Written by Zoie Denton

At just 14 years old, Axel Robards, a young driver from Chattanooga, Tennessee, is already setting his sights on one of the most exclusive dreams: a seat in Formula 1. What makes his journey so compelling isn’t just the speed or the ambition, it’s the unshakable belief that one day, he’ll race among the best. The one sport in which you can say, “You’re one of the best in the world.”

For Robards, racing was not something he discovered later in life; it coursed through his veins from the very beginning. Growing up in Chattanooga, he was immersed in a world where his two older brothers spent their weekends kart-racing. As a kid, he never got behind the wheel, but he had a front-row seat to his brothers’ battles, feeling every turn, every drift, and every slip.

“[Racing] made everything feel alive,” said Robards. He didn’t just like watching; he wanted to race. That longing matured fast. Around age 11, with no formal training, Robards got behind the wheel of a kart for the first time. What followed was less of a tentative drive and more of a revelation. 

“I just flew on the track,” said Robards. In that instant, it all clicked. 

For a young boy, racing would not be easy. Coming from a part of Tennessee that lacked dedicated karts or racetracks, opportunities were limited. His family often had to travel for a proper karting event or test. Many of their weekends were filled with long drives to different tracks.

His first competitive steps came in LO206 kart racing, one of the fundamental classes for young karters looking to build race craft. Karting, often described as the purest form of racing, forces drivers to learn control, precision, and the mental toughness essential for advancing to bigger stages. This is where he absorbed the essence of racing, learned to respect the track, and sharpened instincts that would serve him well when switching to cars.

As weeks turned into months and months into seasons, his skills improved dramatically. Each lap taught him something new. But, he didn’t stop there. Once he was more experienced and confident, he took a significant step forward: transitioning from karting to car racing in USF Juniors, the entry-level to open-wheeled racing. 

In April 2024, Velocity Race Development (VRD) officially announced Axel Robards’ joining the Academy. 

“VRD Academy is a program designed to shepherd young talents from leaping karting to open-wheel cars, bridging a critical gap for drivers aspiring to climb the motorsport ladder,” said Dan Mitchell, VRD’s team owner.

He began on-track training at Atlanta Motorsports Park (AMP) in Dawsonville, Georgia, under the guidance of VRD’s coaching staff. 

“It’s just a massive learning experience,” said Robard. “The transition was intense.” 

But the challenges energized him. Every session at AMP tested him in different ways. One day it was a braking technique. Another was handling high-speed corners. Then came learning to communicate with engineers. These are skills many drivers don’t learn until their late teens, yet Robards was absorbing them before he’d even started high school.

With VRD, Robards is not alone. The Academy is part of a structured ladder system. It is the first step toward USF Juniors eventually, further up the open-wheel racing hierarchy. Through VRD, he has access not only to professional training and equipment but also to a community that understands what it takes to make it in racing.

“At first I was a bit nervous,” Robards said. “After meeting the whole team, they started to feel like a second family to me.” 

Robards has expressed gratitude for the leadership at VRD, praising Mitchell and team manager Jacob Loomis. “Jacob pushes me in the best way. He knows how to challenge me without overwhelming me. He’s the kind of coach every young driver needs.” 

Of course, none of this would be possible without his family, especially his father, Thad. “My dad is everything,” he said. “He drives me everywhere while also helping me with my driving skills. I couldn’t do any of this without him.”

Having just started in open-wheel cars at age 14, Robards remains in the early stages of what will hopefully be a long motorsport career with Formula 4, the entry level to the long road to Formula 1. The competition is fierce, and the path to major championships is fraught with obstacles.

What makes his story resonate is not just ambition, but resilience. Coming from Chattanooga, he is proof that even the biggest dreams can begin in the humblest places. Joining VRD Academy gives him a chance to grow, to learn, and to inch closer to his goal of becoming a Formula 1 driver, and maybe even the first from Tennessee. 

Robard said his entry into VRD is “a huge step”, not because it guarantees success, but because it gives him the chance to chase his dreams. He knows deep down that real racing doesn’t just demand speed. It demands strategy, sacrifice, mental strength, and growth. He’s ready for all of it.

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