FRANCO: Where It All Started: Racing at Home at Road America

By: Manny Franco

There’s something special about being back at Road America, it truly feels like home. The support from friends and family, the familiar energy, it never gets old. Each visit, I feel faster, more confident. This past weekend was even more memorable with a podium finish in front of my home crowd. Sharing that moment with the people who’ve been with me since day one meant everything.

Road America isn’t just a favorite because it’s home, it’s because it’s tough and rewarding. As I’ve moved from Ferrari Challenge to SRO America and now the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the track feels like it evolves with me. I notice new details each year. A bump I once ignored now matters because I’m arriving at corners quicker. It’s a place that doesn’t forgive, but it teaches.

My passion for cars started young, not with racing, but with the simple joy of driving. That sense of freedom behind the wheel pulled me in. Eventually, I didn’t just want to drive, I wanted to get there faster. Racing became the next step, but that original love for the drive still fuels everything I do.

Sharing the car with Daniel Serra has been a huge asset. He’s incredibly fast and has so much knowledge. There are times when I might go a bit quicker than him in a corner, and he’ll look at the data and say something like, “Hey mate, nice job.” That kind of feedback means a lot, especially when he then goes out and blows my lap time away. It keeps things fun and competitive in a good way.

When we head into a race weekend, especially on a track like Road America, we usually know the basic direction we’re heading in setup-wise.

The team leans on previous data, and Daniel typically leads that aspect of car development. If something’s not clicking, I’ll jump in early to provide feedback, and then the engineers will start tuning based on our input. Road America is smooth and wide compared to a place like Sebring, which allows us to try certain setups that wouldn’t necessarily work elsewhere.

It’s still a challenge, especially in multi-class racing.

One of the biggest things you have to manage here is the draft. You’re constantly aware of what’s behind you, and not even just the car directly behind, but the prototype that might be charging two or three cars back.

In places like Turn 1 or Turn 3, you’ve got to be ready for what’s coming around you. And then there’s the Kink, it’s already a corner on the limit, and if a prototype pulls in front of you at the wrong time, the aero wash can force you to lift just enough to throw your whole line off. If you lift too much, you get passed; if you don’t lift enough, you risk going off. It’s a delicate balance.

Daniel’s win here last year was a masterclass in strategy and fuel saving, two things that are critical in IMSA. Right now, my focus is still on being as fast as possible and handing the car over to him in the best position. Fuel saving is something I’m still working on, but it’s all part of the growth.

This year, my opening stint was a little wild with all the cautions and incidents, and I even had a couple of moments where I got bumped off and dropped down the order. But we stayed focused and regained positions, and I was able to hand over the car to Daniel so he could go on to do what he does best: fighting his way through the field and getting us back into podium contention.

We executed so well as a team, and it showed in the final result.

Next year, Road America is turning into a six-hour endurance race, and honestly, I think it’s a great fit. The track has space and you get a bit more room to breathe. In endurance racing, especially being in the GTD class, it makes a difference how often you’re dealing with faster traffic. At Indy, we might get passed every seven laps by the GTP cars.

At Road America, maybe it’s every ten. That helps with consistency and concentration. But of course, once you throw 50 or 60 cars on track for an endurance race, things can get chaotic fast. This place is fast and beautiful, but it can bite. That’s the thrill though.

This podium finish was a testament to what we’re capable of as a team. Every lap I do here reminds me how far I’ve come, from that first race of my career in Ferrari Challenge to now battling with the best in IMSA. And every time I hit the throttle coming out of Canada Corner, I think about how lucky I am to call this place home.