Starting your racing career at 19 years old is no easy feat
August 19, 2020
Starting your racing career at 19 years old is no easy feat, especially with kids getting into karts at an increasingly younger age, but Ax Kametches is a special exception. Ax started working at the AMP kart track in September of 2019 and it was soon realized that he had a natural ability behind the wheel.
“I had always wanted to go to a racing school,” Ax recalled, “and my parents finally folded and let me go to Primal which was amazing. I had never driven on a racetrack before, I had never driven a racecar before.”
Ax attended a three-day Primal School at AMP and was blown away by the improvement in his lap times and overall racecraft.
“Coming to Primal and meeting instructors who were professional race drivers was great for me. I was actually learning stuff that I had never even thought about before.” Ax added that, “My improvement during the school showed in lap times and I felt immediately comfortable in the car and being on a big track. When the mistakes showed we were able to fix those.”
One aspect of the Primal Racing School that makes it unique is the sheer amount of data that the instructors utilize in order to help participants understand where they can improve their lap times and how to do exactly that.
“Having video and data coaching was great and we had a lot of class time as well which was nice to talk more about the technical side of racing,” Ax said. “It was nice to get that insight from professional drivers.”
Ax used the knowledge that he gathered from Primal and won back to back races in the downforce class at AMP in his first-ever races in a racecar. This kickstarted the 19-year-old’s efforts to pursue a career in racing and he earned a seat in the Raceworks F1600 team for the 2020 season.
Ax’s season got underway last weekend at Pittsburg International Race Complex where he finished 10th, 12th, and 11th in an impressive maiden appearance.
“In the F1600 series, you don’t really have the speed to mask your mistakes and you don’t have downforce so its really just about you as a driver.”
Ax still works at the AMP kart track between races which allows him to get plenty of track time and stay up to speed. His next race in the F1600 series is this weekend at Mid-Ohio as he looks to improve on his performance in the opening round and climb the ranks of motorsport in the US.
Ax clinched 2nd in the 2021 North American FRP F1600 Championship after a season long battle with some of the best drivers in the nation, an amazing accomplishment for the 21 year old rookie. He ended with 22 top 10’s, 14 top 5’s, 8 podiums, 1 win, 3 fastest laps and 1 track record under his belt. It all came down to the very last race of the season in Pittsburgh, where 3 drivers were competing for the 2nd champion spot. Ax needed to finish 6th or better to secure his spot. In the opening lap, Ax was shoved off track but was able to recover and fight back. He fell all the way down to 10th but he was determined and started to gain the lost positions back. He clinched 4th after making a crucial pass around the outside of his competitor in the last turn with 2 laps to go. He caught the lead pack but running into lapped traffic and running out of time, he took 4th place in the race, securing his championship spot. “It was one of the best races I’ve ran, the car felt at its best and I was deep in the zone. I had zero distractions and only one goal. I have worked so hard all season and to end it like this, its just surreal. I am overhwelmed and feeling so gracious. I am so grateful my sponsors, team and family have supported me all season and I know they are all just as stoked as I am.”Ax is already making plans for the 2022 season. This years results has presented many opportunities. He is excited to announce 2022 plans and get back in a car. During the off-season he will be practicing in his kart and iracing, continuing putting in hard work in the gym and working towards a great future.
Round 2 of the growing FRP F1600 series resumed at the famed Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course in Lexington, Ohio with a stacked 28 car entry list. Ax Kametches sitting 2nd in the points championship after Carolina Motorsports Park had his sights set on another podium filled weekend. Ax started the weekend out strong qualifying 2nd, just behind last year series champion Simon Sikes. Starting P2 for race 1, Ax managed to hold onto that position to the checkered flag after a close battle with Nicholas d’Orlando. In race 2, Ax battled hard for a podium spot all the way to the last lap until 2 cars collided ahead, leaving Ax no escape and a DNF. The K-Hill crew immediately got to work in hopes to make the grid for race 3, but the damage was extensive causing Ax to miss the start to race 3. With 4 laps already completed, Ax was finally released from the garage and pounded out laps avoiding another DNF. “I am very thankful to have such a determined team, I believe we work together so well because we have the same drive. The team knew the chances of making race 3 were very slim, but they never gave up and got me out there. That’s all I could ask for.” Be sure to tune in on May 20th-23rd for round 3 of the Formula Race Promotions pro F1600 series at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama where Ax hopes to make up those lost points and fight for the championship lead.
What an exciting season opening weekend! After a solid day of testing, Ax was running consistently top 3 times while learning the new to him track at Carolina Motorsports Park. Day 2 started out differently. The temperatures dropped into the 30’s for practice 1. Battling cold temperatures, a slight mistake resulted a short session for Ax. Joby Graham, the 2020 FRP mechanic of the year and the K-Hill crew went to work. Missing practice 1 & 2, the team got Ax out in qualifying with only a few minutes to spare. Qualifying was then cut even shorter when Ax got hit. Starting p11 for race one, he put his thoughts aside and fought his way through the pack to catch the leaders and earned his first win in the pro series and season opening race. It was a great comeback and example of his determination. In race two, with a starting position of 8th, Ax battled his way up to P6 until a slight mistake put him far back to finish P8. Realizing his race for a podium was not in reach, Ax put down fast laps with the fastest lap of the weekend on his last lap and only racer to dip below a 1:33 putting himself on pole for race 3. Later to find out to claim a track record at CMP with a 1:32.952. In race 3, Ax in a close pack of 3 cars broke away from the rest of the field. Sitting comfortably in 2nd with 3 laps to go, a bold move by the 3rd place car sent Ax into a spin, ending the day for the competing driver. Dropping back to P6 With only 2 laps remaining, Ax fought back with a close podium attempt at the checkered flag, settling for a respectable P4 finish. Be sure to follow Ax and the K-Hill crew at Mid-Ohio on April 30th- May 2nd.
Alexander ‘Ax’ Kametches, 19, from Tucker, GA, has signed to race with Raceworks in the #76 Spectrum F1600 for the FRP F1600 Series. Raceworks owner Sam Lockwood is excited about the newest addition to his team. “Ax has a lot of what I call ‘mechanical sympathy’ In his first test in the Spectrum, it was like he and the car were made for each other. I’m looking forward to working with him in the 2020 racing season,” Lockwood said. Raceworks also provides and maintains Formula F3, F4 and F1600. While Ax is new to the F1600 series, he has had a lifelong fascination with racing and everything on wheels. He was first discovered in August 2019 by Primal Racing School, an SCCA accredited racing school at Atlanta Motorsports Park (AMP) in Dawsonville, Georgia. During this experience, Ax was asked “Where have you raced before?” which was ironic because he had never driven a race car. Soon after Primal Racing School, Ax was hired at AMP which has provided him with track time and coaching opportunities while fast tracking Ax into the world of auto and kart racing. In December 2019, the discussion kept coming up, “We know Ax is fast, but can he race?” On that note, Adrian Dewey, owner of Primal Racing, gave Ax an opportunity to race in two races driving a Radical SR1 in the Primal Series to cap off the 2019 season. The goal was to see if Ax could race and use this day of racing as a baseline for 2020. With a field of SR1 and faster SR3 cars, Ax qualified second position in both qualifiers and he went on to take the checkered flag in both races. Nobody expected Ax to win a race, much less both. It just goes to show the technical and natural racing ability that Ax has.