Telitz Replaces Chase in AVS Lexus for Remainder of Season

Photo: Mike Levitt/IMSA

Aaron Telitz will replace Parker Chase in the No. 14 AIM Vasser Sullivan Lexus RC F GT3 for the remainder of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.

The open-wheel rising star, who has been part of the team’s Michelin Endurance Cup lineup in the sister No. 12 car, will move over to the No. 14 entry alongside Jack Hawksworth.

Townsend Bell and Frankie Montecalvo will continue as full-season drivers in the No. 12 Lexus.

It was confirmed on Monday that Chase would no longer be part of the AVS program after contesting last year’s Motul Petit Le Mans and January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona with the team.

“Aaron is a fantastic driver and this is the next step in the plan that we started last season when Aaron ran the four IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races for us and was embedded with our IndyCar team,” said team co-owner Jimmy Vasser.

“Aaron did a great job going from open wheel cars to sports cars helping us finish second in our Rolex 24 debut in 2019, and did a great job again in this year’s Rolex 24.”

Telitz, a native of Wisconsin, progressed through the open-wheel racing ranks capturing the Mazdaspeed/Skip Barber Racing School Scholarship Shootout in 2013 and was the 2014 Team USA Scholarship Recipient.

Starting in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Series in 2014, he advanced to the Pro Mazda Championship winning the title in 2016.

In 2017, Telitz won two races in the Indy Lights Championship and followed that with nine Indy Lights podiums in 2018 Indy Lights. Most recently he ran three Indy Lights weekends scoring a win and a podium at Toronto and a podium finish at Road America last year.

“It’s great to be getting a full-time ride,” Telitz said. “When I joined the team last year, our collective goal was to continue working toward some bigger things and here we are. It’s a culmination of a lot of work.

“I have a ton of people to thank…my sponsor Rice Lake Weighing Systems, Jimmy, Sulli, Andrew, everyone at AVS and Lexus for trusting me with this position. Let’s go win some races.”

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John