ROOKIE DRIVER DOMINICK TAPIA EMBRACES PPIHC’S CONTROLLED CHAOS
Colorado Springs, CO – The Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb, brought to you by Gran Turismo, presents a unique racing venue to drivers and crew members. Unlike most racetracks, the 12.42-mile, 156-turn, Race to the Clouds, throws constantly changing weather conditions, unpredictable wildlife, and all the difficulties of reaching a 14,115′ finish line, at every competitor. Colorado Springs’ Dominick Tapia was ready to accept the challenge in June as he moved from long-time crew member, to first-time racer.
PASSION IGNITED
“My first experience with Pikes Peak dates back to the early 1990s. I was very young, but I remember getting to tag along with my uncle to watch on race day. Little did I know that would become a core memory that ignited a passion for racing. It wasn’t until I was a teenager that I made it back to Pikes Peak to spectate and, for the greater part of a decade, I came back every year watching the race through the dirt sections as more and more of the mountain became paved.”
“I loved spectating in the dirt sections because it was like controlled chaos, and it gave me an adrenaline rush just watching. The last time I went as a spectator was 2013 when Sébastian Loeb (pictured) set a course record.”
FROM CREW TO COMPETITOR
For most first-time racers on America’s Mountain, the event is daunting; long hours, unexpected mechanical issues and only one chance to make a full-course run. Dominick Tapia hadn’t raced on the mountain, but he had spent the past 10 years as a crew member for Derek Boyd, learning what it took to make it to the top. Tapia shared, “The transition from crew to driver was a long time in the works, but then it all came together quite suddenly.”
When Tapia strapped in behind the wheel of Boyd’s 2008 Mitsubishi Evo X, he felt at home, “Working on Derek’s crew for the last decade prepared me for what it takes to compete at Pikes Peak. The intense practice schedule, lack of sleep, unpredictable and constantly changing weather, and the importance of respecting the mountain, I was ready for all of it.”
It wasn’t just Tapia’s experience as a crew member that propelled him into the driver’s seat; he had proven himself in a racecar. He placed first in class in the 2023 PPIR Track Attack Series in his 1993 Honda Civic.
RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME
Tapia’s work experience played a major role in advancing his racing career on Pikes Peak. He explained, “Ten years ago, Derek Boyd, and his father, Marvin, decided to build a car for Pikes Peak. Marvin was the GM of the Bob Penkhus Motor Company, a Volvo, Mazda and Volkswagen dealership in Colorado Springs. He put together a team of employees from the dealership, and I was one of them. I’d had that dream of racing Pikes Peak, but working for Derek and helping out with his Hill Climb efforts, fueled that fire even more.
“Marvin and Derek knew I carried the dream of competing someday and, in 2022, at a post-race team celebration for Derek it was announced that they would like to give me the opportunity to drive the Evo X we’d been campaigning all these years, if I was up for it. It was a dream come true.”
“As the team began looking for a chassis for a new build for Derek, he continued to drive the Evo X in 2023 and entered in 2024. In March, I got a call from him stating he would be withdrawing because it wasn’t in the cards for him to compete but, pending approval from the PPIHC, he would like me to take his seat and compete in the 2024 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. With the opportunity from the Boyd family/Halona Farms, the support from the car builder/crew chief at 4D Engineering, and partnership from Bob Penkhus, where I still work, my lifelong dream came true.”
Derek Boyd raced the Evo from 2014-2023, clocking his best time in his 2023 run, just a few seconds from a sub-10 minute mark at 10:03.367.
Tapia was part of this dynamic crew every year.
Boyd shared his thoughts on Tapia, both as a team member and a competitor, “Dominick has been with us from the very first year I competed in the Hill Climb in 2014 and has been a cornerstone of our team!
“He’s always positive and ready to dive into any situation to get the car prepared for the daunting challenges of Pikes Peak. While there have been highs and lows in developing the Evo over the years, Dominick’s spirit was unbreakable and he’s definitely part of the glue that holds this team together.”
“I consider him a very good friend and am beyond thrilled with his performance in the Evo this past year! While he has extensive racing experience, he understood from the start the challenges the mountain can throw at both car and driver. He was well prepared from the beginning for the grueling demands of race week. He knew the mountain well and it definitely showed in his rookie performance.”
FIRST RUN = FAST 15 QUALIFIER
One of the most exciting events during race week is the 10-block street festival in downtown Colorado Springs known as Fan Fest. After four days of early morning activity on the mountain, the fastest qualifiers are announced at a fan autograph session and presented with awards commemorating their achievements. Tapia was included in that impressive group, pictured with fellow-qualifiers Loni Unser and Don Wickstrum (above) and Tom Tang (below).
With a time of 10:20.479, Tapia finished fifth in the Unlimited division in 2024, an impressive first-time result. He shared, “In all honesty, I had worse expectations than my actual experience. Seems I’m always expecting and preparing for the worst, but everything from practice to race day went relatively well this year. It all comes down to just getting lucky. With the weather holding out for my practice sections and the car being mechanically sound, thanks to 4D Engineering and the crew, I don’t think my first year of competition could have turned out any better.”
GET TO KNOW DOMINICK TAPIA
Fun Facts:
“I’m a Colorado Springs native so it’s definitely nice having Pikes Peak in my backyard.”
“I bought my first car at 14 years old, a 1966 Bel Air. I worked on it for a few years before I got my drivers license, but ended up selling it before I even got to drive it, legally!”
“My wife and I have a wide variety of vehicles – 12 in total – ranging from a 1927 Model T Ratrod, to a ’67 Cadillac Coupe deVille, a few 1990s Hondas built for autocross/time attack, a couple Mitsubishi Evos, and a slammed Honda Odyssey that usually gets most of the attention wherever it goes.”
Favorite section: “Currently, it’s the lower section. I think for most rookies that section becomes an instant favorite because it’s the most relatable to flow, speed, and the comfort zone of road racing. I think with more experience I’ll enjoy the upper section more once I get more confident with carrying more and more speed up there.”
Best advice you received about racing on Pikes Peak: “I think the most common themes from everyone you talk to are, ‘Just make it to the top’ and ‘Respect the mountain.’ You truly don’t appreciate those statements until you look back at your run from the finish line and see that maybe you were only driving 9/10ths and it goes against the fierce competitor within you but finishing is the biggest battle. It’s finding a balance of speed with mechanical maintenance as to how you’re driving throughout your run because you only get one chance to make it to the finish so finding that balance is key.”
If you could drive any car on Pikes Peak, what would it be? “In all honesty I would race anything on Pikes Peak. I like driving anything and everything. I do have a passion for Group B rally cars though, so I’d love to experience what it was like to drive a car of that era.”
Favorite race track: “With my crazy schedule I don’t get to many out of state tracks and I’m a sucker for convenience so most of my time is spent at all the local Colorado tracks like Pikes Peak International Raceway (PPIR), Pueblo Motorsports Park and High Plains Raceway.”
Watch PPIHC Rookie, Dominick Tapia’s Race Day Run in 2024
Photos by: Larry Chen Photo; Larry Chen, Luis Garcia,Charles Zhou; Dominick Tapia
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Contact:
Lisa Haight
Communications Manager / Historian
lisa@ppihc.org
(719) 685-4400
www.ppihc.org
