Mark Jennes will join the Skip Barber Race Series for the 2026 season, marking the League City, Texas native's entry into competitive motorsports for the very first time. For Jennes, the upcoming campaign is the fulfillment of a lifelong ambition to pursue a career in professional motorsports. Jennes enters the series after completing both a Three Day Racing School and a Two-Day Advanced Racing School with Skip Barber at Circuit of the Americas, where he worked closely with instructors to build a technical foundation in car control and race craft. "The 2026 Skip Barber Championship means quite a lot," Jennes said. "Unlike many younger racers with a career that might include dirt tracks and homemade cars, this will be my first real race. I am a rookie in every sense of the word when it comes to racing in the real world. I have always wanted to be a driver and wondered how good I would be in comparison to other drivers. Now that chance is here in this series." His goals for the season are rooted in honest self-assessment. Jennes enters 2026 with an eye toward measuring himself against his peers, building experience across a variety of circuits, and evaluating what a future in the sport could hold. "I have a few primary goals for this season," Jennes said. "The first is to assess myself compared to my peers. I am using this season to see whether this is a career for me, or something to relegate to an occasional outing. Another goal is to get as much track experience as I can with as large a variety as possible. A driver needs to adapt, as every track is unique with its own atmosphere, elevations, and braking points." Away from the track, Jennes has spent the past 15 years working with children at his local church. That commitment has provided him perspective and keeps him grounded as he navigates his first racing campaign, he explained. "I count myself blessed to be able to compete in the races I can, and I will do my best to make the most of them," Jennes said. "Someone at a karting track once told me they were unsure about taking a friend up on an offer to race. I told them: 'In racing, if someone gives you an opportunity to drive, you always take it.' I have been given that opportunity, and I intend to take my own advice." Jennes joins a competitive field of drivers set to take on the 2026 Skip Barber Race Series, which gets underway later this spring. For more information on the Skip Barber Race Series, click here. To follow along with Mark throughout the 2026 season, be sure to follow him on Instagram at @MrJr1976.