NEWS

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For decades, Solinco has built its identity around performance, precision, and redlining the limits within the world of tennis. Now, we’re taking that same mindset onto the racetrack.

In a unique collaboration, Solinco has partnered with Solinco Coach, tennis player, and driver Greg Peluso for his Formula Race Promotions (FRP) F1600 Championship campaign. The new partnership marks the debut of the first Solinco-branded car in the series–and the first-ever tennis x FRP collaboration of its kind.

The team-up represents more than just a logo placement. It reflects a shared mindset across high-performance disciplines, rooted in preparation, resilience, adaptability, and a relentless drive to improve under pressure.

From the Tennis Court to the Racetrack

Before stepping into the world of motorsports, Greg Peluso’s foundation was built in tennis.

He first started playing at ten years old alongside his father, who also strung racquets for Greg and his community of players. Over time, what began as time spent on court with family developed into a deeper competitive journey that eventually led Peluso to play Division I college tennis.

Fast forward to 2025, and Peluso is the Head Coach of the Beaver Boys Tennis Team in Beaver, PA. The program is built entirely from athletes who call the town home. As a public school team, there is no recruiting–-just local players developing, competing, and rising together. That foundation hasn’t limited performance; it’s sharpened it. The team finished 2nd in its section, while the doubles squad captured a section title before going on to place 4th in the district. A homegrown roster. A competitive edge forged from within, with Peluso leading the charge.

“I enjoy taking a program to a new level and trying to make some sort of difference in these boys’ lives,” Peluso said. “I am very proud of these boys since I started coaching just a year ago.”

Solinco Equipment 

Peluso’s connection to Solinco began when he moved on from his long-time equipment and started exploring where the cutting edge in tennis technology truly was. Currently, he plays with the Solinco Whiteout V2 290 with a 10-gram butt-cap weight setup strung with Mach-10.

“I started exploring new strings and fell in love with Solinco,” Peluso shared. “The equipment balanced the needs of the performance player with the desired comfort and feel that the non-competitive space deems essential.”

A Different Kind of Competition

A competitor at heart, Peluso first entered the world of racing in 2005 after a local track opened near his home. Ironically, his first experience behind the wheel left him discouraged.

“I actually left my first track day feeling defeated,” he shared. “But my wife encouraged me to go back the next day.”

That decision ultimately launched a long-term passion for motorsports.

Today, Peluso races approximately ten weekends each year across the East Coast and Midwest in the F1600 category, competing at iconic tracks including Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio, Road Atlanta, Sebring, and Road America.

He races with Rehm Racing, a small father-son team competing in the Masters category for drivers over 35 years old. The father is a retired school psychologist, while the son plays an integral role within the team and shares the same passion for racing. Alongside two additional drivers, the group competes wheel-to-wheel against racers as young as 15 years old, creating a unique competitive and multi-generational environment. For Peluso, that dynamic reflects what makes motorsports so meaningful.

No one involved is racing professionally or getting paid to compete. Instead, the sport is driven entirely by passion, bringing together people from different backgrounds through a shared commitment to performance, improvement, and competition. Similar to tennis, racing becomes a lifelong pursuit built as much around community as the competition itself.

Solinco On the Racetrack

Peluso competes in the F1600 category, driving a 2011 Mygale F1600 backed by Rehm Racing and Solinco. Known for close, technical racing that puts driver skill front and center, the F1600 series has long served as a proving ground for racers looking to refine their craft in one of motorsport’s purest forms.

The debut of the Solinco car marks an exciting step into a new competitive space for the brand.

The custom car design itself was inspired by Solinco’s Whiteout V2 tiger camo aesthetic, with Peluso collaborating directly with Solinco’s design team to bring the look to life.

F1600 is a true racer’s car that rewards a driver with car control,” Peluso said. “It does not come easy at all to me. It is a challenge and there is more danger and requires more awareness due to it being an open wheel car.

Most races are 16 laps and take place at tracks across the East Coast and Midwest, including Watkins Glen, Mid-Ohio, Road Atlanta, Road America, Summit Point, Carolina Motorsports Park, New Jersey Motorsports Park, and Sebring

For Peluso, the connection between racing and tennis feels natural.

“I always tell people that racers are very similar to high-level tennis players,” he shared. “It was easy to relate to these individuals, and I found out many current racers had tennis in their past.“

That crossover between sports became part of the inspiration behind the collaboration itself.

“I thought this was a great cross-marketing idea, and I am surprised how many competitors recognize the brand,” Peluso said. “Plus, I think it’s cool that my team sees me competing in some form of sports.”

That emphasis on exceptional feel, controllable power, and directional precision aligns with Solinco’s approach to product development. Whether through racquet technology, co-poly string innovation, or now motorsports partnerships, the brand continues to position itself around athletes and competitors who embrace the thrill of performance-driven environments.

Performance Under Pressure

Open-wheel racing and tennis may exist in different worlds, but both demand an ability to perform in high-stakes environments where details matter. Split-second decisions, consistency under pressure, and trust in equipment often determine outcomes.

That mindset became especially clear during Peluso’s recent race weekend, which ultimately tested patience more than pace.

After dealing with a major mechanical issue involving the car’s chassis harness, the weekend came to an unexpected end before the team could fully compete. Despite assistance from experienced crews and extensive troubleshooting efforts, the issue required deeper repairs that could not be completed trackside. 

“It was a complete failure,” Peluso shared in a recent vlog documenting the weekend. “We actually had a Canadian race team come down, and another highly knowledgeable team come over… We believe it’s a part that we would have to take the whole car apart for a chassis harness.“

Rather than forcing the situation, the team shifted focus toward regrouping and building a stronger plan moving forward.

“Unfortunately, this weekend was a bust,” Peluso said. “Go back at it and come up with a new plan.”

Whether you don’t make it onto the track on race day or fall in the first round of a tennis tournament, half the battle is showing up. The other half lies in building real wisdom through honest analysis of every missed takeoff and setback.

Greg and the team are now working to get the car back to full race-ready condition ahead of the next round in late June at Road America. More live updates to come as the car returns to the track for its second race weekend.

More Than a Weekend

Not every debut unfolds perfectly. But in motorsports, setbacks are often part of the process, something we’ve seen time and again at the highest level of the sport.

What matters most is the response after adversity, the adjustments made behind the scenes, and the willingness to continue building toward something bigger. That mentality has long been a part of both racing and tennis, and at the heart of this collaboration.

As Peluso and the team continue preparing for upcoming events, the collaboration signals the beginning of a new chapter for Solinco. The possibilities are wide open, and we look forward to sharing this journey into the redline and beyond!