For Josh Holt, Zach Calmus, and Ross Vaneck, the founders of MyRacePass, the go-to social network for all things racing, you won’t find any family ties to Lincoln, Nebraska. There wasn’t a friendly couch in town to sleep on until they found their feet. Yet the group decided to pick up their company from South Dakota and move it to Lincoln based on the growing reputation Lincoln is building for itself.
“Lincoln is the epicenter, the hub. It’s the tech place to be,” said Holt. “All the schools all over the place are talking about Lincoln, Nebraska, all the development schools, design schools. On each of the coasts they’re talking about Lincoln, Nebraska.”
Founding their original company Driver Websites in 2008, the group of two developers and one racing expert focused on building websites for drivers, tracks and all things racing. They built a long list of clients with the goal to establish a solid foundation for their upcoming social network, MyRacePass.
Thanks to our sponsor
We see a lot of race tracks that are just dying like flies on a strip
The three founders were all very passionate in their responses to why they created the racing social network.
“We’re in this industry to help. We have a lot of friends in the industry. We see a lot of race tracks that are just dying like flies on a strip,” Holt explained. “It’s because of the lack of the ability to promote an event, and because the industry is so behind in the times, the whole motorsports industry.”
Along with being the go-to place for fans to catch up on the latest event results and to follow their favorite driver, MyRacePass brings tracks and events up to speed on technology to help everything behind the scenes run smoothly as well, something Holt described as an absolute necessity for the industry to survive.
The question they ask everybody
What’s the one event you can’t get a ticket to online? This is the question the founders pose to people curious about what their site will bring to the industry. The answer to the question is: Most racing events.
“NASCAR and Formula 1, that’s the tip of the iceberg. There’s a lot of dollars [and] technology behind that. You get down to the grassroots level, on dirt—virtually everyone starts on dirt. We’re just trying to bring the dirt track racing, the local racing, up to speed with the technology as far as promoting or trying to build the tools to help everyone succeed at this sport,” said Calmus.
With the move to Lincoln complete and the new year begun, the crew at MyRacePass plan to expand their team and put their foot on the accelerator.
“We’re building something that we need to let the whole industry know about, and we’re needing to build our team. You have to crawl before you walk, and you have to walk before you run. I think we’re getting ready to start jogging.” Said Vaneck.
—
Jake Hull is the Lincoln Editor for Silicon Prairie News and a Community Builder for AIM in Lincoln, Nebraska.
One response to “MyRacePass moves to Lincoln to make waves across the country”
These guys are a great addition to our city and broader startup community, both as people and as a company.