About RaceCraft1
Kelly C. Jones, Major, USAF (sep.)
Founder of RaceCraft1 Motorsports Training
Exceptional Expertise: With over a decade as an F-16 combat pilot, eight years as a commercial airline pilot, and twenty-four years of diverse motorsports experience, including coaching at the professional levels of IndyCar, IMSA, and NASCAR, Kelly Jones brings a unique blend of skills to the motorsports realm.
Proven Training Methods: As a US Air Force officer, Kelly honed his coaching abilities through professional instruction and evaluation of pilots from lieutenant to general officer, showcasing a track record of effective training in high-pressure environments. His extensive background as an instructor, commander, and leader ensures a structured and results-driven approach to high-performance driving and auto racing instruction.
Innovative Simulation Solutions: Leveraging his expertise in aerospace engineering and aviation, Kelly developed cutting-edge racing simulators and a comprehensive racecraft training curriculum. These simulations serve as invaluable tools for racers and race engineers, offering a cost-effective supplement to track time and acceleration of skill development.
Diverse Clientele: Catering to a wide range of clientele, from 7-year-old kart enthusiasts to professional racers in various disciplines, RaceCraft1 provides tailored coaching for both paved and dirt racing on road courses and ovals. Kelly's commitment to inclusivity is evident in the age range of clients, spanning from youngsters to individuals in their seventies.
Passionate Motorsports Enthusiast: Kelly's personal dedication to motorsports is evident in his continuous involvement, from excelling at trackdays with his own BMW M3 to racing in international karting and motorcycle events. His hands-on experience and love for the sport underscore his ability to connect with and understand the needs of racing enthusiasts at every level.
Kelly Jones combines his extensive background with innovative simulation technology to elevate your racing skills and enjoyment for an unparalleled motorsports training experience.
Chase Austin
RaceCraft1 Instructor
Chase Austin took his first green flag at the age of eight in a worn-out little go-kart that he pieced together with his father racing at a small track in Sedalia, Missouri.
Chase moved up from go-karts to larger cars and went on to win the "Future Dirt Track World Championship” as a thirteen-year-old; one of the youngest competitors in the race against a dozen of the country's top teenage Dirt Late Model drivers. By age fifteen Chase had posted more than 100 feature wins and acquired several Points Championships and Rookie of the Year honors.
Signed to NASCAR powerhouse Hendrick Motorsports right before his fifteenth birthday, Chase made history as the youngest driver to secure a contract with a NASCAR team. His first season on asphalt, he earned two wins, one top-five, six top-ten finishes, and a pole award. “On the racetrack, this young man has a ton of talent and potential, but he’s also an exceptional person. Chase is as sharp at 15 as most of the guys I've met at 18, 19, 20 years old. I have never met a young guy with the maturity he's got at 15." Hendrick said.
He went on to race for Rusty Wallace in 2007 and made history again as the first black driver to compete in a NASCAR Nationwide Series oval track event. The highlight of the 2007 season for Chase was his sixth-place finish at one of the most imposing and difficult tracks in NASCAR; the high-banked Dover "Monster Mile.” In his first-ever Camping World Truck Series start at Daytona in 2009, Austin finished an impressive 13th, despite a mandate due to his rookie status that he was to run at the back of the lead until 20 laps to go.
Chase moved from NASCAR to IndyCar in 2010 and had several top ten finishes despite only running in the series once or twice per year. He received a good deal of attention in his few IndyCar starts including the eye of AJ Foyt who considered Austin for a run in the Indy 500. “I have some friends from the Kansas area who were watching (Austin) coming up and winning everything at the local tracks," Larry Foyt said. "Then back in February, I told Dad, 'Hey, you need to watch this kid.”
After a nearly fatal crash at Indy in 2014, Chase returned to his dirt-track roots in the Midwest. He posted three wins and
multiple top-five finishes in USRA dirt modified at the famous Lakeside Speedway dirt track. Chase continues to race for his family’s dirt track team whenever the urge hits him.
“I grew up racing. I was blessed to have piloted almost every kind of racecar there is; go-karts, micro sprints, full-size sprints, dirt modifieds, dirt late models, asphalt crate and super late models, Hooters Pro Cup cars, ARCA, NASCAR Craftsman Trucks, NASCAR Nationwide Series, and IndyCar. Coming back from NASCAR and IndyCar to pull off multiple wins in a dirt car was the icing on the cake.
“I feel like I’ve come full circle, I don’t have anything left to prove:” said Austin. I’ve been blessed to live out so many of my dreams. At RaceCraft1 I can help others get a shot at theirs.”
David Porcelli
RaceCraft1 Instructor
I've always felt more comfortable going 100mph than standing still. When I was 5 years old my father bought me and my brother a used go-kart at a garage sale for $100. Unable to follow the traditional and massively expensive route of organized karting I would spend my time growing up honing my skills in the park across the street from my house, and on racing simulators. In 2014 I joined the Skip Barber Indy Car Academy- a competition to give drivers with no professional racing experience a chance to prove they have what it takes. I placed 2nd in the competition - winning scholarship funding, my first sponsors and a foothold to launch my racing career.
I then completed a full winter testing program and 7 races in Formula Renault 2.0 in Europe. This included a wet race in Monaco where I posted the fasted lap before hydroplaning on the front straight.
Returning home, I competed in the U.S.F4 Championship, earning points positions in 4 of my first 6 races.
I am also an avid sim racer and I run an iRacing Endurance Team.
John Allen
RaceCraft1 Instructor
Skeptical of how effective simulation training can be? For proof look no further than John's personal experience. You will not find anyone more ready to vouch for the role simulation played in his early racing successes. The self-proclaimed "grease monkey ugly duckling in a family of academics", John grew up with a love of fast cars without knowing where it came from. He wasn't karting in his pre-teens. There weren't any racers in his family tree. He had zero connection to the sport, but from the moment he received his driving license he set out to find the performance limits of every car he touched. Once the speeding tickets started adding up, he was introduced to sim-racing as a more sustainable way to satisfy his go-fast cravings. Over several years on the iRacing platform, he met many club and pro racers who encouraged him to get out on the track and test his skills. So, in early 2017 he attended a Skip Barber school to obtain a license to race his Spec Miata, which he had built largely on his own. Simultaneously, he competed in and won a global competition on iRacing to earn a spot in the 2017 Mazda Road To 24 Shootout event, where he became 1 of 4 finalists to compete for a $100K racing scholarship awarded by Mazda Motorsports. After that strong showing, he was invited to drive in the Mazda Spec MX-5 Challenge series in 2018, where he earned the pole position in his very first pro race. John has gone on to develop a passion for driver coaching as an instructor with the NASA HPDE program and the Teen Mazda Challenge series. He continues to tout simulation as a vital tool for driver education and improvement.
Robby Unser
Professional Drivers, Driving Coach/Instructor & Racing Consultant
Robby comes from a family with a long history in American Auto Racing and has proven he possesses a natural born talent as a winning driver, and a genuine love of motorsports, engineering, and fabricating. With 44 years of experience in the auto racing industry, he has successfully raced in a multitude of vehicles on all types of tracks and courses (dirt, oval, road course, and hill climb). He thoroughly enjoys giving back to the sport by coaching and instructing.
Robby is a champion driver of Go Karts, Late Model Stock Cars, Sprint Cars, World Hill Climb, American Indy Car Series, Pikes Peak International Hillclimb, Muscle Cars in Goodguys and SCCA Solo Nationals Autocross Competitions.
He competed in the Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb and won 9 out of the 12 times he ran the race. Robby designed and built winning Open Wheelers, Super Trucks, and Super Stock Trucks. He broke the record in 1994 in the Open Wheel Division, which still stands today and will for all time (he broke the record when the course was dirt and it has since been paved).
Robby was extremely honored to have been Sam Schmidt’s co-driver and to have worked with Arrow Electronics on the SAM (Semi-Autonomous Motorcar) Project. He was part of the team making history in 2016 when Sam Schmidt (a quadriplegic) drove over 150 mph at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, did a burnout for the first time since his disabling accident, and drove to the top of Pikes Peak. 
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- 2 starts in the Indianapolis 500 – Robby impressively placed 5th in his rookie year and 8th in his second year (1999).
- 1998 Indy Racing League’s “Rookie of the Year”
- Won the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb an unprecedented nine times
- FIA World Hill Climb Champion
- American Indy Series Champion
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Elliott Budzinski
RaceCraft1 Instructor
Elliott Budzinski is a 21-year old American racing driver and avid sim racer based out of Michigan. He started in go-karts at the age of six years old, and has since had the goal of making a career out of this sport. After a long run in karting he made the transition to cars in 2022, winning from the jump. He won the coveted Team USA Scholarship at the end of 2022 propelling his career over to England, where he competed in the National Formula Ford championship in 2023. In addition to this Elliott has been coaching and doing data analysis for the past three years working with many different teams and drivers in the industry with the goal of passing on his deep experience gained in the sport.
More Information
If you need information about any of our services, please feel free to use our contact form, send us an e-mail to [email protected], or give us a call at (317) 662-0966.