No ‘I’ in Team: CrowdStrike Racing Success Takes Teamwork

No ‘I’ in Team: CrowdStrike Racing Success Takes Teamwork

SUNNYVALE, Calif. – Following a highly successful opening to the 2021 SRO Motorsports America campaign at Sonoma Raceway, CrowdStrike Racing will continue its early-season championship push at the next venue on its calendar: Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.
 
Teamwork will be the key to success for CrowdStrike’s racers at the 3.4-mile, 20-turn road course that has played host to many of the world’s top sporting events – including SRO and Formula One, among others. A new level of collaboration with DXDT Racing, the technical insight from Amazon Web Services and continued contributions from Operation Motorsport give CrowdStrike a combination that has proven that it can “Win As One”.
 
As was the case at Sonoma, three of SRO Motorsports’ America series will see CrowdStrike Racing as a proud participant: the premier Fanatec GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS, GT America Powered by AWS and TC America Powered by Skip Barber Racing School. The “Win As One” approach already has paid dividends with four victories in six races at Sonoma. Continuing that roll will be the goal for everyone at CrowdStrike Racing, DXDT, AWS and Operation Motorsport.

THE TEAM APPROACH

CrowdStrike, a premier cybersecurity company based in Sunnyvale, CA, knows the power of a team isn’t limited to the racetrack. That philosophy also forms a significant part of the CrowdStrike brand – that online protection works best when provider and customer work as one unit. Just as a racing team has drivers, mechanics and engineers – all experts in their field – so does CrowdStrike in the arena of cloud-based security.
 
The company’s influence also stretches beyond its own racing activities. As Official Internet and Cloud Security Provider of SRO’s Fanatec GT World Challenge Powered by AWS, CrowdStrike works with SRO Motorsports America to protect scores of proprietary information such as team and driver medical and financial records, technical data, and video and digital content.
 
The heart of CrowdStrike’s at-track team approach starts and ends with DXDT Racing. Together, they work toward the goal to Win as One in SRO America. DXDT, based near Charlotte, prepares and operates three racing entries for CrowdStrike Racing. The 2021 season marks the third year of the CrowdStrike and DXDT partnership, and the combination has proven to be a championship-winning one. A year ago, CrowdStrike/DXDT entries claimed nine victories and one class championship… truly an example of how to Win As One.

CARRYING MOMENTUM TO COTA

CrowdStrike Racing’s 2021 campaign began in strong style at Sonoma Raceway with four victories in six races across the weekend. 
 
In Fanatec GT World Challenge Powered by AWS – the premier SRO America championship – George Kurtz and Colin Braun are coming off a Pro-Am category victory in the second of two Sonoma rounds. The duo in the #04 CrowdStrike/AWS/DXDT Mercedes-AMG GT3 finished on the podium in California by closing the weekend with a first-place Pro-Am victory. 
 
“Our season is off to a great start,” Kurtz said. “Colin and I have confidence and trust in our CrowdStrike/AWS/DXDT Mercedes-AMG GT3. We are all working together to continue to get the best performance and results for our entries. Our efforts are preparing us for another fantastic weekend at the Circuit of The Americas.”
 
The Kurtz/Braun duo opened the 2020 season at COTA in style with a pair of runner-up finishes. It set the stage for a season that saw the CrowdStrike/AWS/DXDT Mercedes-AMG take three wins and a runner-up finish in the championship.

“To see how our momentum has carried over from 2020 is a great thing,” Braun said. “I am really impressed with the focus from everyone within our CrowdStrike and DXDT programs. It’s early in the year but the teamwork and execution from the crew and our engineers is in mid-season form. I’m excited to get back to Austin and continue our strong run.”
 
Kurtz also tasted victory at Sonoma in the new GT America championship with two victories, two pole-position starts, and two fastest race laps in his No. 04 CrowdStrike/AWS/DXDT Mercedes-AMG GT3. It naturally puts Kurtz in the early-season championship lead.
 
Returning team driver CJ Moses will pilot another CrowdStrike entry in GT America – the No. 58 CrowdStrike/AWS/DXDT Mercedes-AMG GT3. Moses will make his first start in the championship at COTA in this new sprint series. It’ll be the first time for Moses in SRO America GT competition at Circuit of The Americas. A year ago, he posted a top-five Touring Car finish at the circuit.
 
“I’m really looking forward to getting into the GT America fight with the CrowdStrike/AWS/DXDT Mercedes-AMG,” Moses said. “The competition at Sonoma looked very strong, and of course George had a great weekend. I’m excited to race the GT3 with our DXDT team in this new sprint series!”
 
Speaking of Touring Car America Powered by Skip Barber Racing Schools, CrowdStrike’s Kevin Boehm began his first season in the Touring Car category with a victory and third-place finish at Sonoma in his No. 9 CrowdStrike/AWS/DXDT Honda Performance Development Civic Type R TC. It was a strong start for last year’s TCA champion, who twice won at COTA in 2020.
 
“Sonoma obviously was a great start to the season,” Boehm said. “The podium results there exceeded what I expected. We learned a lot about the HPD Civic Type R TC at Sonoma, and there will be more that we learn in the next couple of events before we really get into the meat of our schedule. But so far, I’m really happy with the formidable combination of CrowdStrike, AWS and DXDT early in the season.”

TOOLS FOR THE JOB

The collaboration between CrowdStrike and Amazon Web Services will play a large front-facing role in SRO America. As Global Official Cloud Provider, Global Official Machine Learning Provider and Global Technology Provider of SRO Motorsports, AWS is in a unique position to help SRO with logistics, data collection and cloud storage – the latter a key team-up area for AWS and CrowdStrike.
 
Among the benefits to fans is the stats and data shared with the audience via the unique “Race Vision” graphics, powered by AWS. It allows the series to display real-time performance data from cars on the track in the form of informational graphics to fans on SRO America’s event live streams or television broadcasts on CBS Sports Network.

VIRTUAL ACCESS

That’s not the only area where CrowdStrike and AWS will work together at Circuit of The Americas. With much of the racing industry still operating in a limited capacity due the ongoing pandemic, the two organizations will continue to hold virtual CXO Summits for at least the first half of the season, including at COTA. 
 
The CXO Summit is an opportunity to bring together CrowdStrike and AWS leadership with Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) to discuss emerging trends and threats that will shape the future of Internet and cloud cybersecurity. It’s a unique, private business-to-business opportunity pioneered by CrowdStrike, and the COTA summit builds on the success of previous virtual CXO meetings.
 
The virtual experience extends to the track, as well. CrowdStrike and AWS again are combining to present exclusive live streams and other special pieces of video content on CrowdStrikeRacing.com, along with once-a-month sim racing events with the CrowdStrike Cup Virtual Racing League.

OPERATION MOTORSPORT

Another key relationship that CrowdStrike, AWS and DXDT Racing are proud to continue in 2021 is the one with Operation Motorsport. A not-for-profit, OpMo provides a chance for veterans to use their skill sets in a variety of areas including paddock operations, car and tire prep, marketing, social media and other key areas that are part of a racing program.
 
As was the case at Sonoma, CrowdStrike Racing and DXDT Racing will benefit from the efforts of four service members as part of its ranks at COTA. Staff Sgt. William Babineau (Ret.) and Staff Sgt. Katrina Williams are part of the effort on the No. 04 CrowdStrike/AWS/DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. In TC America, Sgt Cody Reinecker (Ret.) and OpMo newcomer Chief Master Sergeant (Ret.) Craig Neri will help crew Boehm’s No. 9 CrowdStrike/AWS/DXDT HPD Civic Type R TC. 
 
It continued a proud tradition of CrowdStrike supporting veterans and the Operation Motorsport program. Two OpMo beneficiaries were part of Boehm’s TCA championship campaign in 2020. CrowdStrike also is a proud part of American Corporate Partners (ACP), which provides CrowdStrike mentors for service members looking to transition to the private sector. 
 
In addition, CrowdStrike is a partner with HireMilitary to provide meaningful internship experiences to service members exiting the military via the DoD SkillBridge program.

See the COTA race schedule, including race viewing times, at crowdstrikeracing.com.