How Andrews is grabbing the bull by the horns

Aussie racer Scott Andrews is not a household name, but he is a successful racer with a solid career with Lone Star Racing in GT Racing.

Every young karter with talent and a bit of motivation, has a set of goals for their future racing career. Until recently many focused on a career locally in Supercars or in Europe as a Formula 1 driver.

These were the obvious targets depending on the type of cars you want to race. And for many years, they were the only ways to make a living too. 

READ THE FULL INTERVIEW IN THE LATEST ISSUE OF AUTO ACTION HERE

But in 2024 the pathway to being a professional driver is diverse and evolving. One emerging and growing stream is via the global emergence of GT racing under the guidance of SRO, and it is into that stream that 33-year-old Aussie Scott Andrews has followed. 

Andrews grew up in Torquay on Victoria’s Surf Coast as a kart racer without as much money as some and the son of a motorcycle drag racer. His dreams may not have played out as they were in his head – he did open wheelers so you can pick what was on his mind – but he’s happy with where he is today. 

He is a professional racing driver, earning a more than adequate living, and his star is still on the rise as he enters the second and more mature phase of his career.

Scott Andrews at the Daytona 24 Hours. Photo by Jake Galstad / LAT Images

He runs a Mercedes AMG GT3 in America’s IMSA championship for Lone Star Racing out of Texas.

He is hoping to get slotted in as a Mercedes factory driver which would open extra opportunities globally, but even without that he is having fun and living the dream. 

“I just moved to Texas to be closer to my team, Lone Star Racing,” he told Auto Action while holidaying on the Gold Coast. 

“It’s good to be back in Australia, I caught up with my parents for a couple of days and then shot up here to hang out with Jimmy [Golding] and a couple of my other friends. 

“I’ve known Jimmy since our days in karting and he’s just he’s a nice guy. We’re good mates and we go cycling together when I’m back and it’s cool to see his career flourish because he’s super tough, talented and he deserves it.”

As for his own journey, he maps it out as something fairly typical. Karts to Formula Ford, but then it moved on to LMP3 Sportcars the next season and his path was gaining clarity. But it wasn’t without its sacrifices from his family. 

Oliver Askew, Spencer Pigot, Scott Andrews and Gar Robinson on the 2021 Rolex 24 at Daytona LMP3 victory lane.

“My dad used to race drag bikes back in the day and he did it as a hobby and then he was sponsored to do it professionally,” he said.

“Some of his friends that used to help him out, got on board to got me into cars and then basically we mortgaged the house a couple of times and then pretty much the ultimatum was, we’re going to have to sell the house or you’re going to have to figure it out on your own. 

“Thankfully, I had a couple of friends in the US at the time and they introduced me to some teams. They were doing IndyCar with Indy Lights, and the teams that I talked to led to a test which led to racing which led to the start of it all. 

“It started off with JDC Motorsports in their USF2000 car.

“The first race that I did for them was at Laguna Seca and I topped three of the four practice sessions, which obviously they were quite pleased about and helped them get some customers for the year after. 

“My next biggest break was when I drove their Cadillac DPI in 2020 at the Sebring 12 hour, then this year I raced LMP2 with them at the Road America IMSA sprint round. It’s been almost a 12-year relationship that’s not full time… I always seem to go back to them.

Scott Andrews after taking pole at an IMSA race.

“I really wanted to do Supercars. When I was four years old, my dad had this Momo steering wheel and pedals.

“I remember watching Craig Lowndes at Calder Park in the mid-90s when they had that on board. I would like literally try to drive like him and match his inputs and stuff. 

“Ever since then I have been infatuated with Supercars and that’s all I really wanted to do. It became apparent quickly that it wasn’t really a career path for me there thought, and I had to look for other options elsewhere. Yeah, so that’s when the whole US thing came about.”

READ THE LATEST ISSUE OF AUTO ACTION HERE

Don’t forget the print edition of Auto Action available via subscription here. For more of the latest motorsport news, subscribe to AUTO ACTION magazine.