Professional race driver Eric Gunderson, a budding star at 15, understands the value of having a strong support team. And it’s paid off with victories. It doesn’t hurt that in the spring and fall he got a jump-start from his La Jolla High teachers, who shared the 9th-grader’s passion to become a big-time race driver. He was given homework assignments early so he could leave town Fridays for Saturday night races.  Those trips were to Hanford, Ventura, Irwindale, Perris and even Las Vegas. “It comes down to getting my school work early and to make sure I’m on top of it,” said the straight-A honors student. Where Little League involvement includes costs for a uniform, shoes and a glove, this sport is expensive. A Focus Ford midget, the kind Gunderson races, can cost $22,000 new. And he has one for pavement and one for dirt track racing, plus a small Legends stock car. “I tried baseball, soccer and football before getting into karting,” he said. “Didn’t find those to my liking.  When I was 11, I saw a picture of a go-kart in a magazine and I told my mom I’d like to try it.” A few months after driver’s school, he was on the road circuits and winning.  He admits he’s on a learning curve with the midgets, but he won the first race he entered this year in Las Vegas. Gunderson has been successful on pavement tracks and feels it will take time to adapt to broad sliding on dirt. “We will be climbing multiple mountains this year, taking on two forms of racing,” said the articulate youngster, who helps prepare his news releases. “It will be difficult, but we have learned over the past several years that we can accomplish a lot in a short period of time if we stay focused and committed, and work with the right people. “I am obviously very young to be involved in so many types of racing, but the crew members on my cars bring literally decades of championship experience to our racing programs. Last year was my first in oval track racing. I won 10 of the 27 races I entered.  I competed against racers of all ages, some of whom have been racing Legends cars for 15 years.” His pavement racer is kept at a shop in Chino and the dirt machine in Huntington Beach. A midget car weighs 900 pounds and has 400 horsepower.  It is modified with mechanical fuel injection to operate on methanol fuel instead of gasoline. “Mom and Dad have been very supportive from the start,” Gunderson said.  And that involvement means spending hours on the road and at the tracks. His team involves many people who work on the cars and serve as crew chiefs and instructors. “My mom videotapes the event, and then we go to my instructor’s place to clean the car and go over the race to talk about what I did right and what I did wrong,” he said. “It’s all a part of the accelerating process.” His driving coach is Wally Pankratz, a prominent sprint car driver. Gunderson said he felt like an outsider at the start because most of the other drivers were from families who had been involved in racing for years.  “Aside from airplanes and an interest in cars, my family knew nothing about racing,” he said. “But I like to think our approach in coming to the track and how we achieve success will help us gain respect from our competitors. I’d like to be a force to be reckoned with.”  And he’s almost halfway through a 24-race season to prove his point. Next up is Perris Auto Speedway on July 4. “Dirt track was the greatest transition,” he acknowledged. “Legend cars are a little sensitive. On pavement, I feel at home in a midget. It’s like a go-kart with suspension and you can adjust them in the cockpit. “Our team is enjoying great success because of our professional approach that combines hard work, teamwork, dedication and attention to detail.” That organized approach comes from a young man who also serves as a coach for a Dale Carnegie “Effective Communications and Human Relations” course.  And in true driver form, he doesn’t leave out his sponsors, who have been with him for a couple of years. They include Maxima Products, Vitalyte, Oakley Inc. and Nomad Slot Car Racing.