After 10 years in administrative and participatory roles in the region, NASA Great Lakes racer Chris Armbruster has been appointed as one of two race directors in the region, a job he will share with Camaro-Mustang Challenge racer Kent Owens.
Armbruster was the series leader for, and raced in, the region’s Super Touring 5 and Super Touring 6 groups for a couple of years. Before that, Armbruster was working in Time Trial and instructing after having climbed the NASA HPDE ladder. Taking on the new role a race director seemed like a natural transition for Ambruster.
“I think it’s intimidating, but I’m excited for it. I generally have a thirst for knowledge. I just enjoy doing things that make me learn, and I like racing, so I choose to learn about racing,” he said. “I’m only 40, and I am going to be managing some 50-, 60-, some 70-year-old guys who’ve been racing for 30 years. That part is intimidating to me, but I’m rereading the CCR right now for all the current year changes and just trying to stay informed. And, I am pretty good at conflict mediation.”
Armbruster is building a new Mustang for competition in Spec Iron in the coming years, and still owns his ST6 Miata, which he will continue to drive while the Mustang is under construction. Balancing his roles as a driver and as a race director is no small task, but over the years, Armbruster has demonstrated he can strike that balance given his experience as a driver, series leader and in all the extracurricular activities he is involved in with ECS Tuning, where he has worked for the last several years.
“I’ve held many roles with NASA Great Lakes from HPDE instructor, to a couple of different race series leader roles, and now in a race director role,” Armbruster said. “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed getting to work in all my various roles because it has afforded me a peek behind the curtain of how a track day comes together. Before my volunteer time, I never would have guessed how much time and dedication go into putting a track day event on. I’m very excited to be able to contribute to the activity I love so very much.”
