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Spec Focus Racer Q&A
Getting to know your Spec Focus Director
Ted Severns
SF: We would like to welcome Ted Severns to our Spec Focus Q&A. Ted with us who one of the National Directors of the NASA Spec Focus Series.
SF: How long have you been with NASA?
Ted: I have been with NASA since 2001. I started out in HPDE and worked my way up from there.
SF: What gave you the idea of starting a Spec Series using the Ford Focus as a platform?
Ted: Well it started out kind of innocent, It was in August of 2004 at Willow Springs (Raceway) and I was in the middle of winning my first NASA Time Trial Championship in SoCal in a Focus when I approached John Lindsey the Chief Divisional Director of NASA, and asked him about maybe having a racing series for Ford Focus Cars. He thought it was a good idea and over the next few months we talked about it. I didn't find out until later, that I was going to be more involved in the series then just a racer.
SF: How involved were you in starting the series?
Ted: At first it was just an idea in my head, a few months later I was working with John, and Ford Racing. Then a few months later we are testing cars and writing the rules with Leo (Capaldi).
SF: How much did Leo Capaldi help in the process?
Ted: A Ton!!. Without him we would not be were we are today. I still talk to him 6-10 times a month. The guy has over 30 years of racing experience and knows pretty much everything that is needed to know to build a Race car. I have learned so much from him. I was very happy when he jumped on board. At first he only wanted to help out a little because he was still working on his World Challenge team. But, it grew from there and I'm happy it did.
SF: What was testing like for the Series?
Ted: We had some good tests. When we first started testing we really didn't know if we wanted to be a pure Spec Series or something with more freedom like SER cup or Honda Challenge cars. At first we had some concerns that a Spec Focus wouldn't be that fast, but early on we know we going to be faster then I thought. I was lucky to have some great people to work with like Dave Royce, John Lindsey, Greg Greenbaum, Andrew Gills, plus other race car drivers in SoCal. At the same time Leo was building a test car for Ford Racing and they we're doing there own testing. Together we were able to put together a pretty good package.
SF: How hard was it for you to even out the different Engine Packages?
Ted: Well, I have to give credit to Ford Racing and Leo Capaldi for that. Ford Racing came up with what mods go with what Engine and Leo helped with what car weight difference each model should have. The only thing I wanted was the weight of the car to be around 2600 lbs. From our tests I knew anything over that would slow the car down too much.
SF: What were your major concerns about the car during the development?
Ted: Well, I had three major concerns. First, was to make sure the car was affordable. We were building a Spec Series with a car that was not very old and so cost was important. The second concern was to make sure the cars will be evenly match with the different engine combos and model styles. The third and final concern was to make sure the car was fast enough on the track. We didn't want something that was so slow that it was two or three seconds slower then any class car out there.
SF: Are you happy about the speed of the cars?
Ted: Yes, it exceeded my expectations. I want a car that would do around 2:12 to 2:13 at Buttonwillow 13CW. We have already passed that and now we have a car that can and should do a sub 2:10 at Buttonwillow 13CW, that's more then 2-3 seconds a lap faster then I found expectable.
SF: What do you think about NASA?
Ted: I think NASA is great. What organization would take the idea of just a Time Trial driver and take his idea develop a racing series. The officials are great, they listen to the racers and they make changes if it's in the best interest of the racer and NASA. The racers are great too. It's a very friendly atmosphere at the track. I have seen fellow racers help one another fix there cars late at night on a Saturday night, then race against them the next day.
SF: I see you're also an HPDE Instructor for NASA in Southern California as well. Do you like?
Ted: Yes, very much. I enjoy teaching new drivers and I would like to think that when they leave the track that day, that they are a better driver. I think the best part about instructing is I also learn things every time I take a student out on the track. It might be some very small, like seeing a small reference point on the track, I also get a chance to drive students cars on the track which is a great experience to drive different types of cars.
SF: What do you like most about racing a Spec Focus?
Ted: I like how easy it is to drive right out of the box. Before I raced a Spec Focus, I did an Enduro in a Nissan SER-Cup car. It was much harder to drive fast then the Focus. Not as forgiving as a Spec Focus. I think one of the best things about the cars and what its known for; is the brakes, they are absolutely great. Every time we have a media or experience driver in the car, they always comment how well the brakes work.
SF: On a personal level is there anything that you have done in the past that most people on the track don't know about?
Ted: Good Question, I would have to say most people at the track and in the Focus community don't know I played High School, College, Pro and Semi Pro Baseball for 30 years. Baseball was my life for many years as both a player and a coach. I was a baseball coach at Moorpark College for three years, Camarillo High School for one year and coached and played 10 years of semi-pro baseball. During those 10 years we won 6 California State Championships and won 2 World Series Championships. Baseball was always a big part of my and my families' life.
SF: Are you still involved in baseball?
Ted: Not really, I really don't have the time to do that now. Right now I play a lot of golf and of course racing as well. I still find time to watch games on TV and go to a few college games from time to time.
SF: I want to thank you for the interview and hope you have a great year.
Ted: Thank you very much. I'm looking forward into see more interviews in the future.
