MEET THE DRIVER
The Maverick Region’s newly formed “Meet The Driver” series was created to allow race fans the opportunity to hear live on and off track experiences from professional and amateur drivers. Learn how these drivers evolved to be top racers, their victories, cars they’ve driven, most challenging and favorite circuits plus so much more!
To date, we’ve had the honor of hosting Professional IMSA racers Don Yount and Bill Smith, along with Porsche Club racers David Hodges, Seth Higgins, Bill Smith and Daniel Shofner. Each session was unique whereby attendees experienced; video race footage with data telemetry, a personal showcase of some rare and priceless sport cars, testing their driving skills on a state of the art racing simulator, driving their own Porsche on parade laps around Eagles Canyon Raceway, etc…. all with great camaraderie, appetizers and adult beverages.
Patrick Long
Patrick Long, a renowned sports car driver, served as Porsche’s sole factory driver from 2003 to 2021. He’s won prestigious races like Le Mans, Daytona, Sebring, Petit Le Mans, and Bathurst. Long is also a three-time American Le Mans Series champion and two-time Pirelli World Challenge champion.
He founded Luftgekuhlt, an annual event celebrating air-cooled Porsches with unique venues and lifestyle elements. Long maintains a collection of air-cooled Porsches and competes in vintage racing.
Kevin Buckler
Kevin Buckler, born around 1959, is an American race car driver and entrepreneur. He currently owns TRG Motorsports, TRG-Aston Martin Racing, and formerly TRG Motorsports. In 2019, he launched SHIFT, a racing-themed wine, through his winery.
Buckler began racing in the late 1980s and attended his first high-speed race in 1990. In 1992, he and his wife Debra founded The Racer’s Group (TRG) as a Porsche Club Racing business. He took his first professional start in 1995 and opened Adobe Road Winery the same year.
TRG won the GT class at the Rolex 24 At Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2002 with Porsche Factory support. Buckler led TRG to 3 more GT class wins in the Rolex 24 at Daytona, including an overall 1st place in 2003. TRG holds the record for the most Rolex Sports Car Series GT victories and is ranked third for the most GT pole positions.
In 2009, Buckler expanded into NASCAR with TRG Motorsports. The team took 106 starts in the Sprint Cup Series with 2 top 10 finishes and 6 starts in the Camping World Truck Series with 2 top 10 finishes and 1 top 5 finish.
TRG Motorsports announced in 2012 that it would focus on Grand-Am instead of NASCAR Cup Series.
All images on this page courtesy of maverick PCA region members.
Image credits: Mike O'Hare and Anjan Shenoy
