PT Autosport continues to receive applications for its second annual Aspiring Driver Shootout, to be held August 1-3 at New Jersey Motorsports Park in Millville, N.J.
The team is dedicated to increasing the presence of junior drivers in the motorsports industry that come from diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds. Paramount to this mission is creating career development opportunities and forming an educational, competitive, and supportive environment for all team members, allowing them to grow and learn.
PT Autosport has formed a multi-tiered development program that begins with the Aspiring Driver Shootout. The winner will earn a $100,000 racing partnership and join the team’s junior racing program, progressing to an advanced racing series within the team or with one of the team’s operational partners. Ultimately, the goal will be for each driver to graduate to the team’s professional level program, racing in the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America series – and beyond.
Team founder and owner Jeph Dais joined the Order of DeMolay (a top international youth leadership organization) when he was 12 years old and saw firsthand the positive effects of investing in deserving young people of diverse economic and ethnic backgrounds. Joining forces with longtime motorsports team executive Jason Myers and driver Alex Sedgwick, PT Autosport is dedicated to giving opportunities to those that otherwise would not have that opportunity and to helping the individuals that we partner with to make their dream of becoming a professional in the motorsports industry come true.
“We’re really positive about this year’s shootout applications,” said Myers, PT Autosport team principal. “We have refined the process and given ourselves a little more time to hopefully reach some of the best candidates out there. We’re not looking for people that are already racing drivers – we’re looking for people who might not have known this was even an option they could pursue, but who dream of a racing career. We’ve been steadily building awareness and exposure, with more applications coming every day, so we’re quite positive that this year is going to be even more successful that our inaugural shootout last year.”
2022 Shootout winner Henry Drury has been working with the team on marketing and digital media efforts while recovering from spinal surgery, following an injury incurred while pursuing a career as an Olympic figure skater. The 22-year-old Londoner will return to racing this summer in the team’s junior racing program.
“As someone who’s been working flat-out for the last five years on making a racing career possible and searching for funding, I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity that PT Autosport has given me, and to finally be in a position to chase my dream of racing,” said Drury. “I have a delayed start to my season following my surgery, but in the meantime, I’m learning as much as I can from watching Alex at work and maximizing my recovery to hit the ground running once I’m cleared to start driving. I can’t wait to get back behind the wheel and prove that the team made the right choice, as well as using my season to prove to others with spine injuries that there is still hope after suffering a life-altering injury.”
The team’s flagship racing program, the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North Americas, is off to a flying start. PT Autosport has teamed up with 2022 series champions JDX Racing, with Sedgwick, who also serves as the team’s driver development director, behind the wheel. Sedgwick and the team have earned three top eight finishes in the first four races of the season, including a fifth-place finish at the recent Long Beach Grand Prix. But for Sedgwick, the importance of this season is as much off-track as on-track.
“I’m very excited about what we have the potential to build,” said Sedgwick. “With my experience as a driver coming through the ranks ‘the hard way,’ with no personal funding, I feel it places me in a very unique scenario to be able to help identify and develop those who have what it takes to make a career in motorsport.”
Applications for the 2023 PT Autosport Aspiring Driver Shootout are open until May 15, with the Shootout taking place August 1 to August 3 at NJMP. 888 applications slots are available, with 88 drivers chosen after due diligence. Of those 88, 12 drivers between the age of 18 and 23 will have the opportunity to participate in a competition measuring their fitness, media, interview, problem-solving, teamwork, and racecraft skills. They will vie for the $100,000 driver partnership program which will provide support for the 2024 & 2025 seasons, with awards also going to second and third place (fourth, fifth and sixth place finishers will earn guaranteed entry as a competitor in the 2024 Aspiring Driver Shootout).
PT Autosport’s top tier program takes to the track next week, as the Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup North America races alongside Formula 1 at the F1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix. Race one takes the green flag Saturday, May 6 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, with race two Sunday at 12:25pm The race will be broadcast live in the U.S., on IMSA.tv, the NBC Peacock streaming app and PorscheCarreraCup.us.
PT Autosport is supported by JDX Racing partners Byers/Porsche Columbus, Renier Construction, PDCA Inc., and Revamp Marketing.
Visit www.DriverShootout.com or www.PTAutosport.com for more info and follow @pt_autosport on Instagram for updates.