Brandon Jarsocrak Racing becoming a powerhouse in USA karting (Photo: Twelve One Content)

A part of the exclusive list of top karting drivers from the last 15 years of US karting, Brandon Jarsocrak is among the favorites. The four-time United States Pro Kart Series champion was continuously among the top ranked in the EKN Driver Rankings year after year and, more importantly, earned the respect of his fellow competitors and that of the other races teams around the paddock as well. As he graduated from college and transitioned out of the seat, the passion for karting remained. Brandon found a new area to feed his need, on the other side of the sport, establishing Brandon Jarsocrak Racing in 2022.

Jarsocrak began karting in at the age of five at the Oreville Kart Club in central Pennsylvania. Eventually, he branched out to racing at the Englishtown karting club in New Jersey, where he connected with Mike Doty. It was that relationship that eventually took Jarsocrak to national level competition, where he made his first start at the 2008 WKA Daytona KartWeek event. Over the next five years, he developed as a Cadet driver and moved up to the Junior ranks before graduating to the Senior level. He garnered much success in WKA competition over that time, but it was at the United States Pro Kart Series where he etched his name in the karting history books.

The 2014 season was his breakout season, racing double duty in both Leopard Pro and Yamaha Pro. It was in the Yamaha division that Jarsocrak garnered three wins and eight straight podium results en route to a dominant championship victory. Two podium results in Leopard Pro put him sixth in the championship chase that year. During the following season, the focus turned to TaG competition, and Brandon gained that first USPKS victory in the season opener at GoPro Motorplex. Three podium results over the course of year positioned him as vice-champion on the season. An increase to four podium finishes in 2016 led to fourth place result in the championship chase that year while he also finished second in the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour standings.

Jarsocrak earned the nickname ‘Money’ earning multiple victories and cash prizes at the USPKS in Yamaha and X30 competition (Photo: DavidLeePhoto.com)

It was in 2017 when a move to KartSport North America and the Praga chassis lit a fire. After winning at the opening event, Jarsocrak ripped off a total of six wins and eight podium results to clinch his first USPKS title. Four wins in six rounds helped Brandon earn a second straight championship in 2018, this time aboard the Kart Republic brand that was introduced to the karting market at the beginning of the season. The 2019 season was one of transition. It began with Jarsocrak still teamed with KartSport North America and the Kart Republic brand, before he left halfway through the season, moving back to Mike Doty Racing to run on the OTK brand. He finished off the second half of the USPKS season with two wins and three podium results to earn a third straight title. The year of COVID in 2020 brought on a change in the USPKS schedule, however, the result in the championship was the same. Five podiums and two wins put him at the top of the championship standings to earn a record-setting fourth straight USPKS title.

The 2021 season was the final full season for Jarsocrak behind the wheel. He finished third in the standings but, more importantly, he began laying the groundwork for his future in the sport. By that time, Brandon was doing a lot of coaching for drivers at the local and regional level.

“I started by helping a small group of people at the local club races at GoPro Motorplex in 2019,” stated Jarsocrak. “Mainly just doing mechanical help and driver coaching. I never thought that it would turn into a full-blown race team. I graduated from Penn State in the spring of 2020 and had to decide on what career path I wanted to take. I graduated with an engineering degree but did not like the reality of sitting behind a desk looking at a computer all the time. I decided to continue my racing through the 2021 season but still helping at a local level on the side. By the end of the year, I had to decide if I wanted to continue my own racing or try to grow the team into what it is today. With a lot of help from Mike Doty, I decided to take the leap and give the race team a shot as my full-time job.”

Throughout his career behind the wheel, Brandon has had his father Eddie alongside and continues working together at BJR (Photo: EKN)

The launch of Brandon Jarsocrak Racing began at the local level, focused on the karting series at the then-GoPro Motorplex while taking drivers to regional and national events alongside Mike Doty Racing. The combination of Doty, Jarsocrak, and lead driver Pauly Massimino put decades of racing experience and knowledge together under the tent for the young drivers and new karters to sponge off.

“As a young driver, Mike took me under his wing and taught me the majority of the knowledge I possess now. Pauly and I’s relationship started as teammates, working together, aiming for success in the Senior ranks. Since I transitioned into the team owner role, Pauly has become an integral member of the team. He takes our drivers under his wing, similar to what Mike did with me, and coaches them not only on the track, but in life as well. The biggest component that makes our relationships work is passion. We all have a passion for the sport of karting, a drive for success, and the most important part is that we have fun doing it.”

One thing you will notice the difference between the Brandon Jarsocrak Racing tent and others in the paddock is the family-style atmosphere. It begins at the top with Brandon and his father Eddie Jarsocrak. The two worked together up the karting ranks with Eddie at his side through all the success and the learning periods. They are able to pass the success of their father-son relationship onto their customers with many under the tent competing as parent-child entries with dad on the wrenches. It doesn’t just end there with many family members pitching in to assist with the operation of the team; parents and siblings take on roles such as a social media representative, team photographers, team cooks, and other positions that help fill in the family. That is Brandon Jarsocrak Racing at its base.

“It takes a team to be successful, that’s something I have learned over my karting career. It can be a team of three, or a big group like we are forming here at BJR. The important part is we want everyone to be part of the success of our drivers and the team as a whole. Not only success, but memories that will last a lifetime. I understand it more now that I’m older, but the time spent at the track with my dad and my family helped form the person who I am today. We want to help make sure each and every weekend those under the tent are learning something new, and enjoying every moment they can at the kart track.”

John Seglem of PPK and Jarsocrak have helped in the rebirth of the Coyote brand here in the USA (Photo: EKN – Howden)

During the time of Jarsocrak’s working with drivers at the local level, the opportunity to work with Coyote Motorsports and Precision Performance Karting arose. John Seglem at PPK brought Brandon over to drive at Cup Karts North America events aboard their Coyote chassis. This collaboration tapped into Jarsocrak’s engineering background in school and experience behind the wheel to begin development for the chassis. Working with Mark and Jim Lipari at Coyote, Brandon’s R&D work has helped form the footing for the recent explosion of success for the brand on and off the track. Jarsocrak helped earn victories at CKNA major events and divisional races, eventually bringing his BJR team together with PPK to form a powerhouse operation that went on to win four CKNA Grand Nationals mains in 2023. Over the last three years of the event, Coyote has gained eight victories, the most by any chassis.

The 2024 season brought in many victories and championships for Brandon Jarsocrak Racing. What began as a one-off program, Pauly Massimino scored victory at the Stars Championship Series opener in the OK-N category. A second victory at the series finale garnered him the championship. James Overbeck was able to defend his championship in the KA Stars division, winning the final two rounds to claim a second straight title. Marco Sammut ended up second in the Swift Stars championship chase with one victory over four rounds. Sammut was also runner-up in the United States Pro Kart Series standings, while Massimino was top-five in both USPKS and SKUSA Pro Tour championships.

The highlight of the season was the Superkarts! USA Pro Tour championship for Overbeck in the KA100 Senior class. A total of four podium finishes, including his first SKUSA Pro Tour victory at the SummerNationals, helped him to claim the first SKUSA title for Brandon Jarsocrak Racing. Overbeck also placed third in the USPKS standings, earning his first series victory at the Ohio Grand Prix.

The Brandon Jarsocrak Racing duo of Pauly Massimino and James Overbeck claimed victory and $10,000 at the MHM 200 at the end of 2024 (Photo: Kart Chaser / Kyle Cuthbertson)

Massimino and Overbeck then teamed up for the rebirth of the 200-lap endurance race at the New Castle Motorsports Park. The Mark Harrison Memorial 200 was dominated by the Brandon Jarsocrak Racing duo, nearly lapping the entire field for the triumph victory.

With the new season underway, Brandon Jarsocrak Racing is geared up for another busy calendar in 2025. After contesting the SKUSA Winter Series, BJR will be at the SKUSA Pro Tour, United States Pro Kart Series, and Stars Championship Series, and will continue supporting the Trackhouse Motorplex series.

Website: brandonjarsocrakracing.com

Facebook: Brandon Jarsocrak Racing

Instagram: BJR_Racing_Team

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