Aaron Justus

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
NationalityUnited States American
Born (1973-10-23) October 23, 1973
Pittsfield, Illinois
Retired2003
Atlantic Championship
Years active2002-2003
TeamsPerformance Development & Racing
RuSPORT
Starts15
Wins0
Poles0
Best finish5th in 2003
Previous series
1996-2000
1995		USF2000
USAC Formula Russell
Championship titles
2000USF2000

Career

Justus 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

American Open-Wheel racing results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest race lap)

USF2000 National Championship
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
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
  1. "Aaron Justus". Toyota Atlantic Championship. Archived from the original on October 3, 2003. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  2. "2012 IKF Grand National Annual". IKF. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  3. "Team Green Academy Names 25 Drivers For Program". Champcar.com. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  4. "Aaron Justus". USF2000. Archived from the original on August 27, 2003. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  5. "Colorado Race Results". USF2000. Archived from the original on February 18, 2001. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  6. "US F2000 National Championship Point Standings". USF2000. Archived from the original on November 27, 2003. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  7. "Aaron Justus". ChampCar Stats.com. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  8. "MOTORSPORTS BY MANIFEST DESIGN". In the Pits Media. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
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