Gunnar Jeanette is a professional race car driver. At the age of 18 he became the youngest ever driver to finish the 24 hours of Le Mans. He has since raced there an additional seven times. He also competed in the American Le Mans Series, the Rolex Sports Car Series, and the World Endurance Championship—winning the 2005 Gran Am Cup team championship, the 2011 ALMS LMPC Driver Championship, and the 2013 ELMS GTE Team Championship. He currently races in the IMSA Weathertech Championship.
In addition to being a professional race car driver, Gunnar is an avid skydiver, having logged thousands of skydives and hundreds of base jumps. Gunnar has participated in several world record skydives and has been featured on MTV, People Magazine, and USA Today and more.
I this conversation he talks about racing on the world stage at 18, his physical and mental training, and what makes a great driver. He describes the unique requirement of endurance racing and how he “rests” on the straightaways traveling over 200 mph. He also talks to commercial off the shelf simulator he uses at home to prepare for race day.
