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SURPRISE, Ariz. -- Texas left-hander C.J. Wilson's Twitter bio states that he wants to be a pro racer.
While that will have to wait until his playing career is over, Wilson can at least now say he's the owner of a pro race team.
Wilson, who races cars in the off-season, put together C.J. Wilson Racing earlier this year.
"It's cool to know that I'm responsible for a corporate venture that's going to promote winning and solidarity within my own organization," Wilson said. "That's what's cool. As a baseball player, I'm not really responsible for anything other than myself and what I do here. This is something that I control a lot, from who gets hired and what our colors are, so it's cool."
Wilson's team is headquartered in Austin, and has a Tarrant County feel.
Among Wilson's three full-time employees is Fort Worth resident Jason Saini, who helps handle the day-to-day operations and is one of the team's two drivers.
In the season opener for the Mazda MX-5 Cup Series last weekend in Homestead, Fla., Saini finished fifth in one of the C.J. Wilson/Mazdaspeed Motorsport entries. Wilson's other car, driven by Spencer Pigot, finished 13th after it cut a tire when it made contact with another car early in the race.
Wilson didn't jump into owning a race team. He said he's wanted to be involved in racing since he was 14. But it was last year at a race in California when Wilson decided ownership might be for him.
The team he raced for won its class in the 24 Hours of Thunderhill with Wilson footing some of the bill. That race left a lasting impression for Wilson, who has a lot of friends who want to race professionally and can now look toward Wilson for support.
"For me that was the turning point," said Wilson, who drove the pace car at last November's Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway. "If I can take my own car there and provide my drivers a really good experience, and we ended up winning, that was cool. We did everything first-class and I figured this is something people want to be a part of."
He's right. Saini, who met Wilson while racing, believes in his new boss and the vision he has for the team.
"This was a great chance for me to come and work for someone like C.J.," Saini said. "He brings a name to our sport, and we're looking forward to building a strong team. He's been great about this. He's helpful and has put together a great support team. He trusts us."
Obviously Wilson can't be with the team while the season is ongoing, but he knows what's going on and kept up with the season-opening event in Grapefruit League country. The team has two cars racing, and is building two more so it can run in some events in the Grand Am Series later this year. The team has a hauler to travel to events.
Wilson didn't get involved in ownership to make money, but he's happy he can help other people who share his love for racing.
"I make enough money playing baseball that if it breaks even for me, that's cool," said Wilson, whose off-season racing plans were curtailed by his postseason exploits for the Rangers. "The people I'm employing are awesome people. I'm responsible for their happiness in a way with this venture. In the long run, if we have 10 or 15 employees and this is self-sustaining, that's pretty cool."
Wilson's approach to the future of racing is much like the path most players take to the majors, starting on a small scale and working up to the big leagues.
Wilson calls the 2011 season sort of a "soft launch" for the team, and Saini believes they can win the Mazda Cup title. They could move to the bigger Grand-Am Rolex Series next year.
"This isn't something that's flashy yet," said Wilson, whose team is building a website. "We're going to do things the right way and build from there."
Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/03...#ixzz1GEg4rtAm
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