Giovanni Bromante Impresses in Pro Late Model Debut Despite Early Exit

Giovanni Bromante completed his first pro late model race for David Gilliland Racing this past weekend at Montgomery Motor Speedway and, despite an early exit due to a mechanical failure, made a positive impression on his crew and industry onlookers. The 17th-place finish on the result sheet from Saturday night does not tell the story of Bromante’s pro late model debut.

 

Like any 13-year old, Giovanni entered the weekend’s event with nerves and some self-induced pressure to perform. Even though he has a long history of success behind the wheel, the goal for both the team and the driver was to finish as many laps as possible before setting more specific goals for future events. As a team, Giovanni and his team planned to later evaluate strengths and weaknesses after obtaining notes and running through an entire race weekend together.

 

On Friday, the DGR team unloaded the No. 98 Sandler Capital Toyota for Bromante’s first laps at the Montgomery Motor Speedway. Gradually, Giovanni became comfortable with the car and relayed continued feedback to the crew in order to improve his ride. Saturday presented more track time for improvement and also was Giovanni’s first qualifying session in a pro late model. A miscue leading to lost time during his two laps forced him to start at the tail of the field in 23rd.

 

“Qualifying was hard because not only had I never done anything like that, but I was also the first car on-track and had no chance to watch anyone else and rely on my crew for tips and advice,” Giovanni said afterwards.

 

Starting in the back meant there was one direction to go – forward. As soon as the green flag dropped, Giovanni did just that. Before lap 50, he had cracked the top ten and was working his way forward when a minor incident ultimately ended his night. Passing another competitor, the No. 98 Toyota was squeezed high and made minor contact with the outside wall. Though Giovanni was able to continue, the car’s handling began to go away. Ultimately, the DGR crew discovered the contact compromised a fastener mount in the rear suspension and called it quits less than thirty laps from the finish.

 

“The race was definitely fun. I thought it went great and I got a lot of seat time across the entire weekend,” Bromante explained following the race. “Every bit of track time helped me in the race and we definitely had some speed once things got going. I personally learned a lot and my crew worked so hard on the car to get it right, it was amazing. We had a weld break on the rear end after the contact and the rear end kept getting more and more sideways, making the car harder and harder to drive. We decided to put the car away in one piece once we discovered it, but overall it was a really great weekend.”

 

Giovanni’s next race with DGR will be the Baby Rattler 125-lap contest at South Alabama Speedway on Saturday, March 17.

 

For more information about Giovanni Bromante, visit his website at GiovanniBromante.com, or follow him on Facebook (/GiovanniBromante), Twitter (@GBromante77) and Instagram (@GiovanniBromante77).