NBR ends 2009 Busy and Blessed

December 31, 2009 - New Breed Racing closed out the year busy and blessed. Alesi and Duane attended the PRI show in Orlando, FL and stopped off at Walt Disney World before heading home. On December 21, the Davidson family added a new member with the arrival of Paisly Lynn. We had a blessed Christmas spending time with each side of the family and will close out 2009 with friends. We look forward to 2010 and all it holds for our team and family. Happy New Year!!!

Alesi Gerthe attends Lyn St. James Women in the Winner's Circle Driving Academy

Rockdale, TX (December 6, 2009) –New Breed Racing’s Alesi Gerthe recently attended the 15th Women in the Winner’s Circle Driver’s Academy in Phoenix, AZ. Alesi was among fourteen talented female drivers from around the United States invited to attend phase one of the academy which focused on fitness, nutrition and mental preparation. The program was held at a world class facility, Athletes’ Performance, and the weekend was packed full of information to help the participants continue on their path toward competing at the professional level of racing. “Ms. St. James and her associates have put together a first class academy,” said Alesi. “I am looking forward to the opportunity of attending the next two phases. Amanda Carlson, director of Nutrition and Research, helped me to develop a great nutrition plan and also gave tips on which foods are the best on race day to be at my peak performance. Eric Dannenberg and his entire team at Athletes’ Performance helped create a racer specific workout schedule to reduce fatigue and other physical issues while racing. Dr. Jacques Dellaire’s sessions on mental preparation were intense as well as enlightening and I can’t wait to apply my new knowledge to the track in 2010!”

Learn more about Lyn St. James and the Women in the Winner’s Circle Driver’s Academy at www.lynstjames.com .

November 2, 2009 - New Breed Racing is pleased to announce that Alesi Gerthe has been admitted to The University of Texas at Austin and will become part of the Longhorn family when classes begin January 19, 2010. “It’s an honor to join The University of Texas family,” said Alesi. “UT will be able to provide me with an excellent education to go out and achieve my dreams.”

The University of Texas at Austin (also referred to as the University of Texas, UT, UT Austin, or Texas) is a public research university located in Austin, Texas and is the flagship institution of The University of Texas System. The main campus is located approximately .25 miles (0.40 km) from the Texas State Capitol. Founded in 1883, the university has approximately 50,000 undergraduate and graduate students and 16,500 faculty and staff.

On track for success: Rockdale woman a racing standout...TDTNews.com

Jeanne Williams wrote an awesome article on Alesi in today's Temple Daily Telegram...if you have time, check it out.
TDTNews.com - Temple Daily Telegram
Source: www.tdtnews.com

Alesi Gerthe, 19, has been auto racing since age 11, when her parents organized New Breed Racing as a family activity for her and her younger brother, who is also a racing standout. (Read the entire article...)

Alesi Gerthe receives Project Podium Grant at Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Alesi Gerthe, of New Breed Racing, joined fellow female racing veteran Lyn St. James for her foundations Women in the Winner’s Circle Awards Ceremony on Thursday, July 23, 2009. Gerthe and a select few accomplished female racers were recognized at the seventh annual ceremony held at the Plaza Village Pavilion at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. St. James emceed the event alongside ESPN/ABC reporter Jamie Little.

“It was an honor to be among such an elite group of women,” said Alesi. “To personally meet Ms. St. James and be around driver’s like Sarah Fisher and Melanie Troxel, being able to celebrate those who have helped pave the way for women like me to excel in a male-dominated sport such as drag racing, was awesome. Not to mention being able to meet other women racers from different forms of motorsports who are involved in racing today and realizing we make up the future of women in motorsports…it was truly a special day.”

During the ceremony, Project Podium partners awarded grants totaling $27,500 to distribute between six skilled drivers, including Gerthe. Grant applications were reviewed by a panel of motorsports professionals and then distributed on a matching-fund basis to qualified women drivers.

Founded by St. James in 1994, the Women in the Winner’s Circle Foundation holds true to its mission to advance women in motorsports and the annual ceremony celebrates the successes of women in the motorsports industry. NHRA has long been synonymous with providing opportunity for women so it was no surprise that it was well represented by NHRA President Tom Compton and Senior Vice President of Racing Operations Graham Light, and also O’Reilly Raceway Park’s Ron Anderson and Scott Smith. Hoosier Thunder Motorsports team owner’s Terry and Rhonda McMillen also attended to support Alesi during this momentous occasion.

“Drag racing has always been at the forefront in the motorsports industry when it comes to opportunity for women, just look at the success of Shirley Muldowney,” commented Alesi. “I know it is a long, narrow path leading to my dream of racing professionally in the top fuel category. I have no doubt that my affiliation with the Women in the Winner’s Circle Foundation and its programs will help in achieving my goals.”

Our visit to Indianapolis - July 2009

By the time our plane landed and we snagged our rental car, we met Terry and Rhonda McMillen at our hotel just in time to make our dinner reservations at St. Elmo's in downtown Indianapolis. After a wonderful dinner, we headed over to the indoor go-karting track. Terry, Duane, Alesi and Ayrton looked like they had a blast and afterwards they commented on how they could catch up with Alesi in the corner's, but she would pull away in the straights....she quickly replied something like, "I can drive straight"! Guess she's a drag racer. The following day we attended the Lyn St. James Women in the Winner's Circle awards ceremony at the Plaza Village Pavilion at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Later that evening we headed over to Brownsburg, Indiana to drive by the race shops and came back by O'Reilly Raceway Park. We also toured the King Tut exhibit, but most of all enjoyed the nice, cool weather!!!

Pine Valley Raceway

New Breed Racing’s Alesi & Ayrton Gerthe competed at the IHRA Division 4 Pro-Am races and Sportsman National at Pine Valley Raceway, June 19-21, 2009 near Lufkin, Texas. “It was great to have Alesi and Ayrton both racing again. Ayrton jumped back into his dragster and you would have never known he had not raced this season. The extreme heat Texas is experiencing was a struggle, but we worked through it and had a great time,” said Lisa Gerthe. “Our best day of racing came on Sunday with Ayrton making it down to eleven cars.”

Wolverine/Academy display and Tulsa National

New Breed Racing’s Alesi Gerthe competed at her third IHRA national event of the season at Tulsa Raceway Park, June 13-14, 2009. The weekend began with a display for Wolverine at a Tulsa area Academy.

“We had a great time at the Wolverine Boots and Apparel/Academy Sports and Outdoors display. It is always fun to introduce potential fans to the sport of drag racing. Wolverine’s Jeremy Pevehouse brought all kinds of goodies for the display and fans had the opportunity to win a free pair of Wolverine boots. We would like to extend our thanks to Wolverine, Academy and Harmony from IHRA for putting together an awesome display,” said Alesi. “Rain delayed Sunday’s race and we were not able to race first round until around 3:00 pm. We lost a close race in round one, but I’ve put that behind me and I am ready to hit the track again this weekend."

Amalie Oil Texas Nationals

New Breed Racing’s Alesi Gerthe participated at the Amalie Oil Texas Nationals May 29-31 at Dallas Raceway in Crandall, TX. “Last Thursday Dad and I replaced my transbrake button, changed the car’s launch RPM, put in some fresh Amalie Oil and polished our Mickey Thompson’s in preparation for the Amalie Oil Texas Nationals in Crandall,” said Alesi. “We struggled a little in qualifying and found ourselves qualified 47th. Sunday was a different story; the car ran well all day and we ended up making it to the quarterfinals and down to seven cars in a fifty-five car field. I would like to thank all of our friends who came out to support us at Dallas Raceway,” concluded Alesi.
Photo by Robert Grice

Ayrton graduates from RHS

Ayrton Gerthe will close one chapter and begin writing another Friday, May 29, 2009 when he joins the Class of 2009 from Rockdale High School in celebrating an ending and a new beginning at their commencement exercise at Tiger Field.

Ayrton completed high school in three years as an honor graduate, finishing fifth in his graduating class. This fall, Ayrton will begin classes at the University of Texas at Austin’s Cockrell School of Engineering and will pursue his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering.

Alesi attends Luke Bogacki's ThisIsBracketRacing.com Live Driving School

While most children spent a traditional Mother’s Day weekend sending their mom flowers or taking her to dinner, I took my mother across two state lines to attend Luke Bogacki’s ThisIsBracketRacing.com Live Driving School. The school took place just north of Joplin, Missouri at Mo-Kan Dragway, May 8-9. It was a last minute decision after I spent the week finishing my college finals, but with one slot left in the class, I could not pass up the opportunity. After all, with multi-time event winner’s and champions Luke Bogacki and Brian Folk as your instructors, what racer would not jump at the opportunity? I had a great time. I learned many new strategies, starting line and top end procedures, and many other things…I cannot wait to get in my dragster and implement the things I learned. Luke and Brian were extremely nice and very patient with me, and if given the opportunity, I would definitely attend the school again in the future.

Following the school, Luke Bogacki commented, "Alesi did a great job within the TIBR Live Driving School. We threw a lot of challenges her way; she was in an unfamiliar car, which went quicker and faster than she'd been before. We used a full tree for the on-track portion of the school, when most all of her experience was on the pro tree. In short, we took her way out of her normal comfort zone. And she responded admirably. Both Brian and I were extremely impressed with her composure in the car, her progression throughout the school, and her attitude throughout the entire experience. There is no doubt she has a very bright future in the racing world."

My next scheduled race is the upcoming IHRA national at Dallas Raceway, May 29-31, 2009. To learn more about the TIBR Live Driving School visit www.ThisIsBracketRacing.com

Ayrton Gerthe attends RHS Prom

Ayrton Gerthe escorted friend and classmate Kaitlyn Sieber to the 2009 Rockdale High School Prom, held April 25, 2009 at the Patterson Civic Center in Rockdale, TX. After a "LimBusine" ride to dine at The Oasis just outside Austin, Texas on Lake Travis, the group returned to join classmates at their prom.

IHRA Divisional - Tulsa Raceway Park

New Breed Racing’s Alesi Gerthe attended the first set of races for the IHRA Pro-Am Tour at Tulsa Raceway Park this past weekend, April 17-19, 2009. “The weather forecast did not look very promising for the event, and sure enough we ended up running both days of racing on Sunday after storms moved into the area and cancelled Saturday’s racing,” said Lisa Gerthe. “In Day One action, Alesi went out in round two and in Day Two action she bowed out in round three with nine cars remaining. Despite the drastic weather changes over the weekend, the car was amazingly consistent, and we think we have found a reason for some of the inconsistencies Alesi has experienced in the past. As you can see from the attached photo by Robert Grice, Alesi’s dragster is carrying both front wheels off the line, so we think it is affecting her consistency. Thanks to Robert’s excellent photo skills, we will be able to address this issue.”

Makeovers and Medals in March for NBR...

Since our last race in Baton Rouge, New Breed Racing has been busy with updating our golf cart and Alesi’s dragster, and Ayrton medaled at the UIL Academic meet. “We have had many conversations and thoughts about updating our pit vehicle and with a few weeks before our next race, we decided to tackle it,” said Duane. “And Alesi’s dragster has needed some body and paint repair, so we got that accomplished as well.”

Ayrton helped Rockdale High School achieve something that has eluded the school for over two decades, a first place finish in district UIL competition. He competed on the science team at the District 24-3A UIL Academic meet held recently at Blinn College and received two medals. The science team finished 4th, with Ayrton placing sixth overall and he was the top scorer in physics, which enables him to compete at the regional meet later this month. The next scheduled race for the team is the IHRA Divisional at Tulsa Raceway Park, April 17-19, 2009.

Announcing www.AlesiGerthe.com & www.AyrtonGerthe.com ….

We are excited to announce that Alesi and Ayrton each have their own domain name which will forward to our team site www.NewBreedRacing.com. We hope this added feature will attract lots of visitors, so we invite you to visit our site now to learn more about our team!

Please forward this to anyone who might be interested, to help us spread the word.

Alesi Gerthe named to Temple College Fall 2008 President's Honor List

Temple College recently announced the President’s Honor List in recognition of high academic achievement for the 2008 fall session, and New Breed Racing's Alesi Gerthe from Rockdale, Texas is among those listed.

“Education ranks at the top of Alesi's priority list, with drag racing coming in close behind," said Lisa Gerthe. "Alesi continues to manage a full load at college along with being very involved in helping the team with marketing, not to mention our race schedule. She continues to tailor her classes to best meet her needs with online and hybrid courses along with the traditional class setting. Racing and her dream of joining the professional ranks continue to appear in her short and long range plan, and she is doing an awesome job at keeping everything in focus and in the right perspective despite distractions and set backs that life sometimes throws your way."

To be named to the President’s Honor List a student must be taking at least nine semester hours of work and must have a grade point average of at least 4.0.

Alesi Gerthe competes at IHRA Mardi Gras Nationals

March 18, 2009 – Rockdale, TX – New Breed Racing’s Alesi Gerthe competed at the inaugural IHRA Mardi Gras Nationals at State Capitol Dragway in Baton Rouge, LA, March 6-8, 2009.

“It was great to get back in my race car, and I am very excited about this season. The car was running great and I was hitting the tree,” stated Alesi. “First round my competitor and I both went red by exactly the same amount (-.013), but I guess that last number not seen on the time slip must have been ‘just that much’ worse. What are the odds; in my entire racing career I have never seen that happen. Thanks to Philip Pennington for testing Ayrton’s car for us, apparently we made the right changes over the winter! Despite our early exit from competition, we had a great time catching up with friends, the crawfish meal the track provided was authentic & fun, and we were able to cheer on our friends, including Terry McMillen.”

Alesi Gerthe applies for Lyn St. James Women in the Winners Circle Foundation Project Podium Grant

New Breed Racing’s Alesi Gerthe recently submitted her application for consideration as a recipient of the Lyn St. James Women in the Winners Circle Foundation Project Podium Grant.

The nineteen year old college student applied for the Project Podium Grant, which goals are to ‘provide financial assistance in the form of matching grants to young women drivers to help further their early professional careers, introduce or further provide experience for young drivers related to the very important business aspect of the racing industry, increase the number of women winning races and championships in key categories of motorsports, and create a diverse talent pool of women drivers in the upper echelon of motorsports’.

"Lyn St. James and the Women in the Winners Circle Foundation are providing wonderful opportunities for young females with their programs, and I hope I am selected for the grant program. Thank you to those who sent a letter of recommendation for me. I also plan to submit my application to their Complete Driver Academy later this year,” said Alesi.

For more information on Lyn St James and the Project Podium Program please visit www.lynstjames.com .

About Project Podium: Founded in 2007, Project Podium is a program within the Women in the Winner’s Circle Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in 1994 by Lyn St. James. Each year, up to $50,000 in funds are available to young women drivers who compete in all forms of motorsports including karting, quarter midgets, drag racing, sports car and oval track racing. The overarching goal of Project Podium is to provide financial assistance in the form of matching grants to women drivers to help further their professional careers. Secondarily, the Project Podium process introduces or further provides experience for drivers in the very important business aspect of the racing industry by the matching fund requirement. The grants awarded to up-and-coming young women drivers are not possible without the help of individuals, companies, tracks, teams, and series who make financial contributions to the Women in the Winner’s Circle Foundation. Current partners include: Championship Atlantic Series, Grand American Road Racing, Indy Racing League/Firestone Indy Lights Series, iRacing.com, Mazda, Newman’s Own, Mike Helton, NHRA Championship Drag Racing, Rolex, The NASCAR Foundation, Toyota, and Volkswagen.

Ayrton Gerthe inducted into Temple College Honor Society

New Breed Racing’s Ayrton Gerthe was inducted into the Lambda Theta Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa at Temple College on Sunday, March 1, 2009. Ayrton is enrolled in dual-credit classes while completing his senior year at Rockdale High School.

Established in 1918 by two-year college presidents, Phi Theta Kappa is the oldest and most prestigious honor society serving two-year colleges around the world. The Society serves to recognize and encourage the academic achievement of two-year college students and provide opportunities for individual growth and development through honors, leadership and service programming. Membership eligibility is based on an overall 3.5 grade point average after completion of 12 academic credit hours in two consecutive semesters; therefore, membership is a special honor afforded to a small group of outstanding students. Students must be invited to membership in Phi Theta Kappa and must maintain high academic standing during their enrollment in the two-year college.

NBR ready to begin race season...

New Breed Racing has been busy during the winter break from racing, and is eager to get the 2009 season started. With the new points format in the IHRA and the current economic situation facing our country, the team has decided on a different approach to their upcoming season.

Each year during the winter break, the team sits down and evaluates what the best plan of action is for their partners and team members. This year we took a closer look at each race, our personal schedules, and devised a plan to work for our present situation.

“Alesi continues to tailor her college schedule around racing so she can work toward her educational goals, while not sacrificing her dream of joining the professional ranks,” said Lisa Gerthe. “With Ayrton’s decision to graduate high school in three years, he has a full load of college and high school classes in order to graduate this May. As a team, we decided that in order for Ayrton to finish high school with the highest possible GPA, he will not race the first part of the season. This decision will also help our racing budget while we continue to work on securing more funding to help with our entry fees and travel expenses.”

The team also decided when the new IHRA points format was released that they would once again race on the NHRA side.

“With the new IHRA points format we decided to step away from our usual plan of chasing points, and allow our team to attend NHRA events as well. With our new approach, we will have more flexibility with our race schedule, and race a little closer to home,” added Lisa. “We are looking forward to this upcoming season, and are excited about the opportunities that await our team!”

PRI & Dallas Children's Hospital

January 8, 2009 – Rockdale, TX – New Breed Racing closed out 2008 with a busy December filled with the usual holiday gatherings, and also attended the PRI show in Orlando, FL and the Dallas Children’s Hospital.

“I finished up my college final exams early and hopped on the first plane out to Orlando to meet with our partners and make some new contacts at the PRI show. We are really excited about the 2009 race season. We spent one afternoon at Walt Disney World and had dinner in the Dolphin Resort at Shula's Steakhouse,” commented Alesi. “We also closed out the year with a visit to the Dallas Children’s Hospital, something I felt like our team needed to do. Thanks to the support of family and friends, including Robert & Kim Grice, George & Karen, Uncle Karl & Aunt Angela, Aunt Geri, Tasco Auto Color/PPG, Tommie & Susie Pounders, and Dad & Mom, Ayrton and I were able to distribute Build-A-Bears, coloring books, crayons, photos, and smiles to approximately forty-five patients. We plan to make this a yearly visit and my goal is to expand it each year to include more patients,” concluded Alesi.