Aidan Potter is entering his second year since transitioning from oval racing in and around his home city of Nashville to open-wheel competition, and he has already noticed progress across multiple series in which he has competed.

Potter, 15, is set to participate in the 2024 USF Juniors series, driving for Jay Howard Driver Development in their inaugural full season in the series. Potter made his debut in the last round of the series last year at the Circuit of the Americas, securing a best finish of 11th twice across the three races.

Expressing optimism about the upcoming season, Potter stated, “I feel really good about next season and have seen promising results in testing so far.”

“I’m feeling a lot more confident because of these last few tests,” Potter said. “Pace is picking up, and by the time the season rolls around, I hope that with my improving pace, I’ll be in top form.”

In the upcoming season, Potter will be competing at tracks like Road America, Mid-Ohio, and Portland. However, his racing journey began on ovals in his home state of Tennessee.

Potter’s initial racing experience was in the Music City Quarter Midget Racing Association, engaging in quarter midget racing at the Music City Speedway in Hermitage, Tennessee.

He immediately connected with racing, unlike other sports he tried as a child such as baseball, soccer, and basketball, due to the constant engagement within the car. “You have no time to relax while in the car,” Potter said. “It’s the scariest thing ever, but that’s what I love about (motorsports).”

Over the next few years, Potter continued to ascend through the oval racing ranks. He competed in the INEX series, primarily known for legend car racing, where he raced in the entry-level bandoleros and accumulated wins throughout 2021. His last year in oval racing was in 2022, where he drove a 1997 Honda Civic to even more victories.

Despite being consistently one of the top drivers in the local area, signs indicated that Potter was outgrowing the competition. Potter mentioned that he was over a decade younger than the drivers he was competing against, leading to some resentment.

A devoted fan of both INDYCAR and Formula One, Potter traveled to the Circuit of the Americas to participate in the testing week for the Skip Barber Race Series and was impressed with the times he posted. However, he was still undecided about transitioning to open-wheel racing.

Following the test, Potter arranged a trial with Jensen Global Advisors, leading to a deal to drive for them in the Formula 4 United States Championship, which lasted through the Road America round. Subsequently, Potter raced in the Formula Development Series, now rebranded as the Ligier JS F4 series, for Jay Howard Driver Development.

Jay Howard has continued to amass one of the most successful development programs in the entire country, with over 15 cars across all series. In the same summer that Potter began driving for them in a support series of F4, Howard announced that the team would be departing to join USF Juniors and focus all of their resources on the USF Pro Championships. Potter made the jump as well, driving to his aforementioned 11th place finishes at the Circuit of the Americas.

The winning, which came to him so easily at the local level, has yet to translate into his time in both F4 and USF Juniors. Potter finished five of his six F4 races with an average finish of 20.4.

After getting a taste of the series in the final round, he set his goals for 2024 at remaining competitive throughout the course of the season.

“I know that there’s so much to learn and that I can master these things and really work on them by the time (the season) gets here,” Potter said. “I can most likely be a top-five consistent driver and I’ll try my best to be up there.”

Potter is enthusiastic about the upcoming season as he prepares to turn 16 next week. He believes that 2024 will be the year he finally begins to “truly prove himself.”

“I feel like the way I am going to work at this, I don’t want to see myself go backward,” Potter said. “I want to see myself go up.”