For the last 6 or so weeks Jason and his team have been getting the #59 Mazda Spec MX into shape. Jason and the car have been picking up speed every session as he becomes more comfortable. The test races over the last few weeks has started to show the potential of the car and Jason. The weekend of July 9th was the SCCA Cat Majors at Road America. It’s also next Spec MX-5 challenge northern and national series race and the next opportunity for Jason to go racing.
It was good to be back at Road America and Jason’s previous experience will help him continue to build confidence. Getting off to a slow start, Jason qualified 10th. Saturdays race started well but a mistake and spin in the kink put him back to 15th on the first lap. He spent the rest of the race catching up and then moving forward to 12th, that said, he showed top 10 speed. He stared the second race on Sunday in 10th, and stayed clean on the start but dropped a few spots. He picked up three spots in the 2nd lap and one more in the third. He then played a bit of catch up chasing down the lead pack with the help of a drafting partner. In the closing laps he moved up, trough some luck and good speed, to 6th place. Those last couple of laps where very busy with Jason having to dodge some misplaced cars. All in all a great weekend of racing.
Up next is a weekend of testing at Road Atlanta in preparation for a race the next Spec MX-5 race at the same track. This will be the 5th new track in this year alone. Jason, the car, and the team are continuing to move forward are the results are starting to come.
There are few things more enjoyable then spending Fathers day weekend at the SCCA June Sprints at Road America. Unlike last year this weekend was more relaxed but still there was important work to be done getting Jason and the car ready for Cat Majors in a few weeks. Jason, managed to do quite well running his under powered car in the Super Touring Light class finishing 6th on Saturday and 5th on Sunday. We celebrated and remembered Grandpa Joe with Grandma Mary and Mom. We all had a blast watching all the racing at the incredible race track.
Some real progress was made the following weekend, June 25-26, at Firecracker Bonneau Bbl Divisional at Blackhawk Farms. This is the ideal track for Jason to become one with his car. He has a few thousand laps on this track in a few different vehicles and really knows the track. In addition to running the with the more powerful STL(Race Group 4) class he also raced in the SMX(Race Group 2) class by himself but with T3 and T4 cars that could potentially be faster.
His performance on Saturday was amazing. It did start on rain tires and some humble pie. In group 2 qualifying in 5th having been beat out by significantly less powerful but more manageable B-spec cars. B-Spec cars are based on small front wheel drive cars and handle well in the rain while Jason was still getting his feet wet. In group 4 he qualified 2nd and was building confidence in driving in the wet. For race 2 the B-spec guys elected to start from the back and Jason started in P2 on slicks with a light rain. On the green he jumped out to the lead by turn one and carefully pulled away from the field as the track dried. By the time he took the checked he was 72 second ahead of 2nd place and had lapped all but 3 cars in the field. The group 4 race started on slicks in a light rain. He again jumped to the lead but had a very competitive spec miata on his tail. As the race progressed the rain increased and Jason remained in the lead gingerly defending his position. Toward the end it was a matter of which driver was going to make a mistake. In the closing of the last lap the spec miata dropped a wheel and spun off the track, while Jason remained steady to the checker earning his second over all win of the day.
Sunday’s racing was much different as the previous days rains had dried and a new found confidence in his car and ability. He qualified in group 2 on the pole, At the start he pulled away and didn’t look back finished first, 25 second ahead of 2nd place. In group 4 only made 4 laps before he experienced brake failure but still qualified 2nd. At the start he again jump ahead and again was pursed closely by an potentially faster STL car. Jason initially pulled away but a few laps later the faster car caught. However, by that time they both had started to work through lapped traffic. Jason had spent the previous three races passing cars and now put that skill to work timing many passes perfectly to stymie the chasing car behind the slower car he just passed. The chase continued this way till the end last lap of the race when the STL car spun and Jason drove his way to his forth victory of the weekend. Jason and his car received may cheers and ovations as he made his victory lap.
The new team is starting to come together just in time for the SCCA Cat Nationals at Road America. This will be Jason’s second Spec MX-5 Challenge race. The work we have been putting in since April to build the car, the team to support it and Jason is starting to pay off. Hopefully, we can keep this momentum going bring home more success.
Racing at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course has been a Father’s Day tradition for the team, ever since Jason started racing there as a 12 year old. He knows where the bump is in the carousel they talk about on TV, he knows the line through the key hole, and some secrets you only find when running 1 inch off the ground in a kart. But we won’t be there for Father’s Day this year – more to come on that later – so we went for Memorial Day weekend instead.
The weekend started with the crew putting the finishing touches on the car so Jason could take it out. Being a new car, Jason needed to break in the motor and set the the brake pads. With only a braking session and one short practice he qualified the car in 11th. During the first race, he took the car up to the battle for 8th and 9th before having a moment and falling back to 15th. He spent the remainder of the race catching and passing cars, moving up to 12th. He started the second race in 12th and worked on moving up until a mechanical issue slowed him down, but was still able to finish 12th. The last race of the weekend was a club race and many of the cars chose not to join. Jason, needing the seat time, started 5th and finished 5th.
Thanks to Chris Nunes for the great coaching and to the Rennkraft and Formidable Racing Development for the awesome car. The car started off good and it got better every session.
Jason, Chris Nunes, and Alex Searle
In few weeks it will be Father’s Day but this year we will be at Road America running the SCCA June Sprints in the Spec MX-5 in the STL class. It is a practice race for the SCCA Cat Nationals and Challenge Series race a few weeks later. This will be Jason’s second Sprints as a car driver but he has entered the club kart race on Saturday night on several occasions.
Jason was back in a Spec Miata the weekend of May 14th at the historic Milwaukee Mile. The track started as a horse track in 1876 and has been the center of the Wisconsin State Fair since 1891. It also happens to be the 4th new track and the 4th car he has raced this season.
It was a great weekend of racing and fun at the track. Once again he, drove an Advanced Autosports rental car but this time it was the #39 car. He started the weekend on Friday learning the track and the car with the help of this weekend’s coach Michael Borden. Jason picked the track up very quickly and spent the day getting comfortable in the car.
Saturday’s qualifying run went well. He qualified 3rd against a tough field, setting his fastest laps without being able to draft from any other cars. Due to a technical DQ of another driver, he started on the front row in second position. He got off to rough start ending up in 5th and staying there for the 22 lap race. On Sunday he announced that he was going to set his qualifying time within 5 laps and come in to save tires for the race. He did exactly that, setting the third fastest time. Again he got shuffled back – this time to 6th place – and finished there. All in all it was a great weekend. Jason showed some great speed and with some more practice, started up front and stayed there.
We had another ‘this is why we race’ moment that weekend with some drivers from Badger Kart Club and Road America racing along with Jason. These gentlemen are part of the new generation of racing talent. Next up is a race with National Auto Sports Association at Mid-Ohio Sports car course, this time in a Mazda Spec MX-5 and the 3rd round of the Northern Region Spec MX-5 Challenge presented by Toyo Tires. The remaining schedule will be announced in the coming days but this race will be the beginning of the new 2022 season.
We’re back at the race track and racing at Blackhawk Farms with the SCCA. Jason has been on track much earlier this year, but has not actually raced yes. The goal for the weekend wasn’t necessarily to win races, frankly, we didn’t have the car or the driver. The goal was to get back in a race car and see what he can do and set him up better for the next race.
There was a day of testing and two days of racing. Testing went very well, and Advanced Autosports provided great support. Jason quickly adjusted to the car and then asked for some setup changes and improved his time. Saturday’s race got of to a great start with him qualifying 9th in the rain. Unfortunately, a few laps in he went off in turn 7 and broke the front passenger lower ball joint ending his race. Sunday’s race went much better. He started 17th of 18, because of the previous days DNF, but that means he could spend the race practicing passing and racing build his race craft. He did just that he finished the race in 9th, completing a successful weekend of racing.
Next weekend Jason will be racing at the historic Milwaukee Mile again in an Advance Autosports spec miata but this time in the number 39 car and with additional coaching. We are still working the car schedule and are looking forward to the first kart race at Mid-Ohio in mid June.
Last weekend, we drove home from Ozarks International Raceway with out having put a car on the track and having to withdraw from the series. This was very disappointing for Jason and the team. We had been working on this since early November and it was a very difficult decision to make. Not all is lost though, at a minimum, Jason now has more experience and trained in another formula car and has 3 new tracks under his belt. He also gained lots of exposure in the racing community meeting teams, drivers, and race promoters. All of this will bring new opportunities as we keep working.
We gave ourselves the drive home to put our thoughts together and the next day began resetting the season. As part of the seasons planning we had looked into a number of different possibilities One of those possibilities was racing sports cars. So, this weekend, Jason will be returning to Advanced Autosports #85 Spec Miata and enter the SCCA Mark Amenda Memorial Majors at Blackhawk Farms Raceway. This the same car he rounded out the 2021 season in running the LOONG Race, also held at Blackhawk. Jason has raced this track since he was 7 years old in karts and last year won his first SCCA Formula Enterprise 2 race. While this weekend is mostly focused on resetting and rebuilding, we have some good expectations for his results.
This is just the beginning of the season, there we are working on other similar opportunities and will have a new complete schedule in the coming weeks. When Jason was just getting started in karting we had a season where we would see what tracks had races that weekend and went. That season he had a lot of seat time and became the driver he is now. This season might be the that kind, and with hard work and focus will take him to the next level in his career
The our trailer is packed up, IGY6 Motorsports is buttoning up the cars and getting them into the transporter. It’s time for the inaugural USF Juniors Presented by Cooper Tire race at Ozark International Raceway in Gravois, MO. Ozark opened last fall and is purported to be one of the most challenging tracks with fast blind corners and large elevation changes.
This weekend will include the first three of the 16 race season and will be broadcast on usfjuniors.com, RoadToIndy.TV, and the new USF Juniors App(iPhone, Android). You will also be able to follow live timing during practice as well on the website and the App.
4/22/2022
9:30 AM Test Session 1
12:35 PM Test Session 2
3:15 PM Test Session 3 4/23/2022
9:45 AM Practice
12:35 PM Qualifying
4:00 PM Race 1 4/24/2022
9:30 AM Race 2
1:15 PM Race 3
The following weekend Jason and the USF Juniors Series will be heading back to Barber Motorsports Park to join all the Road To Indy series and Indy Car for a weekend full Indy car racing.
The racing season is almost here. There are just a handful of days left until Jason takes to Ozark International Raceway for the first race ever of the USF Juniors Presented by Cooper Tires. Jason has been preparing on and off the track. Earlier last month Jason and the USF Juniors spent a couple of days at Barber Motorsports Park to show off their racing skills and participating in some pre-season media. Jason made some promo videos and additional media training. Check out Jason’s profile on the series web site. A few days later Jason was back at Atlanta Motorsports Park to fine tune the IGY6 Motorsports F4 car. Away from the track he has been training in the gym and staying fit. We are looking forward to getting this season started with some racing.
Ozark Full Schedule pdf Live Timing
Central Time Zone 4/22/2022
9:00 AM-9:40 AM Test Session 1
11:50 AM-12:30 PM Test Session 2
3:20 PM-4:00 PM Test Session 3 4/23/2022
9:45 AM-10:15 AM Practice
12:35 PM-1:05 PM Qualifying
4:15 PM-4:55 PM Race 1 4/24/2022
9:30 AM-10:10 AM Race 2
1:15 PM-1:55 PM Race 3
As Jason and the IGY6 Motorsports team get ready for next weeks USF Juniors Presented by Cooper Tires test day at Barber Motorsports Park, Jason has a chance to sit down with Rob Howden. They touch a many things, from Jason’s history of racing enduro karts, moving into racing cars, and what you could potentially eat for the rest or your life.
