John Shoffner

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John Shoffner
Born (1958-06-25) June 25, 1958 (age 63)
Fairbanks, Alaska
Space career
Axiom Space space tourist
MissionsSpaceX Ax2

John Shoffner (born 25 July 1955 in Fairbanks, Alaska) is an American racing driver, investor, and pilot. In May 2021, he was selected by Axiom Space to pilot the SpaceX Dragon 2 on Axiom Mission 2.[1][2]

Biography[edit]

Shoffner was born on 25 July 1955 in Fairbanks, Alaska. He spent most of his career in Knoxville, Tennessee. Out of high school he attended the United States Air Force Academy Preparatory School as a cadet candidate hoping to obtain an appointment to the U. S. Air Force Academy as a cadet leading to a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Air Force. Before graduating from the Prep School he was disenrolled by Lieutenant General Albert P. Clark, Air Force Academy Superintendent for inappropriate conduct. Before being disenrolled at the Prep School he was a member of C Squadron.

Before creating his own motorsports team J2-Racing[3] in 2012, Shoffner was a businessman. He had a 21-year career in Kentucky-based telecommunications manufacturer Dura-Line.[4] He retired as president in 1997.

Shoffner, an air show pilot, has over 8,500 flight hours in fixed-wing aircraft, decommissioned military aircraft, and helicopters. Shoffner owns Republic P-47D Thunderbolt "Wicked Wabbit".[5]

As an athlete, Shoffner has many years of competition in multiple sports including water skiing, cycling (crossing the U.S. in 18 days without support), white water kayaking, hang gliding, and making over 3,000 skydives and base jumps.[citation needed]

Motorsports career[edit]

Shoffner competes in Nürburgring 24 Hours.[6] In 2016 he finished 19th overall and second in his class (SP7) with a Porsche 991 GT3 Cup.[7] In 2017 he finished 32nd overall and third in his class (SP7) with a Porsche 991 GT3 Cup.[8]

Shoffner has competed with Team GetSpeed since the 2019 VLN Series, driving a Mercedes-AMG GT.[9] He finished in 13th place in 2019 and 10th in 2020.

Shoffner was second in the 2019 Nürburgring Endurance Series Carrera Cup Class Championship. He holds a total of three in-class victories in the Carrera Cup Class.[10]

Nürburgring 24 Hours Team Car Category Result Result in category
2015 Germany Fricadelli Racing Team Renault Clio SP3 93 8
2016 Germany Fricadelli Racing Team Porsche 991 GT3 Cup SP7 19 2
2017 Germany Gigaspeed Team GetSpeed Performance Porsche 991 GT3 Cup SP7 32 3
2018 Germany Gigaspeed Team GetSpeed Performance Porsche 991 GT3 Cup SP7 31 4
2019 Germany GetSpeed Performance Mercedes-AMG GT3 SP9 13 12
2020 Germany GetSpeed Performance Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo SP 9 Pro-Am 17 3

Space mission[edit]

Shoffner is scheduled to fly as pilot of the SpaceX Dragon 2 on Axiom Mission 2 with Peggy Whitson as commander, as announced on 25 May 2021.[1][11][2] The mission will occur in fall 2022. He was also the back-up pilot of Axiom Mission 1.[12]

During their week-long mission, Shoffner and Whitson will conduct single-cell genome sequencing demonstrations on the International Space Station for 10x Genomics.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Axiom announces Ax-2 mission commander and pilot". Axiom Space. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  2. ^ a b c "A Champion Race Car Driver Will Pilot Axiom's Second Crewed Mission". A Champion Race Car Driver Will Pilot Axiom’s Second Crewed Mission - Supercluster. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  3. ^ "Team – J2 Racing". Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  4. ^ Fraser, Jill Andresky (1990-01-01). "Plans to Grow By, Strategic Planning Article". Inc.com. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  5. ^ "Republic P-47D Thunderbolt "Wicked Wabbit"". Tennessee Museum Of Aviation. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  6. ^ "John Shoffner trotzt Schmerzen: Vier Rennrunden mit Schulterproblemen". Motorsport-Total.com (in German). Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  7. ^ [1] 24h Rennen Result Official.
  8. ^ Magazine, Speedsport. "John Shoffner: Rennfahrer-Biographie - Karriere und Erfolge". www.speedsport-magazine.de (in German). Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  9. ^ "GetSpeed Performance has big goals in 2021 - an interview with Adam Osieka". lsr-freun.de. 23 December 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
  10. ^ "John Shoffner (US)". www.gtopen.net. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  11. ^ "Peggy Whitson, America's most experienced astronaut, to lead commercial flight to space station". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2021-06-03.
  12. ^ https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2021/01/26/private-space-flight-axiom/
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