YORK, Pa. — The weather surely put a huge damper after having two great weekends of racing in Central Pa.
Mother Nature decided to dump, at some tracks, nearly a half of foot of snow. It canceled Lincoln and Port Royal on Saturday and also killed the hopes of Williams Grove hosting their opener on Sunday.
Although it’s a brand new season in the Keystone State, one driver made his Central Pennsylvania and 410 rookie debut at the Ice Breaker.
His team is fully funded from live streaming.
“I just knew I had to do something to change the game and I know social media is so powerful right now," said Michael Millard, driver of the #23 410 sprint car.
The majority of Michael Millard's day, spent in front of a screen. Whether a in front of his cell phone, a camera or living streaming while on iRacing.
“I basically started streaming everything. Went on Facebook. Went live in the shop every single day. I started iRacing. Twitch was a big thing but no one was really streaming on Facebook, yet. I was like, I'm going to be the first racer on Facebook," said Millard.
He has over 31,000 followers on Facebook. Because of the out pouring support, the Washington native quit his job to focus on streaming. Monday through Friday for the last three years.
But, before social media, Michael was a first-generation driver. A bond he shared with his dad. But, as he kept moving up divisions, the more expensive it can be. Millard took a few years off to get the funds and a team together to race 360s on the West Coast.
“People just started helping. Seeing the dream and the passion that we had and we were racing weekly at Skagit Speedway and Grays Harbor Speedway in the 360 at the time. Just kind of learning and learning in front of everyone to see. As we got better, the team grew," Millard says.
After a stream last year, he was contacted and flew to the east coast for the very first time. Nothing like being introduced to Central Pa racing watching the National Open.
From there, just a few months later, with countless supporters behind him, Millard made his Central Pa and 410 rookie debut at Lincoln Speedway, the Ice Breaker 30.
The team is fully funded through everything he does on social media. That's where people watching, can donate and support the team.
Millard says, “It’s just cool because I feel like this team has inspired people from many different aspects. Whether it’s people that want to stream, or want to race or a fan that wants an underdog to win."
Mike isn’t the only one from the state of Washington, both of his crew members packed up everything and moved their lives and families across the country. Seven trips in total to move from the west coast to be a Central Pa regular.
“Social media is really what led me to this (sprint car racing). You can get good at anything without doing it. I didn’t even have that opportunity until I started to show the world how dedicated I was to the sport," said Millard.
“The stream team” will focus on the Fabulous Lincoln Speedway and hoped to add Williams Grove and Port Royal to the mix next year.