E3 Spark Plugs News

Team E3 Racing Winner Daniel "The Hammer" Alvarez

At 19 years old, Daniel Alvarez is undoubtedly ahead of the game. Known as “The Hammer,” he’s already landed an AAS degree in Automotive Technology from Piedmont Technical College and finished a year of veteran racer Tony Blanchard’s Race 101 program, where he studied on a full scholarship – despite having raced competitively for seven years.

Many young racers with a seven years of on-track experience might think they’ve already got it all figured out. Not so, says Alvarez. He’s one of the few up-and-comers who understand that building a professional racing career depends as much on what happens off the track as on the track. A racer can be a top-notch talent, but without a solid business and marketing effort fueling your success, your career can stall out fast.

Alvarez credits Race 101 with helping him develop a well-rounded approach to professional racing.

“Race 101 has completely changed my life in the last year,” he said in an interview just before graduating the program in February. “I now have the knowledge and the tools to further my career in racing. I look forward to years ahead in racing and want to thank RACE 101 and everyone involved.”

The praise is mutual.

“We were so proud of Daniel’s accomplishments this year we created an award to honor his effort,” said
Racing 101 instructor Adam Ross of Alvarez and the new X-Factor student award he inspired. “Drivers have to discover their X-Factor to be successful in marketing themselves. Hammer not only discovered his X Factor, but he lives by it. We expect big things from him, and I look forward to watching his progress.”

Sports media is taking notice. Alvarez already has been interviewed by the likes of ESPN Radio and Let’s Talk Racing TV. He certainly caught the attention of E3 Spark Plugs. We’re expecting to see Alvarez land a lot of checkered flags throughout his career and we’re proud that he’ll be sporting the E3 logo all the while.

Team E3 Racing Winner Steve Shaw's #62 car

You know a young racer’s got promise when he wins eight races, including two feature wins, in his rookie season. That was in 2003. Today, Team E3 Racing Tier 2 member Steve Shaw, Jr. is still winning and still learning.

Stock Cr Racer and Team E3 Racing Winner Steve Shaw, Jr.

Shaw first started his competitive stock car racing career in the Econo Division at South Buxton Raceway near his hometown Merlin, Ontario, Canada. After a fantastic first season, he ran a limited schedule until 2006 when he shared a limited late model with his racing father, Steve, Sr. and picked up two more wins. One of those wins was a feature and the two-man team finished the season third in points.

In 2010, Shaw joined the Rick Hornick Racing Team and got busy building a Mod-4 car. He also married his longtime love Megan, with whom he has three beautiful daughters today. The next year would prove his most successful yet. He racked up 12 wins and hit his first Mod-4 race at Delaware Speedway near London, Ontario. The 2011 season wrapped with Shaw landing a full scholarship to Race 101 School for 2012.

Founded by veteran racer, crew chief and mentor Tony Blanchard, Race 101 helps up and coming racers develop all the necessary facets of developing their careers, from mechanics to marketing strategies. Shaw committed to hitting the books before hitting the tracks again and already believes his game is improving.

“I’ve learned a lot I didn’t know in a short period of time,” he says. “It’s very insightful into motorsports.”

That willingness to learn despite already having a decade of racing experience under his belt is one of the characteristics that impressed judges most when choosing the Team E3 Racing winners. We’re already impressed with his skill, but we’re expecting even bigger things when Shaw returns to the track this summer.