Aaron Telitz

Aaron Telitz
Telitz at Road America in 2018
NationalityUnited States American
Born (1991-12-13) December 13, 1991 (age 32)
Birchwood, Wisconsin
Indy Lights career
Debut season2017
Current teamBelardi Auto Racing
Racing licence FIA Gold
Car number4
Starts39
Wins3
Poles3
Fastest laps4
Previous series
20142015
2016
U.S. F2000 National Championship
Pro Mazda Championship
Awards
2014Team USA Scholarship

Aaron Telitz (born December 13, 1991) is an American race car driver. He currently competes full-time in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, 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, 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 ladder, graduating into the Pro Mazda Championship with Team Pelfrey.[1] He collected six wins and six second place finishes in 16 races, claiming the championship over teammate Patricio O'Ward.

Telitz's 2018 Indy Lights car at Road America

Belardi Auto Racing signed Telitz for the 2017 Indy Lights season, and he scored a second-place finish in the Freedom 100.[2] He stayed with the team for the following year.[3] Also during 2018, Telitz tested an IndyCar for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.[4]

After not finding enough funding to remain in open-wheel racing for 2019, Telitz was contacted by Jimmy Vasser in late 2018 to compete for his WeatherTech SportsCar Championship team for the four endurance championship events, starting with the 2019 24 Hours of Daytona with co-drivers Townsend Bell, 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.[5] He started off the season with a second place at Daytona.[6]

Telitz still found his way into open-wheel racing during 2019; however, as he signed with Belardi for the Freedom 100, which was derailed with a broken half shaft.[7] A month later, he returned to Belardi for his home event at Road America.[8] His schedule expanded as the season went on, eventually winning a Lights contest in Toronto.[9]

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 found that the reconfigured schedule would clash with his educational pursuits.[10]

Personal life

Telitz is a painter and during his 2018 season sold paintings to pay for crash damage.[3] On November 22, 2021, Aaron's wife Maggie gave birth to a son.

Racing record

Career summary

Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2013 F1600 Championship Series WISKO Race Engineering 12 1 2 1 6 396 3rd
2014 U.S. F2000 National Championship ArmsUp Motorsports 14 1 0 1 6 246 4th
2015 U.S. F2000 National Championship Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing 16 1 0 3 11 348 3rd
2016 Pro Mazda Championship Team Pelfrey 16 6 10 4 13 421 1st
2017 Indy Lights Belardi Auto Racing 16 2 1 1 4 271 6th
2018 Indy Lights Belardi Auto Racing 16 0 1 1 5 316 6th
2019 Indy Lights Belardi Auto Racing 7 1 1 2 2 133 9th
IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD AIM Vasser Sullivan 4 0 0 0 1 96 25th
2020 IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD AIM Vasser Sullivan 11 3 4 0 5 267 3rd
2021 IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Vasser Sullivan Racing 13 1 2 0 3 2640 7th
2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Pro Vasser Sullivan Racing 1 0 0 0 0 265 30th
IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD 11 0 2 1 4 2341 10th
Michelin Pilot Challenge - GS TGR Riley Motorsports 1 0 0 0 0 260 52nd
GT4 America Series - Pro-Am TGR Smooge Racing
2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Vasser Sullivan Racing 11 1 0 0 2 2927 3rd
2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD Vasser Sullivan 4 0 2 1 0 821 37th*
Michelin Pilot Challenge - GS Archangel Motorsports
24H Series - GT3 Optimum Motorsport

* Season still in progress.

American open-wheel racing results

U.S. F2000 National Championship

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Rank Points
2014 ArmsUp Motorsports STP
16
STP
12
BAR
5
BAR
2
IMS
3
IMS
11
LOR
1
TOR
6
TOR
3
MDO
7
MDO
2
MDO
7
SNM
2
SNM
4
4th 246
2015 Cape Motorsports
Wayne Taylor Racing
STP
2
STP
2
NOL
2
NOL
16
BAR
1
BAR
4
IMS
3
IMS
2
LOR
3
TOR
6
TOR
5
MDO
3
MDO
3
MDO
2
LAG
4
LAG
2
3rd 348

Pro Mazda Championship

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Rank Points
2016 Team Pelfrey STP
2
STP
1
ALA
2
ALA
2
IMS
7
IMS
2
LOR
5
RDA
1
RDA
1
TOR
1
TOR
1
MOH
2
MOH
3
LGA
2
LGA
5
LGA
1
1st 421

Indy Lights

Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Rank Points
2017 Belardi Auto Racing STP
1
STP
5
ALA
13
ALA
5
IMS
6
IMS
13
INDY
2
RDA
11
RDA
5
IOW
9
TOR
5
TOR
2
MDO
8
MDO
5
GMP
15
WGL
1
6th 271
2018 Belardi Auto Racing STP
DNS
STP
9
ALA
8
ALA
4
IMS
3
IMS
2
INDY
6
RDA
5
RDA
3
IOW
7
TOR
4
TOR
3
MDO
7
MDO
7
GTW
5
POR
6
POR
2
6th 316
2019 Belardi Auto Racing STP
STP
COA
COA
IMS IMS INDY
9
RDA
3
RDA
5
TOR
1
TOR
6
MDO
8
MDO
6
GTW POR POR LAG LAG 9th 133

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rank Points
2019 AIM Vasser Sullivan GTD Lexus RC F GT3 Lexus 5.0 L V8 DAY
2
SEB
9
MDO DET WGL
9
MOS LIM ELK VIR LGA PET
11
25th 96
2020 AIM Vasser Sullivan GTD Lexus RC F GT3 Lexus 5.0 L V8 DAY
12
DAY
1
SEB
1†
ELK
3
VIR
4
ATL
5
MDO
1
CLT
8
PET
2
LGA
11
SEB
12
3rd 267
2021 Vasser Sullivan Racing GTD Lexus RC F GT3 Lexus 5.0 L V8 DAY
16
SEB
7
MDO
13
DET
4†
WGL
6
WGL
1†
LIM
3
ELK
5
LGA
6
LBH
4
VIR
3
PET
15
7th 2640
2022 Vasser Sullivan GTD Lexus RC F GT3 Toyota 2UR 5.0 L V8 DAY
15
LBH
3†
LGA
8
MDO
3
DET
4
WGL
16
MOS
6†
LIM
8
ELK
3
VIR
4
PET
13
10th 2341
GTD Pro SEB
7
30th 265
2023 Vasser Sullivan Racing GTD Lexus RC F GT3 Toyota 2UR 5.0 L V8 DAY
5
SEB
5
LBH
3
LGA
14
WGL
1
MOS
6
LIM
12
ELK
5
VIR
5
IMS
14
PET
16
3rd 2927
2024 Vasser Sullivan GTD Lexus RC F GT3 Toyota 2UR 5.0 L V8 DAY
15
SEB
13
LBH LGA WGL
4
MOS ELK VIR IMS
22
PET
37th* 821*

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

References

  1. ^ "Aaron Telitz". Archived from the original on August 22, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  2. ^ "Telitz thrilled with second place in Freedom 100". IndyCar on NBC. May 26, 2017. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Kallman, Dave. "Indianapolis 500 hopeful Aaron Teltiz sells paintings to stay on track". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  4. ^ Pruett, Marshall (April 3, 2018). "Telitz finding unique ways to pay off crash damage". RACER. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  5. ^ Kallman, Dave. "Sports cars might not be the detour they seem for Indy hopeful Aaron Telitz". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  6. ^ Glendenning, Mark (April 12, 2019). "AIM Vasser Sullivan tie validates Telitz's IndyCar ambitions". RACER. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  7. ^ "Tough Going for Belardi Auto Racing in the Freedom 100". Indy Lights. Archived from the original on June 15, 2021. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  8. ^ "Telitz returns to Belardi Indy Lights team for Road America". RACER. June 13, 2019. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  9. ^ Allan, Lance (October 7, 2019). "Wisconsin native hoping for call-up to IndyCar Series". WMTJ. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  10. ^ Allaway, Phil (June 24, 2020). "Aaron Telitz to Drive Remainder of 2020 for AVS Vasser Sullivan". Frontstretch. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
Sporting positions
Preceded by Pro Mazda Championship
Champion

2016
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Zach Robichon
WeatherTech Sprint Cup
Champion

2020
With: Jack Hawksworth
Succeeded by
Ross Gunn
Roman De Angelis