BINGHAMTON, N.Y. – When Coleman Gulick agreed to give Canadian sim-racer Alex Bergeron a shot in one of his winged sprint cars this season, Bergeron knew it was the realization of his longest-held aspirations.
What the 19-year-old didn’t know was that he would be on a racing platform that was all his own.
Bergeron will now be the sole driver for Gulick’s family-owned racing team this season, after Gulick revealed earlier this month that his own sprint car plans for the upcoming year have been put on hold while he battles through lingering issues from a pair of herniated discs in his lower back.
That means that the third-generation Gulick won’t be behind the wheel for the foreseeable future as he heals, but it doesn’t mean he’s any less committed to helping his young protégé realize his own dreams.
“The long and short of it is that my back is not great right now,” Gulick told SPEED SPORT after the news of his health issues was revealed publically. “It’s a tough deal, and certainly not what we wanted to hear or have to deal with, but I’m still giving Alex his shot because he’s a good kid and he’s worked hard for this. I had an MRI … and then the Test and Tune session (at Five Mile Point Speedway) we had recently just exacerbated the issues I was feeling even more, unfortunately.
“Everything else with our team is the same, though; we’re not getting rid of any equipment or anything like that,” he continued. “I’m bummed that I won’t be behind the wheel for now, but I’m optimistic that Alex will do a great job carrying the banner for us in the limited starts we plan for him to make. He’s a talented kid and I still believe he’s going to surprise some people this season.”
Gulick confirmed that the plan remains to get Bergeron some additional test time before confirming a handful of race dates for the Drummondville, Quebec young gun. A final schedule will be revealed later.
Bergeron started the team’s on-track plan, however, during the same March 30 Test and Tune at Five Mile Point Speedway after which Gulick made the decision to step back from the driver’s seat.
While Bergeron knew he was going to have some time behind the wheel coming up, he admitted that suddenly becoming the focus of Gulick’s racing program for now was a bit of a culture shock to him.
“It was huge news, and obviously really surprising to all of us,” said Bergeron of Gulick’s decision to focus on his health. “I knew I was going to be working on the car and helping him out whenever I wasn’t racing, so that obviously changes some now … but Coleman is like my second family. It’s tough to hear about all of this for him, because any racer wants to be in the car as much as possible, but we obviously want to make sure he’s safe and it says a lot for him to make the decision to focus on his health for now.
“I’m thankful, though, that he’s still willing to take this chance on me and help me like he said he would … because there are some out there that might not do that in a situation like this. It really means a lot.”
Bergeron’s first experience behind the wheel at Five Mile Point was equally as eye-opening, though he stayed cool and soaked in as much knowledge as possible every time he hit the race track.
“Being out there that weekend, trying the 410 sprint car was such a cool experience and I learned a lot,” said Bergeron. “It didn’t last long, but it was worth it. I can’t put into words what it felt like, because this is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I never thought I would be able to have. … Coming from iRacing, I haven’t had a lot of real-life experience, but there are a lot of things that do transfer over, you just don’t have the feel underneath you that you do when you’re actually sitting in the seat.
“The speed of a 410 … there’s nothing like it. You can’t compare it to anything else on dirt, I don’t feel like,” Bergeron added. “It’s the top of the top. Five Mile Point isn’t a huge track, like Williams Grove or Port Royal, but it’s still something I had to get used to over the first five or six laps I was out there. Near the end of the session, though, I was starting to get really comfortable. It’s a lot about seat time, confidence and patience for me right now.”
While he knows that he has a big moment ahead of him, Bergeron is trying to stay humble and keep his focus on the things he can control as he looks to move forward with Gulick’s team.
“It’s special. I didn’t expect this at all. I just have to stay focused, be patient and do what I have to do now, because I know this is an important opportunity for me and it’s one that I hope I can take advantage of,” Bergeron noted. “Finishing the races will be the most important thing, when we get ready to take that step and get going for real.
“I want to get the best results I can in time, but I want to represent Coleman and his family well; that’s the biggest thing in the position that I’m in and I hope I can do them proud.”