Appreciation for the form cultivated photographer Larry Chen’s interest in automobiles, but the real germ of a connection to his future career came from driving. To grip his 240Z’s simulated wooden steering wheel, to row his own gears, and to enjoy the mainline drip of euphoria that bewitches so many young men and women sowed the seed. Any youngster who’s just experienced this fantasy trifecta of speed, control, and freedom for the first time understands how addictive it can be.
Being quite shy as a kid, branching out and making friends in the Southern California car scene did not come easily, but that enthusiasm helped a young Chen come out of his shell. Once he could shake those nerves, he was able to take advantage of the unrivaled environment he was in.
Southern California, a veritable mecca for car culture, offers a young creative with big ideas plenty of opportunities to grow. Once you make a few motorsports connections, your circle can expand pretty rapidly. Seven degrees of separation? The motorsports scene in SoCal might be separated by two or three.
Chen began covering local car shows, drift events, and autocrossing and tracking his 240Z right out of high school, when he “began to make some actual money.” While these formative competitive experiences reinforced just how costly racing can be, even at the lowest rungs of the ladder, they also introduced him to big names like Ken Block, who would later be a vital supporter of Chen’s burgeoning career.
“I met Ken at an autocross at El Toro Air Force Base back in 2007. I remember lining up next to him in his gymkhana Subaru STI. Me in my 240Z, Ken in his 600-horsepower gymkhana car. I jumped the light to get an advantage, but he still passed me way before the first corner,” he recalled, laughing.
But networking requires more than a willingness to socialize with like-minded people. He had to find a way to make himself a fixture in a way that would suit his creative nature well. Even in his late teens, Chen had the maturity to recognize his strengths. He already had developed his eye for photography and saw a niche where he could stand apart through blending his interests. Few photographers really become a household name in the grassroots racing scene by that point.
Outsider, Observer, Storyteller
To make himself a fixture meant making sacrifices. As a young man of modest means, attending the numerous events in the Los Angeles metropolitan region required some scrappiness. It meant finding willing friends with free couches to sleep on, greasy spoons with blue plate specials, and the occasional hole in the fence to climb through.
He took whatever jobs came his way. “I’d go to hot rod events, off-road events — you name it. I didn’t love all of these things like I loved racing, but they helped me find a foothold.”
Testing His Resolve
Though those first few years as an aspiring photographer were far from fat, they garnered him enough money to attend the track regularly — either as a spectator/photographer or a competitor, so he could continue scraping by.
And he had to do more than maintain a touring lifestyle if he wanted to move ahead. The financial crisis forced him to take stock of his situation and his future prospects, and his response was a prudent one. “I realized I had to commit if I wanted to make a name for myself.”
Chen decided to consolidate some of his sources of regular pleasure for long-term success, first by selling his 240SX, then by parking his Datsun, for which he couldn’t find a buyer. Perhaps most painfully, he decided to hang up his helmet to save precious dollars he would invest in better camera equipment.
A young, penniless Picasso burned his paintings to stay warm in the winter, but not many can maintain that kind of dedication to a bare-bones lifestyle if there isn’t some bedrock of belief underlying all of it. “At times, I wondered if it was all worth it,” he admitted. But Chen had already laid the foundation and had gone too far to turn back.
One year later, things began to improve. He not only began shooting Ken at the X Games in 2009, but he became one of the 10 selected photographers for Speedhunters, then in its infancy.
His talent, dedication, and meticulousness did not go unnoticed. In 2011, Chen was hired to shoot Block’s “Gymkhana Four,” another viral YouTube feature that has more than 35 million views to date.
“I remember [Block] asking me if I enjoyed shooting the film, and I was so thrilled, I couldn’t really come up with the right words. I was just so happy — so thankful to be there,” he recalled. He also shot the 2013 25 Hours of Thunderhill for Speedhunters, and Speed News published many of his photos in its coverage of the event.
Then came the chance to photograph Formula D. “I loved being able to introduce this new form of motorsport to the next generation of drivers.” That’s when things started snowballing. Soon, Chen was picked to be the official photographer of the Pikes Peak Hillclimb in 2017. By that point, his ever-expanding network opened doors to the rest of the Hoonigan crowd, and when they struck social media gold about a decade ago, Chen’s world opened up.
“The Hoonigan guys wanted to show how the meat was made, and when they expanded, they started a behind-the-scenes show. That’s when I had the lightbulb moment — I’d been given a chance to show my face to the camera. That’s when I became a storyteller — and I wanted to try to replace the media we’d all grown up with that was now lost.”
Prototype Protagonist
The philosophical musing that followed Chen’s success was set off with a question that he, then in a position to return to racing with newfound control, had to ask:
“For 17 years, I’d been watching it from the sidelines, dreaming of driving myself. Then I asked, ‘What’s the point of all this? Making money and hoarding things?’ I wanted to have that life experience, and I wanted to tell my story.”
Now a familiar face to car fans, racers, and bloggers alike, Chen was inundated with opportunities to test all manner of cars. To ensure he’d be able to adapt to new machinery quickly, Chen began drifting seriously in his 350Z. He also assembled a GR86 for SEMA, and though it was initially built as a show car, he recognized just what a capable performer it was.
With the right car for his return to driving, he needed to be given direction. Coincidentally, NASA Mid-Atlantic Regional Director Chris Cobetto had been trying to find inroads for his friend, whom he’d known for the better part of seven years. When Chen called Cobetto looking for advice, Cobetto had the following to say:
“I’ve been waiting a long time for this call,” Cobetto said.
Though other sanctioning bodies offered to cover Chen’s tuition to their road racing schools, NASA had already given him a home for the past several years. “I told Larry what I tell all aspiring drivers: there are shorter, cheaper paths to getting a license if you’re looking to participate and have fun, but if you want to be good, you need to go to the NASA comp school, then buy a low-horsepower car and race it.”
With his GR86 prepped for the road course, Chen prepared by perusing the NASA rulebook in anticipation of his two-day comp school at Willow Springs International Raceway. Seventeen years out of the seat, and he was finally going to go wheel-to-wheel with other eager racers who’d grown tired of sitting on the sidelines. Not surprisingly, he’d had a little trouble sleeping the night before.
No matter. Rain, pre-race jitters, news of mock race starts planned for that afternoon, a full group that day sharpened his focus as well as a better night’s rest could. He’d prepared well, but his anxiety didn’t diminish much after setting out on track. Chen had planned for this day for a long time, and he’d put some pressure on his shoulders.
“Steve Stepanian was running a slideshow and one of my photos was used. Talk about coming full circle!” Chen said.
A good amount of power under his foot and Yokohama A052 tires meant Chen took his first laps quite gingerly. “I took it as an opportunity to familiarize myself with the track, the new tires, and the new halo seat I’d bought,” he said.
Prudence paid off. Going the first few sessions without a mistake while others were spinning around him bolstered his confidence. Nevertheless, the mental burden was considerable — the need to keep his car on the track, to avoid contact, to see through the spray, and to observe all the flags is taxing for a pro, let alone an amateur.
Real wheel-to-wheel exercises followed. At the instructors command, the students linked up in trios with the task of running three-wide for multiple sessions. Being unfamiliar with WSIR and having to fixate on where he was headed meant he’d rely on his peripheral vision to maintain that 12-inch cushion to the next car. Any contact would likely ruin his chances of leaving Willow Springs with a provisional license, so he had to focus.
“This was actually pretty comfortable. Having chased drifters on 100+ mph runs in my camera car had prepared me for this,” he explained.
The following day, he got his chance to try race starts, and then came the passing practices. Learning how and when one could pass in a sensible way came pretty easily with the guidelines established by the instructors. Essentially, present yourself prior to the turn in point, make yourself visible in the driver’s peripheral vision, and be assertive. These three guidelines will reduce the chances of a midcorner collision significantly enough to be easily repeated and safe.
By then, the jitters he felt the first day had faded. Suddenly, having pushed through that psychological barrier, he started to enjoy himself. The fear of losing his license left his mind as he grew to trust himself and the others he’d been driving alongside, passing, and fighting through the traffic.
This comfort came in handy during their mock race starts, when the organizers threw every flag in the book, let emergency vehicles onto the track, and tried other tricks to distract the drivers and test their concentration.
As the daylight dwindled, the instructors ran through some of the esoteric subjects of racing, such as budgeting, fitness, and everything else that goes into a successful race weekend.
Then came graduation. Pacing himself intelligently and learning to slowly expand the edges of his comfort zone earned him a diploma and a provisional license. He still had to complete four weekends safely, and he hadn’t yet decided on which car he’d use for that.
Buffet Racing
Cobetto suggested that Chen try a few arrive-and-drive weekends to get acquainted with his options. Ryan Flaherty arranged a rental M240ir through Kaizen Autosport at Hyperfest at VIR, where Chen brought it home in seventh in the HFGT class — with nearly 40 competing that day, that foray deserves a tip of the hat.
Though thrilled with the big Bimmer, the costs and the complexity of that car dissuaded him. Instead, he wanted to start with something simpler, lighter, cheaper, and slower. “I chose to get into a spec class because the big thing was developing my driving skills, not relying so much on car.”
The thriving Californian Spec E30 scene drew Chen in, and decided to make a trip north to Sonoma Raceway to race one of Ray Zanotto’s cars at Chen’s first ST weekend.
“For somebody who’s just really diving headfirst into it, I feel like maybe I should have felt a little more nervous, but I didn’t feel an inkling — not even a tiny bit nervous at all, because I’d prepared myself for this moment.”
The strength of the cars was on full display that day during his second race, when he accidentally tapped the bumper of another competitor in the same sturdy model of BMW. The post-race discussion was comical: The guy hadn’t even noticed.
Besides that, the five races he participated in that weekend went flawlessly, and Chen was awarded his official racing license.
“I can’t believe I waited this long to do this,” he said.
One for the Nerds
After seven race starts, he feels at ease behind the wheel. “When I’m on grid, I’m relieved knowing the guys next to me know the rules and know what to do. I have no butterflies, and I don’t second guess myself. I just go in with complete confidence,” he exclaims.
Whatever apprehension he felt has gone by the wayside, and now his aim is to broaden his skills by driving whenever and whatever he can. Thankfully, his clout in the club racing world has gotten him many invites recently, and Chen’s not likely to pass up on any opportunities.
His clout and his recent video review of his school experience has brought another niche of car fans — the hardcore nerds — who reached out to ask him for advice on how to make the leap into racing for themselves.
“I can say the NASA comp school is a place for people who already know how to get around a track — who know how to deal with oversteer and understeer,” Chen said. “These guys in my circle know how to drive, but don’t know how to get into racing.
“I’m so happy to be able to have these experiences, to know what racing is like, to improve my skills, and grow comfortable in the car with others around me,” he added. “It feels so good — it’s what I’ve always been trying to find. I’m also doing it for the culture. I feel it’s my responsibility to do what I can as well as I can to save the sport we love.”
Chen’s drive to distinguish himself as a respected creative in a famously fickle and cost-conscious industry has paid off, and now he’s getting to start a new chapter where he is the one on the inside looking out. Through scrimping, saving, expanding his network, finding ways to grow into new roles, and constantly adapt to an array of setbacks, he’s made himself into a household name and a motorsports celebrity. Now he’s getting to live out the dream he had 20-odd years ago, while adding something desperately needed to the culture that means so much to all of us.
It was hilarious, the photo of a BMW GT4 car plowing through ankle deep water pops up for the “racing in the rain” portion of comp. school and Larry started to chuckle. I paused and asked what was funny about the topic. Larry just smiled and pointed at the photo saying “I took that shot” and then told the class the story behind it. After a head shake, I said “You know, I searched for a long time to find a photo the captured the title of the section. When I saw this one, I knew that was it!” You could have knocked me over with a feather…and if you know me, you know why that is a statement in itself. Larry was a real treat to have in class and has turned out to be a VERY capable driver. The kicker is that we will be racing in the same run group next year at some races…how cool is that?!