Ask a three-year-old what their dream job is and many will tell you it is becoming a race car driver. For senior Jaxon Carr, this dream is already his reality.
Carr races an IMCA (International Motor Contest Association) STARS Mod Lite, these small but furious dwarf cars became the ninth division sanctioned by IMCA in 2021. They are powered by nearly 200 HP and weigh over 1,300 pounds. Carr raced locally in Iowa throughout the course of his rookie season hitting weekly shows at Marshalltown and Boone Speedways.
“The Boone Super Nationals is a highly anticipated event because it’s at the end of the season and it brings together the best dirt racers from all over the country. It’s a chance to show your worth against the best of the best. It’s a week-long celebration of racing culture. It’s an atmosphere that makes it a must-attend for racing enthusiasts,” said Carr.
The IMCA Super Nationals is considered the “Super Bowl” of dirt racing. There are over 1,000 entries across seven IMCA sanctioned divisions including entries from Canada and Australia, with seven days of action packed racing around “Iowa’s Action Track” in Boone. What was expected to be the highlight of the season, soon became a nightmare.
On August 31st, 2024, Carr was involved in an extremely violent wreck during his first IMCA Super Nationals appearance. Carr was transported to Boone County Hospital by ambulance. He suffered a concussion, a partial black eye, and cuts and bruises all over his body. Later that evening, he was released from the hospital. All of the safety measures that were in place successfully protected Carr from getting more seriously injured.
“The earliest I can remember is getting my steering wheel. I put it on the car, and then I don’t remember getting in. I don’t remember going to staging, entering anything… I woke up with an ER wristband on my left wrist and a Super Nationals wristband as well. I had no idea what was going on [and I thought] Super Nationals was in like three weeks,” said Carr.
In turns one and two, his car hit a hole in the ground, leading his vehicle to be up on two wheels. Carr quickly corrected it, but as the vehicle settled again his momentum led his car to push off the track. Carr flipped eight times while over 20 feet in that air at one point at 75 mph; knocking him unresponsive for several minutes.
“Well, with my car… it’s not meant for these kinds of tracks…The car is designed for a different style of track…, I have to throw it in the corner really hard… I have to Turn really late… and when I do that, I put a lot of weight on the right front tire, and when the right front hits a hole in the ground, it puts me on two wheels. And when you’re going 70, 80 miles an hour, you can’t really stop and led me to fly off the track,” said Carr.
All of Carr’s bars that were supposed to bend ended up bending and doing what they were supposed to do in this situation. His safety equipment also withheld under the pressure of this situation, especially his belts. They did their job by stretching in the wreck.
Despite doctors and family members advising Carr to avoid watching footage of the wreck, he has seen it many times, stating that it doesn’t even seem like it is him in the YouTube video.
“It’s like I’m watching a wreck compilation on YouTube,” Carr said.
The wreck hasn’t scared him away from racing though, Carr is hoping to return to the track in late October.
“He is fearless, failure is not an option. He feeds off of constructive criticism; he wants nothing sugar coated. Everything I have ever told him he has gone out and executed it almost perfectly every single time. Unless it’s a win he’s not satisfied with the finish,” said crew member, Steven Kennedy.
Throughout the course of his rookie campaign, Carr has achieved multiple important milestones. Achieved his first top 10 finish on July 20th at Boone Speedway and his first top five finish on August 17th at Boone Speedway. While the actual racing is individual, Carr has a team of crew members who have helped him achieve these milestones.
“He is very focused and determined to learn. His ability to avoid crashes in front of him is crazy. We should all call him ‘Sonic’,” Kennedy said.
Even Carr’s competitors agree and respect his early dedication to the sport.
“[He’s] skilled, respectful and no fear. Kids got skill where he can bicycle a car mid-race, feel it tip and bring it back down, continuing to race without missing much of a beat,” said Cory Sonner, a fellow STARS Mod lite driver. “He definitely was raised right with the respect he has on and off the track with other competitors and fans,” Sonner said.
Carr was exposed to racing from the young age of five. He looked up to his dad John Carr, who raced go karts and dominated the competition. Carr raced go karts at Newton Kart Club and said he was “unstoppable, winning everything.” Around the age of seven, Carr was involved in multiple “nasty wrecks” and decided to quit go kart racing. One day Carr bought the game “NASCAR Heat Five” and everything went from there.
After falling back in love with the sport. Carr competed in racing special events and moved to electric karts at pole position (Now K1 speed).
“My dad seeing me win by over a lap definitely helped push him over the line about buying a car. In just a couple of months I was already rated in the top .001%,” said Carr.
While the speed isn’t what draws Carr into the sport, it has never scared him.
“I don’t really like the speed. Like, I’m fine with speed, but it’s not something that motivates me. It’s just that I like doing it. I’m good at it and it’s fun, unique and it’s cool to talk about,” Carr said.
Looking into the future, Carr wants to move to a IMCA Modified in the next couple of years. Eventually seeing himself in Formula Drift, rally, or World of Outlaws.
“Well, I expect to win… We took a car nobody wanted, on a track it wasn’t made for, on top of being the most difficult car to drive on a weekly night and was competitive. We’re going all out next year, we’re switching over to a championship-winning chassis and engine rebuild. We plan on racing more. I didn’t race outside of Boone and Marshalltown, so [the] plan is to travel, hit Stuart, go down to Arkansas. Texas. Tennessee…Illinois… Shake and bake, baby. Win everything. Shake and bake,” said Carr.
Carr loves to engage with other drivers after the races, signing autographs and interacting with young fans who are the future of the sport.
“I like talking to other drivers after my race and when all of the races are over, the kids from the stands come to the pits and ask for autographs,” said Carr.
“Special thanks to my dad John Carr, thanks for all your hard work on the car and for always supporting me especially throughout my healing process from my concussion,” said Carr.
View this exclusive interview with Jaxon Carr:
