Life in the Fast Lane

At first glance, auto racer Bob Faieta may not look like an intimidating presence.

While the 1984 Glendale High grad stays in top-notch physical shape, he stands under 6-feet tall and tips the scales at just 150 pounds.

But, put him behind anything with a wheel and four tires and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a tougher competitor with a stronger desire to win.

“If I get in the race car, I want to win,” the 41-year-old Faieta said. “I don’t go out to finish second. I push as hard as I can and I give 110 percent in the car.

“I’m an easy going guy on the outside, but when I get in the race car, it’s a whole different deal.”

Faieta’s passion for auto racing has been streaming through his veins since he was a youth running go-carts up and down the streets of Glendale. He is driven to drive and has piloted just about every type of machine possible in his career, but it wasn’t until last year that Faieta made a splash on the national scene.

In just his first season on the International Motor Sports Assn. Challenge GT3 Cup series, Faieta captured the series championship on the final weekend of competition and, in the process, put himself squarely on the racing world map.

“We came out of nowhere,” said Faieta, who believes his small frame and conditioning give him a leg up on his competitors. “Some of these guys have been running five years and with big teams. I think after the first race [we won], we got a little bit of respect and then after the second win, it was like, ‘Where did these guys come from?’”

Back to defend his title in the newly created IMSA Challenge Platinum Cup, a class designated for just 2008 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup cars, Faieta got his season off to a raucous start by sweeping the two season-opening races, setting a track record in the process, as part of the 12 Hours of Sebring in Florida on March 13-14.

He currently holds a four-point lead in the series and appears to show no signs of slowing down in his pursuit of back-to-back crowns.

“The series couldn’t ask for a better champion,” IMSA Challenge series director Mike Simons said. “He’s been super for the series and to have around.”

The IMSA Challenge is a series of seven events, with two 45-minute races held during each event. There is a 90-minute endurance race at Laguna Seca in Northern California to close out the season in October.

The series runs congruent with the American Le Mans Series, only with less events.

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.

“Consistency is key,” Faieta said. “If you don’t finish, you’re done.”

Alduvin feels the knowledge they gained from that final week will be invaluable during this season.

“We’ve got a little bit of experience from last year,” Alduvin said. “I think we have a better chance right now than we did last year.”

Up next for Faieta and his crew is the Utah Grand Prix in May and it’s another opportunity to show that last season wasn’t a fluke.

“With Bobby, I’m real confident we’re going to be the top runner again,” Frankie G said. “As a driver, he’s the top notch right now. He’s the one everyone is shooting and gunning for out there.”

Racing in front of the pack with everyone in his rear-view mirror chasing him down seems to suit Faieta just fine.

“It’s more pressure, but that’s OK,” he said of trying to repeat. “I’ve always wanted to race. I’ve always had that competitive edge.”

It’s that competitive edge that has thrust Faieta to the forefront of the sport, a place he has no plans on leaving any time soon.

 DYLAN KRUSE covers sports. He can be reached at (818) 637-3252 or dylan.kruse@latimes.com.