Photo courtesy of Townsend Bell
By Steve Galluzzo | Sports Editor
What a rookie season auto racing phenom Jaxon Bell had in the Skip Barber Formula Race Series.
The 2021 Palisades Charter High School graduate and oldest son of Palisades residents Townsend and Heather Bell was able to record six wins and 11 podiums in 16 races, including two victories and three fastest laps in his last four races on the circuit.
In April, Jaxon made his dad (a three-time Top-10 finisher at the Indy 500) very proud with a pair of first-place finishes in his debut April 3 to 5 at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Three weeks later Jaxon swept both races at NOLA Motorsports Park in Louisiana.
In the third event at Virginia International Raceway he was fourth in the first race and 12th out of 16 drivers in the second. At Road America in Wisconsin August 11 to 13, Jaxon was third in both races.
Several weeks after that, the Series shifted to Lime Rock Park where he finished 14th in Race 1 but rebounded to take second place in Race 2.
The former Palisades Charter Elementary and Calvary Christian school student, who grew up playing PPBA baseball and flag football at Palisades Recreation Center, as well as football at Pali High, took seventh in the first race and 13th in the second race October 10 to 11 at Sebring International Raceway in Florida.
After qualifying third in the West Coast stop at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca near Salinas in early November, Jaxon won Race 1 and took second in Race 2. The final Series stop was November 22 to 24 at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, and Jaxon was second in Race 1 and first in Race 2.
Overall, Jaxon finished third in the final standings with 437 points behind winner Sebastian Wheldon (456 points) and runner-up Joshua Alianell (440).
As a feather in his cap, Jaxon placed third in Race 2 of the Music City GP in October at Indianapolis Motor Speedway—his first GRCup trophy finish.
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