2023 was a breakout season for young sensation, RJ Brown. The 10-year-old Missouri native demonstrated his ever-increasing abilities at major tracks and promotions across the country, wheeling his Stewart Racing Engines, GFC RR5 cadet to several National wins, pole positions and track records.
Coming off a year of growth and now in his 4th full season, 2023 brought a new challenge for driver and team, switching their focus to the ever-popular and ultra-competitive Briggs & Stratton LO206 engine platform. The switch paid dividends almost immediately as the season started by claiming a massive victory with CupKartsNorthAmerica at the Autobahn Karting Club in Joliet, Il May 21st. At a track he'd never attended, he set the tone for the weekend claiming Pole Position and backing it up with a tremendous drive in the final, passing multiple karts in spots no other driver dared to venture. The savvy setup and patience from the young star put him in position to win his first ever major race with a national series in dramatic style.
The CKNA schedule rolled on, with the next stop at historic Millwrite Raceway in Dousman, Wisconsin. With 12 extremely strong competitors on the property June 16th, RJ backed up his win at Autobahn Karting Club, qualifying the kart P2. The team struggled this weekend but RJ carried the flag, providing invaluable driver feedback and input thus allowing the team to make intelligent tuning decisions. RJ's feel for the kart is beyond his years and once again, he claimed a Heat race win on Saturday. Sunday was another story. Armed with some experience at yet another track he had previously never attended, he hammered down a massive pole position on Sunday, besting his next competitor by almost 2 tenths of a second. Now carrying momentum, confidence and an improved setup, he went on to win the second heat race and subsequent final to claim his second victory in a row, winning the final in styled fashion.
The summer racing is exceptionally brutal, with RJ and the Team back in action at the recently renovated Whiteland Raceway Park July 21st. Whiteland is an exceptionally demanding track and the Team was behind the 8 ball from the start with setup. Whiteland drew in the crowd, with 17 cadets all pushing to take the win. Saturday was a whirlwind with RJ wrangling his GFC to a 5th place qualifying effort followed a second-place effort in the heat race. The final was another story with the crew failing to stay ahead of the racetrack and limping home an ill handling kart for 5th. Sunday was a similar story which kicked off strong with a P2 qualifying effort. The final however was a repeat and while improved, RJ managed to take a 10th place kart and bring home a top five finish for R3 SpeedFab.
Knowing we had missed the target, the Team put its head down and went back to work. Testing new setups and continuing the push with driver development for the next race July 30th at the legendary Garnett Sprint Track, in Garnett, KS. At a track having previously held National Events for the most prestigious organizations, RJ made a statement by shattering the prior track record by over half a second and clear of his next rival by almost 4 tenths. He went on to claim victory in dominating fashion while only going faster as the weekend progressed.
With a tremendous amount of confidence and energy rolling, disaster truck. A shattered right ankle during football practice. As a multi-sport athlete, RJ competes in not only Go Karts but football and Ninja Warrior. His success on the track is backed up in these other sports, finishing second in the world in his age group over the 2022 competitive Ninja Warrior season and is threat to win at any event he enters.
Almost immediately after casting RJ asked the Dr. if he would be able to make the last, and most important race of the year, the Cup Karts North America Grand Nationals at renowned New Castle Motorsports Park looming, only 8 weeks away. The Drs update was not promising. While not ruling it out, it was clear RJ had not only his work cut out for him but needed some luck as well. Pushing past the disappointment, RJ put his full efforts in rehabilitating his broken ankle as any top athlete would. Completing all his assigned rehab workouts with extra done on top, with less than 5 days to go was able to get cleared by his team of Doctors to compete.
Going into the weekend of September 28th at New Castle, the challenge loomed large. Another racetrack never attended. An absolutely stacked field of talent, placing the best 28 drivers in North America on the property. Over 8 weeks of a layoff with no practice or training. The team did its best to pace ourselves with plenty of practice for 2 days before the final qualifying effort Saturday. After setting quick time in several practice sessions, putting the GFC cadet in a strong P4 to set the lineup for the remaining heat races. Following a day of heats with top five finishes, Sunday kicked off with a bang going purple in the warmup. However, with over 600 entries at the facility and hot conditions, the team just could not stay ahead of the racetrack. While battling for 3rd place and worn down from the lack of practice, a tiny mistake dropping a rear wheel set RJ back in the pack, down to 16th position. While frustrated, that didn't stop him from re-focusing and pouring an intense effort back into the kart to finish a very commendable 10th place at the biggest LO206 race in North America.
Looking forward to the 2024 season we seek to run harder than ever, traveling to the top tracks with the most talent. We have been fortunate to have some terrific partners but as our travel schedule and equipment demands have increased, the costs have reached a point that we are unable to help continue his growth. If you are interested in becoming part of RJ's mission to reach the pinnacle of motorsports, please reach out to us for current sponsorship opportunities that are available. We look forward to partnering with you, and we are confident the passion, drive, and excitement generated by RJ and Team R3 SpeedFab will flow over into your own business and life!