From Karting to Goodyear Racing: Jay Chapman on Career, Tires & Grassroots Motorsports

In this episode of Late To Grid, Bill sits down with Jay Chapman of Goodyear Racing to unpack a motorsports career built from karting roots, NASCAR weekends, Grand-Am adventures, MX-5 Cup development, and now supporting racers across vintage and grassroots programs.

Jay shares stories of growing up in a karting family, wrenching and volunteering his way into professional motorsports, and eventually designing and supporting racing tires used across SCCA, NASA, vintage series, and more. He also explains how Goodyear develops products for everything from sprint racing to endurance competition — and what grassroots racers get wrong most often about tires.

Whether you’re a racer, a builder, or just love the industry, this episode is packed with practical insights, human moments, and amazing behind-the-scenes stories.

00:00 — How Jay Chapman got into motorsports
00:32 — Growing up in karting & racing with his dad
01:51 — Jay’s favorite karting memories at Mid-Ohio
03:25 — Talking about his kids and whether they’ll race
04:18 — Transitioning from karting to NASA HPDE
08:18 — Biggest lesson learned from karting (and applying it to life)
11:37 — Life on the road with a pro racing team
15:49 — How networking shaped Jay’s motorsports career
20:57 — Goodyear’s involvement with CSM and Solo Nationals
39:50 — The #1 mistake grassroots racers make with tires