Jeff Westphal
Quick facts
Jeff Westphal started his racing career with no prior experience when he was hired at a local indoor go-cart track in 2004. After impressing the staff at that facility, his boss sponsored him in the 2004 Redbull® Driver Search Runoffs. Instead of pursuing go-carting, Jeff began racing in the Jim Russell Racing School of Infineon Raceway in 2006, finishing in the top five in 14 of his 17 races in his rookie season.
Since then, Jeff has competed in the F2000 Championship setting the win record for the series with PR1 Motorsports, won Grand Am Rolex Races, Redline & Global Time Attack Championships Unlimited class for GST Motorsport (9 track records), as well as wins in IMSA Weathertech championship and abroad in Germany’s GT3 championship VLN. Jeff was also the first (and only) American driver to qualify on the pole for the 24HRs of Nurburgring.
He continues to race with SCG003c in GT3, Peregrine Racing and Rearden Racing in GT4, as well as Global Time Attack.
Background
Jeff Westphal started his racing career with no prior experience when he got hired at a local indoor go-cart track in 2004. From impressing the staff at that facility, his boss sponsored him in the 2004 Redbull® Driver Search Runoffs. Jeff made the semi finals at Infinion Raceway in Sonoma, California, and finished 26th out of 125 participants, most of whom had already been competitively go-karting for years. Although the RedBull door closed, Jeff saw that he had potential in racing with a little more seat time and experience.
The two options were to go-kart nationally or to get into a race car series, and due to Jeff being 18 at the time, the car route looked more beneficial with his age being in the upper end of the spectrum for go-karts.
He got his schooling done at Laguna Seca with Skip Barber Racing Schools in Salinas, California in late 2005. He raced one regional race at Laguna with Skip Barber and scored one second and one third place finish for his car racing debut, only to then race the entire 2006 season with Jim Russell Racing School of Infineon Raceway.
Jeff’s rookie season, he finished 14 out of his 17 races in the top 5 with Russell. He recorded four 3rd place finishes, one second place finish, and two 1st place finishes with three poll positions in qualifying and one track record during the season, all amounting to a 3rd place overall in the championship.
– 2006 Jim Russell Racing Championship – 3rd overall (14/17 top 5’s, four 3rds, one 2nd, two 1st place finishes, 3 pole positions and one track record.)
– 2007 Pacific F2000 Championship – 3rd overall (five 3rds, two 2nds, and one pole position)
– Lead Instructor & Equalization Testing of the Jim Russell Racing School/Sim Raceway F3
– 2008 Pacific F2000 Championship – Champion overall (11/12 podiums, 9 wins, 8 pole positions, 8 fastest laps, two track records, overall win record for series)
– 2009 Grand Am GT Debut – Earned a team high of 4th Place in Rolex GT for PR1 Motorsports at Miller Motorsports Park
– 2009 Jim Russell Future Driver Shootout Finalist, selected by Allan Mcnish. Final 6 of 40 international contestants, one of 2 Americans to graduate to finals
– 2010 Grand Am – Daytona 24hr, 6 Successive fastest laps in class near the end of the race, finished 11th in GT (BMW M6) with PR1 Motorsports.
– 2010 Redline Time Attack Series Champion and Driver of the Year. 4 Event wins Overall, 3 Track Records
– 2011 Insight Racing’s first pole position at Watkins Glen International for Grand Am: Continental Tire ST Championship, 2 top 10 finishes of 2 races.
– 2011 Global Time Attack – 7 Track Records in a Uni-body car with GST motorsports, Global Time Attack Champion Overall.
– 2012 GT4 BMW M3 Finished 15th of 81 cars at Daytona while leading 5 laps and 6th of 78 cars at Barber Motorsports Park in Continental Sportscar Series GS class for Insight Racing.
– 2012 Global Time Attack Champion Overall, with a new total of 9 track records for a production based unibody car.
– 2013 Grand Am Rolex GT; Scuderia Corsa, 6 races with 4 podium finishes, many laps led, won the team championship and Ferrari’s manufacturer championship.
– 2013 Thunderhill 25HR 4th of 80+ overall with Lexus USA in a IS-F CCS-R GT4
– 2014 Imsa Tudor USCC Scuderia Corsa; 2 wins (Detroit Belle Isle and Indianapolis), 3 podiums, many laps led (Daytona 24hr, Sebring 12hr) GTD Category.
– 2015 Development of SCG003c GT3 Racecar in the VLN Championship, Germany
– 2015 Petit Le Mans 1+ sec faster than 63 in the wet condition, with 3 & 4 stint old rain tires
– 2016 12HR Mugello: Laps Led, quickest lap until Gearbox failure at HR 9. 1.51.5 (Hankook Slick)
– 2016 Lead driver for SCG003c, Laptime: 8.06 vln config, 8.12 24hr config, guaranteed the car in the top 30 sesson with my p3 qualifying effort, quickest car on track night during 24HR, quickest Dunlop car in the wet 24hr Nurburgring
– 2016 1 Win in VLN event for SCG003c at Nurburgring
– 2016 Re-set Track record At Road Atlanta for a production car; 1.20.6
– 2017 Grew Scuderia Corsa’s Client Racing program 100% since last year
– 2017 Win in VLN Race prior to the 24HR
– 2017 Claimed Pole Position at the 24HR Nurburgring of 160+ entries, 42 GT3 cars, First American ever in the 45-year history of the race to do so, only 2nd non German Driver in 45 Years.
– 2017 Won the Inaugural California 8HR in GT4 with Rearden Racing
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