[h=2]Rossi enters kart race with first instructor[/h]
RACER Staff / Image by IMS Photo
Alexander Rossi and his first karting coach, karting veteran Matt Jaskol, will join forces to race for Italian team Factory CRG in this year's SKUSA SuperNationals in Las Vegas in November.
Jaskol, who met a 10-year-old Rossi and coached him in karts for a year before Rossi graduated to single-seaters, was selected to the Red Bull Driver Search program in 2003 and represented the Red Bull Junior Team in Formula BMW. He also made five starts in the Indy Lights Series in 2007. The two reconnected this May when Rossi invited Jaskol to the 100th Indianapolis 500, and the two decided to team up for the SuperNationals.
"This is where it all began and for me to give back to the foundation and roots of my profession is something I really look forward to," said Rossi, who will remain at Andretti-Herta Autosport
with new race race engineer Jeremy Millessrace engineer Jeremy Milless in 2017. "Matt was and is an inspiration to me and a really big part of the reason I took the next step in racing. He's an incredible go-kart driver and champion and it's a huge honor to finally be racing with him and I'm very thankful we have the support of the World Champion Factory CRG team."
The pair will race in the KZ Pro and S1 classes – each driver running in two classes.
"It's somewhat unreal how this has come full circle," Jaskol said. "After coaching Alexander behind his first steering wheel nearly 15 years ago, to being in Indianapolis for the Indy 500 and toying with the thought of racing at the SuperNationals together hours before his 500 victory. It's an honor and privilege to race alongside Alex for Factory CRG.
"It's simply unreal that we've come back together in this capacity and the fact we'll be racing right in my home town of Las Vegas where I met and coached Alex for the first time! Stories like this don't come along very often and we look forward to a fantastic event."
Rossi won the 2016 INDY 500 first time out as a rookie.