When Mike Canney, chief executive of Intelligence Data Systems Inc. of Reston, drives on regular streets, he sees accidents waiting to happen. People drive too recklessly, he notes. If they can't beat the urge to floor it, they should do as he does and race cars.
Racing in a car is "safer than driving on the Capital Beltway. No one is talking on a cell phone. Everyone is driving in the same direction, except you're going faster," said Canney, 46.
Mike Canney
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Canney recently finished his third year of racing a 700-horsepower, 2,600-pound Corvette that goes from zero to 200 mph in 6 seconds. He and his four-member pit crew are regulars on the Sports Car Club of America GT-1 circuit. So far, they've won seven out of 11 races.
The circuit has 12 to 14 races a year, including the Sports Car Club of America National Championship, in which he raced for the first time this past September. His goal is to eventually win the championship.
At work, he is already speeding ahead. Intelligence Data Systems is the region's third-fastest growing defense contractor, according to Inc. magazine. And Canney has grown his business without ever hitting a golf course. "I've never played a game of golf in my life," he said. "It's hard for me to think about whacking a ball that is sitting still in front of me."
He said he gets a lot out of racing. "It's competitive and takes competitive people with different talents," he said. "The challenge is how to motivate a group of people with very different expectations and backgrounds."
And just like running a company, in racing, "you have to make do with what you have," Canney said. "A better part might make it faster. But you can't afford to do everything. Someone else is going to outspend you racing. It's fun to beat them while spending less."
And spend they do: Even a used GT-1 race car costs $100,000. A new one could cost twice that. Tires for one race cost a couple of thousand dollars.
His favorite moment of a race is the excitement of being on the straight of way, waiting for the green flag that signals to the drivers to press the accelerator. He said nothing beats "that feeling of being surrounded by all those cars about to hit the gas, after all the effort it takes to get to the race."
-- Annys Shin
