Jay Howard won claimed championships in both USF2000 and Indy Lights as a young driver en route to becoming a competitor in the Indianapolis 500 and Verizon IndyCar Series.
Now he aims to help young drivers follow his path. Howard's karting and junior open wheel formula team, Jay Howard Driver Development. will join the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires on a full-time basis in 2019.
The expansion to the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda furthers the team's mission of advancing drivers from the karting ranks to junior open-wheel categories leading to the Verizon IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500.
"I am really excited to add USF2000 to my driver development ladder program,” Howard said. “I have always wanted to be a part of the Mazda Road to Indy. It was just a case of timing. We are one step closer to our ultimate goal. I'm really happy to see our internal motorsports ladder working, taking drivers from karts to cars, then developing and supporting our drivers all the way to INDYCAR."
After founding the JHDD Kart Team in 2012, Howard expanded to cars in 2017. Its initial entry into the F4 U.S. Championship constituted the overall youngest team on the grid by graduating three drivers from its karting program – Sam Paley, 14, and a pair of 15-year-olds, Parker Locke and Max Peichel, who is competing in USF2000 this season.
JHDD has since expanded its operation to field as many as five cars for teenagers Wyatt Brichacek, Braden Eves, Christian Rasmussen, Teddy Wilson and Aidan Yoder in F4, and currently holds a commanding lead in the team championship standings.
Howard claimed the USF2000 championship in 2005 and added the Indy Lights title one year later. Howard has driven for several teams over the years, including Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Sarah Fisher Racing, and competed in the 102nd Running of the Indianapolis 500. As an accomplished professional driver coach, Howard will be reunited with many of his past alumni including USF2000 points leader Kyle Kirkwood and David Malukas, who took back-to-back wins at Road America recently – his first in the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires.
“We are very excited to welcome Jay and his team to the Mazda Road to Indy family,” said Dan Andersen, Owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions. “Jay runs a top-notch program and his driver development goals align perfectly with ours – to provide drivers with the resources necessary to climb the motorsports racing ladder to the top. He has had tremendous success in training and graduating karters into cars and the open-wheel arena, and we are very much looking forward to having him in our paddock.”