Mac Clark doesn’t even own his own car, but he sure knows how to drive.
The 20-year-old from Milton is climbing the ranks in racing – getting off the line in karting – now with his wheel pointed at a spot in IndyCar.
“I decided I wanted to get more serious about it, and kept progressing from regionals to national level karting,” Clark said. “I represented Team Canada at the two-stroke world finals, won a race in the U.S. in 2019, and realized maybe I could actually be a race car driver.”
Clark currently races in USF Pro 2000, a feeder series for IndyCar with the next step being Indy NXT, one spot below the big time. He’ll regularly hit speeds of 240 km/h on straights, and corners aren’t that much slower. He is currently a driver for DEForce Racing team.
The jump from karts to full-size race cars was jarring for Clark, who only learned how to drive manual a few days prior in an old Acura Integra.
“It had a seat, a steering wheel, and basically nothing else,” Mac’s father Stuart said.
The two travelled to Delaware Speedway, just outside of London, where they found the Acura in a field. Stuart knew the owner who let them rip around for a while.
“We went up and down the field for about 10 minutes as he figured out how to use the clutch, maybe getting it into second gear,” Stuart said.
Finally making his way into the open wheel race car was intimidating, Clark added the hardest part of learning to drive the car was getting out of the pits. The time in the Acura did help him learn his way around the clutch though.
Stuart also helped; as a former kart driver himself with a successful career, he knows his way around a track.
“I’d watched him race when I was younger, probably from the time I was six,” Clark said. “It was actually my mom who forced him to let me try it. He had said no for two years.”
The time in the karts combined with simulator training and mentoring, including advice from fellow Canadian driver James Hinchcliffe, has helped Clark gather his fair share of podiums and wins.
Since making the jump to full-size cars, Clark has racked up a total of 31 wins in series including Formula 4 in the U.S. and Canada, and several USF series.
“It’s a very expensive sport, let alone damage and everything, to just get into it and pay your way, there’s not much Canadian support,” Stuart said.
A single season in Formula 4 can run between $150,000 and $175,000. As for USF Pro 2000 – where Clark is currently racing – the team expects to use as many as 50 sets of tires in a season, with each set running $1,500 USD.
Sponsors are essential in getting drivers, and cars, on the track in junior racing. Burlington’s TNG Capital Corp, led by racing enthusiast Angelo Paletta, has helped Clark get where he is now.
“We have Angelo, who’s well-known in the area, we have Bill Clubine of Clubine Motorsports – another former Canadian racing driver – who’s a big supporter of ours,” Clark said. “I call them our Canadian duo. And Actuarial Risk Management in Texas also supports us.”
Clark is also aided by Road To Racing, a charity founded by Neil Braun that helps Canadian drivers get on track.
“Corporations can sponsor Mac, or other drivers, and you can direct where you want your funds to go,” Paletta said. “You get a tax receipt, whether the amount is $500 or $500,000 it doesn’t matter, and it goes to Mac, and to help support the team and the cost of his dream. There is very little support for racing athletes in Canada from any governmental level, so sponsorship and donations from corporations and all those who love racing at any level and want to support a Canadian athlete, please do.”
Clark’s next race is set for May 9 at the Indianapolis Grand Prix, where he’ll race around a ⅔ mile long oval during the kickoff to the Indy 500 weekend, the largest single-day sporting event in the world, with a capacity of 300,000.
He will also be racing prior to the Toronto Indy in July. There is a free event on Friday, July 19, when fans can check out the track with their families.
“We encourage families to come down with the kids; it’s a family event where we’ll hand out checkered flags and take pictures,” Stuart said.
Anyone interested in supporting and following Clark’s racing journey can visit his website.
