Devoted Atlanta Braves fan, Jensen Jorgensen, has been immersed in the world of racing for more than half of his life. His journey began with Bandoleros, where he achieved remarkable success as a two-time INEX Bandolero Outlaws National Champion and a three-time Bandolero Nationals Outlaws Champion.  In addition to his racing pursuits, Jensen, alongside his father, are actively involved both on and off the track. Together, they have their own family business, BlastPro Epoxy Floors.

Hometown: Stockbridge, Atlanta

Division: Pro

Number: 32

Team: Jorgensen Racing

Favorite MLB team: Atlanta Braves

 

1. What are some hobbies outside of racing?

I'm a big Atlanta Braves fan, so anytime my wife and I can go to a Braves game, we go. My dad and I do garage floors, high performance epoxy floors, and polish concrete. Our business is what pays for the racing and it takes up most of our time, so I consider that a hobby. We found that it leads to a bunch of really cool jobs and situations.

2. What is something that most people don't know about you?

I play slow pitch softball with my family, and I play golf.

3. How old were you when you started racing?

I was nine years old when I got started and have been doing it ever since. I've been doing it for about 16 years, well over half my life.

4. How did you get started in racing?

My dad used to race Legend Cars, and my sister was a little older than me. She understood the sport more than I did since I was quite young. She always nudged my dad wanting to run a Bandolero. Our neighbors at the time had kids similar in age to my sister and me. Their dad went out and bought that kid a Bandolero. After that, my dad was basically forced to buy my sister one. That's how the family got back into racing.  My sister did it for about a year, and then I wanted to do it. The first Bandolero that my dad bought for me, was from our neighbors because they only did it for a year and were done. That's when I got started back in 2009.

5. Having so much success in a Bandolero, what was the transition to a Legend Car like for you?

We transitioned to a Legend Car in 2015, and it didn't take me long to pick it up. I won the Thursday Thunder Points Championship in 2016 at Atlanta during my second year of racing in Legends, so picking up a completely different car wasn't too hard. I think the Legend Car, [and I've driven] late model racing and truck racing, is just one of those cars that fits my style more than anything. That's why we've stuck with it for so long, because we enjoy it so much.

6. When did you start doing late models and trucks?

Just this year, I raced pro trucks, the late model-style trucks. I had raced those a couple of years ago and dabbled with it a little bit. But this year, we decided to make a bit of a jump to try out some of the late model stuff. We had it on the schedule this year, and we wanted to hit the Snowflake 100 down in Pensacola. We had a lot of fun learning that car, learning that series, and racing at a higher level. However, we still intend on doing a bunch of Legend Car racing. We've been doing it for so long and know how to handle our own work, setups, and all that stuff.

7. Do you and your dad do with your own setups?

Yeah, my dad and I handle all the setups and maintenance. We utilize Doug Stevens at 77 Speed Shop for a lot of technology-related tasks; he takes care of our front clips and brakes. As for race-to-race maintenance setups, we handle those ourselves.

8. Dirt, Asphalt and Road Course?

We've never tackled the dirt. It's one of those things that, once you do dirt, you almost gotta commit to it. I have dabbled with the road course stuff, and we've competed at the Road [Course World Finals] up in Charlotte when they did it there. It's a whole different world. Even though its asphalt, road course and circle track are totally different. When we go to the road course races, we're kind of in left field a little bit with what we're doing. We understand it, but it's just not what we do. There's so much to learn there. But the asphalt level stuff's definitely where I focus on.

9. What do you think your favorite track has been so far?

Nashville, the fairgrounds. I hate saying that and picking that over my home track, Atlanta, but Nashville almost feels like a home track to me. I don't know if I necessarily mean the people or anything, because the people at Atlanta Motor Speedway have been a part of my racing career since I started. It's just that the actual track surface of Nashville is my favorite. It's so much fun, with so many characteristics, and the history of the track – everything about Nashville just fits my driving style.

10. What is something that you want to accomplish inside and outside of racing?

I would say outside of racing, it's taught me a lot, not just about racing but also about life and how to handle situations. I would say, more than anything, I've chased national championships and won many of them. But overall, I've won a lot of races, and when I go to the racetrack, I expect to win.  I've found a lot of enjoyment in crewing for other people, seeing them do well and win races. I get a lot of self-satisfaction out of a couple of our customers going out there, competing, being very happy when they get out of the car, and they're pleased with my work, setup, and driver coaching. I get a lot of satisfaction out of that.

11. How did you venture into roles like driver coaching, crew chiefing, and other related aspects?

Simply based on experience. I didn't intend to enter the business of taking on customers or having drivers pay me for my experience or knowledge. I've built a reputation, and there are people in the sport who approach me and say, "Hey, I want you to work on my stuff. What can we work out for you to work on my stuff or coach my kid?" So, that's kind of how it happened, almost by default or accident. It's been fun to be a part of it.

12. What is a lesson you've gained from racing that applies to your everyday life?

More than anything, it's taught me how to handle situations, deal with problems with people, resolve disputes, and navigate success. Success often comes with people's jealousy or various issues, so it has been a significant learning experience. It has also taught me how to handle bad days. I've been in situations where I should have won championships or big races, and something terrible happened. You can either fold, act poorly, or keep your head up and move forward. I believe there are not many experiences, like t-ball or high school football, that can teach you what racing does. It's on a different level. That's the best lesson it has taught me.

13. What aspects do you find most enjoyable about having the opportunity to race for a significant portion of your life?

It's a blessing to be able to do something that a lot of people aren't able to do. I think the fact that I'm able to understand and appreciate it is the main part. The biggest thing is being able to know that I'm able to do it, spend time with my family, and do something that not every kid is able to do. Being around and doing it as long as I have is just even more of a huge perk.

14. What serves as your motivation in racing ?

I would say it's really about success, the challenge of success, to put it in the best way. There's a kind of competition factor. Regardless of how long I've been doing it or how much success I've had, when I go to the racetrack, it doesn't guarantee a win. In school, I've always been told, like when you get picked on in high school or certain things, they say, "Oh, you race cars, all you do is go in circles." One of my favorite comebacks and stories to tell people is that's what makes racing tough. Everybody out there going in circles is trying to go around that circle faster than anybody. That's what makes it tough – going around that circle faster than everyone else who's trying hard to do the same. So, the challenge of racing is what motivates me to keep coming back, and obviously, the success of winning, whether there are 10 cars in the field or 30. When you cross the finish line first, that feeling always just feels amazing.

15. Who is someone that you look up to?

One person would be my dad. Of course, he is one of the craziest people I know, just with the different things that he's done in life. He has that "figure it all out" attitude and personality, which is not something everybody has. Quite frankly, I don't think I had it for the longest time in my life. The older I get, the more I see how he just says, "I'm gonna figure it out." I've kind of inherited that trait a little bit, where it's like, you can't just sit there and say, "I'm not gonna do it." You just gotta figure it out. So, yeah, I would say him. Probably on the racing side too, because of that same attribute that I'm talking about. If it wasn't for him, I probably would've never gotten into racing. And then if it wasn't for him, I definitely wouldn't have started working on my own things and figuring it out.

16. If you could offer advice to a new driver, especially someone starting off in Bandos, what insights would you share based on your experiences and success in Bandos, and the growth you've undergone in that phase?

More than anything, it's probably just staying with it. I feel like so many people get frustrated one day or another or feel like they won't ever win. Even today, I still learn different things, with as much experience as I have. Racing is one of those sports that you're not going to figure it all out overnight, and you're not necessarily going to buy speed or buy wins. I was not really good starting off at all, so there were a few years where I was just there to walk around the track and hang out with everybody. And then I kind of saw other drivers getting better than me, and I was like, hold on a second. I actually have to try if I want to be good. It's not something that happens overnight. It took me many years to win my first race, and it just takes time and staying with it, which is one of the biggest things that some people might need to hear.

17. What are some of your goals for the 2024 season

We've got plans to run the Winter Nationals with 77 speed shops under their camp. So that's something a little different, and that'll be fun. And, of course, all the big events like the Legend Car Nationals are ones I look forward to every year. We went to Vegas this year and made a big vacation trip out of that. And you know, next year we don't exactly know where it's gonna be yet, but probably no matter where that's at, we're gonna pencil that down and make sure we make it.