Aaron Telitz: All Aboard!!!

Birchwood, Wis. – Greetings! This the first of what is sure to be a super fun series of blogs that will take you along with me on my adventure to the UK for the Formula Ford Festival and Walter Hayes Trophy. But first, a little background information!

I am 22 years old and am from a small town in Northern Wisconsin called Birchwood. Just so you have an idea how small, I grew up going to a public school where my class size was about 25 from kindergarten all the way through senior year.

I got my start in go-karts at 8 years old in Eau Claire, Wis. I went on to road racing karts at age 15 and had quite a lot of success racing karts on tracks like Road America, Daytona International Speedway and Mid-Ohio. In 2012, at the ripe old age of 20, I made my first start in a race car thanks to winning a $20,000 scholarship from the Skip Barber Karting Shootout. I ended up winning my first-ever car race! I went on to win four more races that summer and another $10,000 scholarship from Skip Barber in the 2012 Championship Shootout. I ended up stretching my scholarship money for all it was worth in the 2012/2013 Skip Barber Winter Series and came away with second overall in the championship.

I had been attending the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire full time but decided to put college on hold to chase after my dream. I realized I wasn’t going to get very far in racing if I didn’t come up with some funding, so I began calling, writing, emailing and visiting everyone I could think of that might be able to help me out. I was fortunate enough to not only find enough funding to race in the 2013 F1600 Championship Series but I also landed a sponsor in Rice Lake Weighing Systems. I went on to claim third in the super competitive championship. I was then selected as a finalist for the Team USA Scholarship. I wasn’t chosen as a winner last year but I didn’t let that get me down! I went on to win the Skip Barber Championship Shootout, claiming a $200,000 MAZDASPEED Scholarship to race in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda. I drove for ArmsUp Motorsports this season on my way to one win, six podium finishes, “Rookie of the Year” honors and fourth overall in the championship.

A little over a month ago I was again named a finalist in the Team USA Scholarship program. I was psyched to have another shot at this awesome award. The shootout was held at Auto Club Speedway and we would be driving 1.6-liter cars prepared by Allen Berg Racing Schools. I had a great time driving a new car to me at a new track. About two weeks later I got the call from Jeremy Shaw to tell me I had been selected. It was probably my favorite phone call of the year! I am seriously excited to get over to England and get my first “European car racing” experience!

Now my plane tickets have been purchased and a schedule has been made for testing prior to the events. I am so looking forward to the coming month.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for all of my English adventures!

Aaron