Life in the Fast Lane

For Faieta, the transition into the GT3 Cup series and driving Porsches has seemingly been an easy one. He first got hooked up with the series when he was hired as a mechanic by his Care Level Management car owner Steve Goldman.

His mechanic job led to a few practice laps here and there, which eventually landed him the full-time gig.

As for the rapid ascension up the driving standings, Faieta credits his driving and mechanic roots, which go back to the days he toiled under hoods at a muffler shop in Glendale he previously owned.

“I got a little bit of seat time [in the Porsche] before I started, but I had driven so much go-cart,” said Faieta, a former Glendale resident who now resides and works out of his garage in Tujunga. “If you look at any of the top pro guys, they all started in go-carts because it’s so much faster and quicker. ... [Now], I get in the car and can tell when something is wrong with it as opposed to other guys who don’t have a mechanics background.”

Joining Faieta for the ride to the top of the GT3 ranks have been his team manager, who simply goes by Frankie G, and his mechanic, Jesse Alduvin.

The trio has found a way to mesh their individual talents into a unit that has been the best at its trade for over a year now. And in a series where all 40-plus cars are identical on race day, continuity within the team is key.

“We’re organized,” said Frankie G, who has been involved in racing since 1982. “We know what we are doing.

“Bobby oversees everything. ... Our program is so dialed in that he knows what he wants, Jesse knows what to do and I know what to do and we all work together and blend.”

Most other teams on the series dwarf Faieta’s three-member squad in sheer size, but that doesn’t seem to faze any of them.

“It made us laugh to see all these teams with 10 guys working on one car,” Frankie G said. “It’s just the two of us and Bobby and we just get the thing done. It’s a neat thing for a small team like us to beat the big boys. ...Our biggest advantage I see over all the other teams is we are prepared before we even get on the track.”

That preparation came in handy during the final event last season. When Faieta revved up his engine for the final two races, he trailed by two points in the standings, but took the first race to tie things up. He wrapped up the title after his competitor crashed on the first lap of the second race, something Faieta never did all of last season.