Dakota Dickerson: Ready to Roll

SAN DIEGO – Greetings, all! My name is Dakota Dickerson and I have a very special announcement regarding an opportunity to go overseas to represent the Stars and Stripes and Team USA Scholarship in the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch and the Walter Hayes Trophy Formula Ford event at Silverstone. But first, let me tell you a little about myself and my background. This will be the first of many blogs that will keep you updated on my progress throughout this journey.

I’m 18 years old and was born and raised in San Diego. I just graduated from high school and plan on getting a business and mechanical engineering degree in college while still balancing a racing career. I love going to the beach, mountain biking and paintball, but nothing supersedes my passion for racing.

Separated at birth?

Second place in the Skip Barber Karts to Cars Shootout

After having my sixth birthday party at a local indoor go-karting track, I knew what I wanted to do. I was hooked and probably the most competitive little 6-year-old ever. I raced go-karts at the local, regional and national level with quite some success until I was 16 when I had a major crash that left me in the hospital for a couple days. After five hours of reconstructive surgery on my arm and four months of rehabilitation, I was back to driving – except now in a car. My wreck was the catalyst to the next step in my racing career and after hearing a lot of positive feedback from Skip Barber alumnus, we thought “what better route than the Karts to Cars Scholarship?” I participated in Skip Barber three-day and two-day schools prior to heading out to Sebring International Raceway for the 2014 Skip Barber Karts to Cars Shootout. I finished runner up in the Shootout and was also awarded the inaugural Bryan Herta Career Enhancement Scholarship! Bryan Herta is both an IndyCar team owner and a past Team USA Scholarship winner. With Skip Barber and Bryan Herta’s support, I am able to participate in the Skip Barber Summer Series. I am currently second in points with four races left in the series.

During late 2014 we also decided to also purchase a 1999 Spec Miata to race and obtain seat time in sports cars. By my second race weekend we had claimed a win and continued to keep up the success throughout the year with several wins and podiums.

I was fortunate to receive the very prestigious phone call from Mr. Jeremy Shaw inviting me to the first step in the Team USA Scholarship Shootout – a set of interviews. These interviews were conducted by many well-respected racing professionals at Road America during the IMSA race weekend in August. Afterward, a very long two weeks went by until I received another phone call letting me know I was invited to the second step in the Team USA Scholarship shootout which would be conducted at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif.

Tough competition at Auto Club Speedway

Making it to round two was such an honor but I knew there was much work, training and preparation at hand. Michai Stephens, a friend of mine who was also chosen for round two, and I decided to work together in the week leading up to the shootout. We put in many hours on the simulator, worked out along the beach and created a very detailed plan of attack for the two days we would be spending at Auto Club Speedway. Those two days were such a great experience! The first day was all about mental and physical strength. Jim Leo from PitFit Training kicked our butts for a solid three hours prior to us listening to Dr. Jacques Dallaire speak on the power of mental strength and mental preparation. Dr. Dallaire’s seminar was extremely helpful with my mental preparation and focus for the following day. Day Two was filled with driving the Allen Berg Racing School formula car, talking with race engineers and coaches, and another set of interviews. Overall the entire process was very enjoyable and a great learning experience and I was honored to have been chosen to participate. There was yet again another long period of waiting until I got the call from Jeremy letting me know that I was a 2015 Team USA Scholarship winner. Then to add the icing on the cake, I learned Michai will be joining me! Our training together really paid off. I am extremely honored to be able to have the opportunity to represent the Team USA Scholarship and incredibly excited to make the trip over to the UK.

With Michai and Kelly Jones at RaceCraft1

My first stop after receiving the phone call was to the Sparco USA facility in Irvine, Calif. I was fitted for different safety equipment and given a tour of their facility. Next stop was to Indianapolis for some simulation training. Knowing how competitive racing over in Europe is, I was able to spend five days of training at RaceCraft1 with Kelly Jones. We went over car tuning concepts, the different offensive and defensive racing techniques, racing mentality, adapting to changing conditions, rain racing, drafting, track familiarization and to cap it all off, a very detailed data and video analysis after each session. Kelly’s experience and racing knowledge was very helpful and I know I will benefit greatly from his instruction.

There are many more things to come so stay tuned. I will be sending out more blogs shortly! I can’t thank Jeremy Shaw and all of the supporters of the Team USA Scholarship enough for helping make my dreams come true!

Dakota