Jade Avedisian’s first time racing on asphalt might have been a little impromptu, but nonetheless, it left her with distinct hope for her future in the pavement world.
The Clovis, Calif., native has spent the last several years honing in on her dirt-track craft. This year, she claimed the Xtreme Outlaw Midget Series championship, wheeling the No. 71 midget for Keith Kunz Motorsports.
But amid all the trips to dust bowls across the country, Avedisian made a detour to the famed WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in mid-September to try her hand at road course racing.
“I was home for the 4th of July this past summer, I had lunch with the guys at Peelz (sponsor) and they were like, ‘Do you want to run a sports car race at Laguna?’” Avedisian said. “I was like, ‘I guess I’ll do it.’ And you know, come September, by that time it perfectly aligned.”
The Porsche Sprint Challenge North America race being held at Laguna Seca was smack dab in between Xtreme Outlaw’s Sept. 2 visit to Paragon (Ind.) Speedway and Sept. 15 date at Jacksonville (Ill.) Speedway.
With no schedule conflicts, the 17-year-old made her decision: Why not say yes?
Avedisian took the wheel of the orange-and-blue No. 57 entry at the 2.238-mile road course and swept both races in the Cayman GT4 Pro/Am class, triumphing in her sports car debut.
“I think that was good just to get my feet wet and give me an idea of what it’s going to be like,” Avedisian said.
This coming season, Avedisian’s schedule will be split between road courses and dirt racing — a direct result of her new multi-year contract with Toyota Racing Development.
To help her transition to pavement, Toyota has slotted Avedisian a spot in GR Cup, which involves a seven-date, 14-race calendar at tracks such as Florida’s Sebring Int’l Raceway, Circuit of The Americas in Texas and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
In addition to running the GR86 car, Avedisian will also run 40-plus midget races to continue growing her skillset. However, due to her Toyota GR Cup commitment, she will be unable to defend her Xtreme Outlaw title.
“Unfortunately, I won’t be running for a championship on the midget side just because there are a few overlapping weekend, but I’m so excited to do it and, obviously, grateful for the opportunity to run these GR86 cars,” Avedisian said.
She expects a steep learning curve in her first season racing asphalt, but at the same time, Avedisian believes it’s the best step for her future.
“It’s still four months away, so I’m going to have plenty of time to prepare myself as best I can so I can give it my best effort come Sonoma time,” Avedisian said. “I think the main (challenge) is going to be passing, but I’m not sure. I’m just trying to prepare myself.”
The Toyota GR Cup opener is at Sonoma (Calif.) Raceway on April 5-7.