Mod lite racer Jaedon McDowell isn’t afraid to travel to race. This year, he’s hauled from Tennessee to tracks in Florida, Iowa, Oklahoma (such as where he’s pictured at Arrowhead Speedway), and Arkansas. Better yet, the IMCA national points leader often finds himself in victory lane.
“We like to move around and try our luck against other drivers,” McDowell, of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, said. “If we see a decent purse or a good car count at a track, we plan on going there — whether it means driving to Arkansas, Iowa, or Missouri.”
Despite his winning track record, McDowell takes a humble approach when showing up at a track, whether it’s close to home like Duck River Raceway Park or far away like Boone Speedway in Iowa.
“There is a load of pressure,” said McDowell. “Everybody expects you to show up and be the best. You can’t let that get to you. You have to stay calm.
“I race like I am a nobody — like I shouldn’t be there. I don’t think I’m the top dog. I see myself as just any driver on the track. I focus on myself and drive to finish in the top five. When I show up at a racetrack, every day is a new day. We start from scratch.”
McDowell moved into mod lites from a form of motorsport unlike dirt oval racing — road-racing go-karts.
“It was time to get out of karts,” McDowell said. “Dad raced karts and anything else he could race since he was a kid. We checked out the IMCA mod lites and felt this would be are next big step, giving us the ability to travel around and spend some father-son time together.”
McDowell, his father, Bill, travel together as McDowell competes in mod lites. They have provided McDowell with an enjoyable challenge.
“These cars are hard to drive — they are small, narrow, and fast,” said McDowell. “It takes a good driver and a good car to win or finish in the top five. Driving them is quite an adrenaline rush.”
Jaedon McDowell said he thinks he has a chance at maintaining that national points lead and winning the championship.
“We are in good shape right now,” McDowell said. “We are 100 points ahead of second and we plan on racing every weekend, anywhere we can, for the rest of the season.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
