Off To The 'Racing Hub': Glenview Driver Ready To Compete In UK

GLENVIEW, IL — Jason Pribyl has never been off this continent, but that is all about to change. The 18-year-old Glenview resident will soon be leaving the North Shore for the United Kingdom to race cars professionally as part of the United Formula Ford series.

"I went to Montreal for a week for a Formula One race a few years ago, but that's all," Pribyl, a 2023 Glenbrook South graduate, tells Patch. "A few of my friends who are better traveled than me giggled when they heard me say that. I can't deny that it's a bit ridiculous as well, but this kind of thing always happens. Racing takes you all different places."

The United Formula Ford race series consists of eight events, each with two races, run from April through October. Pribyl describes the UK as a "racing hub," and said there are many well-known tracks within an hour of where he'll be living. He said that seven of the top 10 current Formula 1 teams are based in the UK, so there will be plenty of networking opportunities overseas.

To race in the UK, Pribyl was one of four drivers invited to try out for Team USA, which annually brings two drivers to the Walter Hayes Trophy and Formula Ford Festival races, run at the conclusion of the United Formula Ford series season.

"I didn't end up going over then, but it opened the door," Pribyl said. "Simultaneously, a good friend and former team owner of mine put me in touch with a team in the same class as the Team USA cars in case I wanted to go as a privateer."

Pribyl said doing so wasn't in the budget for Jason Pribyl Autosports. Last year, there were two sanctioning bodies for the Formula 1600 class in the UK, which made it "a bit of a mess," according to Pribyl. Luckily, this year, the two series have consolidated, which he says makes it "much more reputable and competitive."

"There are many more opportunities in the UK and in Europe as a whole in comparison to the U.S. as well," Pribyl said. "There are more teams and networking will be one of my priorities while over there."

For Pribyl, racing is a family affair. His grandfather would annually take his father, Steve Pribyl, to the Sports Car Club of America June Sprints at Road America racetrack in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin. When Jason was old enough to attend, Steve Pribyl began making trips to Wisconsin with him.

"They had built a go-kart track there at some point between all of that, and my Dad had the idea of getting me into one," Jason Pribyl said. "It was originally just a way for him to spend time with his son, and it snowballed from there."

Pribyl started racing kart at 6 and was road racing karts on car tracks by the age of 7. Since then, he has earned regional and national kart championships.

At age 14, Pribyl earned his SCCA full competition license and found himself on the podium in his first race in an F1600.

In 2021, he ran a full season of Formula Enterprise 2, winning the SCCA Majors Northern Conference and finished 10th in that season's SCCA Runoffs. One year later, he raced with the Spec-MX5 Challenge, finishing third in the Northern Region, and tested with USF Juniors and USF 2000.

Last year was a big one on the racetrack for Pribyl as he raced in F1600 and SRF3 in Formula Fords with Phill Wills Racing. He earned second place in the 2023 SCCA Spec Racer Ford 3 Majors Northern Region and earned a podium in his first F1600 race back.

"2023 was a great way for me to build my close racing skills. The class I ran in mainly was called Spec Racer Ford," Pribyl said. "There are a few generations, and while spec, there are a few differences in the cars across the class."

Pribyl said that while the more common and competitive cars in the class feature a 6-speed sequential transmission, he was racing in an older version with a 5-speed manual transmission. It worked as he finished second in the championship.

While his focus was on Spec Racer Ford, the most important decision he made last year was racing F1600 in the U.S. for Rice Race Prep. Pribyl said he had raced for that team once in the past, and they were looking for a driver for a race, which then turned into two.

"The team owner, Greg Rice, was impressed enough to get me a spot in the Team USA tryouts, which obviously meant a lot, both in the affirming sense and by how it led me to where I am going this year."

As Pribyl prepares for the next stage of his budding racing career, he knows other local young people might be looking to get into the sport. Visiting area tracks like Kartplex at Autobhan Country Club and Concept Haulers Motor Speedway in Aurora are options, as well as trying go-kart racing at a place like K1 Speed (locations in Addison, Buffalo Grove and Mokena). He admits past that it can get "complicated."

"What I recommend doing, and something that my Dad did when I was too young to understand, was to go to events, both at the club and national level, not to compete but to learn about the environment," Pribyl said. "It isn't good to get into something you know nothing about, especially with the amount of money you can end up spending on racing."

While Pribyl will be focused on racing when he gets to the UK, he says he will also embrace the many other opportunities living overseas will surely present.

"I'm hoping to refine myself as a person, being more culturally knowledgeable and more," Pribyl said. "I don't expect to be staying in just the UK the whole time. France, Belgium, and the Netherlands are all very close and I'm hoping to get to at least two of those countries."