It took a while, though. When Najri was 35, he turned from drag racing to road racing. Years later, he signed with Toyota Gazoo Racing’s Latin American program, which landed him in the Michelin Pilot Challenge in 2021.
“Being a late bloomer, you don’t see a lot of people progress,” Najri said. “I always thought I was just going to be a local racer. I have four championships here in the Dominican Republic, and I’ve won some races in Panama. But I always thought I would just stay here in my region until this opportunity came up. Ten years later, I’m on the podium in IMSA. It’s something I’m really proud of.”
The podium results haven’t come easy, however. Camilo, Najri and Juan Santero finished 13th in the BMW M Endurance Challenge at Daytona International Speedway in January. The next effort was much improved – a third with Andy Jakos in the Alan Jay Automotive Network 120 at Sebring International Raceway in March.
That was followed by another third-place finish at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. In that race, Najri and Camilo trailed the winners – Trent Hindman and Alan Brynjolfsson in the No. 7 Volt Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 – and the runners-up – Alexandre Premat and Stevan McAleer in the No. 28 RS1 Porsche 718 GT4 RS Clubsport.
Now Najri’s focus shifts to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course’s 13-turn, 2.258-mile layout for Saturday’s Mid-Ohio 120.
“With the newly gained confidence, I feel like we’re in good shape,” Najri said. “We’re looking for another podium to stay in the hunt for the title. Never has an IMSA team from a Latin American country been able to compete for a top spot in the championship. I’m really excited for that.”
Mark your calendars: The Mid-Ohio 120 is set for Saturday at 4:05 p.m. ET, with live streaming available on Peacock in the U.S. and on IMSA.com/TVLive internationally. It’s one more chance to make Najri locally famous.
“For me to progress like this has been very rewarding,” he said. “It makes me proud.”
