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Randy Pobst

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Randy Pobst
Born (1957-06-26) June 26, 1957 (age 67)
Dayton, Ohio, U.S.
Debut season1977

Randy Franklin Pobst (born June 26, 1957, in Dayton, Ohio), also known as "RFP" or "The Rocket," is an American race car driver and journalist for Motor Trend magazine.[1]

Active in the SCCA World Challenge GT series and the Grand American series' GT class, Pobst was the 2003, 2007, 2008, and 2010 SCCA World Challenge GT champion, the 1996 North American Touring Car Championship title winner, and the 2005, 2006 and 2007 SCCA World Challenge TC vice-champion. He is also a two-time class winner of the 24 Hours of Daytona, in 2001 and 2006.

Randy Pobst has more than 90 pro wins. He is currently a Mazda, Volvo, Audi and Porsche factory supported driver.[not verified in body]

Career

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2004-2007

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From 2005-2007, he drove for Mazda with Tri-Point Racing in a Mazda 6 in the SCCA World Challenge Touring Car series, finishing second in 2005, 2006, and 2007. In 2007 and 2008, he won the SCCA World Challenge GT Championship with K-Pax/3R Racing in a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Car. He repeated the feat in 2010 in a K-Pax Racing Volvo S60.

2008

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In 2008 he raced in a Volkswagen GTI for APR Motorsport in the KONI Challenge Series and for Stevenson Motorsport at the 24 Hours of Daytona in a Pontiac GXP.

2009

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Randy returned to K-Pax/3R Racing to defend his two Speed World Challenge GT Class championships, but in a Volvo Touring Car instead of a Porsche GT3 (K-Pax/3R switched to Volvo for this season). Additionally, Randy raced for Gotham Racing at the 2009 24 Hours of Daytona in a Porsche GT.

2010

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World Challenge GT Champion

2014

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He drove on the track for Motor Trend magazine.

2015

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Randy drives for PPR in a 700 hp Nissan GT-R in preparation for the 2016 Pikes Peak race in Colorado.

Randy hosts a show called The Racing Line on the MotorTrend YouTube channel where he teaches about the basics of being a racing driver.

In December, Randy was inducted into the SCCA Hall of Fame

2017

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Randy drove with Thing 3 Racing for the 7hr Enduro at Road Atlanta with World Racing League. The team took home the "GTO" class win on Friday when the sun set.

On September 23, 2017, Randy drove with KSR (Kevin Smith Racing)/Flatout Racing in the ChumpCar World Series endurance racing series event The Sebring 14. The team won the 14 hour race with Randy scoring the fastest lap of the race with a 2:33.427 in a 1995 Lexus SC300.

2018

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Randy drove the Team Fieroline 1986 Pontiac Fiero at Thunderhill Raceway Park in December for the Lucky Dog Racing League "Top Dawg Nationals" Championship, posting a fast lap of 3:26.213. The car, which was also piloted by Damian Donesky and Kevin Ford, ended up 3rd in the LDRL B class in the 14 hour Parc Ferme Championship race and 12th overall out of 76 competitors.

2019

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Randy drove the Team Fieroline car again at with Lucky Dog Racing League at Portland International Raceway, posting a fast lap of 1:33.458.

2020

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In late August 2020, Pobst represented Unplugged Performance in the Pikes Peak Climb, racing a customized Tesla Model 3 Performance version. The car was wrecked in one of the trial runs in the upper section of the course.[2][3] According to Pobst, after decelerating from 112 MPH to 68 MPH at Bottomless Pit, a section with frost heave road damage, the car went off the road and hit a wall at 40 MPH.[4] The heavily-damaged car, along with a donor parts car, were taken to a body shop in Colorado Springs, Eurocars, for a rebuild, after which it qualified for the Sunday race and came in second.[5][6][7]

2021

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Finished 2nd at the 2nd annual Freedom 500 April 2, 2021 hosted by Cleetus McFarland on the Freedom Factory. Pobst won the Exhibition Class at Pikes Peak International Hill Climb driving the newly-released Tesla Model S Plaid, prepared by Unplugged Performance.[8]

2023

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While competing for Unplugged Performance at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, Randy accomplished a remarkable feat by achieving a record-breaking time of 9:54.901. Setting a new record for the fastest EV based on production models, as well as the fastest modified production-based EV. Randy's performance was achieved behind the wheel of a substantially modified Model S Plaid.[9]

They placed second in class, and top ten overall among 66 competitors.

SportsCar Magazine

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For many years, Randy has written a column titled "Pobst Position" in SCCA's monthly automobile publication, "SportsCar Magazine," to present his thoughts and opinions on professional and amateur racing. The article discusses everything from his personal career challenges to proper competitor behavior at the wheel of a race car.

Personal life

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Randy is a vegetarian, healthy food nut, and a motorcycle enthusiast with a sizable collection, with many vintage Japanese and cafe racer-style bikes.[10]

Randy was briefly married to Linda Pobst, with whom he drove his first wheel-to-wheel race in 1985.[11]

Motorsports career results

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SCCA National Championship Runoffs

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Year Track Car Engine Class Finish Start Status
1991 Road Atlanta Honda Civic Si Honda Showroom Stock C 2 1 Running
1992 Road Atlanta Mazda Miata Mazda Showroom Stock C 1 1 Running
1993 Road Atlanta Mazda Miata Mazda Showroom Stock C 2 Disqualified
1994 Road Atlanta Mazda Miata Mazda Showroom Stock C 2 2 Running
1995 Road Atlanta Mazda Miata Mazda Showroom Stock B 2 6 Running
BMW M3 BMW Showroom Stock A 1 1 Running

North American Touring Car Championship

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(key)

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Team Class Car Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pos. Points
2014 Mühlner Motorsports America GTD Porsche 911 GT America Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6 DAY
20 		SEB
 LGA DET WGL MOS IND
17 		ELK VIR COA COA 101st 15

References

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  1. ^ "Randy Pobst". Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved August 16, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ "Two of Three Tesla Model 3s Already Crashed Out During Pikes Peak Hill Climb Practice". www.msn.com. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  3. ^ "Randy Pobst is Having a Hell of a Time at Pikes Peak". www.msn.com. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  4. ^ "Sudden disaster at Pikes Peak Hill Climb! (Bottomless Pit) - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Archived from the original on December 14, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  5. ^ "New Images Of Tesla Model 3 Reveal Before And After Of Pikes Peak Crash". InsideEVs. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  6. ^ G, Mikey (August 28, 2020). "Can a totaled Tesla Model 3 win Pikes Peak? With some help — maybe". Electrek. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  7. ^ Smith, Lindsey (August 28, 2020). "Pikes Peak Hill Climb 2020 gives chance for new King of the Mountain, but without motorcycles, spectators". OutThere Colorado. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  8. ^ "Pikes Peak International Hill Climb 2021 overall results" (PDF). Retrieved July 3, 2021.
  9. ^ "Pikes Peak 2023 Blog - Unplugged Performance". June 17, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  10. ^ "The Little Team That Could: RandyPobst.com". Randypobst.com. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  11. ^ "Space Coast Sports Hall of Fame Inductee Randy Pobst Honed His Driving Skills as Teenager in Brevard - Space Coast Daily". spacecoastdaily.com. Retrieved January 10, 2023.

https://spacecoastdaily.com/2022/06/space-coast-sports-hall-of-fame-inductee-randy-pobst-honed-his-driving-skills-as-teenager-in-brevard/

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Sporting positions
Preceded by
Inaugural
 North American Touring Car Championship Champion
1996 		Succeeded by
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