Jared Thomas (racing driver)

Jared Thomas (born October 16, 1997) is an American racing driver and team owner of JTR Motorsports Engineering who currently competes in the Mazda MX-5 Cup.

Thomas was crowned MX-5 Cup champion in consecutive seasons in 2022 and 2023, becoming the first driver in series history to score two championship titles.

Early career
Thomas' career began with regional Spec Miata competition, in which he competed part-time while pursuing a motorsport engineering degree at IUPUI. His 2019 Spec Miata exploits earned him an invite to the Mazda Road to 24 shootout at Michelin's Laurens Proving Grounds. At the conclusion of the December shootout weekend, Thomas was declared the winner and earned a $100,000 scholarship to compete in the 2020 Global MX-5 Cup season. In early 2020, Thomas was nominated by members of the Mazda Motorsports community to receive the 2019 Spirit of Mazda award.

Mazda MX-5 Cup (2020-present)
Thomas' first season of pro racing saw him join 2018 Mazda scholarship winner Michael Carter's Carter Racing Enterprises operation, taking part in a full season of the Mazda MX-5 Cup. In his debut weekend at Road America, Thomas claimed a runner-up finish in the second race of the weekend. Later that season, at New Jersey Motorsports Park, Thomas claimed his maiden pole position in the series, leading the Sunday race to the green flag. Thomas enjoyed a lights-to-flag victory during the ensuing race, although the finish between himself and Gresham Wagner was the closest in series history, with just 0.0009 seconds separating the two drivers. With one victory and four podium finishes on the season, Thomas finished fourth in the championship and secured Rookie of the Year honors.

Thomas swapped teams for 2021, opening shop on his own JTR Motorsports Engineering operation. Thomas himself began the season with a pair of podium finishes in the opening weekend at Daytona. Following a difficult mid-season, with joint-best finishes of fifth at Mid-Ohio and Laguna Seca, Thomas returned to the podium in each of the final two races of the season at Road Atlanta, claiming his only victory of the year in the season finale.

Ahead of 2022, Thomas' entry began sporting a yellow roll cage, indicative of the car's past as a raffle prize for the Lemons of Love charity. Thomas acquired the car from original winner Mitch Bender in 2019, and retained its yellow highlights in order to continue representing the charity. He enjoyed a hot start to the 2022 season, taking a victory in each of the first three race meetings at Daytona, St. Petersburg, and Mid-Ohio. Following additional podium finishes in the ensuing rounds at Watkins Glen and Road America, Thomas claimed his first MX-5 Cup title, just ten points clear of championship runner-up Connor Zilisch. The $250,000 scholarship awarded to the champion was re-invested into JTR Motorsports Engineering, allowing them to field GT4 entries in the Michelin Pilot Challenge and GT4 America Series in 2023.

Thomas returned to the Mazda MX-5 Cup to defend his series title in 2023, getting off to a strong start by winning in the opening weekend at Daytona. After a difficult round at St. Petersburg, he returned with a double podium at Laguna Seca, ahead of third and fourth-place race finishes at Watkins Glen. Thomas claimed his second race victory of the season during the ensuing race weekend at Road America, helping him enter the VIR race weekend with the points lead. Following finishes of second, first, and third in the next three races, Thomas only needed to finish the season finale at Road Atlanta to claim the title. In doing so, he became the first repeat champion in series history. Thomas also entered events in the Michelin Pilot Challenge and Porsche Sprint Challenge North America during 2023. In the former, he teamed up for the opening two races of the season with Anthony McIntosh in a GS-class Mercedes-AMG GT4, registering a best finish of seventh at Daytona. In the latter, Thomas entered a pair of race weekends in a Porsche 992 GT3 Cup entry, sweeping his debut weekend at Mid-Ohio.

In 2024, Thomas embarked on full-time efforts in both MX-5 Cup and Sprint Challenge competition.

JTR Motorsports Engineering
Using the scholarship money received from Thomas' Rookie of the Year triumph in 2020, he launched JTR Motorsports Engineering, with whom he competed in the 2021 Mazda MX-5 Cup. The North Vernon-based operation fields entries in the Mazda MX-5 Cup and Porsche Sprint Challenge North America, having formerly competed in the GT4 ranks through both the Michelin Pilot Challenge and GT4 America Series.

In their opening season of MX-5 Cup competition, the operation expanded from a pair of cars for Thomas and Chris Nunes to a total of five part-time entries. The team fielded five entries for the majority of 2022, before bringing eight entries to the opening round of the 2023 season. At the end of 2023, the team wrapped up their first entrants championship.