What would you do if a race car drove by you on the street?
Antonio Mariz Jr. has seen firsthand how people respond to such a situation; except he was the one behind the wheel of the race car.
“People brake like they’ve seen a UFO,” Mariz Jr. said. “It’s like they’re thinking, ‘Am I in a video game?’”
Mariz, who lives in St. Augustine drove a CART IndyCar that he owns to the Ponte Vedra Auto Show Nov. 14, and it instantly became a popular attraction.
People from all age groups huddled around to get a glimpse of the car, which was driven by Brazilian Roberto Moreno for Patrick Racing during the 2001 CART season.
At the time, CART was the top form of open-wheel racing in North America. It was a precursor to what is now called the NTT IndyCar Series.
He decided to make an appearance at the show because he is friends with Justin Felker, the event’s promoter.
“This is the coolest thing,” Mariz said. “It’s like a kid’s dream.”
He has only had this race car for about two months, but since Mariz was a child, he was always fascinated by auto racing and the speed of the cars taking part.
His passion has led him to becoming heavily involved with the computing and engineering of race cars and performance vehicles, such as Lamborghinis and Ferraris.
“I’m a self-taught engineer,” Mariz said. “People say usually mechanics have to change parts, but I go way further than that by dialing numbers, computers and all that kind of stuff. It’s a gift and I like it a lot.”
Being around high-performance cars allows him to mix both his passion and his God-given ability to tinker.
“My whole life, I’ve always done this stuff for myself and never for the public, but two years ago I started doing it for my friends,” Mariz said. “I was just continuing to show what I had always done.”
After about three weeks of 18-hour days working away at the car, the process was completed Nov. 12, just two days before the auto show.
“You have to eventually get in and drive it, and you just pray to God that everything is good,” Mariz said. “Putting it together is one thing but making it all work is another.”
According to Mariz, in the end, all the hours of hard work that was put into the project was worth it.
“It worked perfectly, and I could not be happier with how it turned out,” Mariz said. “We’re here to be happy, that’s what life is all about.”
Of all the conversations Mariz had with people about the car during the car show, the most common sentiment shared was one of disbelief.
“They don’t believe their eyes,” Mariz said. “They think it got trailered in and people get the most concerned with how I was able to get it street legal.”
The IndyCar has a General Motors LS1 engine in it, and has had various other features installed, such as lights in the front and the rear that make it able to be driven on public streets.
“People have to understand that it’s not that hard, because like anything in life, if you persist on it, you are going to get it,” Mariz said. “It may not be on your time, but you’re going to get it.”
To keep up with Mariz’s adventures with his IndyCar, visit his Instagram account @antonio.m.j.r to follow what he has planned next.
