News

Race Preview - Mosport International Raceway

5/27/2008

    Rounds five and six of the Skip Barber BFGoodrich National Presented By Mazda series will take place at one of Canada's greatest racing circuits, Mosport International Raceway.  Again running in conjunction with the Grand Am road racing series, the Skip Barber races will take place on June 14 & 15.  Tyler looks to establish himself as a front runner in the series, at the track that hosted the Grand Prix of Canada in the late sixties and seventies.  This being the first Skip Barber race at Mosport means parity could produce a first time winner in the series.

    A full rundown of the point standings has been added to the results page so check it out.

VIR A Great Points Weekend For Tyler

4/29/2008

    Virginia International Raceway hosted the second race weekend of the Skip Barber National Series.  The weekend saw Tyler earn his first top ten start and finish in only his second National Weekend, boosting Schaal from 20th to 9th in the 2008 point standings

    Tyler quickly adapted to the track in the lapping sessions and practice on Thursday.  Qualifying for race one found Tyler trying to set up a perfect lap in hopes of earning his first pole.  Two full course yellows in the session threw off Tyler's plan relegating him to 21st on the grid for race one.  In the race Tyler quickly began to move up through the field .  Never able to get up to the lead draft, a result of having to pass so many cars, Tyler finished race one in 11th position.

    Qualifying for race two saw Tyler ditching any strategy other than going out and running as fast as he could for the whole session.  This plan worked out much better with Tyler qualifying 6th, his first top ten start in the national series.  In the race Tyler was very sporty battling in the lead draft of ten cars.  He ended up 9th just 1.785 seconds behind winner Gabby Chaves.

    Tyler accomplished exactly what he wanted to going into the weekend.  Moving up 11 places in the points Tyler showed that he will be a driver to watch out for going to Mosport International Raceway in June.  Skip Barber has not raced at Mosport before so Tyler will be on an even playing field with the other top drivers in the series and looks to be battling for a top five.

    For a detailed race recap, race results, photos and points standings click on the following link. 

            Race weekend info & points standings

Race Preview - Virginia International Raceway

4/21/2008

    Rounds three and four of the Skip Barber BFGoodrich National Presented By Mazda series will take place at the historic Virginia International Raceway.  A support series for the Grand Am series, the Skip Barber races will take place on April 25 & 26.  This will mark the first time that Tyler has raced at VIR.  Tyler looks to use lessons learned from Sebring to improve upon his race results.  Tyler looks forward to a strong race weekend that will move him up in the point standings.

Tyler Leaves Sebring International Raceway Unscathed

3/16/2008

    Driving for the first time at Sebring, a track notorious for being hard on cars and drivers, Tyler managed to gain a great deal of experience while surviving a chaotic Race 1 and a Race 2 that took place in the wet.

    Race one saw Tyler starting mid pack in 14th position of 28 starters.  After losing some positions on the start as the field was raring to go after the off-season, Tyler settled in and was ready to improve his position.  Unfortunately the race had less than a handful of green flag laps due to a full course caution that lasted the balance of the timed thirty minute race.

    Race two saw Tyler improving his starting position to 12th of 27 starters.  Looking forward to implementing the lessons learned from race one, Tyler was looking toward a promising finish.  An hour before the race start a Florida thunderstorm worked its way over the Sebring area forcing the series to make the decision to race on treaded tires.  Being the first rain race Tyler had ever competed in, Tyler tried to put into practice the theories of racing in the wet.  While he would like to have finished better, taking the checkered flag after keeping the car on the asphalt in the treacherous conditions was a moral victory.

    Overall, Tyler's pace in the qualifying sessions showed that with a bit of experience he will be one of the drivers to watch in the upcoming races.  Rounds 3 & 4 of the Skip Barber BFGoodrich National Series Presented By Mazda will take place a Virginia International Raceway on April 26th & 27th.   

    For detailed information regarding the race weekend click on the following links.

            Qualifying Results - Race 1

            Qualifying Results - Race 2

            Race Recap           

            Race Weekend Results

            Race Photos

Race Preview - Sebring Skip Barber National Race

2/26/2008

    In two weeks the Skip Barber BFGoodrich National Series Presented By Mazda will commence, at the world famous Sebring International Raceway.  A support series for the ALMS 12 Hours of Sebring race, rounds one and two of the National series will take place on March 13 & 14.  This will mark the first time that Tyler has raced at the historic track.  Additionally, this will be the first ever Skip Barber National race that Tyler has competed in.  Thanks to Mazda, young promising race car drivers have the opportunity to progress the motorsports ladder starting with the Skip Barber National Series, in which the winner of the championship is awarded a fully funded season in the Star Mazda Series valued at $350,000.  Tyler looks forward to a strong race weekend that will establish him as a contender for the 2008 championship.

A Pair of Podiums For Schaal at Laguna Seca

11/4/2007

    Having never been to Laguna Seca was challenging enough, but when coupled with voluntarily not practicing, Tyler's results were pretty impressive.

    After spending Friday watching from the stands (the only driver on the weekend to do so), getting a gauge on the track and competition, Tyler was ready for qualifying on Saturday.  Going out in qualifying with the mindset of getting progressively faster while not leaving the racing surface, Tyler was able to qualify fourth after two faster drivers were penalized for qualifying violations.  Tyler found himself in P2 on lap two of Saturday's race following a spin by the pole sitter, right in front of Schaal.  On the restart the leader passed the pace car with Schaal and the third place driver following suit.  This violation of the rules relegated the three drivers to the back.  Not a problem for Schaal, he gradually worked his way through the field getting up to third place with second in his sights as the checkered flag fell.

    Going into Sunday's race Schaal felt that a win was possible having gained pace after spotting the field two practice sessions.  On lap one Tyler lost a position but quickly regained it after the passing driver spun in front of Schaal exiting turn nine.  Having given up a few seconds as a result, Tyler saw the two leaders fading in front of him.  Hoping for a caution, that would never fall, Tyler tried to run a consistent pace still learning the idiosyncrasies of the track.  For a short period Schaal got to second as the leader went off the track, having to pit.  Unsure whether the driver was on the lead lap Schaal did not force the issue trying to stay in front.  Schaal would be re-passed by the eventual second place finisher, giving Schaal his second podium finish in as many days.  

    While Schaal entered the weekend wanting to get a win and leave with the points lead, it was still a positive race weekend for Tyler.  With his two podium finishes Tyler Schaal left California tied with one other driver for second most points; three points behind the co-leaders, out of twenty four drivers.

Tyler Schaal Wins At Road America

9/30/2007

    Racing for the first time at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin; Tyler had a great weekend.  Having attended the Skip Barber Racing School at Road America Tyler felt confident going into this Skip Barber Midwestern Regional Finale weekend. 

    Starting with Friday's practice sessions, Tyler found himself near the top of the time sheets in each session giving him added confidence going into Saturday. 

    In Saturday's qualifying session for race one, Tyler managed to win the pole by 1.5 seconds over the second place qualifier.  At the start of the race, lap one, Tyler found himself in third place exiting turn one.  Comfortable with his pace relative to the field Tyler worked his way to the front. dodging the second place driver who spun coming out of the last turn on lap one, Tyler found himself in second place.  Losing a few seconds from the evasive action Tyler found himself with the challenge of making up the time he had lost to the leader.  Over the next few laps he would catch the leader swapping the lead at various points of the track.  After the restart for a full course caution is was again obvious that the race was going to be between the leader and Tyler.  Knowing this Tyler bided his time waiting for the right time to make the pass.  It was not to be however as Tyler found himself spinning in the infamous Kink.  Tyler would have still ended up with a good result, rejoining the field in fourth place, had he not be forced to pit for a "Significant Loss of Control", per the Skip Barber rule book.  This penalty relegated him to the back which would mean that Sunday's race would be a challenge, coming from the back.    

    Knowing that it would be a significant test, Tyler knew that a different strategy was necessary for Sunday.  A more conservative strategy, letting the race come to him, enabled Tyler to progress his way through the field.  Once near the front Tyler did not let the pace of the leaders dictate his pace, knowing that a caution was likely to come out and that he had the pace of the leaders whenever he wanted to go to it.  As predicted a caution did fall and Tyler found himself restarting in third for a shootout to the finish.  Passing the leaders proved to be difficult as first and second defended their positions pretty aggressively.  Crossing the finish line in third it seemed a disappointing result.  However after the race it was determined that the two leaders had blocked, which violated the Skip Barber rule book, giving the win to Tyler.   

    The weekend proved to be a successful one for Tyler, getting his first pole, first win, and setting fast lap time for the weekend of the thirty four sportsmen drivers; all in his first ever race weekend.  Tyler will be racing again in the Skip Barber Western Regional opener at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, California. 

Tyler Schaal

2312 South Potomac Circle

Sioux Falls, South Dakota 57106

605-366-1335

TDSchaal@aol.com