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‘The racing spirit’
By Rhonda Moore
He’s been a speed junkie since he was a kid and at 18 years old, JD Mobley is poised to take it to the big time.
Mobley is a high school senior at Denver Christian High School and Castle Rock resident who began his racing career in Colorado’s high country. He was a downhill ski racer when he decided to take a shot at something with an engine.
At the age of 12 he tried some rental go karts at a local race track and, since then, has never looked back. He spent most of his time on the podium in the kart racing competitions and was permanently hooked.
His first race was in a Skip Barber car, the Dodge RT 2000, at the racing school where he got his license. He began moving up and is now preparing for his first televised race, the Jetta TDI (Turbo Diesel Injection) Cup, a series that runs through the summer and finishes with a $100,000 purse for the winner.
“I always had the racing spirit,” he said.
The Jetta TDI Cup features 30 racers hand picked from a field of 100 applicants. Nearly half that showed up for the qualifier, where race times took a back seat to eligibility tests that included a written test and media interviewing skills.
The series begins April 25 in Alton, Va., and continues with 10 races throughout the summer, while contestants rack up point on their way to the champion’s podium.
The cup will be televised on the Speed Channel, courtesy of Volkswagen, the main sponsor. For Mobley, sponsorship comes by way of Oakley and the start-up company, Uneek Society — the brainchild of his manager and close buddy, Royce Haitsuka.
Haitsuka is a 17-year-old classmate of Mobley’s who started out helping Mobley with a logo. Today Haitsuka acts as manager, press contact and all around marketing agent as the two cut their entrepreneurial teeth on JD Mobley Racing.
“I have full confidence he’s going to win because he never talks about winning,” Haitsuka said. “He just talks about doing it.”
The duo met at Denver Christian when Mobley transferred there from Rock Canyon High School in Highlands Ranch. Seeking a richer learning environment, Mobley found his match at Denver Christian after shadowing a student there.
An alumnus of Buffalo Ridge Elementary School in Castle Rock, Mobley is looking forward to a long career nurtured by the support of his parents, Marcy Blair and Karl Mobley.
“My parents have always supported me ever since I started,” he said.
He joins the other racers on the Jetta TDI Cup with a 10-city itinerary that includes stops in Illinois, Ontario and the final race in Georgia. He intends to post his finishes on his Web site www.jdmobleyracing.com and will stay also in touch with fans on his Facebook page.
He hopes that fan base continues to grow as he makes his way to the bigger series, such as Formula One, Nascar and his ultimate dream, the Le Mans. He is preparing for his first series by working out, staying focused and positioning himself to take advantage of the opportunity before him.
“Ever since I was a kid I liked everything that goes fast, everything with a motor,” he said. “My vision is to keep going up the racing ladder.”
Mobley is a high school senior at Denver Christian High School and Castle Rock resident who began his racing career in Colorado’s high country. He was a downhill ski racer when he decided to take a shot at something with an engine.
At the age of 12 he tried some rental go karts at a local race track and, since then, has never looked back. He spent most of his time on the podium in the kart racing competitions and was permanently hooked.
His first race was in a Skip Barber car, the Dodge RT 2000, at the racing school where he got his license. He began moving up and is now preparing for his first televised race, the Jetta TDI (Turbo Diesel Injection) Cup, a series that runs through the summer and finishes with a $100,000 purse for the winner.
“I always had the racing spirit,” he said.
The Jetta TDI Cup features 30 racers hand picked from a field of 100 applicants. Nearly half that showed up for the qualifier, where race times took a back seat to eligibility tests that included a written test and media interviewing skills.
The series begins April 25 in Alton, Va., and continues with 10 races throughout the summer, while contestants rack up point on their way to the champion’s podium.
The cup will be televised on the Speed Channel, courtesy of Volkswagen, the main sponsor. For Mobley, sponsorship comes by way of Oakley and the start-up company, Uneek Society — the brainchild of his manager and close buddy, Royce Haitsuka.
Haitsuka is a 17-year-old classmate of Mobley’s who started out helping Mobley with a logo. Today Haitsuka acts as manager, press contact and all around marketing agent as the two cut their entrepreneurial teeth on JD Mobley Racing.
“I have full confidence he’s going to win because he never talks about winning,” Haitsuka said. “He just talks about doing it.”
The duo met at Denver Christian when Mobley transferred there from Rock Canyon High School in Highlands Ranch. Seeking a richer learning environment, Mobley found his match at Denver Christian after shadowing a student there.
An alumnus of Buffalo Ridge Elementary School in Castle Rock, Mobley is looking forward to a long career nurtured by the support of his parents, Marcy Blair and Karl Mobley.
“My parents have always supported me ever since I started,” he said.
He joins the other racers on the Jetta TDI Cup with a 10-city itinerary that includes stops in Illinois, Ontario and the final race in Georgia. He intends to post his finishes on his Web site www.jdmobleyracing.com and will stay also in touch with fans on his Facebook page.
He hopes that fan base continues to grow as he makes his way to the bigger series, such as Formula One, Nascar and his ultimate dream, the Le Mans. He is preparing for his first series by working out, staying focused and positioning himself to take advantage of the opportunity before him.
“Ever since I was a kid I liked everything that goes fast, everything with a motor,” he said. “My vision is to keep going up the racing ladder.”
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