The checkered flag comes down with a big ‘reality check’ at the finish line
The checkered flag comes down with a big ‘reality check’ at the finish line
By: Carin Enovijas, Tehachapi News Editor
Description: Setup fuels excitement for local race fans as hometown boy wins $100,000 and a chance to race with the big boys
Topics: race, speedtv, crioset, nascar, racing, cars
Posted by editor Mon Jun 4, 2007 08:56:30 PDT
Viewed 1215 times
0 responses 0 comments “He’s in the dirt!” was the voiceover that left local race fans hanging before Setup, SpeedTV’s newest reality racing show went to a commercial with only three laps left to go. At the end of the series of races, just one winner would take home $100,000 and a real-world chance to compete for a factory ride in a $500,000 race care in the 2008 Grand-Am Series Rolex 24 at Daytona International Speedway.
Tehachapi resident and aspiring race car driver Jeremy Croiset, 27, managed to keep friends and family in the dark for the past six weeks while the show played out, one episode at a time.
But apparently keeping big secrets and a little off-track detour here and there aren’t enough to slow down Croiset, who rolled past the checkered flag with the show’s remaining racers in the wake of his dust.
“The whole show was just an amazing experience. It’s something I know I’ll never forget. Hopefully we can take this momentum and run with it,” wrote Croiset, on Setup’s web site.
Croiset will get a chance to race in one of the sport’s biggest events if he does well in a test run in a Pontiac Rolex GTX.
“Jeremy will test this [the GTX] later in the month, I will film that test and it will open the season two,” said the show’s producer, Scott Gillen, in a blog post on the show’s web site. He also said that filming for Setup2 will begin in November and the series will air in February. For those who missed the the first round, the show has started over again, beginning on Thursday, May 31, and will run through July 5, on SpeedTV.
Gillen remained unavailable for additional comment at press time but will give the News an exclusive interview next week, to shed some light on what’s in store for Croiset.
Croiset currently has no plans to give up his job with the National Auto Sport Association (NASA), a business that promotes and organizes racing activities.
But Koni Racing Shocks will continue their sponsorship — in reality and not just for reality TV — of Croiset's personal road racing car, a Honda CRX he drives regularly at racing events held at both Willow Springs and Buttonwillow Raceways. Croiset has earned more than 26 podium finishes, 10 class wins and three track records since 2005 — as well as finishing third in the NASA National Championships at Mid-Ohio in 2006.
“I’m just so glad it’s [the show] all over now,” said an overjoyed Garbielle Croiset, a seasoned “racing wife” of nine years who supports her husband’s life-long passion.
“I’m excited that he’s going to get a shot at his dream.”
Gabrielle said that although she knew Jeremy had won, as she watched the finale, she didn’t realize how close it really was.
“I was just so emotional when they showed him saying that all he ever wanted was to be a race car driver,” she said. “Some people go their whole entire life without having lived their dream. It’s just so awesome that he gets that shot at his dream and it’s really wonderful that I get to be a part of it.”
Team Koni-Croiset overcame many obstacles before crossing Setup’s final finish line, including being one team member short, making Koni’s Team Croiset a father-son effort.
Sherman Croiset, a respiratory therapist at Tehachapi Hospital for the past 20 plus years, is used to helping his son out on race days, but presently he said he doesn’t have any plans to shift gears and make a career change.
“I’ve had enough father-son bonding to last me a lifetime,” joked the elder Croiset, after the show’s white-knuckle finale on May 30.
A crowd of local well-wishers filled Old Towne Pizza to watch the hour-long show. The father-son racing team also sat with poker-race faces, but were nonetheless glued to their seats, since they had not seen the completed shows before they were aired.
While Croiset completed his victory lap on the big screen TV, a thundering roar, as loud any qualifying lap heard from a track-side seat at Daytona, filled the mountain air, cheering for Tehachapi’s newest champion.
Get more fast facts on Setup
Setup airs on SpeedTV, check your local listings for times and channels.
Visit www.setup-tv.com for more information about the show, blogs and forums, or visit www.jeremycroiset.com for more information about Jeremy Croiset Racing.
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