Skyline Spartans 2016 graduate Andrew Evans’ affinity for all things cars since childhood has paid dividends.

Evans, who got his start in the racing world with go-karts as an 8-year-old in 2006, is currently competing in the IMSA Mazda Prototype Lites Series. Evans and his manager Dominic Dobson have cultivated a five-year plan where Evans eventually competes in the storied Indianapolis 500.

“My dad grew up working on engines and cars so it was kind of a natural progression for me. I always went to car shows and always watched car shows on television,” Evans said.

He said being a proficient race car driver takes a diligent amount of preparation in order to attain success.

“The biggest thing is actually going through things in your head before going on the track,” Evans said. “You have to know how you are going to take each and every corner. Oftentimes before going on the track, we work with a data engineer and a data analyst who really critique each and every corner before we go on the race track. We know exactly where we are supposed to break, exactly where we are supposed to apply the throttle and exactly where are supposed to turn in. It is all an exact science before we get out there.”

While Evans is competing in few IMSA Mazda Prototype Lites Series races in 2016, he is in preparation mode for the 2017 season.

“This year we’re actually focusing on practicing instead of actually competing in races,” Evans said. “The reason being is that we are focusing on a championship-winning season next year (2017), so we’re taking this season to learn the car as a team and the tracks.”

The next race Evans will compete in will be the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in early September in Monterey, California. The 18-year-old race car driver said nothing can duplicate the feeling of competing on the tracks against a bevy of opponents in the heat of battle on the track.

“It is truly the most incredible rush of adrenaline. When you are on the track there is nothing else quite like it,” Evans said.

Evans’ manager Dobson, who competed in the Indianapolis 500 from 1988 through 1994, wholeheartedly believes Evans has what it takes to have a long professional career as a race car driver.

“What I noticed about Andrew when I first met him was his maturity in terms of being in the car,” Dobson said. “I watched him in a race where had a fourth or fifth place car and he needed to get second place to win the championship. He drove the car to a second place finish. He didn’t crash out trying to win, which is what a lot of young drivers would try to do. He had the maturity to understand if he got second place he won the championship and that was the most important thing.”

This past May, Dobson took Evans to one of his favorite places and arguably the most iconic raceway in the United States.

“Andrew and I went to the Indy 500 this year. He had never been there before. His eyes were as big as saucers,” Dobson said of Evans. “We came back and decided that this is part of the five-year plan for him, which is to get to the Indy 500 and also the 24 Hours of Le Mans (endurance race). I think he has got a long career ahead of him. Hopefully he can go to both multiple times and be a champion in both of those events.”