Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/634989
M E M B E R S P O T L I G H T S ince childhood, Corey Rueth has been obsessed with racing cars. His parents never could agree on a motorsport that would ease their safety concerns, so Rueth was left to racing the riding mower on a course he cut into the family yard in Oak Leaf, Texas, or borrowing his older brother's dirt bike when mom wasn't paying attention. When the 38-year-old Rueth slips behind the wheel of a Mazda Global MX-5 Cup Car this year to race professionally, it will be a childhood dream come true. "I really had an unusual path getting to pro racing," Rueth said. "I think the nature of that path gave me a little more perseverance. I was willing to do anything to get into that driver's seat." Rueth not only will drive a Global MX-5 Cup Car, but also serve as the director of driver development for the racing program launched by Winding Road Racing in Austin, Texas — and still somehow find the time to race with NASA. It's a challenge that excites Rueth, who lives in Austin and is a corporate airline pilot. Fellow racers say Rueth is a natural to lead the program, with his outgoing personality and his continual quest for self-improvement. "I run into so many folks that are innately fast drivers, but they hit a wall because of their ego," said Paul Costas, Rueth's coach and mentor. "Corey is the antithesis of that. His attitude is, 'I can learn something from everybody in the paddock' and he does." That attitude was on full display when Rueth competed in the inaugural Mazda Race of NASA Champions last May, where he narrowly lost to Grand Champion Matt Powers. Rueth earned the trip to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca with a dominating season in 2014 C O R E Y R U T H Age: 38 Region: Texas Hometown: Oak Leaf , Texas Racing Class: Spec Iron, CMC and Mazda MX-5 Cup Sponsors: Winding Road Racing, Harris Hill Road, Foodcoaching.com, Cultivate Leadership Day Job: Corporate pilot Favorite Food: Anything from Better Bites Bakery and farm fresh veggies Favorite TV show: "House of Cards" Favorite Movie: "The Italian Job" Favorite Book: "Going Faster" Favorite Track: Harris Hill Road, San Marcos Texas Dream Racecar: SKYACTIV-powered Mazda LMP2 Prototype and winning the Eastern States Championships in Spec Iron. "We were literally in the paddock sharing data during that (race) to help each other go faster," he said. "For a lot of us, that was our first pro race weekend and we needed all the support we could get. We were there for each other as NASA brethren first. I'll never forget that." It's that approach that Rueth is aiming for when building the Global MX-5 Cup program for Winding Road Racing. Rueth plans a holistic approach to help the team's drivers physically and mentally. Rueth's wife, Lisa, is a corporate coach who works with CEOs and executives at Fortune 500 companies, but they also run a food coaching business. Proper nutrition will be one aspect of the program that Rueth is in the midst of creating from scratch. "Don't even bring up diet or nutrition with him unless you've got 20 minutes," said Tom Martin, CEO of Winding Road, with a laugh. "It's not just a line. He really believes what he's talking about. He wants to help other people improve whether it's nutrition or being a better racer." Rueth started racing cars as a teenager and admitted, 84 BRETT BECKER BRETT BECKER