by: Chuck Lemaster
Tuesday, January 5, 2016 | 11:45 AM
If you happen by a newsstand this month, be sure to browse the current issue of Car and Driver. On page 48 is a picture of the Cadillac CTS Vsport, surrounded by the design team. One face will be familiar: GNCC’s very own Claudia Danielewicz! Claudia has been contesting the Women’s Amateur class on Sunday mornings for a long time and is the first off-road racer to cross over into a car magazine! GNCCRacing.com caught up with Claudia for the background:
GNCCRacing.com: Claudia, that’s a really cool article on the Cadillac CTS Vsport!
Claudia Danielewicz: Thank you! It was pretty cool to be part of an article with the theme, “For racers, by racers.” The article talks about how many of us at GM are involved in motorsports and how that helps us as we develop GM vehicles, particularly the CTS.
How did that article come about?
The Cadillac Vsport was selected as one of Car and Driver’s Top 10 Performance Cars for 2016. They were planning a special photo shoot for the car and the GM Program Chief made a comment about how so many of his team members moonlighted behind wheels of their own. Car and Driver decided to get all of us involved, which is rare in itself to do an article about the people behind the cars! They let us wear our racing gear and bring our vehicles. I wore the Moose Racing gear I received when I won the GNCC Women’s Amateur Class last year, and I brought my KTM 250XCF with the signature green highlights and rims.
So what was your part on the CTS?
Suspension. I developed the rear coil springs and isolators, which are the rubber bushings the coil spring rides on. I worked with other engineers to maintain the right alignment and trim specifications. You’d be surprised at how everything is related! It’s definitely a team effort.
So you know all about camber, rake, trail, spring rates… Ever think of racing UTVs on the GNCC series?
[laughs] Yeah, but it’s not practical! That’s a lot of money and time. Seems all our time is spent being focused on what we do with two wheels. My partner in crime, Tim Anderson, and I also race the enduros and AMA Hare Scramble series. That doesn’t leave anything left over for more adventure!
Very true! So how did you get started with GM?
Wow. That was 20 years ago. I started as a problem solver. I would travel to assembly plants and figure out why they had “No Build” issues and help fix whatever was wrong. I then moved into Statistical Engineering Quality Training and made sure the product rolling out the doors was what it was designed to be! GM took quality issues to heart and there’s a whole team of people behind the products you see today.
What other projects have you been able to work on as a design engineer?
In the past, I have worked on full and mid-sized trucks, vans, cross-overs, utilities as well as a full range of cars. That’s neat because I usually get to test-drive all of them to ensure we have made the vehicle of highest quality with outstanding performance. I’m working on several performance vehicles right now. In addition to the CTS, I have some time on the Camaro and Corvette, which is pretty awesome!
No doubt! The way the Car and Driver article was written, it sounds like GM is okay with their people racing and being involved outside the company?
That’s right. I mean, there’s work to be done and it needs to be done first! But as long as everything is in order, then racing at the track is therapeutic and like the article said, it does help us learn how to make better cars. I was the only one in the article with a dirt bike. Everyone else raced cars of some sort, but I think there are a few people around here that ride bikes…even if it’s just local stuff.
So how did you get involved in this entire two-wheeled racing?
I’ve been around dirt bikes my whole life. I grew up in Western New York and even though my brothers raced, there wasn’t much opportunity for women to race off-road back then. I would ride at the farm with my brothers and friends. My dad got my first bike for me, an XR75. I rode the wheels off that thing! They literally had to pry it out of my hands so they could rebuild the engine! Eventually, I entered a trials event near the house. I had to enter a boys class, but still managed to win.
So did you take off racing right after that?
No. I still had a love for dirt bikes and continued to ride, but I focused on my education. I earned a Master’s Degree in engineering from RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology). I worked several jobs before landing the job with General Motors. The GM employment allowed me to go home to the farm on some weekends. My brother, Bruce, has two sons and they wanted to race. As you can imagine, dairy farming doesn’t allow much time for being gone, so I volunteered to take my nephews racing at the WYNOA series. Since I was going to be there, I thought, “Why not race?”
Sounds logical! Which engineers tend to be!
[laughs] Yeah! We tend to be linear! And I’m glad, because once I got into racing the WYNOA Series, I really found my niche. They had a small Women’s Class with limited participation and recognition. But today, that class is very well respected! When I went, my brother laced up a set of green rims for my Yamaha as a Christmas present. They have become my trademark, no matter what color or brand of bike I am riding!
How did you get from WYNOA to GNCC?
GNCC added Unadilla to their schedule as a co-sanctioned event with WYNOA. Once I raced that, I was hooked! We raced both Unadilla and Ironman the next year. And then the year after that, we raced all the GNCCs! Unfortunately, WYNOA kind of took a back seat but we still managed to get in a few races. Once we started racing the Nationals, we decided to also try the AMA East Hare Scramble Series. Those were also a lot of fun! I have won 3 championships in that series. We added the National Enduro Series a few years back. That offers a different style of racing from the GNCCs and National Hare Scrambles. They are also a lot of fun and I was able to win a championship with them this year. And of course, I’m very pleased with winning a GNCC Championship in the Women’s Amateur class last year!
Claudia, you have really accomplished a lot in your off duty time! On top of your racing accomplishments, you have been named The GNCC “Good Samaritan” and “Sport Ambassador.”
Yes, and the AMA awarded me the Sportsman of the Year a few years ago. I was only the second woman to have ever received that. I am thankful to be recognized because I do feel strongly about promoting off-road racing and am particularly focused on Women’s racing. I attend the GNCC rider meeting every year at the banquet. Through the years, we have seen the addition of the Women’s Amateur Class, the Girls Class in the 8am race and the elevation of the WXC Class to the front row of the 10am race. I’m proud to be a part of that progression! I truly want girls to have the opportunity to race as they grow and mature.
What advice do you have for girls coming up through the ranks right now?
Don’t ever let anyone tell you that you can’t race! If that’s what you want to do, then pursue it! It will be hard work, both on and off the track. It takes commitment, dedication, persistence and focus. It’s like being on a mission; you must plan ahead! It’s also important to finish what you start – including the races you enter. I’ve been nicknamed “The Finisher” because I never give up as long as the bike is running! It’s critical to have that mentality as a racer. I also want to say that education is the key to opening many doors in your life. Education will help advance your racing, your career and will enrich your life. Finally, remember to thank everyone who has helped you along your journey!
Wise words, Claudia! Thank you for being a racer’s advocate and offering so much encouragement to the people you meet at the racetrack! Who would you like to recognize in this interview?
Of course, God would be the first to thank. And you, Chuck, for the prayer with me at the beginning of every GNCC race. My family; my mother, brothers Chet and Bruce, niece and nephews Sandy, Scott and Mark. My partner in crime, Tim Anderson. My fellow racers that support and encourage me: Mandi Mastin, Stew and Grant Baylor, Bob Bergman, Mikey Greenman, Dave Chamberlin, Bart Hayes. Racetrack families; The Baylors, Bowdens, Coombs, Fowlers, Gutishes, Haines, Hawkins, Judases, Russells, Silvias, Sokensens. All the pro riders. The GNCC Track crew. Everyone else who has helped on and off the track! And the sponsors who stand behind me: Rekluse, Enduro Engineering, Kenda, Rocky Mountain ATV/MC, WP Suspension and Powersport Grafx. Thank you all!