(Photo Credit: Jack Mitchell)
Sometimes, we have to go the extra mile in order to take advantage of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. For 20-year-old American racing driver Aaron Jeansonne, a trip across the pond is a small part of a bigger plan.
Jeansonne is set to compete full-time in the 2019 BRSCC Avon Tyres National Formula Ford 1600 championship season. The native of Sulphur, Lousiana will drive for Oldfield Motorsport.
“The plan is to compete in the BRSCC FF1600 Series in the UK, and to compete in (once again) the Formula Ford Festival and Walter Hayes Trophy as I did in 2017 with Team USA Scholarship,” Jeansonne told The Podium Finish.
James Oldfield, the team owner of Oldfield Motorsport, kept a close eye on Jeansonne joining his efforts. Ultimately, both sides were able to make the deal come together. However, there are still some financial issues for them to figure out.
“The team and I have been working very hard to find the funding to compete in the full season,” said Jeansonne.
Searching for additional funding, a GoFundMe account was created to help Jeansonne with logistics. The grueling demands of a full schedule, plus making several trips to the United Kingdom is going to raise costs.
“The GoFundMe was created in hopes to take all of my lower budget supporters (especially locally) that want to help, pitch in a little bit each, and hopefully add up so we don’t have to worry about travel,” said Jeansonne.
At the moment, Jeansonne’s camp has raised a total of $1,170, with a goal set for $10,500. While he expressed disappointment in not reaching his goal as of press time, he remains optimistic.
Nevertheless, the young American is grateful for the opportunity to prove himself in the United Kingdom. Ultimately, Jeansonne has a dream of becoming a driver in the NTT IndyCar Series someday.
However, he would be “happy to put a smile on his face,” if given a chance in stock car racing.
Despite being on the open-wheel racing path, Jeansonne’s love for motorsports begun at an early age. He received the video game, NASCAR Thunder 2004, and it was love at first sight. His childhood hero is NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Jeff Gordon.
During those years, Jeansonne’s family did not have the money or time to help him pursue a racing career. In the meantime, young Jeansonne had his racing video games to keep him busy.
“As the years went on, I continued playing racing games,” said Jeansonne. “And no matter how much I would win I’d always blame it on the games not being challenging enough.”
“Later on, I began to create race tracks in friend’s yards, “Jeansonne recalled. “We’d time each other on four wheelers, dirt bikes, and other off-road vehicles that people had. And, I was always the fastest.
When I was old enough to work, I decided to save my money from minimum wage food jobs and eventually aircraft mechanic work to make ends meet.”
After years of putting in plenty of hard work, the American must prove himself in a competitive British open-wheel racing championship. His goals for the season are to maximize his full potential behind the wheel.
As a result, he will reward his Oldfield Motorsport team for their efforts with the program.
The season-opening weekend for the 2019 BRSCC Avon Tyres National Formula Ford 1600 championship will take place on April 20 and 21. Jeansonne and his competitors head to the Snetterton Circuit to kick off a new season.
