During prerace preparations, 17-year-old Max Jones gets some advice from veteran stock car driver, Dan, who also happens to be his dad. Max made his first year behind the wheel a a good one as he was the 2023 USRA Hobby Stock Rookie of the Year award. (photo by Jessie Jones/JJ Photoz)
Jones’ debut season concludes with Rookie of the Year honor
By Zakary Kriener
Year one behind the wheel of a race car is in the books for Max Jones of Waterville, and his trophy case already has a few trophies in it after a season that far exceeded his expectations. In a summer that included his first feature win, Jones also captured the United States Racing Association’s Rookie of the Year trophy in the Hobby Stock class.
“I had no plans of even being in contention to win Rookie of the Year,” laughed Jones, a junior at Waukon High School and the son of veteran Stock Car driver Dan Jones. “Toward the end of the season, I texted my mom and showed her a screenshot of the standings when I was second or third. Over the last few weeks of the season, I made it a goal to get to the top!”
While Max is no stranger to the world of racing, having grown up helping his dad at the track and in the garage, it was very much a learning process to get in the driver’s seat for the first time last spring.