Scott Free Racing

The Kildahl family has been involved in Offshore Racing with their team, Scott Free Racing, since 1985. Son Stephen was introduced to the sport at a young age by his father Steve; being able to join his father inside the cockpit and being able to compete with him on the race circuit was a dream of Stephen’s growing up. That dream soon became a reality when Stephen, then 16, got his first shot at the offshore circuit with his Dad in the cockpit beside him in St Could, FL in 2007. Stephen was a “Navigator” in his first race to get a feel of what a race is like. As the years passed and Stephen gained more experience, his expectations for the team grew. “It’s tough to simulate what goes on in a race, so every race you learn something new that you can apply towards your next race” says Stephen, age 27, “whether it was a good experience or a bad one.” The most important lesson that Stephen learned from his Father is communication. “If you can’t communicate and be in sync with the other person in the cockpit, you are going to struggle”, said Steve. “Luckily we communicate very well and most often don’t even speak because we think very alike” says Stephen.

Scott Free Racing is now a family operated team and many details go into preparing for a race weekend. Stephen and Steve will complete a checklist about a week before the race to make sure the boat is race-ready. Once they arrive at a race site, they focus on the weather and water conditions scheduled for race day. Preparing the boat is not their only focus, “I make sure I am hydrating my body about 4 days before the race to ensure dehydration won’t be an issue in the cockpit. I will look over our race data from the previous year to analyze how we did, what setup we ran, and determine what we should expect for the upcoming race,” said Stephen.

Currently entering into his 13th season on the offshore circuit, Stephen, who graduated in 2015 with a Business Degree from Florida Gulf Coast University, now has accepted an additional roll in operating the business side of the race team, focusing on sponsorships and social media. “I learned about 4 years into my career that if we want to continue to win, we were going to have to raise sponsorship support. Over the past 13 years I’ve gained a great deal of knowledge about sponsorships and have grown a passion for it,” said Stephen.

2018 was a successful season for Scott Free Racing. The team started off slow with a bad finish at the season opener in Cocoa Beach, FL due to rough seas, but gained momentum throughout the remaining 7 races of the season. They finished on top with 4 overall 1st Place wins. They finished 3rd Place in the Super Boat International World Championships and 1st Place the Offshore Powerboat Association World Championships. Stephen and his father Steve have set a major footprint in the offshore racing segment over the past decade. As they prepare for the 2019 season be sure to check out their schedule at scottfreeracing.com to see when they will be racing near you.