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Tyler Maxson

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Tyler Maxson
Maxson's Hyundai Elantra N TCR at Watkins Glen in 2023.
Born (2004-10-12) October 12, 2004 (age 20)
Lawrenceville, Georgia, United States
IMSA Ford Mustang Challenge career
Debut season2024
Current teamRobert Noaker Racing
Car number74
Championship titles
2020
2019		TC America Series – TCR
TC America Series – TCA
Last updated on: November 9, 2024.

Tyler Maxson (born October 12, 2004) is an American racing driver. Maxson was crowned champion in the TC America Series in consecutive seasons, becoming the youngest ever winner of the TCA class in 2019 before taking the TCR-class championship the following season.[1][2]

Career

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Early career

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Maxson was introduced to motorsports through his father, a local club racer who brought Tyler to the track to try karting at the age of six.[3] Maxson was hooked on the experience, and began competing in local events shortly thereafter. Throughout his junior karting career, Maxson advanced rapidly through the ranks, claiming a National Mini Rok title before transitioning to cars in 2019 at just 14 years of age.[4][5] During this time, Maxson remained a high school student, balancing online courses with his racing schedule.[3]

Maxson's maiden season of pro racing involved a two-pronged effort in both the TC America Series and Global MX-5 Cup, where he piloted a new ND-spec Mazda MX-5 Cup car.[6] Maxson had briefly competed in Spec Miata competition, but cited his primary motivation for competing in Mazda machinery as the marque's Road to 24 ladder, which provided winning drivers with scholarship funds and the chance to drive Mazda's prototype offerings.[5] Maxson scored the TCA-class pole for his first pro race, and concluded the race with a podium finish. Later that season at Sonoma, he claimed his first class victory during the first race of the weekend, and would sweep the round with another race win on Sunday.[7] With four podiums in the next six races, Maxson entered the season finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with a 22-point deficit to points leader Nick Wittmer.[8] Wittmer would finish eighth in race one before retiring in race two, allowing Maxson's pair of third-place finishes to propel him to the TCA-class championship. With it, he became the youngest champion in class history, at just 15 years old.[9] Maxson's MX-5 Cup campaign began surreptitiously, with top-ten finishes in each of the six races he competed in.[10] However, he would not complete the 14-race season, leaving him 16th in the overall championship classification.

TCR and IMSA expansion

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Maxson's Hyundai Elantra N TCR at Watkins Glen in 2022.

2020 saw Maxson jump from TCA to TCR machinery, once again with Copeland Motorsports.[11] He enjoyed a rapid start to the campaign, sweeping each of the first three race weekends of the season and tallying nine consecutive victories before a mechanical failure at Road America ended his streak of race victories.[12][13] Maxson would claim two more wins at Circuit of the Americas in September, taking the series championship by 67 points over second-placed Victor Gonzalez.[14] Upon completion of his TC America program, Maxson took on a part-season drive in the Michelin Pilot Challenge, acting as a tune-up for a full season program in 2021.[15] Paired with fellow 16-year-old Tyler Gonzalez, Maxson scored a second-place finish in his series debut at Road Atlanta.[16]

The duo returned for a full-season program in 2021,[17] with Maxson adopting the "T-Max" nickname in order to differentiate himself from Gonzalez.[18] The duo claimed a class pole position at Lime Rock Park alongside a pair of podium finishes en route to a 10th-place championship finish. In a one-off drive for ST Racing in the GT4 America Series round at Road America, Maxson and Harry Gottsacker claimed a Silver Cup-class victory in the second race of the weekend.[19]

2022 saw Maxson step up to the Hyundai factory-backed Bryan Herta Autosport operation, pairing with Mason Filippi as part of six-car entry by the team.[20] He began the season on a high, claiming pole for the opening round at Daytona,[21] which the duo followed up with additional poles at Sebring, Watkins Glen, and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. However, they would have to wait until Lime Rock to score their first podium of the season, and would conclude the campaign eighth in the TCR championship. That year, Maxson made his debut in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, appearing for LMP3 team MLT Motorsports at the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen before finishing the season with Performance Tech Motorsports at Petit Le Mans.[22]

Maxson's 2023 program surrounded a dual effort, continuing in the Michelin Pilot Challenge alongside a planned season-long GT4 America campaign. Continuing his Hyundai TCR efforts, Maxson joined customer racing outfit Deily Motorsports for the opening race of the season at Daytona before switching to Van der Steur Racing for the remainder of the year.[23][24] He enjoyed a year of consistent finishes, claiming podiums at Watkins Glen and Road Atlanta en route to a fourth-place championship finish. Maxson reunited with Gonzalez and Copeland Motorsports for his GT4 exploits, and claimed a pole position at COTA[25] before the team dropped off the entry list following the race weekend at VIR.[26]

Maxson's Ford Mustang Dark Horse R at Watkins Glen in 2024.

The following year, Maxson embarked on a full-season effort in the new-for-2024 IMSA Ford Mustang Challenge, driving for fellow competitor Robert Noaker's family-owned operation.[27] Despite the team taking delivery of the cars just over a week before the opening round at Mid-Ohio,[28] Maxson claimed pole position for the inaugural race, and would take his first race victory in the series during the second race of the weekend.[29] The following round at Watkins Glen saw Maxson sweep the weekend, re-taking the championship lead from Noaker.[30] He registered three podiums in the following four races, but entered the finale weekend at a 70-point deficit to Noaker.[31] Despite finishing first and second respectively during the pair of races at Indianapolis, Maxson fell 80 points short in the race for the title.[32] Maxson also continued in the Michelin Pilot Challenge during 2024, albeit in a limited capacity. He drove for GS-class competitor TGR Team Hattori Motorsports at Daytona, paired with Toyota factory driver Jack Hawksworth.[33]

Racing record

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Career summary

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Season Series Team Races Wins Poles F/Laps Podiums Points Position
2019 TC America Series - TCA Copeland Motorsports 14 2 3 2 10 206 1st
Mazda MX-5 Cup 6 0 0 0 0 72 16th
2020 TC America Series - TCR Copeland Motorsports 16 11 3 8 11 297 1st
Michelin Pilot Challenge - TCR 2 0 0 0 1 53 17th
2021 Michelin Pilot Challenge - TCR Copeland Motorsports 10 0 1 0 2 2280 10th
GT4 America Series - Silver ST Racing 2 1 0 0 1 29 11th
IMSA Prototype Challenge - LMP3-1 Mühlner Motorsport America 1 0 0 0 0 180 30th
2022 Michelin Pilot Challenge - TCR Bryan Herta Autosport with Curb-Agajanian 10 0 3 0 2 2340 8th
IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP3 MLT Motorsports 1 0 0 0 0 502 26th
Performance Tech Motorsports 1 0 0 0 0
IMSA Prototype Challenge MLT Motorsports 1 0 0 0 0 150 42nd
24H Series - GT3 Pro-Am ST Racing 1 0 0 0 0 ? ?
2023 Michelin Pilot Challenge - TCR van der Steur Racing 9 0 0 0 2 2630 4th
Deily Motorsports 1 0 0 0 0
GT4 America Series - Silver TGR Copeland Motorsports 7 0 1 0 1 63 9th
2024 IMSA Ford Mustang Challenge - Dark Horse Robert Noaker Racing 10 4 3 5 8 3190 2nd
Michelin Pilot Challenge - GS TGR Team Hattori Motorsports 1 0 0 0 0 140 65th

* Season still in progress.

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year Team Class Make Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Rank Points
2022 MLT Motorsports LMP3 Ligier JS P320 Nissan VK56DE 5.6 L V8 DAY
 SEB
 MDO
 WGL
7 		26th 502
Performance Tech Motorsports MOS
 ELK
 PET
8

References

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  1. ^ "Tyler Maxson Wins TCA Championship and Rookie of the Year". TC America. SRO Motorsports Group America. October 21, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  2. ^ "TCR Champion: Tyler Maxson". TC America. SRO Motorsports Group America. October 15, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Driver Download: Tyler Maxson". TC America. SRO Motorsports Group America. March 24, 2020. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  4. ^ "Tyler Maxson Joins CRG". eKarting News. November 6, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Tyler Maxson makes a fast start in cars". Mazda Motorsports. March 19, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  6. ^ "Copeland Motorsports faces a full plate". Mazda Motorsports. March 14, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  7. ^ "Filippi dominates Sonoma TCR Race 2; Maxson sweeps in TCA". Racer. June 9, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  8. ^ "Tyler Maxson wins TC America TCA title". Mazda Motorsports. October 29, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2024. We were 22 points back, and we knew it was going to be a really, really hard and tough challenge to get there...
  9. ^ "Tyler Maxson Wins TCA Championship and Rookie of the Year". TC America. SRO Motorsports Group America. October 21, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2024.
  10. ^ "High drama in Global Mazda MX-5 Cup first half". Racer. July 17, 2019. Retrieved July 11, 2024. Tyler Maxson is another strong young talent... with six top-10 results so far this season.
  11. ^ James, Richard S. (March 3, 2020). "Preview: 2020 SRO TC America". Racer. Retrieved July 11, 2024. Copeland Motorsports is bringing Hyundai Veloster Ns for... Tyler Maxson and Nikko Reger.
  12. ^ "Tyler Maxson on... cloud nine at Road America". TCR-Series. August 28, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  13. ^ "First TC America win for Smithson in Race 2 at Road America". Racer. August 29, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2024. Maxson rolled onto pit lane, mechanical issues ending his streak of nine consecutive race wins.
  14. ^ "TCR Champion: Tyler Maxson". TC America. SRO Motorsports Group America. October 15, 2020. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  15. ^ Dagys, John (October 9, 2020). "Copeland Confirms Move to IMSA; Debut at Road Atlanta". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved July 16, 2024.
  16. ^ Kish, Ryan (October 17, 2020). "Turner BMW Comes Out Tops In Caution-Plagued Encounter". Dailysportscar. Retrieved July 16, 2024. Maxson had passed Lewis for the lead of the race but Lewis fought back and fended off Maxson in a nail-biting final lap.
  17. ^ Dagys, John (November 10, 2020). "Maxson, Gonzalez Set for Full-Season in Copeland Hyundai TCR". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  18. ^ "Gonzalez & Maxson focused on the future". Speed Sport. November 20, 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  19. ^ "Quinlan, Liefooghe win GT4 America Race 2 at Road America". Racer. August 29, 2021. Retrieved July 20, 2024. The Silver class victory went to... Harry Gottsacker and Tyler Maxson.
  20. ^ "Bryan Herta Autosport Expands to 6 Cars In Pilot Challenge For 2022". Fronstretch. January 6, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  21. ^ "Tyler Maxson kicks off season in style with TCR pole at Daytona". TouringCars.net. January 28, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  22. ^ Dagys, John (September 16, 2022). "Maxson Completes Performance Tech Lineup for Petit Le Mans". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  23. ^ "Tyler Maxson Joins Deily Motorsports in Michelin Pilot Challenge". Tyler Maxson Racing. Retrieved July 22, 2024.
  24. ^ "Maxson Moves to Van der Steur for Remainder of Season". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. March 9, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  25. ^ Dagys, John (May 20, 2023). "Maxson, Bleekemolen Out Front in Qualifying at COTA". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  26. ^ Dagys, John (August 18, 2023). "Road America Friday Notebook". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved July 23, 2024. The Tyler Maxson and Tyler Gonzalez-driven No. 74 Copeland Motorsports Toyota GR Supra GT4 EVO [has] been withdrawn...
  27. ^ Dagys, John (May 15, 2024). "Maxson Joins Robert Noaker Racing Mustang Challenge Effort". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  28. ^ "Tyler Maxson set for Ford Mustang Challenge debut this weekend". RTD Media. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  29. ^ Grace, Jonathan (June 9, 2024). "Maxson Wins Action-Packed Race 2 at Mid-Ohio". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  30. ^ "Tyler Maxson wins back-to-back at Watkins Glen". RTD Media. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  31. ^ Dagys, John (September 30, 2024). "RNR's Noaker, Maxson to Decide Inaugural Title at Indy". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  32. ^ Dagys, John (October 4, 2024). "Noaker Wins Race 2 at Indy; Crowned Inaugural Champion". Sportscar365. John Dagys Media. Retrieved November 9, 2024.
  33. ^ "Racing to End Alzheimer's set to begin 2024 campaign with four-hour IMSA race at Daytona". SpeedwayMedia. January 23, 2024. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
[edit]
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Series Founded
 TC America Series
TCA Champion
2019 		Succeeded by
Kevin Boehm
Preceded by
Michael Hurczyn
 TC America Series
TCR Champion
2020 		Succeeded by
Class Folded
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