| Tyler Maxson | |
| Birth Date: | October 12, 2004 |
| Birth Place: | Lawrenceville, Georgia, United States |
| Current Series: | IMSA Ford Mustang Challenge |
| First Year: | 2024 |
| Current Team: | Robert Noaker Racing |
| Car Number: | 74 |
| Titles: | TC America Series – TCR TC America Series – TCA |
| Title Years: | 2020 2019 |
| Updated: | July 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]
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.
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]
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] Maxson also continued in the Michelin Pilot Challenge, albeit in a limited capacity. He drove for GS-class competitor TGR Team Hattori Motorsports at Daytona, paired with Toyota factory driver Jack Hawksworth.[31]
(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 | 26th | 502 | |||
| Performance Tech Motorsports | MOS | ELK | PET |