The Palmetto Racing Group is a collaboration of three motorsport investors and enthusiasts: Jack DuBois, Greg Smith, and Jorge Gonzalez.
Jack DuBois is a successful businessman that owns a large chain of new car dealerships throughout the southeastern United States and has previously been involved in virtual American prototype sports car racing as a team owner. Greg Smith brings a lot of motorsport experience to the group, having worked for over 20 years as an engineer in virtual stock car racing and eventually serving as technical director for some of the top teams in the sport. Jorge Gonzalez is a Mexican businessman that specializes in electro-mechanical equipment and services for hydropower plants. Jorge has previously competed in major sportscar races such as the virtual Dubai 24 Hours and virtual 24 Hours of the Nürburgring as a gentleman driver. Palmetto Racing Group statement regarding FIRST Motorsport shares purchase: “The three of us have been exploring avenues to enter into the top level of virtual motorsport – Formula Virtual – on the ownership side for a couple years now and even considered starting our own team in the junior ranks. During this period, we consulted with FIRST Motorsport co-owner and Team Principal Adam Blocker regarding things like operations costs and what it takes to run a team. So, when FIRST Robotics decided to sell it’s shares of the team Adam gave us a call to gauge our interest in co-owning the team with him. It took a couple months to get our finances straight and work through the high-level agreements with Adam and other members of upper management at the team to set up an ownership structure, but we’ve gotten through all of that now. We still need to sort out some minor details but it’s more of a formality than anything at this point. Overall, we are very excited to enter onto this journey with FIRST Motorsport in Formula Virtual. The team has been on a nice upward trajectory since inception, largely due to great long term plans being put forth by the management team, great support from Ford Motor Company, and all of the hard work from engineers and mechanics here in Charlotte, North Carolina. We hope to bring some new perspective and ideas to the team and help accomplish the ultimate long-term goal: winning the Formula Virtual Constructors’ Championship. We know that this is not going to be easy, but it also wasn’t easy to come from the back of the grid and finish 4th and 3rd in the constructors’ championship in back to back years.” Team Co-Owner Adam Blocker had the following to say about the sale, and addressed the future of the team’s identity: “As Jack, Greg, and Jorge outlined, we have developed a business relationship over the past couple years. From what I’ve seen firsthand, I know that these guys are knowledgeable, committed, and well resourced enough to contribute to FIRST Motorsport’s future success in Formula Virtual. The process of negotiating team ownership structure and everything that goes along with that has gone well overall. The biggest thing I’m looking forward to from this transition is the set of fresh eyes that will critique all of our existing operational processes and be able to make tweaks to improve them. The three of them all have unique experiences that will benefit different parts of the team’s operation. In terms of the team’s branding and identity for 2021, we will announce that at a future date, we are still working through details with major partners to ensure everyone is satisfied. There are also some operational changes in the works that will be confirmed then.” The team still has not announced a driver lineup for 2021. The announcement regarding branding and identity for 2021 is likely to come within the next month.
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