Jeremy Fletcher’s rookie year was probably not quite what he expected. A few top-10 finishes, but not remarkable by any means. However, come the Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by Michelin’s 2024 season opener, Fletcher made a statement that he had no intentions of finishing the championship in the same spot he did in 2023.
With a third- and a second-place finish in Daytona International Speedway’s January curtain raiser, Fletcher heads into Rounds 3 and 4 at Sebring International Raceway, March 14-15, tied for the points lead with McCumbee McAleer Racing teammate Gresham Wagner.
A different team, new teammates and a renewed focus for his sophomore MX-5 Cup season have all moved 17-year-old Fletcher’s program forward.
After a long time in karting with about a dozen national-level championships followed by a brief stint in Spec Miata, Fletcher started his MX-5 Cup career with Copeland Racing. But Copeland is no longer competing in the series, and Fletcher switched to McCumbee McAleer Racing. That move, and being around other talented drivers, has made a big difference.
“The move definitely had a positive impact, both driving-wise and surrounding myself with teammates that are consistently at the front,” says Fletcher. “Working with Stevan and Stuart McAleer, Chad McCumbee and the whole team creates an atmosphere that is just amazing. And working with drivers like Nate Cicero, Gresham Wagner and John Jodoin on track, I feel like it has made it a more positive place for me to be at the race track.”
That wasn’t the only step that he took to increase his competitiveness.
“I’m definitely starting to work on myself personally,” he adds, “doing some training, going to the gym more actively and trying to be the best I can be when I show up. Plus getting as much testing and practice as I can.”
Fletcher (below) is also fortunate that the first two MX-5 Cup weekends are at tracks he knows well, Daytona and Sebring.
From St. Cloud, Fla., about equidistant to both venues, he’s raced and tested at each of them multiple times. The grandson, son and nephew of motocross racers, his grandfather founded the Ocala Gran Prix kart track, which helped set Jeremy on his path. The potential for Mazda scholarship money led him to MX-5 Cup, although it probably didn’t hurt that 2022 Rookie of the Year Connor Zilisch was his teammate in karting years ago. Now he has his sights set on sports car endurance racing. Being in the IMSA paddock is a means to that end, he says.
“It’s definitely great to be surrounded by all the IMSA teams. And it also lets you, I would say, explore your options a bit with who you could run with, or what your dreams may be,” he explains. “You can talk to those people and figure yourself out and what you want to race in the future.”
He notes that MX-5 Cup has been a great training ground. The competitiveness of the series and the closeness of the competition hones and fast-tracks a driver’s abilities.
“If you don’t have the racecraft, you’re not really going to be up there,” he says. “The field is so tight — and especially with the draft at a place like Daytona — that you have to use quite a bit of strategy. And even if you really aren’t driving that great, or you have some problems, you can still be there strategically as long as you’re kind of controlling the field. If you get the racecraft good enough, then you can run up front even if you don’t have the best car or best pace.”
He’s learned a thing or two by watching drivers like Zilisch and Wagner, but the one thing he feels has made a big difference coming into this season is that to win, he knows he’s got to be more assertive on track.
“Not get pushed around,” he says of the key to his newfound podium abilities. “I feel coming into Daytona I was a lot more abrupt, a lot more decisive — like, I would make a move and make sure it stuck and make sure the guys knew I was out there. Last year I was kind of nervous to make a move, or not make somebody so happy with a move I made. I feel like that would always put me in a bad spot, not going for the opening.”
That newly-found assertiveness certainly paid off at Daytona. Next up, Fletcher heads to Sebring looking to maintain his early-season momentum on the fast, but bumpy runways and turns of the classic Florida road course.
- All Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup Presented by Michelin races are streamed live on RACER.com and archived on The RACER Channel on YouTube. Coming up next, it’s the March 14-15 double-header at Sebring International Raceway. To view the full schedule and learn more about the series, visit mx-5cup.com.
