Aaron Justus (born October 23, 1973, in Pittsfield, Illinois)[1] is a former American racing driver. Justus won the USF2000 championship in the year 2000 and continued into the Atlantic Championship. Currently Justus is an entrepreneur with his own graphics design company.
| Aaron Justus | |
|---|---|
| Nationality |  American |
| Born | October 23, 1973 Pittsfield, Illinois |
| Retired | 2003 |
| Atlantic Championship | |
| Years active | 2002-2003 |
| Teams | Performance Development & Racing RuSPORT |
| Starts | 15 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Poles | 0 |
| Best finish | 5th in 2003 |
| Previous series | |
| 1996-2000 1995 | USF2000 USAC Formula Russell |
| Championship titles | |
| 2000 | USF2000 |
Career
editJustus started his karting career in 1981 at the age of eight. In 1985, the young driver won the IKF Grand National Championship in the Junior I class. He won another Grand National Championship in 1988 in the Junior III class.[2]
In 1995, Justus started his formula racing career in the United States Auto Club sanctioned Formula Russell Championship winning the series. For 1996, Justus was one of 25 drivers selected for the Team Green Academy.[3] After catching the eye of Atlantic Championship and CART team owner John Della Penna the plan was to replace Richie Hearn in the Atlantics race seat. However money was a factor and the budget did not come together.[4] In 1996, Justus started four USF2000 races. His best result was in the streets of St. Petersburg where he finished fifth. Funding his racing efforts with graphics design work Justus did not race in 1997. In 1998, Justus had one single USF2000 outing, at the 1998 Colorado Grand Prix. Justus finished his Van Diemen chassis in third place for the first race, behind David Besnard and Sam Hornish Jr.[5]
The sole 1998 outing impressed Gerald Forsythe who brought Justus in at Cape Motorsports for the 1999 season. Justus won the third round of the season at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Later in the season, Justus also won the second race at Road Atlanta. Despite missing the last four races of the season, Justus finished tenth in the season standings. He returned with the team for 2000 for a full-time outing. In 2000, Justus dominated the series. Justus claimed eight pole positions in thirteen races. The young driver won five of the races and claimed the championship.[6]
After a sabbatical Justus returned for 2002 for three races in the Atlantic Championship with Performance Development & Racing. His best finish was a seventh place at the Denver street circuit. For 2003, Justus joined RuSPORT for a full-time effort alongside A. J. Allmendinger. Despite failing to win a race, Justus scored four podium finishes. Justus finished fifth in the series standings.[7] At the end of the season Justus retired from competitive autosport to run his graphics design company Manifest Group.[8]
Racing record
editAmerican Open-Wheel racing results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest race lap)
USF2000 National Championship
edit| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | WDW 27 |
STP 5 |
PIR 25 |
DSC1 11 |
MOS | IRP | RIR | WGI1 | WGI2 | MDO | NHS | LVS | N.C. | N.C. | |||
| 1998 | WDW | PIR | HMS1 | HMS2 | WGI | WGI | MDO1 | MIN | CHA1 | CHA2 | MDO2 | ATL | PPI 3 |
PPI 6 |
N.C. | N.C. | |
| 1999 | Cape Motorsports | PIR 7 |
CHA1 28 |
CHA2 1 |
MOS 2 |
MOS 14 |
MDO 26 |
ATL | ROA1 22 |
ROA2 1 |
CTR 5 |
MDO | PPI | SEB1 | SEB2 | 10th | 132 |
| 2000 | Cape Motorsports | PIR 1 |
MOS1 5 |
MOS2 2 |
IRP1 1 |
ROA1 1 |
ROA1 6 |
TRR 2 |
MOS3 3 |
WGI1 22 |
WGI2 1 |
IRP2 1 |
ATL1 4 |
ATL2 3 |
1st | 293 |
Atlantic Championship
edit| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Performance Development & Racing | MTY | LBH | MIL | LS | POR | CHI | TOR | CLE | TRR | ROA 8 |
MTL 23 |
DEN 7 |
21st | 17 |
| 2003 | RuSPORT | MTY 5 |
LBH 2 |
MIL 5 |
LS 4 |
POR 5 |
CLE 13 |
TOR 2 |
TRR 14 |
MDO 3 |
MTL 3 |
DEN 13 |
MIA 7 |
5th | 123 |
References
edit- ^ "Aaron Justus". Toyota Atlantic Championship. Archived from the original on October 3, 2003. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
- ^ "2012 IKF Grand National Annual". IKF. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
- ^ "Team Green Academy Names 25 Drivers For Program". Champcar.com. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
- ^ "Aaron Justus". USF2000. Archived from the original on August 27, 2003. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
- ^ "Colorado Race Results". USF2000. Archived from the original on February 18, 2001. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
- ^ "US F2000 National Championship Point Standings". USF2000. Archived from the original on November 27, 2003. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
- ^ "Aaron Justus". ChampCar Stats.com. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
- ^ "MOTORSPORTS BY MANIFEST DESIGN". In the Pits Media. Retrieved 13 February 2016.