MAC CLARK RACING ON YOUTUBE
MY STORY
My journey in motorsports began in 2014 when I was ten years old. Most would say that's too late for a kid who wants to win the Indy 500 one day, but not me.
I wasn't aware of this when I started, but racing has always been in my blood. Grandparents on both sides of my family raced karts. The same is true for two of my uncles as well as my own father.
At first, motorsport was a hobby. Karting was nothing more than a fun way to spend Saturdays with my dad. At some point leading up to my second season, I decided I was going to get more serious about racing.
We attended my first national event in 2015, just one and a half years after I started driving. I finished inside the top ten, seventh, to be exact. A solid, national-level result not only filled me with confidence as a young driver, but I began to think about where racing could take me.
After a full year of national competition in 2016, we took another step forward. In early 2017, the decision was made to throw me in the deep end, see if I could swim. I went from national-level 4-stroke karting competition to attending some of the largest 2-cycle races that North America had to offer.
By the end of 2017, I had won my first national karting championship and went on to represent team Canada at the World Karting Finals in Lonato, Italy. Something I would have the pleasure of doing the following year in 2018 as well.
With our performances getting stronger, I claimed a win on the international karting stage, talks then really sparked about a legitimate career for me in motorsport. The family as a whole decided that we would give open-wheel racing a chance in the pursuit of me becoming a professional sports car driver.
To kick off my car racing career, we won the 2019 F1600 Canada Rookie of the Year Award. It was a year full of learning lessons and building confidence. My sophomore open-wheel campaign was our most statistically successful season to date. I became the youngest-ever Canadian F1600 Champion, claiming 16/18 race victories that year. After two years and a proper taste of open-wheel racing, I knew in my heart that I wanted a career nothing short of Indycar.
2021 brought a new set of challenges. To continue climbing the ranks of open-wheel racing we looked to the international scene, specifically the US. American F4 was my first season of "wings and slicks" racing, as the old boys like to call it. While I didn't bring the championship home to the Great White North, we sure tried. As a rookie, I finished 2nd in the championship standings with six wins, the most of any driver.
Unsure of what was next for me, the birth of a new racing series brought hope to our program. In a deal with DEForce Racing, I raced in the inaugural USF Juniors championship to win the graduate scholarship. A prize that would allow me to keep going up the ladder.
With five wins and twelve podiums, I secured the championship as well as the scholarship that would allow us to compete in USF2000 this coming year in 2023. Over the past two seasons, I have competed in 4 different American open-wheel series, taking victories in all of them.
When I started racing, I had no idea it would take me this far. I am very fortunate to do what I do and still have a tough road ahead if I want to achieve my real goal of becoming the most successful IndyCar driver of my time.
ROAD TO INDY
