Bill Krutilla

How I got here

I grew up going to Seattle International Raceway, before it was called Pacific Raceways. As life went on, I got busy and stopped going. Years later, when I had kids of my own, I wanted to show them what a cool place the track is for kids, so I took them. We watched the races and came back year after year, until I just had to have a race car of my own.

I've been sim racing for over 25 years and have done a few driving schools, so driving has always been part of my life. When I decided to buy a real race car, the Emerald Cup group helped me figure out what I needed. I found a 1979 Crosslé 35F in the Portland area and brought it home.

My rookie season

My rookie season was five race weekends at three tracks: three at Pacific Raceways, plus Portland International Raceway and Qlispé in Spokane. I started mid-pack, learning the car and the drivers around me. As the season went on I got faster, put together some good races, and by the end I was racing with the leaders. Along the way I set the Club Ford track record at Qlispé (1:32.875) and finished the year in the fight for the Emerald Cup Club Ford championship.

Between race weekends

I sim race every track on the calendar before I get there. If a track isn't available on the sim, I study video of it instead. Every one of my races is filmed, and afterward I go back through the footage to find where I can improve.

The group

The Emerald Cup is a very tight group, and a big one: we fielded 28 cars at the Pacific Northwest Historics in July. More experienced drivers shared advice, data, and sometimes even their tires with a rookie. Some of us sim race together during the week too, so when we're wheel to wheel on track, we already know and trust each other. A huge part of how my first year went is because of the people around me.

Crew

Tracy Dye, mechanic and pit crew. Tracy is the Formula Ford guru in our paddock. He knows these cars inside and out, and everyone comes to him with questions. He kept my car running all season and has helped me tremendously. None of this happens without him.

Race weekends are a team effort: my wife and kids are usually in the pits, and friends and family regularly come out to lend a hand and cheer us on.

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