Team Sahlen’s Mazda GT driver and Muscle Milk MEGA athlete, Memo Gidley, is doing what most would consider a little extreme. This weekend, Memo will be doing double duty by first racing in Round #3 of the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series race, presented by Crown Royal Cask No. 16, at the beautiful Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. The driving duo of Memo Gidley and Wayne Nonnamaker currently sits 8th in team points after the first two races.
“I am really happy with how the team has come together this season and the speed we have shown thus far,” said Gidley. “But our race results have not really been reflective of our speed and that has been a little disappointing. However, I know that a great result can come anytime with where we are as a team, and I am proud of what everybody at Team Sahlen’s has accomplished so far.”
In between races, Gidley has kicked his training into high gear in preparation for the upcoming hot summer months. “I already train as hard as anybody out there, and harder than most. I look at fitness as free time that can be used as an advantage in a race,” said Gidley. “Now I have kicked in my hot box training which involves working out in a ten by ten sauna that is heated at 115 degrees. It’s not only great training for heat, but also for your concentration under an extreme environment. Let’s just say that nothing in this world feels as good as finishing and coming out to ambient air temperature after a workout in that hot box.”
After Saturday’s race, Gidley will be jumping into his rental car to drive to Atlanta in order to catch the last flight of the night to get back to CA. “I would be taking my private jet like the famous guys, but it’s in for a service,” laughed Gidley. “I think I land at 1AM and then need to go home for a quick loading of my ski’s and equipment before making another few hour drive down to St Louis Reservoir, hopefully getting there by 8 a.m.” After all is said and done, Gidley hopes he will have enough time to make Round #1 of the DJSA Outlaw Jet Ski series. Gidley finished second last year in the 850cc Expert stand-up division and looks forward to adding as many wins as possible this year. “For me, this challenge is like all others I crave on a daily basis to push my body to the extreme,” said Gidley. “My goal is to have 2 wins to show after the weekend, and I know this is a good possibility.”
Green flag racing for the Porsche 250 Grand-Am Rolex Series race kicks off this Saturday, April 10th at 3 p.m. Catch all the racing action live on SPEED, Saturday at 12 p.m. ET.