About Me
Hello!
My name is Lance Lipasek. Now, 19 years old, my passion has remained the same. I have raced since 2013, and going on my 11th season behind the wheel, the same fire to win behind the wheel is still present. I am a Mechanical Engineering student at Kettering University in Flint, Michigan (formerly known as the General Motors Institute, or GMI). I started at Kettering in July 2022 and live almost as fast as I am on the racetrack, as I am in school from July-September to January-March and then working a full-time job from April-June to October-December. I plan to graduate in September of 2025, completing my degree in a mere three years and three months. My full-time job (referred to as a Co-Op) has had me at Bosch, where I am a Brake Controls Application Engineer, which has me still behind the wheel a lot of the time, as some of my responsibilities include calibrating, testing, and validating features such as the anti-lock braking system, traction control system, along with other active & passive safety features on future vehicles.
I am a Chippewa Valley High School graduate in Clinton Township, Michigan, where I finished high school as a captain of Chippewa's Varsity Lacrosse team. I now reside in Romeo, Michigan. My racing career has led me along a long journey, including my start in Quarter Midgets, where I raced from 2013 to 2019. I won many races and championships in Quarter Midgets, and by the end of my career, I was known as a great driver and a coveted crew chief. Being known as such led me to a job with Inline Tube in 2019. I won many races and championships over the year I had working with rookie driver Austin Kryta, which put Austin and his race team, Krybaby Performance, on the map, mainly due to my excellent job in bringing fast cars for Austin weekly, along with coaching him and developing his racecraft.
Moving on from my successful Quarter Midget career, our family race team acquired a Street Stock to race at Flat Rock Speedway in late 2019, in which we could not race due to the COVID-19 pandemic until 2021. Once I could race that street stock, I took the competition by storm. The Flat Rock Speedway Street Stock is known to be one of the most competitive weekly racing classes in the midwest, not only due to its competitiveness between the cars but also Flat Rock's "bullring" nature making it very hard to pass and, consequently, a unique style of racing. In 2021, we ran six races, in which I won the season finale after qualifying 7th. In 2022, I could not race due to injuries suffered in lacrosse. In 2023, we only ran two races due to some external limitations and for some preparation for the next step in racing. In 2023, running only 2 races meant limited opportunity to show my skill. Despite that challenge, I still managed to win a race in May of 2023, again after qualifying 7th. With the street stock program, I was responsible for my racecar, not only on the track but also off of the racetrack. I set up my cars weekly, and managed everything from tires to shocks, springs, suspension geometry, and data collection, further demonstrating my ability to be multi-versed in successfully racing on and off the racetrack.
In the Fall of 2023, our family made the decision to move on from the Street Stock and into the ultra-competitive Outlaw Super Late Model division, acquiring a new car in October of 2023. As of April 2024, we are still finalizing our schedule for the year, but you can bet wherever I go - you will see me toward the top of the leaderboard.
Many ask - why are you still racing? I have continued my racing career, not only because of my passion but because of my raw ability and my hope of landing a career behind the wheel.