Georgia racer, Dylan Bongiovanni, has his eyes set on getting to the highest levels of NASCAR. The 2022 Thursday Thunder Bandolero Rookie of the Year, quickly progressed to the Legend Car, where he is a regular at Georgia race tracks, all because his family stopped at a track as they drove down the road. Since that time, he has been behind the wheel of a race car!
Hometown: Cumming, Georgia
Division: Young Lions
Car Number: 62
Team: 77 Speed Shop
1. How did you get your start in racing?
I was about three years old and my family was driving down the road when we passed this track with cars going around it. I don’t know how I said it but I told them to stop because I wanted to watch it. So we parked and started to watch it. We started going to a few races and I thought it was really cool. One day we were watching and we saw the people getting out of the cars, and they were kids. We were like “Oh my, I could race this.” We got as much information as we could and five I started trying Quarter Midgets.
2. What has your racing journey looked like?
When I was 5 I went and tested a Quarter Midget out and I don’t know what it was but I was too nervous, so when I was about 6 or 7 we went back and did it again and was like “This is what I want to do.” I raced Quarter Midgets until I was about 11, 12ish before I got in a Bandolero. Then just last year, I moved up to the Legend.
3. What do you take from Quarter Midget racing that helps you in Bandolero and Legend Cars?
What I learned in the Quarter Midget is you have to have such fast reaction times. The track was so small and the car had some good speed to it. You just had to have a quick reaction time. I also learned a little bit about cars because I knew nothing about them before and how to work on them. It all taught me how to have a really good line in a Bandolero.
4. How did you come up with your car number?
The number 62 I came up with because that’s my birthday day, June 2nd.
5. What does it mean to be apart of a team like 77 Speed Shop?
It means a lot. They teach me so much, they’re very disciplined with me. If I’m doing something wrong, they’ll tell me. They’re not hesitant. They get my car perfect. If I say anything about the car, they fix it. They’ve taught me so much about how to communicate what’s going on with the car and how to use teamwork on the track. That’s what they’ve done.
6. What did it mean to be the Bandolero Rookie of the Year at Thursday Thunder in 2022?
I had no idea that I was the rookie of the year. They said it and I was in shock. That was my first year in the Bandolero and I wasn’t going in thinking I was gonna do this good. That first year in the Bandolero something just clicked and I was fast, but it meant a lot. There was a lot of competition but I held my ground.
7. How did it feel to win the Georgia Bandolero State Championship in 2022?
That felt amazing. I didn’t expect to achieve anything like that in my first year of Bandoleros. I thought maybe I would finish top 3 in some races but I never thought I would be first in the state and the rookie of the year.
8. What is your favorite track to race at?
I would say Atlanta Motor Speedway just because there’s a lot of things that go into it. It’s a NASCAR track, so many NASCAR drivers grew up racing there in Atlanta. I like the smaller tracks because you carry more speed but going into the corners you have to brake pretty hard and it’s a fun track to pass at.
9. How did you adapt your driving style when you transitioned from a Bandolero to a Legend?
They are very different. It was a pretty good change, especially with having to shift. I was never used to that. It wasn’t too hard for me but it was definitely a change. My first race I wasn’t too fast, but I was decent. There were a lot of differences, like the line I had to run. The legend car had so much more torque coming out of the corners, more power. You get on the gas and the tires just want to spin. The brakes as well. The Bandolero you could touch them and spin while the Legend you really have to stomp on them to get the car to slow down.
10. What is the most difficult thing about driving a Legend Car?
I would say with how much power it has, you really have to be careful coming out of the corners. If you step on the gas too early, the tires will spin and you’ll spin out. You carry a lot of speed out of the corner which helps your whole momentum but you really have to be patient through the corners.
11. What is the biggest learning moment in your career?
It would be I used to be mad a lot getting out of the car, and I had to learn keeping my composure getting out of the car. That’s a really big thing. People are looking at you, people are seeing you if you get mad and throwing stuff. You really gotta keep your composure and not get to angry when you get out of the car.
12. Who do you consider your role model to be?
I would say Chase Elliott is probably my role model. He grew up in the town right next to and doesn’t live too far from me. He’s a pretty good driver and I’d say he’s respectful.
13. What does your race day routine look like?
When I wake up, I try to have something good to eat. Get to the track, usually there’s a practice before. For Thursday Thunder, I’d do a few rounds of practice, make sure my car is setup well. Maybe focus on qualifying and try to get a good time. Most importantly, drink a bunch of water and stay hydrated and get ready for my race.
14. What would you pursue if you weren’t in racing?
I would try to pursue another sports like baseball or something, and try to get good at that. I have a lot of friends who play baseball and I find it pretty fun.
15. What are your long-term career goals?
My main goal is to get to the NASCAR Cup Series. I want to try to move up next from a Legend and get into a Late Model, then ARCA, and hopefully get to Trucks, then Cup.
16. What is your favorite racing memory?
In my first year of racing Quarter Midgets, I wasn’t good at passing and something wasn’t clicking. It was a huge national race, and there was probably two hundred cars there and I was in the rookie class. There were so many cars in my class that there was a D-Main. I qualified last in the D-Main and you had to finish top 4 to move to the C-Main. I got to fourth, so I started last in the C-Main. I got up to fourth again and started last in the B-Main, and then did it again to get to the A-Main. I was passing the first place car with three to go in the A-Main before we locked tires and the car in third won the race. I’d have to say it’s my favorite memory just because of how well I did.
17. What is your greatest motivation in racing?
Something that motivates me pretty well is knowing that two or three of the biggest, most popular NASCAR drivers raced on the tracks that I raced at, and they’re now in NASCAR and very successful. It’s motivating to know that if they can do it, I can do it.