Aaron Justus (born October 23, 1973, in

Pittsfield, Illinois Pittsfield is a city in and the county seat of Pike County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,206 at the 2020 census, a decrease from 4,576 in 2010. History Pittsfield was initially settled by settlers from New England. These sett ...

) is a former American racing driver. Justus won the

USF2000 The USF2000 Championship Presented by Continental Tire is an American racing series using an American variation of the Formula Ford standard, "F2000", that resumed operation for the 2010 season. As of 2022, it is sanctioned by the United States ...

championship in the year 2000 and continued into the

Atlantic Championship The Atlantic Championship Series is an American open-wheel racing series with races throughout North America. It has previously been called Champ Car Atlantics, Toyota Atlantics (after its then engine supplier for sponsorship reasons), or just ...

. Currently Justus is an entrepreneur with his own graphics design company.

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. In 1995, Justus started his formula racing career in the

United States Auto Club The United States Auto Club (USAC) is one of the sanctioning bodies of auto racing in the United States. From 1956 to 1979, USAC sanctioned the List of USAC Championship Car seasons, United States National Championship, and from 1956 to 1997 the ...

sanctioned Formula Russell Championship winning the series. For 1996, Justus was one of 25 drivers selected for the Team Green Academy. After catching the eye of

and

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs. A handcart ...

team owner John Della Penna the plan was to replace

Richie Hearn Richard Edward Hearn (born January 4, 1971) is an American former racing driver. Hearn was born in Glendale, California. He ran in the Toyota Atlantic championship for two seasons, winning the title in 1995. In 1996, he began driving for John D ...

in the Atlantics race seat. However money was a factor and the budget did not come together. In 1996, Justus started four

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 Van Diemen International, Ltd. was a British race car manufacturer based in Snetterton, Norfolk, United Kingdom. The company had a reputation for high-volume production runs of its cars, the most well-known of which is its series of Formula For ...

chassis in third place for the first race, behind

David Besnard David John Besnard (born 21 January 1977 in Sydney, Australia) is a retired professional racing driver. Career history Starting in karts in 1991, he quickly proceeded into Formula Ford in 1995. After initial success, he had a major accident at ...

and

Sam Hornish Jr. Samuel Jon Hornish Jr. (born July 2, 1979) is an American semi-retired professional auto racing driver. He last competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 22 Ford Mustang for Team Penske in 2017. Hornish began his top-ti ...

The sole 1998 outing impressed

Gerald Forsythe Gerald (Jerry) R. Forsythe (born in Marshall, Illinois in 1942) is an American businessman and auto racing magnate, best known for being one of the three men ( Kevin Kalkhoven and Paul Gentilozzi are the other two) that owned the Champ Car World ...

who brought Justus in at

Cape Motorsports Cape Motorsports is an American motorsport team that currently competes in Indy NXT. The team was founded in 2001 by brothers Dominic and Nicholas Cape. History Cape Motorsports was founded in 2001 by brothers Dominic and Nicholas Cape. The ...

for the 1999 season. Justus won the third round of the season at

Lowe's Motor Speedway Charlotte Motor Speedway (known as Lowe's Motor Speedway from 1999 to 2009 due to sponsorship reasons) is a quad-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Concord, North Carolina. It has hosted various major races since it ...

. Later in the season, Justus also won the second race at

Road Atlanta Road Atlanta (known for sponsorship reasons as Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta) is a road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur spo ...

. 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. After a sabbatical Justus returned for 2002 for three races in the

with Performance Development & Racing. His best finish was a seventh place at the Denver street circuit. For 2003, Justus joined

RuSPORT RuSPORT was an auto racing team that competed in the Champ Car World Series. It was founded in September 2002 by Carl Russo. Team history Russo drove for the team then known as Performance Development and Racing (PDR) based in Fort Collins, Col ...

for a full-time effort alongside

A. J. Allmendinger Anthony James Allmendinger (born December 16, 1981), nicknamed "the Dinger,” is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 16 Chevrolet ZL1 for Kaulig Racing. Allmendinger ...

. Despite failing to win a race, Justus scored four podium finishes. Justus finished fifth in the series standings. At the end of the season Justus retired from competitive autosport to run his graphics design company Manifest Group.

Racing record

American Open-Wheel racing results

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

USF2000 National Championship

Atlantic Championship

References

External links

Manifest Group
{{DEFAULTSORT:Justus, Aaron 1973 births Racing drivers from Illinois People from Pittsfield, Illinois U.S. F2000 National Championship drivers International Kart Federation drivers Atlantic Championship drivers American graphic designers Living people RuSPORT drivers