Andretti, Unser, Elliott and Snow. The first three names are legendary, but Snow? That name may be a mystery to some, but they all have the same thing in common — a passion for racing that’s all in the family.
So it goes for Utah’s Snow family.
It began when Martin, the patriarch, met Melanie at a Porsche Club event and later married. They have this “thing” for the letter M. It’s the naming convention for first names. There’s Martin, Melanie and the two boys, Madison and McKay, two girls, even the pets.
Madison, the oldest, has the strongest racing genes. He literally grew up at race tracks where his parents were standout Porsche Club competitors. They were regulars at Miller Motorsports Park, which became the family’s second home.
Like many “track brats,” Madison Snow started out in karts at age five and then moved to a Miller Motorsports Park Miata series. He had 10 years of experience before he turned 15. He was a phenom in the making.
Former Miller track spokesperson John Gardner noted Snow’s prowess from the start. “Watch this kid, he’s going somewhere,” he predicted. He was spot on.
The family rallied around their budding star. They went everywhere together. It was a frantic time for mom, juggling family matters and racing. Still, Melanie was Madison’s biggest advocate while his father was a bit skeptical.
In this case, mother knows best and Melanie lobbied IMSA officials to allow Madison to compete in the GT3 Gold Cup series at age 15.
She presented this rationale. “I petitioned to IMSA because he was too young for the series at the time (GT3 Cup) because you had to be 16,” she remembered. “We know our kid, we know his ability and how the kids grew up at the race track with us. I told them (IMSA officials) that when he got out there and we didn’t feel he was capable or was dangerous we’d immediately pull him off the track.”
IMSA relented since his Dec. 26 birthday fell during the calendar year. He raced the entire season and won races before he had a Utah driver’s license.
Snow’s father felt his son needed some practice before he got out there with the big boys.
“I wasn’t sure I wanted him in there (GT3 Cup) because it can get pretty aggressive out there. It’s a pretty rough series. That was in 2011. I did it in 2008 and ’09 and Melanie did it for about four years (she won the GT3 Cup Series championship in 2009).”
And there’s this, he pointed out, “You get 40 guys out there with an ego and it can get pretty tough out there. I put him in the Porsche, I think he was 14.”
They practiced a lot at Miller with Martin leading his son while watching in the rearview mirror. The rear-engine Porsche only did a few “sashays” before his son got it.
Madison Snow had more adjusting to do. There’s a big difference between a Miata on street tires and a tail-happy 400-plus horsepower GT2 Porsche on slicks with a sequential shifter.
Madison Snow’s first race was auspicious at best his father/coach recalled, “He messed up the start with the sequential shifter where you keep pulling the shifter back to change up and forward to shift down, so instead of shifting to third gear he shifted to first gear and over revved the engine.”
Luckily, the flub didn’t grenade the flat-six but sent Madison to the back. Undaunted, he fought back to a podium finish. One more thing, Madison’s first race came at Florida’s Sebring Int’l Raceway, the notorious car busting track.
Mom was overjoyed.
“It was great and to run in that series and not have contact you’re doing pretty good. There’s always somebody going off,” Melanie Snow said. “Every year there’s a big one at Sebring because it’s the first race of the year. Then it became me and him and Martin would meet us on the weekends. We’d go out testing together and we really formed this bond. It was really good for us and what we do together and help each other. Then, the tables turned and we had to get him a coach because he surpassed what me and Martin ever did. It (racing) was to keep our kids out of trouble and bond with them.”
Madison Snow assuaged his dubious father’s reservations and took off like a rocket. In 2013, Melanie Snow and her son became the first and only mother/son team to compete at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. Madison later decided to end the teammate relationship, telling mom she was just “too slow.”
Maybe he forgot who won an IMSA championship in 2009.
“That kid” from Utah put IMSA on notice. He won the IMSA Gold Cup championship in his very first year. He upped the ante when he was crowned champion of the Platinum class, making him the youngest overall champion in series history.
Madison and his parents realized he had to find another place to race so he signed up for a partial season with Wright Motorsports before landing a full season gig with Paul Miller Racing.
While it ended Snow’s relationship with Porsche, he found a new seat in a Lamborghini and four more cylinders. Snow and co-driver Bryan Sellers won the 2018 GTD championship.
All was headed toward a low earth orbit until IMSA futzed with Snow’s FIA GTD driver classification. He was reclassified as a Gold driver and the team already had its Gold driver, sidelining a guy on the move for a year. Snow figured his career was over when IMSA reversed its decision and Snow was back in action.
Borrowing a phrase from the late Benny Parsons, “Man, oh man …” was this team on a roll. In subsequent years, Paul Miller Racing piled up class victories in the Rolex 24 At Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring.
They also racked up 10 pole positions and a total of 25 podium finishes. Snow and Sellers were on track for another championship in 2021 but came up a tick short during the Petit Le Mans finale at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.
The situation will be different this year. The Lambo is gone and purportedly replaced with a BMW. One important thing remains. Snow is all in with Paul Miller.
“I’ve been with Paul Miller Racing as long, maybe longer than any other manufacturer so that team is my home,” Snow asserted. “I love the people that make up the team. I have no desire to go anywhere else. Mr. Miller goes to all the races with us and enjoys the time with us. All the crew guys are really good friends to me, so it’s like one big family. There’s no reason why I would want to walk away from the family that I have for another one.”
When all is done and dusted, Snow’s secret sauce for success is undoubtedly all in the family.