Carl Cormier prepares for another run this summer for the Cook Out Summer Shootout Masters Championship. For him, it's all about winning at the track, but wants to have an enjoyable time and relax with family and friends. He has many decades of experience behind the wheel of some sort of motor racing vehicle and for the last decade plus had made Legend Cars his primary car. He hopes 2024 is the year the no. 58 is a Summer Shootout champion!
Hometown: Miami, Florida
Division: Masters
Car Number: 58
Race Team: 860 Motorsports
1. What first got you started in racing?
I first got started in racing in 1976-1977 when I started racing go-karts. When my father passed away, me and my brother started racing go-karts and then I never stopped. I raced big cars my entire life and when I stopped racing those my friend Tom Stoney said, “Man you need to run a Legend Car.” He really encouraged me and my wife encouraged me she, “Yeah, let’s go do it,” and then I started [racing Legend Cars]. Like 12 or 14 years ago is when I started running them and it was fun. It’s a chance for me to keep racing and it doesn’t break the bank. I can still go out there and enjoy the competition.
2. What is the best part about racing for you?
There are so many great people. Also for me is the competition. I like the challenge and new experiences. There’s always something different no matter how many times you go to a racetrack or how many laps you run. There are a lot of things that are the same but with weather changes, tire changes, track changes, you can run a track for 10,000 laps and maybe it’ll be easier for you to make the adjustments but that’s what it’s about, it’s always a challenge, that’s what’s fun about it.
3. How are you able to balance racing and other parts of your life?
So for me up until this part of my life, racing has dominated my life. I’m finally at the point now where I’m not trying to impress anybody. I don’t have to worry about a sponsor, I just race for my enjoyment and for the guys that I race with, for CJ (860 Motorsports crew chief) and the guys that work with him. Sometimes I miss out on races but for the first time in my life racing is not the first thing, not the primary thing. I think it’s taken me most of my life to realize that everything works in moderation. A little bit of everything and not too much of just one thing and you’ll be a very happy person.
4. How does your family dynamic work out on the track?
Well, when it was more of something that I was trying to do for a living, everything was secondary. It was just a different way to race because you’re worried about getting to the next race, and how we’re going to pay for things and now I don’t have those worries so for me, I’m with great people, I’ve been lucky... When I do get to bring more family to the racetrack, it’s easy, it’s fun being at a racetrack with the family.
5. What does it mean to be part of 860 Motorsports?
Quite honestly if I had to do it all on my own I probably wouldn’t be nearly as successful. We’ve had a lot of good success, but there’s still more to do, there are still more wins that I’d like to have but without them, I wouldn’t be able to do it. CJ’s preparation is second to none and his knowledge is the same. He’s got a great grasp of what these cars need. With him our cars are always impeccable, the program's impeccable. For me, it’s the whole reason I do it, if I couldn’t be with someone like CJ, I probably wouldn’t be here.
6. As you’ve participated in Summer Shootouts for so long, what are your memories like there?
One of the things that has become a struggle for me with the new motors and tires, is you used to be able to make a pass without touching somebody’s car. It was hard, but you could still do it now it’s almost impossible. I always leave there (Summer Shootout) fighting for the championship and inevitably, almost every single time I’ve been crashed out of the opportunity to win a championship so it’s been frustrating. Unfortunately, that’s what I think about when it comes to the Summer Shootout. I do enjoy that it’s tight there. Unfortunately, when you ask about my memories, there are more frustrating memories than great memories. Yes, I’ve won some races, I’ve won plenty of races, it’s been fun, I’ve enjoyed it, but that’s the funny thing about winning for me. When I go out there I expect to win so when I can’t, it’s a frustrating thing so I have to think “What do I have to do better?,“ so I don’t have that frustration again, so that’s where my memories are.
7. What are your goals for this Summer Shootout season?
I’m here to win a championship everything else is pretty much a disappointment. With that, if we’ve tried as hard as we can like last year, we tried as hard as we could I was just overweight and it hurt us. That was the realization that I’m older now and there are other things so I’m not working as hard and that’s a personal choice I have to make. Do I make sure I get better and work out a little bit more? When I’m with my grandson, we get ice cream and have a ball and that’s important to me too.
8. What is your motivation to continue to race?
I want to win. That’s what unfortunately racing is all about. I say unfortunately because we in society are all about winning. Sometimes you can do your best and you can try your best and that day you’re just not as good as somebody else and that’s okay. We as a society don’t accept that and I think that’s unfortunate. Having said that, that does not mean that winning isn’t any less important but I’m not a win-at-all-cost person. I’m not going to crash someone to win. I would not feel good if I crashed somebody because I want to win. I’m a big believer in that and I think sports can teach you that because not everybody’s going to win.
That’s the frustrating thing about it, there are people that have gone out there and done as much as they can on that particular day and there are some that just showed up and didn’t work on their cars and you can’t be frustrated because you didn’t do anything to try to get better. If you don’t do anything to try and get better, you can’t expect results. I think there are lessons to be learned there. I think some people think life should be fair and everybody should get a chance, everybody has a chance, but you have to work, you have to work hard. Just because everybody should get a chance doesn’t mean everybody will and you have to work for it. Having said that, I don’t believe that you should crash somebody or cheat or do those different things to get the win. How would that be satisfying? How are you really better than them if you cheat to win? You just got away with something that wasn’t fair. There’s so many lessons that I can stand back and look at and think about in those terms. That’s part of the reason I’ve always enjoyed motorsports, I’ve always enjoyed being around competitive people who are motivated to work hard, and usually, those are the types of people who are ready.
9. What is the meaning behind number 58 on your car?
When I first went to the race track there was a gentleman from the Dominican Republic who drove a Porsche, it was a very beautiful car and I got to meet him when I was 12 years old. After that, I became 58. There’s been a couple of other numbers in different series but 58 has just been a number that I’ve enjoyed.
10. What do you like to do outside of racing?
I love to travel and experience, new cultures and see new places and I also play golf. I’m terrible at it but my wife loves it and she’s supported me my entire life so I go out there even if it frustrates me.
11. What would you say to other adults like you wanting to get into racing later in life?
Racing is very expensive, but if you can afford it there’s nothing better than racing and enjoying it with your family. If you can afford it, you can still do it, but you have to have those realistic expectations. It’s gonna be tough for somebody who can’t have the newest equipment and can’t race as much to beat someone like myself who’s done it my entire life and has someone like CJ helping me. Their expectations have to be a little bit different than someone who has the time and money. The other thing that frustrates me, is I see parents come in and expect instant results out of their children and sometimes people expect results too fast and they’re not patient. Some people learn quicker than others, let them drive and learn. It will just take some time, they’re not going to win every time but if it’s something you want to do and have the time to do it, do it. I’ve made so many friends with it and I don’t have any regrets, I regret some choices that were business decisions but even the bad choices were still fun and I met great people.