Hi! My name, of course, is Brennan! Brennan Palmiter. I'm 18 years old and I'm a race car driver from Ormond Beach, Florida. Ormond Beach is just north of Daytona Beach, the racing capitol of the world!
I started racing Go-karts when I was 7 years old. That year I raced in the novice class at a local track close to my home and I learned about the flags and how to start the race. I got better and better at driving and my Crew Chief (my Dad) got better too! He made the kart go faster and faster and easier to drive. After a short while I started getting third and then second and finally I WON!
Brennan's first win! >
The next year I moved up a class and started racing in Sportsman I - purple plate. I finished first in points for the year. I won 3 times and I came in second a bunch of times. We also tried a couple of state races with WKA. That was really exciting, and boy did they race!
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Then, in 2001, my Crew Chief concentrated on learning more about the set up while I got some more "seat time". At each race we worked on something new and we keep getting better and better! We won a lot of races (check out my Race Results 2001 page) and made a lot of friends.
In 2002, I raced all the FKA State and WKA State & National Dirt Karting races. I sure learned a lot and I finished up pretty good too! Check out my Race Results 2002 page and see.
In 2003 I had to move up to Sportsman II in the sprint kart and I started racing a new kart called a Jr. Sportsman Champ. I raced in the WKA Florida Dirt Divisional Series and the WKA Dirt Nationals. It was a real challenge and I learned a lot. Check out my Race Results 2003 page to see how I finished up for the season.
2004 was my last year in Jr. Sportsman II and Jr. Sportsman Champ. We had our share of struggles but I think I did pretty well. I won a few times, one of them was a national race! Check out my Race Results 2004 page and see what you think!
In 2005 I made a huge step up and started racing a T.Q Late Model. Visit my Race Results 2005 to see how I did. It was a really big difference and I had to learn a lot but by the end of the year things were going pretty good. I won one race and finished 4th in points for the year. Not bad for my first year in a race car don't you think?
For 2006 I put in a new, more powerful motor and made a lot of changes to the chassis to make my TQ a better handling car. At the Winternationals at the start of our 06 season our hard work really paid off. The car was awesome and I was one of the the fastest cars in our class. In the 3rd race I got my first win.
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The TQ was a good stepping stone but everybody said I need to get into a heavy car as soon as possible. So, at about half way through the year, we got to thinking about what we would like race next. We decided to look for a Limited Late Model and before we knew it we found a really good one for a great price. Next, we had to get an engine and sure enough a good one became available in just a few weeks so we bought it too. About that time a buyer came forward for our TQ so we decided to go ahead and sell it and spend the rest of the year getting the Limited together to practice and run a few races before the end of the year.
By August we had the car ready and I was able to participate in 8 of the last 9 races at New Smyrna Speedway finishing up the year 9th in points. I got a little better with each race as we worked on the car and I got more and more comfortable with the weight of the car and the power of a V8 engine. For the results, pictures and even some videos of the races, check out my 2006 Schedule page. At the 2006 New Smyrna Speedway Awards Banquet I was awarded Late Model Rookie of the Year!
In 2007 I raced my Limited Late Model at New Smyrna Speedway again for the regular season and a few races with the Goodyear Challenge Series. I've got almost every race on video at my Multi-Media page if you would like to watch them. At the end of the year, despite some pretty tough luck, we still finished up the season 2nd in the points.
For 2008 I signed a new national sponsor, The Fabricators and Manufacturers Association. With FMA I've learned a lot about the responsibilities a racer has to his sponsor. I attended several events to promote careers in manufacturing to other teenagers like myself on their behalf. I started out the year planning to race 12 to 15 - 100 lap events but 2 blow motors used up a good bit of my budget. before the year even got started.
About half way through the year one of my sponsors gave me a sportsman car to race. It hasn't been on the track for 10 years and I guess you could say it had a lot of cobwebs in it. We worked on it a good bit and by the end of the year we had it up to speed and ready for the 2009 season.
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So, in 2009 I raced my limited in the World Series of Asphalt at New Smyrna Speedway during Speedweeks and then we took that car apart and converted it over to an ASA car to race in 2010. For the rest of the year we raced the Lucky 7 Sportsman car until a bad wreck in September took me out for the rest of the season.
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Education Plans
Last year I completed all my high school graduation requirements and graduated 1 1/2 years early. I went to regular high school for 2 years and then the last semester I took college courses at Daytona State College that applied to both my high school diploma and my AAS degree.
During the last year and a half of high school I was also enrolled at Daytona State College taking night classes in the Welding Technology Program and in May I received a certificate in Welding Technology.
Over the summer I attended the Lincoln Electric Motorsports Welding program where I tested and received 3 - AWS certifications in TIG welding along with a certificate in basic and advance motorsports welding techniques.
Since graduating from high school last year I have been enrolled as a full time college student at Daytona State College where I completed my AAS degree in Industrial Management Technology in December. So, last fall, 6 months before most of my friends graduated from High School, I already had a college degree!
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Plans for 2010 and Beyond
The recession has really taken its toll on motorsports teams and I am no exception. Last summer FMA notified me that they will not be back in 2010 so my future racing plans for this year are sort of up in the air right now. My life would have probably been quite a bit different anyway after graduating from college and turning 18 in December.
The good thing is that, while racing over the last 11 years, I've learned how to do a lot of other things. Racing is not just about what happens between the green flag and the checkered flag. That's actually just a small part of it. I've learned how to manage contacts and network to get in front of potential sponsors and I've learned to give sponsor presentations to them when, after a zillion phone calls, I finally do. I've learned to speak in front of large groups on behalf of my sponsors and lots of other things you need to do to keep them happy. I've also learned a lot about working on race cars and I've become a pretty good welder and fabricator too.
All this has allowed me to meet a lot of people and one of the companies that I was talking with about a sponsorship has offered me a job in Chattanooga, TN. It's an awesome company and a really great career opportunity for me so I'm putting racing on the back burner for a while until I get settled in Tennessee.
I hope you enjoy my web site and please come back often!
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