ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin (August 2, 2023) – As a businessman, Tiger Tari started early in life – opening restaurants and more to put himself through college at Jacksonville University. His racing career came much later, but with just as much urgency and focus.
Tari, a first-generation American born to Turkish parents, didn’t begin his driving career until he was in his 40s. The 2023 IMSA-sanctioned Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America season marks his second professional season in the championship’s LB Cup, and through two event weekends it’s already been a success.
This weekend, he’ll take on the LB Cup once again in his appropriately tiger-striped No. 17 Star Spangled Racing/NTE Sport Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo EVO2 at Road America for rounds five and six of the season-long championship. Round five takes place on Saturday, August 5 at 4:50 p.m. EDT, with Sunday’s Round Six at 2:35 p.m. EDT. Both races can be seen live on IMSA.tv or on the Peacock streaming network, both live and on demand.
Part of Tari’s drive in all that he does is to keep pushing forward – his mantra is ‘Fortune Favors the Brave,’ a variation of a Roman saying that dates back more than 2,000 years – so he hasn’t been happy with his final results in the opening rounds of the 2023 season. But those results only tell a portion of the story.
Tari opened the season at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, his first on-track appearance at the legendary circuit near the Monterey Bay. Tari was fourth-quickest in qualifying for the first race in his LB Cup class, and held the position to the end – narrowly missing a podium.
Qualifying was less kind for race two, and a late spin cost him any chance of a strong finish. Still, Tari’s best lap time in the second race was more than a second quicker than in race one, indicating continuous improvement through the race weekend and a willingness to find the limit of the Lamborghini.
That trend continued on the next race weekend at Watkins Glen. Tari finished eighth and on the lead lap in the opening round, and then improved his lap time in race two before contact from behind from another competitor and a subsequent flat tire left his race a lap shy of the leaders.
“I wasn’t my best finish, but I feel like I was driving really good at Watkins Glen,” Tari said. “Of course there was some bad luck at the end that was out of my control, but I had a good battle with Davoudi all race long. I’m still not where I want to be, but every race weekend gets better and that’s what I can realistically try to do at this stage.”
The Road America doubleheader is a return to Tari’s professional racing debut a season ago, meaning it’s the first time he’s able to repeat a track. He’ll once again pilot his Star Spangled Racing Lamborghini Huracan that is prepared by NTE Sport.
“I want to see what I can do when I finally get to take the car I know to a track I know,” Tari said. “I really like Road America, just like everyone else. It’s so fast in these Lamborghinis and so fun to race at. This is the next step on my racing journey, but I think I have a chance to fight for a podium and take home a trophy this weekend.”
Tari’s Star Spangled Racing Lamborghini is carrying Lamborghini Palm Beach, PSA Systems, Clean Claims, Home Repair Network Limited and Terra Gaucha Brazilian Steakhouse on the car at Road America.
The race weekend, running in conjunction with the IMSA WeatherTech Championship, begins on Friday with a pair of practice sessions. Qualifying and the first of the races takes place on Saturday, followed by Sunday’s race.
In addition to right here on Star Spangled Racing’s homepage, more information on Tiger Tari and Star Spangled Racing can be found on Instagram @Starspangledracing.