Rob Krider found himself in a class surrounded by other very accomplished Porsche drivers and realized quickly that winning in this class that was new to him would not come easy.
But the Napa auto racer drove his way to another victory, earning first place in the A-Street class while behind the wheel of a Porsche Cayman GTS during the initial weekend of competition for the 2024 racing season with the Sports Car Club of America’s San Francisco Region.
“I’ve spent a lot of time racing in front-wheel-drive cars, however, I’m just arrogant enough to think I can win in a rear-wheel-drive car anyway,” he said. “Sometimes, confidence and a little luck will get you to the top of the leader board. But with this group of Porsche drivers I’m racing against, it’s not easy. They are all super-fast.”
Krider has been racing since he was a 16-year-old student at Vintage High School. He found success in endurance racing, winning the 2010 Western Endurance Racing Championship in a 1991 Nissan Sentra SE-R. He moved from the Nissan to an Acura Integra RS to compete in sprint road racing, where he won four national championships in a row from 2016-19.
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He then moved on to a Ford Fiesta ST and picked up an autocross national points championship in 2022. The trophies began to stack up in the Krider Racing display case, but all of those titles and accomplishments were earned in low-power, four-cylinder, front-wheel-drive cars.
The decision was made late last year to move into a mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive and powerful Porsche for the 2024 season. But there were a lot of unknowns for the Krider Racing/Double Nickel Nine Motorsports team.
Could Krider be competitive in a rear-wheel drive car? Did he even know where to find the engine to check the oil on a mid-engine Porsche?
After the initial weekend of racing, there was no question that he could win in the Porsche. According to the team, whether or not he knows how to check the oil is still unknown.
In his first weekend of competition, Krider was thrown right into the fire. One of his competitors was the 2023 California State Autocross Champion in the A-Street class, Justin Bowen, who was also driving a Porsche Cayman. One of his other competitors was Shelly Monfort, a 2023 national champion who was driving the exact same make and model Porsche as Krider, a 2018 718 Cayman GTS. The field racing at Crows Landing Naval Air Station was also filled with other Porsches and Chevrolet Corvette Z06s. Winning was not going to be easy.
“It came down to the wire,” Krider said. “It was the last lap of the day and Shelly had a time that was just a few tenths of a second faster than I had in my earlier runs around the course. I knew I needed to drive fast, smooth and smart if I wanted the victory. When the green flag dropped, I mashed the gas pedal and told myself ‘Don’t screw this up’ and went for it.”
Krider came in with the fastest time of the day in the A-Street class, giving him the win he was looking for and the confidence he needed to compete in the Porsche for the rest of the year.
After the win, instead of celebrating the victory, Krider took the Porsche back to the shop and immediately disassembled it.
“I know we won, but it was way too close for comfort,” he said. “I know we can find some more speed in this car.”
Krider is partnering with TracTive Suspension and will be installing their shocks on the Cayman to help improve the handling characteristics of the already incredibly sporty car.
“This Porsche is good — don’t get me wrong — but I would like a little quicker response from the shocks as the car transitions from one corner to the next, which is constant in this sport,” he explained. “The TracTive Suspension parts are a proven component to give me what I’m looking for.”
What he is looking for is more wins, according to his father, retired Napa City Councilman Jim Krider.
“Rob just clicked off his 129th career victory with his latest win at Crows Landing,” Jim Krider said. “I know he wants No. 130 really badly.”
Besides standing around in the garage trying to figure out how to put his Porsche back together, and where to check the oil, Rob Krider is also hosting a brand new podcast titled “Stories and Cocktails.” The show follows him around the country as he travels, enjoys tiki bars, races cars, and generally gets into shenanigans wherever he goes.
“That’s true — shenanigans are certainly a part of the Stories and Cocktails podcast,” he admitted.
The show can be heard on audio streaming platforms such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.
Krider is currently on a cross country road trip in his RV promoting the podcast, but plans to be back in California for the Larry Park Memorial race the first weekend in July. It will be his first event in the car with the new TracTive Suspension parts.
“I’m looking forward to getting back behind the wheel of the Porsche,” he said. “This 32-foot Ford Econoline RV has no power and it handles terribly. I already have 2,000 miles behind the wheel of this beast, so I am really feeling the need to behind the wheel of a true sports car again.”
Krider Racing/Double Nickel Nine Motorsports is sponsored by the Stories and Cocktails podcast, TracTive Suspension, Smart Racing Products, Carbotech Brakes, I/O Port Racing Supplies, AJ’s Auto Repair, T.E.M. Performance, B & G Tires, Sampson Racing Communications, Bay Ex, Autopower, Economy Stock Feed, Sanger Tire, C.J. Fix Bookkeeping, and Cadet Blues-the novel.
For more information on the team, visit dnnmotorsports.com or follow RobKrider on Instagram.