David Ducote: Working for the Weekend

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - The universal query of "How was your weekend?" on Monday mornings at work is a bit of a loaded question for David Ducote, a Houston-based businessman.

Ducote spends his weekends racing a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama series with Kelly-Moss Motorsports. Driving the race car provides Ducote with the optimum dose of risk and excitement.

David Ducote

Photo by: Trevor Horn

DavidDucote"I really love the challenge of racing in this series," Ducote said. "I like the fact that it requires immediate and total focus in order to perform well. I love the technical aspects from an engineering and setup standpoint and that it's just so competitive. I'm a very competitive person, and I thrive on that."

After racing in multiple series under the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) umbrella for the past few years, Ducote will compete in the full Porsche GT3 Cup USA schedule in 2014. He is eager to return to the race weekend routine.

"If I'm familiar with a track, I try to quickly get a baseline in terms of lap time and then I look at where my weaknesses are," Ducote said. "Then with each subsequent practice session, I focus on two or three things to improve or resolve. I try to demonstrate that I've gotten past those issues before I move to the next two issues, methodically working through various areas of improvement."

New Orleans native Ducote missed most of the 2013 race season due to a motocross injury. But he still managed to create plenty of excitement in the three rounds in which he competed.

"Racing in the torrential downpour at Road America last year was a little scary, but that is one of the most memorable races I can recall," he said. "I couldn't see the front of my own car, but we stayed with it, nonetheless. In the race before the rain race, I had to avoid a driver who spun in Turn 1 at the start, and unfortunately I tangled with my teammate. It was certainly a memorable weekend." IMG_9798

Now healthy, Ducote plans to race 100 percent all-in, no excuses in 2014. While the attitude could translate into success on the track, chances are when he returns to his day job on Monday mornings in Houston, his co-workers might scratch their heads.

"I have a little trouble relating to normal people when I get back to the office," Ducote said. "I don't really talk about it that much because people who aren't familiar with racing have a tough time understanding what we do, how we do it and how intense it is. It's not easy to get the race weekend events out of my head when I get back to work!"

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