Aaron Telitz (born December 13, 1991) is an American

race car driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including n ...

. He currently competes full-time in the

WeatherTech SportsCar Championship The IMSA SportsCar Championship, currently known as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship under sponsorship, is a sports car racing series based in the United States and Canada and organized by the International Motor Sports Association (I ...

, driving for AIM Vasser Sullivan.

Career

Born in Birchwood, Wisconsin, Telitz began his racing career in karting in 1998. He remained in karting until 2012. In 2014, Telitz moved into

open-wheel racing Formula racing, also known as open-wheel racing in North America, is any of several forms of Open-wheel car, open-wheeled single-seater Auto racing, motorsport. A "formula", first devised by Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA for ...

, competing in the U.S. F2000 National Championship with ArmsUp Motorsports. He claimed a win and six podiums in 14 races, ending fourth in the season standings. Telitz returned to the series in 2015, moving to Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing. He got a win and 11 podiums in 16 races, finishing third in the final classification. In 2016, Telitz moved up the

Road to Indy The USF Pro Championships Presented by Continental Tire, formerly known as the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires, is a racecar driver development program, providing a scholarship-funded path to reach the IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500. ...

ladder, graduating into the Pro Mazda Championship with

Team Pelfrey Team Pelfrey is an American racing team in the F1600 Championship Series and F2000 Championship Series. The team is owned by Dale Pelfrey. Indy Racing League (1998–2000) John Paul Jr. replaced Danny Ongais as driver for the 1998 Indianapolis ...

. He collected six wins and six second place finishes in 16 races, claiming the championship over teammate

Patricio O'Ward Patricio "Pato" O'Ward Junco (born 6 May 1999) is a Mexican professional auto racing driver who competes full-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 5 Chevrolet for Arrow McLaren. He is the 2018 Indy Lights champion. He is signed to the Mc ...

9 Aaron Telitz 2018 Road America Grand Prix

Belardi Auto Racing Belardi Auto Racing was an American racing team in the Indy Lights series. The team was owned by Brian Belardi, who competed in the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Belardi was previously located in Illinois before moving to Brownsburg, Indiana ...

signed Telitz for the 2017 Indy Lights season, and he scored a second-place finish in the

Freedom 100 The Freedom 100 was an automobile race held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, as part of the Indy NXT, Indy Lights. The event was a Card (sports)#Undercard, support race for the IndyCar Series Indianapolis 500, and ...

. He stayed with the team for the following year. Also during 2018, Telitz tested an

IndyCar IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR), is an auto racing sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization sanctions two racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with the Indianapolis ...

for

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports The IndyCar Series operation of McLaren, competing as Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team due to sponsorship, is based in Indianapolis and was founded by former IndyCar driver Sam Schmidt in 2001 as Sam Schmidt Motorsports (SSM). The team operates the N ...

. After not finding enough funding to remain in open-wheel racing for 2019, Telitz was contacted by

Jimmy Vasser James "Jimmy" Vasser Jr. (born November 20, 1965) is an American former racing driver who competed primarily in the Championship Auto Racing Teams, CART series and Champ Car World Series, Champ Car. Vasser won ten CART series races and won the ...

in late 2018 to compete for his

team for the four endurance championship events, starting with the

2019 24 Hours of Daytona The 2019 24 Hours of Daytona (formally the 2019 Rolex 24 at Daytona) was an International Motor Sports Association (IMSA)-sanctioned endurance sports car race held at the Daytona International Speedway combined road course in Daytona Beach, ...

with co-drivers

Townsend Bell Townsend Lorenz Bell (born April 19, 1975) is an American professional motor racing driver competing in the International Motor Sports Association, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, and also as a motorsports commentator for FOX Sports’ I ...

, Frankie Montecalvo and Jeff Segal. As part of the deal, Telitz would accompany Vasser's IMSA and IndyCar teams to all other events in hopes of moving to the IndyCar operation. He started off the season with a second place at Daytona. Telitz still found his way into open-wheel racing during 2019; however, as he signed with Belardi for the

, which was derailed with a broken half shaft. A month later, he returned to Belardi for his home event at

Road America Road America is a motorsport Road racing, road course located near Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin on Wisconsin Highway 67. It has hosted races since the 1950s and currently hosts races in the IndyCar Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship, Sports Car Club ...

. His schedule expanded as the season went on, eventually winning a Lights contest in Toronto. For 2020, Telitz initially re-upped with AVS Vasser Sullivan for four WTSCC endurance events. That schedule was expanded to a full-time ride in June when original full-time driver

Parker Chase Parker B. Chase (born February 22, 2001) is an American professional racing driver who competes full-time in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) Michelin Pilot Challenge and driving the No. 98 Hyundai Veloster N TCR for Bryan Herta ...

found that the reconfigured schedule would clash with his educational pursuits.

Personal life

Telitz is a painter and during his 2018 season sold paintings to pay for crash damage. On November 22, 2021, Aaron's wife Maggie gave birth to a son.

Racing record

Career summary

^† Telitz was ineligible for points. ^* Season still in progress.

American open-wheel racing results

U.S. F2000 National Championship

Pro Mazda Championship

Indy Lights

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

^† Points only counted towards the WeatherTech Sprint Cup and not the overall GTD Championship. ^* Season still in progress.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Telitz, Aaron 1991 births Living people Racing drivers from Wisconsin U.S. F2000 National Championship drivers Indy Pro 2000 Championship drivers Indy Lights drivers People from Rice Lake, Wisconsin 24 Hours of Daytona drivers WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers Belardi Auto Racing drivers Wayne Taylor Racing drivers Team Pelfrey drivers Michelin Pilot Challenge drivers 24H Series drivers Asian Le Mans Series drivers GT World Challenge America drivers