This year, I drove 1200 miles to spend a weekend with my long-time friend and teammate, Scotty Reed, at the Gold Coast 500. We also caught up with fellow ‘Swifty’ Clay Richards, our mutual friend and a standout in the Toyota GR86 series. It was our second reunion for Scotty and I, building on our epic online racing history.

Scotty has actually been a real cornerstone of my racing journey. We first connected on the sim as OG members of Thrillhouse Arcade and the Thrillhouse Arcade Racing Team. Scotty clinched the Super 2 Championship back when Thrillhouse was a series on the PlayStation game GT Sport. His talent was evident even then, and when Thrillhouse made its triumphant return as the TART Touring Car Championship on iRacing, Scotty was right there, showing his trademark pace. Using the Audi 90 GTO, the TART series became a product of our shared passion during the pandemic, and Scotty even made it to the iRacing Top 10 at Road America, going head-to-head with some of Australia’s best road racers.

Beyond the sim, Scotty’s passion for motorsport runs deep. As a volunteer at Archerfield Speedway, he’s been ingrained in the world of Australian Sprintcar Racing. Naturally, this love for dirt racing translated into iRacing, where Scotty excelled in the 305 and 410 Sprintcars. Back in the GT Sport days, we dubbed him “Sliding Scotty” for his loose, sideways driving style, so his skill on the dirt came as no surprise.

When Thrillhouse rekindled with TART, I was exploring NASCAR and introduced Scotty to the Gen 4 (fixed) series. With its high horsepower and loose handling, I knew his dirt-racing instincts would shine—and they did. Scotty quickly mastered the art of driving off the right rear, racking up win after win. It’s no exaggeration to say Scotty took to NASCAR like a duck to water. Fun fact: across all the races we’ve run together, Scotty has finished ahead of me 71% of the time—a testament to his incredible talent.

In Season 3 of 2024, Scotty dominated the Gen 4 Cup, securing the championship in spectacular style. Now, as Season 4 nears its finale, Scotty is once again at the sharp end of the standings, sitting P2 and fighting for back-to-back titles. With one round to go, the team and I are doing everything we can to help Scotty carry the #1 on his Chillout Motorsports-backed Gen 4 car into 2025.

Scotty, on your birthday, we celebrate not just your 200 wins in 2024, but the spirit, camaraderie, and passion you bring to every race. Here’s to two incredible seasons of Gen 4 Cup, all the series you continue to dominate, and the countless memories we’ve shared. Fingers crossed for another championship, mate—we’ve got you brother.