Before Josh Bilicki was a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver for Rick Ware Racing, he spent five years as a driving coach for drivers of all experience levels. This week, Bilicki shared onboard video of him getting back to his roots as he coached drivers around Illinois’ Autobahn Country Club in a Radical SR3 race car.
I always appreciate the opportunity to drive different cars, from Miatas to Stock Cars! Yesterday at the @Autobahn_CC I was fortunate enough to work with @teamstradale and run some laps in their Radical SR3 as they hosted guests from the @zeigler_auto. Check out an onboard lap! pic.twitter.com/80jPXMPT88
— Josh Bilicki (@joshbilicki) October 8, 2021
That video showcased one exhilarating lap around the course from Bilicki’s perspective. Bilicki tells TobyChristie.com that in the video he was doing what’s called a, “Please Follow,” with hosted guests from his sponsor Zeigler Auto Group.
In a Please Follow, the instructor — in this case it was Bilicki — runs laps in front of the student. The student follows the pro in an effort to better their racing lines and techniques.
Bilicki said a lot of where he is at now in his racing career, is owed to his days as a driving coach.
“I’ve met many sponsors coaching,” Bilicki said to TobyChristie.com. “Usually, a majority of our customers are business owners. So, it fits for them to sponsor.”
The 26-year old Bilicki hails from Wisconsin, so obviously he’s served as a driving coach at the 4.048-mile road course near his home, but Bilicki says he has coached far and wide well beyond RA.
“I’ve coached at just about every road course in the country,” Bilicki admitted.
So, aspiring racecar drivers, if you’re sitting at home waiting on a call to get behind the wheel of a race car on the weekends, perhaps it’s time to start setting up driver coaching services. That path seems to have worked well for Bilicki, and he says he’s not the only driver who has found sponsorship by way of driver coaching.
If you also want to be more like Bilicki, you could always find lower-tier racing teams on Facebook, who are possibly looking for drivers. Back in December, Bilicki shared with TobyChristie.com, how a random message to a NASCAR team sparked his NASCAR racing career.
Bilicki will start from the 37th position in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Bank of America Roval 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval.
While Bilicki hasn’t had the best mechanical luck in the Cup Series, he finished 13th in last year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the Roval driving for BJ McLeod Motorsports.
If Bilicki can have a little luck roll his way on Sunday, he could secure a decent finish for his Rick Ware Racing team.
