Racers who coach

Edgar Lau is a professional racing driver whose journey began in sim racing and led all the way to Le Mans. His achievements include winning the Asian Le Mans Sprint Cup, three USTCC championships, a victory at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill, and multiple podiums in SRO GT4 America.

Beyond the track, Edgar serves as LightSpeed’s Operations Lead and Chief Instructor. He oversees event operations and ensures the coaching staff upholds the highest standards in safety, instruction, and professionalism.

Andy made his move to Pro Racing in 2012 with support from Chevrolet, Bondurant, and Phoenix based tech company Best IT. Through out his first season Andy recorded four wins, Rookie of the Year honors, and 2nd place in the Championship!  Since 2008 Andy has recorded 8 wins, 29 podiums, and 11 poles.  In addition to his four year stint with Chevrolet, he has a multitude of experience testing and/or racing a variety of machinery from Lamborghini, Cadillac, and Porsche.  His racing experience includes several race series such as Pirelli World-Challenge, IMSA Michelin Pilot Series, Trans-Am, NASA, and SCORE Off Road Racing.

Michael Whelden is a Sausalito-based racing driver and coach with more than a decade of experience across karts, open wheel, prototypes and sports cars. He won two regional junior open-wheel titles and back-to-back national Pro Formula Mazda championships in 2013 and 2014, then stepped up to IMSA: in the 2016 Mazda Prototype Lites championship he took a race win at Laguna Seca and six podiums on the way to third overall, and in 2018 he finished third at Sebring in the IMSA Prototype Challenge (LMP3).

Michael has been a lead instructor for ten years — at Simraceway, Allen Berg Racing School and Skip Barber Racing School — coaching everything from karting to Formula and GT cars, with data and video review at the heart of how he teaches.

David started in Rotax and shifter karts, winning the 2004 80 Masters Championship. He later moved to sports cars, earning the 2014 NASA GTS3 title. Now, he focuses on driver coaching—specializing in HPDE instruction, in-car guidance, and data analysis to help drivers improve at every level.

Mario has over a decade of experience racing in various club and semi-professional series across the West Coast. A decorated driver and respected coach, he’s had a lasting impact on the community—including mentoring our very own Chief Instructor, Edgar Lau, early in his motorsports journey.

As Mario puts it: “I’ve done my part as a racer—now my passion is giving back to the community.”

Owen is a well-known, fast, and consistent driver. He captured back-to-back Polo Cup China Championships in 2012 and 2013. From 2013 to 2016, he earned 7 wins and 11 podiums in the China Touring Car Championship. Widely respected, Owen is recognized as one of the standout grassroots-to-pro success stories in the community.

Jason began his motorsports journey from Autocross then shortly into road racing after graduating from the Skip Barber Racing School before moving to the West Coast, where he found success in Time Trial events with dozens of podium finishes and wins. He is a Motorsport Safety Foundation-certified instructor with over 10 years of racing and instructing experience. Jason is the leader of our Intermediate programs and can be found at LightSpeed events helping drivers build confidence and skill on track.

T. Marc Jones is a Senior Coach and Group Leader at LightSpeed, where he often leads the novice classroom and helps new drivers build a safe, confident foundation on track. He has coached HPDE drivers since 1997, leading groups as a senior instructor, and has twice been named NASA Instructor of the Year.

T. Marc is a Motorsport Safety Foundation Level II certified instructor and shares his coaching advice on his YouTube channel, TMarc's Track Tips.