NEW YORK – It was a chance meeting at the Honda Indy in Toronto that led documentary filmmaker David Porteous to film the eccentric FatBoy Racing team in his new documentary, 'FATBOY RACING!'

He may have looked twice when he came across their team wearing their green, paisley team shirts emblazoned with the team logo - a man in a tank top enjoying a martini and smoking a big ol' cigar.

Indeed it was easy for him to spot FatBoy Racing in the NTT IndyCar support-series paddock. As it was meant to be.

"A race team hell bent on having fun," is the catch-all motto coined by team owner Brendan Puderbach.

"Everyone at FatBoy Racing is a big fan of motorsports and we love racing in the Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires," said Puderbach. "Most teams on the grid have some young hotshot driver who could be the next Dario Franchitti. At FatBoy Racing, we have a mid-50-year-old driver named Charles Finelli who doesn't plan on winning but works hard for the opportunity to compete. Our team couldn't be anymore different. And trust me, that's exactly how we like it."

According to the FatBoy Racing website, the team was "born out of a previous (unnamed!) team where the atmosphere was at best described as glum.”

"We were tired of glum and the unnecessarily stressful atmosphere so we decided to form our own team, a team who's sole purpose was to have fun," said Puderbach. "To top it off, we felt 'FatBoy Racing' was the perfect team name to share our sense of humor and our never ending mission to attempt the seemingly impossible."

Porteous' FatBoy Racing documentary also offers race fans a rare and unique opportunity to glimpse behind-the-scenes of a race team without what is usually a confidential and closed door environment.

"I've been a fan of IndyCar for over 20 years and I can say, without a doubt, the FatBoy Racing team is unlike anything I've ever seen in motorsports" said Porteous. “It's a unique balance of fun and hard work.  But trust me, as much as this team likes having fun, they are truly professionals. You cannot compete in open-wheel racing without taking the racing and, most importantly, safety seriously."

The documentary film "FATBOY RACING!" is available to watch for free at tiny.cc/fatboyracingfilm.

Fun aside, FatBoy races in the highly competitive Indy Pro 2000 Championship presented by Cooper Tires. In 2018 they finished a respectable P6 in Toronto and even became the 2017 Indy Pro 2000 National Class Champions with Puderbach behind the wheel.

"Seriously, how the hell did that happen!?" Puderbach said of their championship success.

In truth, FatBoy Racing has a history of never shying away from the tough challenges of racing.

Last year FatBoy Racing competed in the gruelling Baja 1000 and this year the team is looking to move up the Road to Indy ladder to race in Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires, a highly-competitive series that is only one tier shy of the renowned NTT IndyCar Series.

FatBoy Racing Crew Chief Jim Locke has a long impressive racing history ranging from supporting Formula 1 driver Rubens Barrichello in the 24 Hours of Daytona and even helped set 17 land speed world records.

"We are the smallest team in the paddock and we have the smallest budget, but to us, size doesn't matter," joked Puderbach. "We have big goals and even though racing is a tough business we believe trying is the first step to succeeding. With our racing experience and dedication to hard work I truly believe there is no goal that is out of the question for FatBoy Racing."

The team hopes the film will act as a catalyst to securing sponsorship to help them accomplish their long list of racing dreams, including racing in the Freedom 100 and the 24 hours of Le Mans. The team also hopes to fulfill driver Charles Finelli's goal of becoming the oldest driver in history attempt to qualify for the prestigious Indy 500.

"We are just a million-something dollars short but if someone is out there who believes in our team motto, has a huge pile of disposable cash to burn and wants to have fun sponsoring us, DM me with details!" said Puderbach. "Yes, I realize I am bluntly asking for money in a press release quote but we are a different kind of racing team, so why not be honest and try something different?"

 

FatBoy Racing is a New York based “race team hell bent on having fun” and competes in the Indy Pro 2000 Championship presented by Cooper Tires division of the Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires.