While most sports have a coach to help the players with fundamentals, technique, and mental approach, that concept was lost on the Motorsports world until 15 years ago or so when it started to become widely popular in Europe's open wheel divisions.

Now some of the top teams and racers in the USA from NASCAR Sprint Cup to short-track racing have realized the advantages of having someone to serve in that capacity, using success-based mental focus and proper learning skills training to move the racer from just being a "seat of the pants" driver to a "fundamentally and technically skilled" racer. Hendrick Motorsports and 2010 Daytona 500 winner Jamie McMurray are examples of some of the most respected names in american racing who have gotten help with their "mental game".

It was with the mindset that if you wanted to accelerate your racing ability to its highest level, you first had to understand how to think about accelerating your racing ability and improving your techniques that led to the formation of Team Full Throttle.

Team Full Throttle was the brainchild of youth development specialist Tom Baker, a native New Yorker who has been mentoring and coaching young people on and off the track in areas of personal drevelopment including leadership, mental focus, media and marketing skills, time management, and successful learning skills for nearly 20 years. Tom founded the company in early 2005 and continues as its sole Owner and CEO as well as a driver coach today.

With a unique blend of experiences in which to draw from including work in the sport as a track manager, race promoter, journalist, announcer, broadcaster, race official, spotter, driver, crew member, and coach, as well as almost 15 years in the business world working in marketing, sales, and customer service positions, Tom brings a well-round perspective and positive attitude to his coaching whether he's working with someone inside or outside of the sport.

"I enjoyed the process of coaching racers on how to improve themselves and then showing them how that applies to their sport," Baker said. "I had coached young musicians and others and I believed that the mental factor applied to anything you wanted to do. So, I started with a few racers and it gained traction from there. How you think is how you are and how you'll behave, and all of those factors directly affect your success level in any part of life."

Several disciples of Baker's media and coaching work have gone on to successful racing careers. Danny Kapuscinski, Keith Shampine, and Jeff Dennison all cut their broadcast media teeth on Baker's motorsports talk shows over the years, and all are now in the Charlotte area making their living in the sport. Chris Watson, one of Central New York's top sportscasters, also started his career working with Tom.

I thought if I could teach racers how to look at every aspect of what they do, how they think, and the choices they make, I could turn out a more consistent grade of racer that could achieve success at any level. We've finished over 40 percent of our starts in the top five since 2006, so it seems we're going in the right direction, but we're always trying to improve. Interestingly enough, Danny K and Keith Shampine are proof that having all the talent and coaching in the world won't guarantee you a ride, but both of them have put in the time and effort to make their way in the sport in a different capacity, and both are still racing part-time and quite successfully I am proud to say, so they've done very well for themselves. I'm proud to have been a part of all those guys' beginnings. I had a lot of people help me to get where I am today and I still have a tremendous team of people around me who coach and advise me and I thank God for them every day."

In 2006, Baker joined forces with NASCAR's winningest spotter and driver coach, Mike Calinoff, to create a dynamic and comprehensive program that can literally provide all of the resources an aspiring "big league" racer needs as he or she moves forward, including career guidance, marketing, promotion, personal training, media exposure, and the all-important exposure to all of the top level NASCAR insiders from team owners and driver development directors to members of the NASCAR media.


Using cutting edge marketing and "buzz-building" techniques to create branding around each of its' racers, Activ8 also handles Public Relations and fan-building duties for such clients as NASCAR Racers Colin Braun and Travis Kvapil, NASCAR Sprint Cup Team Tommy Baldwin Racing, the ARCA racing Series, ARCA Team Owner Eddie Sharp, and ARCA racers Frank Kimmel and Tim George, Jr. just to name a few.Together, the companies provide a no-nonsense approach to developing a driver from beginner to expert and providing the necessary resources to ensure the racer will have the best "shot at a shot" to make it to the top.

"Team Full Throttle is like going to college," Baker says. "The college provides the finest in resources, knowledge, and education, but you still have to go find a job when you graduate. Team Full Throttle works the same way. There isn't a program out there that can guarantee you success in NASCAR or Indy or wherever, unless they own the cars. We are not for those wanting a free ride or who think all they should have to do is show up and we'll do all the work for them. We want the racers who understand that getting to the top in this sport is a marathon and not a sprint. It take a lot of time, a lot of effort, and a ton of belief in yourself and your dream. But we can help anyone from the novice who is just getting into the sport to the advanced short-track racer who just needs a tune-up in their approach to take them to the winner's circle. We have programs available from phone coaching and consultation to the full program including all the bells and whistles. It just depends on a racer's needs."

Team Full Throttle develops champion racers by developing champion people. Each team member receives individualized training on and off the track, gaining marketing and public relations assistance as well as help with career planning and learning to deal with media, sponsors, and others who can help them achieve their goals.

While no company alone can guarantee a racer an opportunity in NASCAR, TFT gives its racers and their families a strong support base and works with them every step of the way to minimize mistakes in development and keep them focused on the proper steps for advancement.

The number of team members is growing, and each of them have been and continue to be successful on the track. The goal of Team Full Throttle is that it mean something to those who are a part of it. It represents the right attitude on, at, and away from the track.

"That is what we look for here," Baker says. "It is not about just being a championship racer. It is about being a championship person. The coaching and training that you get with TFT will help you be more successful at anything you do, and if that happens to be racing or some other choice of career, the training will all apply."

Maintaining good grades and exemplary behavior on a day to day basis are priority for our teammates.

Take a look at the current lineup of Team Full Throttle members...you will be soon seeing some of them racing in some of the sport's highest levels. The pages on this site will tell you more about the team, the racers, and how to contact us if you think you have what it takes for us to work with you and help to promote your career as a driver.