A [Bryan Sellers] Christmas Story

The Making of an American Sports Car Driver; It All Started Under a Christmas Tree

He didn’t receive a pink bunny costume or an unwanted pair of socks, not even a blue bowling bowl. It wasn’t even a much-desired Red Ryder, carbine action, two-hundred shot range model air rifle, but Bryan Sellers has his own very special “Christmas Story”.

Who among us has not dreamed of being a racecar driver? Of driving fast, spraying champagne in victory lane all while looking so good doing it? Most dream, few achieve. It takes more than wishful thinking to make it to Le Mans or Indianapolis. It requires a spark, a desire exceeded by determination, a lot of support from friends and family and more than a little luck. Bryan Sellers grew-up in Centerville, Ohio dreaming that one day he could win the “big race”. In 2011, the former open-wheel racing champion did just that in the No. 17 Team Falken Tire Porsche 911 GT3 RSR with Wolf Henzler at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. They followed that a few weeks later taking the inaugural Grand Prix of Baltimore victory. In 2012, the pairing again showed the way on the streets of Maryland’s largest city and at year’s end, the fans of the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón (ALMS) voted Sellers the sport’s most popular driver.

In 2013, Sellers returns to his seat in the Team Falken Tire Porsche for ALMS competition and in the BCKSTGR/Fall-Line BMW for the CTSCC season. In addition, he’ll open the year in the one of sports car racing’s most storied rides, the No. 59 Brumos Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup in the Rolex 24 At Daytona.

Dream-coming-true moments like these don’t come overnight. For the Braselton, Ga.-resident, it is a fantasy he built to reality over 20 years!

“I had grown-up looking at karting trophies from when my Dad used to race,” reflected Sellers. “When I was younger we had just moved into a new school and I was struggling a little bit. My parents told me that they would support me in anything I wanted to try as long as I kept my grades up. I went to bed thinking about it and woke-up, walked into breakfast and told my Dad I thought that racing thing might be cool. For Christmas, when I was nine years-old, there was a racing kart under the tree.”

The next two decades would be a blur of speed, victories, championships and factory rides. Sellers has been a Falken Tire factory driver since 2009 – the last three years sharing the seat with Henzler – and has raced at the world’s most prestigious events including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 12 Hours of Sebring, the Petit Le Mans and the Rolex 24 At Daytona. He is a regular in the GRAND-AM’s Rolex Sports Car Series earning podium finishes in the Rolex 24 twice in the last five years. Sellers adds his driving talent to Fall-Line Motorsports’ effort in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge (CTSCC) where he captured three podium finishes including two, second-place finishes to close this past year.

Despite a natural gift to drive, an unquenchable desire to win and an easily approachable, sponsor-friendly demeanor out of the cockpit, the trip to the top-tier of his profession was no easy task. Sellers took that Christmas present and began racing at age 11 around Ohio and the Midwest. In his first season, 1993, he finished second in the Ohio Valley Karting Assoc. (OVKA) point championship and earned Rookie of the Year honors. Sellers quickly added OVKA Championships in ’94 and ’95 and the victory at the highly competitive World Karting Assoc. (WKA) Grand Nationals in Charlotte (’95). He finished third in the WKA National Championship three times (’95,’97,’98) and was Great Lakes Sprint Series Champion in 1997 and WKA Grand National Champion the same year!

Sellers, who is now married to ESPN on-air talent Jamie Howe, transitioned from karts to cars fluidly winning championship in both in the same season before making the full move to cars in 2000. Since, he has added titles in Formula Ford Zetec (‘02) and USF2000 (’02) and was named to the AARWBA All-American First Team (’02), a Formula Ford Festival Team USA Rep. (’01) and finished third in the highly prestigious, international Porsche Cup competition for the most successful Porsche race drivers in the world in 2011. In 2012, he added an induction into the USF2000 Series Hall of Fame.

A driver must excel not only on the racetrack but off it as well. Sellers understands the important role that fans, promoters, manufacturers and marketing partners play in motorsports.

“I absolutely love to drive the Falken Tire Porsche, the Fall-Line BMW and it will be a dream come true to race the Brumos Porsche at Daytona,” Sellers said not surprisingly. “But, it might shock people to know how much I like the interaction out of the car too. If I have time at the track I love to stand next to the car and just talk with the fans. I remember what that meant to me and it is something I really enjoy doing. I also like the marketing-side of the sport too. Being able to help a partner use the sport I love to benefit their company is a really satisfying thing to me. I’ve known from an early age how important that is but I don’t do it just because of that. I really like to do it.”

While long considered an up-and-coming hot shoe in the sport, the last two seasons really solidified Sellers’ place as one of sports car racing’s top talents. The first of his three ALMS victories came at Mid-Ohio, 2011, after the driver, who now lives in Braselton, Ga., opened the race in the No. 17. Henzler did final driving duties sweeping through the top-five to take the class win. The unorthodox victory came in a blinding rainstorm that swept cars off-track at every turn.

The second victory was the debut Baltimore Grand Prix on that city’s downtown streets. A hard fought battle from Henzler’s start, Sellers picked-up at the race’s midpoint. With dogged determination, he put on a street racing demonstration gaining the class lead and then pulling a substantial gap on the rest of the GT field. He crossed the start-finish line in front of one of the Series’ largest and most energetic crowds to record his second career ALMS win. 2012 seemed almost a carbon copy of the first Baltimore event when Sellers’ heads-up racing fought the Porsche to the lead and held it under an onslaught of GT competitors.

Adding to the sweet taste of those victories was Sellers’ role as a lead tire development driver for Falken Tire. Since joining the program, he has helped fine-tune the Falken Azenis racing slick and rain tire. That effort – and the accompanying trips to test sessions across the United States and in Japan – is all worthwhile to see Falken Tire hoist the tire manufacturer’s trophy.

Sellers enjoys a special blend of skill in not only race craft but chassis and tire development as well. In addition, his coaching ability is unparalleled, helping to teach other drivers the skills necessary to go quickly, safely and competitively around the circuit. His role in assisting Fall-Line develop the BMW M3 and coaching co-driver Mark Boden (Winnetka, Ill.) in the CTSCC is also a unique facet of his career path.

“Glad I kept my grades up. I wouldn’t have wanted anyone else to win all those races!” Sellers joked.

May we all have such a gift spawn such a gift.

Wishing you a dream-filled winter sleep pronging apexes on the wing and getting off spectacular whole shots.

Thanks to Jean Shepherd for his inspiration in the telling of this true story.

Happy Holidays from Bryan Sellers Racing! ###