, to do the NASCAR racing experience, and it actually ended up getting rained out. I was waiting too long in line. I always went to the back, because I wanted to see what actually happens, so I wasn’t too overwhelmed. But then it ended up raining.
I had to go back a few weeks later and one of the workers at the karting place that I used to go to, he actually moved to be one of the managers there, I talked to him.
And it was really cool. They put you in this fire suit, that they have, that says NASCAR racing experience on it and they take your picture with the helmet on this backdrop for keepsake.
Then you’re going into this room, you watch this informational video and there is this person talking to you, about what you should and shouldn’t do, all the safety measures in case an accident happens or a crash had some fire, which thankfully didn’t happen.
Then we went out, you get your helmet and they get you into a car based on your height. In the first car, that they got me into, it was a little too tall for me, because I couldn’t see very well above the steering wheel. I think they thought I was 6’2” or something – not quite (laughing).
It took me a long time to figure out the manual transmission to get going in that one. I think it took me about six tries and they’re saying if you fail one more time, you’re not going to be able go (laughing)...
V: Oh, you’re not used to driving a stick?
J: No, I’ve been raised on automatic, unfortunately. I’ll get a manual one day. It seemed pretty straight forward. On the track it was easy. Just getting going, was the hard part. On that last one, I actually got it going.
But the cool thing, after I did that, was: The video feed wasn’t working, which was something my mom had paid for as an addition, for me to keep. So they let me go again (laughing).
And I got into a better this time, that I could actually see pretty well.
V: Nice!
J: And I got it going on my first try! So, I felt a lot better (laughing). You’ve got a spotter in your ear, that is talking to you about what RPMs you should be matching and where you should be on the track, if it’s people you need to pass, where you should pass them and when you should wait, things like that.
It was really cool. I think we went about 125 miles per hour at Charlotte Motor Speedway oval. And that was a really cool experience and I love being able to have the video to look back on. But yeah, so this was really cool and honestly, you can find some good deals out there to do it.
Anyone that wants to do it, should definitely look into it, because it’s a fun experience.
V: Wow! This really sounds like an amazing experience. Thanks for sharing that with us!
V: Let’s go back to the VSCA SportsCar Championship for a moment. As you probably already know, iRacing has released a new 2022 Season 2 build just yesterday. As part of that, they announced major changes to all the GT3 cars. I know it’s early to ask this, but what is your impression so far how these changes may affect you and your team?
J: I’ve read over the notes about it. Basically it’s saying you’re going to have more cornering speed and high speed and about the same in medium and less grip overall in low speed corners. But you’re also going to be able to brake later in high-speed situations. And the tires will also have more curing, which means if you’re doing a double stint, the tire wear will affect you a lot more.
It’s going to play a lot into the strategy and double stinting, especially at Sebring where it’s nice and hot, about a 110 °F (43 °C) track temperatures in the central Florida area.
It’s going to be tough, because you don’t have a lot of data. Anything we already had is already out of the window. Our setup doesn’t even work anymore, because the ride heights are too low. So we’re having to re-think the setup and we’re having to re-think on how to drive the car in general, because I noticed in a few laps I did in the simulator last night, just checking it out, that it’s really unstable braking and turning at the same time into the high-speed corners, whether it be turn one or sunset.
But also, you can brake a lot later going into those hairpins. I don’t know if it’s necessarily faster, but it’s different. And I think that’s going to throw a big spanner into the works in regards who’s up front and who’s in the back. And that’s all going to depend on how people adapt in these next days.
So, a lot of work has to go into it. I’m excited actually, to see how it goes. I wasn’t liking how the car was driving before this update. It was really unstable for me, personally. And I just wasn’t able to get the pace out of it, that my team-mates had.
Judging off of this, it seems like it could have a better flow to it, at least in single stints. I’m looking forward to it.
V: If you ever came across someone that was interested in possibly getting started in VSCA SportsCar Championship, what advice would you give them? How to get started and how to join.
J: It’s tough to say actually, because obviously anyone that I’ve seen that tried to get into VSCA right now, because all these teams are really filled up and obviously there is no room for other teams right now, even with the reserve list teams coming in after a few dropped out after Daytona.
I’d have to say, you got to know some people. I was going back to that networking with people in real life motorsport. You have to have some people that you know, or you better get to know them real quick, to see if maybe they have a spot on their team.
Because it would be difficult to start up your own team right now and get a spot on the grid by the end of the season.
So, I’d tell them to be very outgoing and try to get to know everyone in VSCA pretty quickly, to give yourself the best chance to get a ride. But then after that, you have to focus on actually doing your job and that’s all going to be about the teamwork, the collaboration and especially with that setup; everyone in the team has to drive the same setup. If someone in the team doesn’t like it, you better learn to like it, if everybody else is pretty good with it.
And if that means, just changing a little bit the brake bias, other traction control settings, things like that, so be it. I think that might come into play, later in this season. But that’s about what I’d tell them.
V: Awesome, I’m sure people will take that to use.
V: So, final question, here we are already: Before we did this interview, you told me as a kid you relocated a few times and you grew up in Pfafftown in the Winston-Salem area in North Carolina. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s big racing country there with Bowman-Gray Stadium. So, I gotta ask you: Did you ever go to the races there and if so, how was that?
J: Yeah, funny story with that town, first off. It’s pronounced “P-ah-ff-town”, no one gets it right ever, trust me. I didn’t get it right either, when I first moved there, so you’re fine. The name of the person that founded it was Peter Pfaff; so that’s why.
I remember my JRTC program for the high school that I went to while I lived there, they got to be the flag bearers at a Panthers NFL game and the announcer totally butchered it as well. I don’t think you have to feel embarrassed about it.
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| Jake Cummings in August 2019, just after his 18th birthday, at the NASCAR Racing Experience at Charlotte Motor Speedway |
But yeah, Winston-Salem is an awesome place for racing. It’s honestly on par with the Mooresville, Concord, Charlotte area even if there aren’t as many teams, because there a lot of local teams, a lot of short track home-style tracks, yeah like Bowman Gray Stadium, right there, as you were saying.
I did go to quite a few of those races there. The first one, that I went to, that was my first actual motorsport race that I went to. That was 2013, I think. Those engines are a lot louder than I thought they were going to be. It kind of scared me the first time.
I was telling them, let’s sit in the turns, maybe it won’t be as loud. But when they’re all going around in circles, it doesn’t really make a difference. I got used to it pretty fast. And it was really fun to watch. I was hooked, I just watched them go round and round and figured out the little nuances with each individual car.
There are a lot of wrecks. A lot of wrecks tend to happen at a short track like that. But I got a lot of memories in that place, I also have a lot of pictures on Instagram. I remember I took my first girlfriend there, when I was 13 years old and she loved it a lot as well. I have a few good memories there, whether it be going there for my birthday, accidentally spilling my soda on a lady in front of me and she got really pissed (laughing). But, I was 13 so she didn’t do anything, luckily.
But it’s a great place to be and it was really cool, because they actually tested the new NASCAR Next Gen race car there this past October, I believe. It was sometime recently, anyway. But my favorite driver Clint Bowyer, he got to go for a spin out there. I was thinking, that was so cool, because I used to go there quite a lot and Clint Bowyer lives pretty close to there.
It’s a great place to go for a race, even if you just bring your family, bringing the boys or even your girlfriend, it works out pretty well, because there is always a lot of action for the short attention spans, for just about everyone these days, I suppose.
I’m looking forward to going to more races. I haven’t been going in a long time.
V: Alright, that certainly sounds like a lot of fun and thanks for sharing this with us!
With that, we conclude our “Ten Questions with Jake Cummings” interview, episode three of our interview series. Thank you so much, Jake, for being with us here today and for spending the time with us. We really appreciate it.
And obviously, we wish you and your team-mates good luck and all the best for Sebring, for the 12 Hours. As you said, it’s just a few days until the race. Good luck with that!
J: Thank you very much. I really appreciate it!