Not every mortgage industry executive can claim to have a teenage child who is a world-recognized racing driver, but Geneva Financial owners Aaron and Telle VanTrojen can proudly highlight the accomplishments of their 15-year-old daughter, Formula One (F1) racer Kaylee Countryman.
MoneyGram Haas F1 Team has announced that Countryman will represent the squad in next season’s F1 Academy, competing with ART Grand Prix. Countryman, who turns 16 next month, will become one of the youngest drivers to participate in the F1 Academy when the series returns on March 13-15 in Shanghai, China.
The calendar, featuring 14 races across seven rounds, will also visit England’s Silverstone circuit for the first time on July 3-5 before concluding at the Las Vegas Strip Circuit on Nov. 19-21.
Countryman began racing on her 12th birthday at the Phoenix Kart Racing Association (PKRA) in Glendale, Arizona, starting in the LO206 J2 class, using a four-stroke Briggs & Stratton-powered kart. In that first year, she collected multiple podiums at her home track, earned a second-place finish at a national karting event in California, and competed at the Grand Nationals in Indiana. In 2023, Countryman progressed from a four-stroke to a far more demanding two-stroke platform – joining the J3 Competition and earning a coveted position as a factory driver for CompKart.
Countryman joined Exclusive Autosport for the 2025 USF Junior Season, being one of three females out of a field of 22 drivers. In the second half of 2025, she was invited to Spain to take part in the F1 Academy Navarra Collective Test ahead of the 2026 season.
Geneva Financial is among Countryman’s sponsors.
“I’m so thrilled that I’ve been given this opportunity to represent Haas F1 Team and ART Grand Prix in the F1 Academy for 2026,” said Countryman. “I look forward to taking another step in my career and learning to work in such a professional environment. I’m particularly excited about the various circuits we’ll be visiting around the world and being part of all that F1 Academy represents. I enjoyed a productive test with ART Grand Prix and I’m keen to build on that foundation as we go racing in 2026.”
