If you attended Los Gatos High School in the 2000s, you might remember a bright “Hugger Orange” 1969 Camaro driving around town. The car belonged to Perry Richardson, a local kid who went all through Los Gatos schools (Daves Ave, Fisher and LGHS). If you know Richardson, you know that he has been a car guy since he put his first go kart together in elementary school. His gift for Fisher Graduation was a $1,500, 1969 Camaro with flat tires, blown engine and rats inside. He spent the next 3-4 years completely refurbishing the car.
After high school, Richardson got into racing. In 2009 he competed professionally in the Volkswagen Jetta TDI Cup. He later moved into SCCA SRF and then prototype racing. Richardson set a personal goal of someday winning a national championship. At the 2018 SCCA National Championship Runoffs at Sonoma Raceway, Richardson had some mechanical problems with his car. He was unable to qualify, which meant after he got the car running, he started dead last. He had 18 cars in front of him at the start. By the end of the first lap, he had passed 5 cars. He slowly but surely picked off his competitors one by one and was able to finish in 3rd place. It wasn’t enough, he wanted that National Championship.
Fast forward to 2025 at Road America National Championship, Richardson finished second. He still wanted that National Championship.
Now to 2026, Road America again for the Runoffs. Richardson is competing against two drivers who have a crew of mechanics, transport vehicles etc. On top of that, Road America is their home track. Richardson and his girlfriend Jessica Gray, another championship driver, make their way across the country in a motorhome, with 2 dogs, pulling a trailer with his car, and tools. Compared to their competitors, they are a ragtag crew.
Richardson was able to qualify “on pole,” meaning he was the fastest driver on track. He started at the front and was leading the crowd by four seconds. Then a crash brought all cars to a dead stop, after 20 minutes of cleaning up debris, the cars lined up in their current positions. That put Richardson behind some slower cars that he was getting ready to lap before the crash occurred. The race restarted and it was a dog fight as there was only time for two more laps. Richardson beat out the defending 2025 National Champion by .007 seconds. It was so close that no one knew who won for about five minutes—they had to verify with a photo finish and transponder readings.
After competing at seven different National Championships in three different types of race cars, Richardson got to stand in the top position on the podium. He accomplished his goal. Now it’s time to get back to coaching other drivers and solving mechanical problems.
Not bad for a kid from Good Old Los Gatos.
