This weeks driver interview is with another MBR driver, Ethan Maestri. Ethan sits down with us to answer some questions about what the FRL means to him.
FRL: Thanks for taking a moment to talk with us today Ethan. We'll start with the obvious question, where do you hail from?
Ethan: Born in Ft. Smith, Arkansas, lived in Arkansas much of my life until work and family kind of pulled us up into Joplin, Missouri.
FRL: What are your interests outside of playing Forza?
Ethan: Haha, too many interests besides Forza according to my wife. No, I've always had a number of hobbies all my life. I've whittled them down to videogames & mountain biking for the moment. I've gone back and forth on starting into anything from stargazing and astronomy to building model railroads though.
Mostly, I stay busy trying to keep a family (wife, Dionne & son Elijah who is 10) together. Like most of us, balancing recreation with more important pursuits can be a challenge at times.
FRL: What has been your background in cars?
Ethan: I've really always had an interest in cars in some form or another. In my early teens I started a fantasy racing league where my buddies all picked a NASCAR driver at the start of the year, then I'd score our drivers during the season based on the published race results in the newspaper. Later, I collected slot cars and started a race circuit with several friends and family that collected too. My best friend and his family were all mechanics so I went to the local dragstrip with them constantly. My first car was a 1980 Plymouth Volare station wagon with a slant 6 engine. Great car, I swapped in a 318 V8 and took it to the track a few times.
After that I owned a 90' Mazda 626, then a 98' Malibu then an 03' PT Cruiser. About that time I became a Chrysler technician, and working on cars was enjoyable work. Working on cars for yourself is a lot more fun than working on them for other people though. So, I went into selling parts the first chance I got. I bought an 08' Dodge Avenger when it rolled onto the showroom and wish I had kept it, that was a good, fun car. I traded it for an 08' Honda Accord that the wife drives, I drive my trusty 98' Ford Ranger that I bought 15 years ago, its been traded around the family a few times and has now been back in my possession about 8 years now.
My favorite car so far was my 1972 Dodge Dart Swinger. I rescued it from a neighbor's field for $100 and started piecing it back together. I replaced the old California emissions 318 with a freshly rebuilt (that was a fun project) 318 Magnum roller engine with a Carter AFB 4-barrel. I installed headers with glass pack mufflers that bolted direct to the headers. The car itself looked terrible, but it ran and sounded awesome. I had the most fun at the track with that car. One day on the way home from work the radiator blew out. I pulled the motor & transmission but junked the body. I still have the drivetrain, maybe someday I'll find something to put it in.
FRL: So, with an automotive background like yours, why the appeal of Forza 4?
Ethan: More than anything it is because money is no object. Playing with the real thing is expensive. In Forza you can do and play with a lot of different and very cool cars without breaking the bank. And then there is the FRL. My brother and I have dreamed of having an online race league for awhile now and seeing it come together as it has this season really endears me to Forza 4.
FRL: Last question then, how do you think season 3 is going?
Ethan: I think its going quite well actually. This is the first season that Maestri Bros. Racing has been able to really collaborate to develop a truly competitive race garage. Paul worked tirelessly to identify possible cars to use. Time tuning and on the track has really benefited us both. The results of which are really showing on the track. Neither of us has placed outside the top three yet and that's an accomplishment for us as a team.
Andrew Steppat with ASR is still the dominant driver in the FRL, but I think the days of him driving over the horizon and leaving the rest of us in his dust are numbered. This season is close now, and I think it will finish close in several places. Tony with GRR is stepping up his game, Brandon Adkins is committed to getting at least a fourth place finish in the points and we have an awesome set of rookies this year that make all us veterans all little nervous about our places on the track. It is exciting and I look forward to every race this season with more excitement than any of the previous seasons.
Check back next week as we interview driver Tony Tyree of Geekly Retrospect Racing.
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