What is GT1club and who is American Speed Factory?

Back in 1970, a ten-year-old boy was watching Al Unser in the "Johnny Lightning Special" make a pit stop at the INDY 500 on TV. "From that moment on, I knew that's what I wanted to do. Somehow, I was going to get into racing."

Thirteen years later, when John Shapiro walked onto the world famous pit lane of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway as a mechanic on a Champ Car team, he just stood there in awe of the impressive size of the place. As he stood there, a sense of pride combined with an eerie feeling of the presence of the racers that had been there before rushed over him. With goose pimples on his body and tears in his eyes, John realized that his life would never ever be the same.

Being a racer is a way of life, not just a job. There is a brotherhood that connect all those who love racing. Huge sacrifices have been made by people who have chosen a career in motorsports. Long hours, hard work, low pay, broken marriages and constant disappointment will not deter a true racer from trying again and again. The satisfaction of seeing your driver and car do well is extremely satisfying.

Cultivating his mechanical skills by working on mini-bikes was a far cry from the INDY 500. After self-teaching and lots of hot-rod magazines, at sixteen years of age, John's job as a Publix bag-boy was simply a means to finance his own drag racing habit. Hanging out at the local drag-strip, helping every one that would let him, he learned to build engines from "old guys" who were willing to share knowledge and give this kid a chance.

Getting a job with an IMSA GT team, working on a Porsche 935, was John's start in a professional racing series. From there, opportunities kept coming and eventually John worked with many of his childhood heroes, including Al Unser.

After thirty years of racing in many different series, pro racing is still fun. John's love for the sport has grown. Today, there is tremendous satisfaction in seeing others learn about racing cars. Seeing a mechanic improve his craft or helping a driving enthusiast from another way of life learn about racing is what John enjoys the most.

As chance and fate would have it, John has met more people that love racing but have made their own success doing something different for a living. These people want a way to go racing without going through the tribulations.