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.
