James Roe only took up racing in 2015 which is quite a late start for the majority of those involved in elite-level motorsport.
But remarkably he's already within one step of realising his dream of making it to the highest possible level of open wheel racing in North America, the IndyCar Series.
After a progressively strong 2021 in the Indy Pro 2000 series, where he won the final race of the season in dramatic fashion, the Kildare native has made the step up and is about to embark on his debut season in Indy Lights, the highest juncture on the Road To Indy development pathway and the final rung on the ladder for those aspiring to get to IndyCar.
With the opening round in St Petersburg, Florida this weekend, it's a very hectic time for the 23-year-old, who has been based Stateside since 2018.
When RTÉ Sport caught up with him on Wednesday, he was about to board a flight in Washington DC to continue his onward journey towards Florida.
Amid the hustle and bustle and noise of an international airport, it did offer him a brief moment to reflect on a meteoric rise into the Indy Lights ranks where he will race with the TJ Speed Motorsport outfit.
"The reality is we're one step away, we're at the final stepping stone - the next step from here is from Indy Lights to IndyCar and that's the pinnacle of US motorsport," said Roe, whose uncle Michael competed in the CART Championship in the '80s.
"It's been an amazing journey, pretty surreal when I look back at it. I was only thinking about it earlier this week when I woke up on Monday morning and thought, 'Finally, it's race week'.
"It's pretty surreal how fast it's happened and I'm just excited to be here and taking it one race, one moment, one day at a time."
The chance to make the step up this year was one that came a little out of the blue despite the excellent run-in during 2021.
"We were actually looking at another season in Indy Pro 2000 and had offers from every team in the paddock coming off a very strong season there as the second highest point-scorer from the summer break onwards," Roe explained.
"Then TJ Speed popped up and the owner of the team, Tim Neff, is a very well-renowned engineer and had the team on a roll in their first year running in Indy Lights and of his own accord reached out and said, 'We'd be interested in testing you.'"
But because the Indy Lights series is owned by IndyCar, the availability of test days are limited and set in stone.
"Unfortunately, the test was about six weeks from when he spoke to me so I kind of weighed up my options," Roe said, but ultimately he decided to take the risk and put all the Indy Pro 2000 offers on hold to pursue that Indy Lights opportunity.
"What's funny is the first test actually didn't go that well. We had some issues unrelated to me or the team but to do with the engine.
"But we did another test and that was the week of Christmas in Miami and that went extremely well and after it we said, 'Let's do a deal.'"
The late nature of the deal means any rivals who were long confirmed for 2022 have done more testing than Roe but he remains undaunted: "I'm a firm believer when an opportunity comes on your doorstep, you've got to grab it with both hands and take it."
It's a mantra that also served him well on track last year. After being hindered by mechanical issues early on in the year, he finished like a bullet train to climb up the championship standings.
'I think at points we were two seconds a lap faster than anyone else on the track and that's unheard of in this industry'
It culminated in a win at last October's final round of the Indy Pro 2000 series in Mid-Ohio which "certainly helped" in furthering his chances of making the next step.
On a wet track, Roe made two audacious overtaking moves down the outside on Braden Eves and his good friend and gym buddy, Enaam Ahmed of Great Britain, to take the lead and eventually held off the late challenge from the latter to cross the line and claim victory.
The TV commentator during the race - good-naturedly one must add - suggested of Roe's wet-weather skills: "You hate to use the cliché line. He came up racing Formula Ford in Ireland and England. He knows how to run in the wet".
When that quote is put to him, Roe himself explains that there was a lot more to the win than one factor.
"It is a cliché and a lot of people just presume that when us guys come over to America that we're in our home conditions and that kind of stuff but honestly everything just clicked for that race," he said.
"A big part of it was my mindset and then what we did with the car was a bit of a risk that really paid off in the set-up and literally came alive. We were so fast in that race. I think at points we were two seconds a lap faster than anyone else on the track and that's unheard of in this industry.
"And that confirmed a lot of things for me because in that race, you mentioned Enaam Ahmed a British F3 champion, Japanese F3 runner-up in the championship; Braden Eves is a US F2000 champion; (Christian) Rasmussen won the (Indy Pro 2000) championship... just really good guys. It just said to me we're on the right path here, this is all looking good."
Off the track, many of those same drivers - Roe included - all live in the same apartment complex in Indianapolis which has forged close friendships, evident from the post-race celebrations in Mid-Ohio when Ahmed and Rasmussen, who will also be in Indy Lights this year, were genuinely pleased for their Irish co-competitor.
"It's funny, (Rasmussen) even texted me last night looking for a lift to the airport. That's the kind of friendship we have even though we're going to race head-to-head."
Being based in Indianapolis also means that Roe can train at a motorsport-specific gym PitFit where IndyCar champions like Scott Dixon and Tony Kanaan also do their work-outs.
"When I got put in beside them training every morning, things went up a notch and it's just the mindset they have is phenomenal and hopefully that's going to elevate me," he said.
This being motorsport, one topic cannot be avoided and that is dollars, euros or whatever currency you happen to be using.
'There was a guy, a really successful business man... who had no interest in motorsport, didn't even know what a race car looked like if you asked him to describe it and came upon this show (Drive To Survive) on Netflix and now he's hooked on it'
The chase for sponsors is an ongoing pursuit and one has to be business-minded in the industry. Roe has a number of long-time backers - some with Irish connections - like Topcon and Trintech who are back on board for 2022 alongside newer partnerships with the likes of Multimatic, Ringpower and CES Power.
And in some ways his nationality coupled with rising up the ranks has been beneficial in attracting sponsorship.
"It doesn't hurt, that's a fact," he said of the interest from Irish or Irish-American backers before continuing on the wider financial balancing act.
"It's funny, as you progress, the amount required for a team to operate progresses but so does the return on investment because of the bigger fanbase. I wouldn't necessarily say it's easier, it's just more transparent as to what's available."
And there is a growing interest from the Netflix generation. While Drive To Survive follows Formula One only, long-time fans of F1 or other categories like this writer or Roe can't help but notice the growing fanbase and the Kildare man sees that having a positive knock-on effect in IndyCar.
Naas racecar drive James Roe is preparing for life on the @IndyLights race circuit in America as he looks to take step towards making his name on the IndyCar scene. #RTESport pic.twitter.com/VkqsaPAEqk
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 23, 2022
"I only spoke about this with someone two weeks ago at a sponsor event. There was a guy, a really successful business man - I won't name him - but a very, very successful guy who had no interest in motorsport, didn't even know what a race car looked like if you asked him to describe it and came upon this show (Drive To Survive) on Netflix and now he's hooked on it," Roe revealed.
"Fans and viewing figures have shot up from it. So much so that they're talking about doing something similar here in North America in IndyCar. Penske Entertainment is trying to revitalise it all and bring a new fanbase because here in America there are 104 million avid IndyCar fans. That's an astronomical number so we have to do our utmost to tap into that."
And Roe will be hopeful of riding the crest of that wave this year. With the IndyCar dream so tantalising close, what is he targeting for this year?
"We don't have any expectation. We have to be realistic. I am a rookie in this series and it's the team's first year so it's about me bringing my A game every day I get into that car and really what will be, will be. Indy Lights more than likely is a two-year programme but right now it's focus one race at a time."
And with the clock ticking, the first race for Roe was to board his flight towards Florida and the start of something new.
