Mitchell DeJong (born September 15, 1997) is an American professional

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

, stunt driver and Esports athlete competing in multiple disciplines, including

rallycross Rallycross is a form of sprint style motorsport held on a mixed-surface circuit (racing), racing circuit using modified production touring automobile, cars or prototype racing cars. It began in the 1960s as a cross between rallying and autocross ...

, ice racing, road course, off-road, dirt, and oval track racing. He also travels the world as an Esports champion and competitor of invite-only events held by top manufacturers such as BMW and Porsche. deJong is known for his dominant road course racing style in the

eNASCAR eNASCAR was launched in 2018, by the parent company, NASCAR, to act as the Esports arm of the auto-racing body. The organization primarily uses the ''iRacing'' game via a PC platform for organizing its competitions, but has previously used other ...

Coca-Cola iRacing series, the Porsche Esports Supercup, and iRacing F1 Championship. deJong holds world records and championship titles in multiple disciplines, including X-Games. He was invited by Porsche to participate in their young driver academy and in 2020 he became a Porsche Factory Works Driver.

Early life and career

DeJong was born in

Laguna Hills Laguna Hills (; ''laguna'' being ) is a city in southern Orange County, California, United States. Its name refers to its proximity to Laguna Canyon and the much older Laguna Beach. Other newer cities nearby—Laguna Niguel and Laguna Woods— ...

. He grew up in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

and started riding

ATVs ATV may refer to: Broadcasting * Amateur television *Analog television Television broadcaster * Andorra Televisió * Anguilla Television * Ayna TV, Afghanistan * ATV (Armenia) * ATV (Aruba), NBC affiliate * ATV (Australian TV station), Melbo ...

in 2000. In 2002, he started racing

go-kart A go-kart, also written as go-cart (often referred to as simply a kart), is a type of small sports car, close wheeled car, open-wheel car or quadracycle. Go-karts come in all shapes and forms, from non-motorised models to high-performanc ...

s. He started racing off-road trucks when he was ten, with the CORR Series and the Lucas Oil Off-Road Racing Series. In 2011, He captured the attention of Red Bull Energy Drink and became the youngest athlete in their arsenal. In 2012, when DeJong was 14, he traveled to the Midwest to compete in the Traxxas TORC Off-Road Racing Championship, where he competed against professional racers twice his age. He won the Traxxas TORC Championship in a Super buggy as well as Rookie of the Year. In 2013, he got his debut at

racing, by competing in the

Global RallyCross Championship Global Rallycross (known as Red Bull Global Rallycross for sponsorship reasons) was a rallycross series operated by businessmen Colin Dyne in conjunction with Sponsor RedBull. The series ran for seven seasons, primarily in North America, from 201 ...

and

X Games The X Games are a series of action sports events founded by ESPN Inc. and aired on ESPN networks and ABC. In late 2022, ESPN sold the long-running property to MSP Sports Capital, a private equity firm co-founded by Jahm Najafi and Jeff Mo ...

where he won a silver medal on his 1st attempt''.'' DeJong won the Gold medal in the X Games' Austin 2014 Rallycross Event, becoming the youngest to ever win the GOLD in a four-wheeled motorsports event. In 2017 his racing took him to Sweden and Norway where he became the first American driver to win the RallyX on Ice Championship and a month later deJong was signing with Honda Racing as a Factory Honda driver in the Global rallycross series. In 2018, he was 1 in only 4 drivers in the world invited to participate in the Porsche Young Driver Academy, where they choose the top young, talented drivers and put them through a series of challenges that includes: driving in adverse situations, automotive technology, sports psychology, media and nutrition.

Racing career

At an age when most kids were pushing toy cars across the carpet pretending to be race car drivers, Mitchell deJong was winning race championships. Racing from the age of five, he won his first two championships -- in two different disciplines -- in the same year. In 2011, he attracted the attention of Red Bull Energy Drink and became their youngest four-wheeled driver in the world. What followed was a landslide of championship titles and X-Games medals. Over the course of the next ten years, the deJong household revolved around one thing: racing. deJong's racing accolades have come in all shapes and sizes, from go-karts to off-road to short course modified trucks to Legend cars, pro-buggy’s, and rallycross cars, and have pitted him against drivers twice his age. He also amassed an impressive record on iRacing. At the end of 2013, deJong competed in his first full iRacing season, racing in the Grand Am Sports Car Series, he won the championship. He immediately went on to race the Daytona 2.4 in the Daytona Prototype back before there were driver swaps, and he managed to win all 3 of 3. In 2014, while deJong was real-world racing in rallycross, he wanted to compete for (an iRacing) Pro License as well. He was able to win the championships in the Global Rallycross Series and the iRacing Grand Prix Series that year. He went on to win round three of the 2015 iRacing World Championship Grand Prix Series at Sebring. Starting from pole position, he led 40 of 52 laps in route to a 7.8-second victory. The win was all the more impressive given that Sebring was just deJong's sixth iRacing World Championship GP Series event. It came just after a trio of starts that saw him earn a pair of top-five finishes after capturing the Pro Road Series title with nine wins in 10 starts. deJong's performance allowed him to join the ranks of iRacing World Champions at just his sixth start, and he continued to earn more titles year after year. DeJong says his

sim racing Sim racing is the collective term for racing games that attempt to accurately simulate auto racing, complete with real-world variables such as fuel usage, damage, tire wear and grip, and suspension settings. To be competitive in sim racing, a dr ...

has been a useful training tool for his real-world racing. For example, at the start of his rallycross season, it had been 6–7 months since deJong had been in a real race car; the only driving he had been doing was on iRacing. He then traveled to

Lydden Hill Race Circuit Lydden Hill Race Circuit (formerly known as Lydden Circuit) is a motorsport venue in Denton with Wootton, about half-way between Canterbury and Dover in Kent, England. The mile-long circuit is mainly used for Rallycross, Drift, Saloon and Spo ...

in England to compete in one of the largest and most well-known rallycross events in the

FIA World Rallycross Championship The FIA World Rallycross Championship (official abbreviation is World RX) is a rallycross series organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA in conjunction with series promoter Rallycross Promoter GmbH (founded by Red Bull G ...

. With no real rallycross driving practice, deJong's goal was to prepare for the upcoming X-Games rallycross event he had been invited to compete in as the youngest ever to compete in a four-wheeled event. His goal was to learn what he could from the veteran racers in Europe, but he ended up winning the whole event. His fast, fluid, and controlled racing style has translated into overwhelming success. But for a driver who knew at age three that he wanted to be a professional racer, competing in the pro classes at a young age was just another challenge that he tackled with the tenacity and skill he used to attack a racecourse. In 2017, deJong became a factory Honda driver and joined

Olsbergs MSE Olsbergs MSE, which also competes under the title OMSE, is an auto racing team founded by Swedish former rally champion Andréas Eriksson as Motorsport Evolution (MSE) in 2005. In 2008 it ran under the name ''Ford Team RS Europe'', while in 2009 ...

for a season of

ice racing Ice racing is a form of racing that uses cars, motorcycles, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, or other motorized vehicles. Ice racing takes place on frozen lakes or rivers, or on groomed frozen lots. As cold weather is a requirement for natural ...

in Sweden and Norway with no prior experience driving in snow or ice in any vehicle. But deJong proved that he was up for the challenge, when he brought home the Rallyx on Ice championship title.

Personal life

In 2022 deJong competed in his first triathlon in the Netherlands and in 2023 he competed in his first Ironman triathlon.

Racing record

Career summary

Career achievements

* 2009 Apex Open Go Kart Champion. * 2010 Apex Open Go Kart Champion. * 2009 Off-Road Modified Kart Champion. * 2010 Off-Road Modified Kart Champion. * 2011 Off-Road Modified Kart Champion. * 2012 TORC Super Buggy Champion. * 2013 X Games Silver Medal Toyota Speedway, Irwindale, CA. * 2014 X Games Gold Medal Austin, Texas. * 2014 Red Bull Global Rallycross Champion. * 2017 Red Bull Global Rallycross Honda Supercar - Rookie of the Year. * 2024 Nitrocross Season Opener Win after a 7 year hiatus.

Red Bull's Global Rallycross Championship

2014 deJong became the first American to win the Global Rallycross Championship in the new supercar lite's class and the youngest to compete. 2017 deJong moved into rallycross supercars as a Honda Factory driver and finished third in Red Bull's Global Rallycross Championship receiving Rookie Of The Year honors.

iRacing esports racing

2013 Grand Am Sports Car Series Champion. 2013 Daytona 2.4 Prototype Champion. 2014 iRacing Grand Prix Serie Champion. 2017 to 2019, he finished the VRS GT iRacing World Championship ranking in the top three. 2018, he finished second in the ''

iRacing ''iRacing'' is a subscription-based online sim racing video game developed and published by iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations in 2008. All in-game sessions are hosted on the publisher's servers. The game simulates real world cars, tracks, and ...

World Championship Grand Prix Series'' to Martin Kronke, and won the ''iRacing Rallycross World Championship''. 2020, he sealed the IRX title before the last race of the season. 2021, he ranked third in the

eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series (formerly PEAK Antifreeze iRacing Series and NASCAR iRacing World Championship) is the premiere esports league that is sanctioned by ENASCAR. The league began in 2010 and is one of the longest-running, offici ...

, behind the champion Keegan Leahy and runner-up Logan Clampitt.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:DeJong, Mitchell American esports players 1997 births Living people American rally drivers X Games competitors Racing drivers from California Global RallyCross Championship drivers World Rallycross Championship drivers