Gottsacker was introduced to motorsports by his grandfather, who took him to drag racing events during his youth. He took up karting himself at age 13 and competed extensively in SKUSA-sanctioned championships. At 14 he was selected to represent the United States at the KZ2 World Championship. He continued competing in karting during winter offseasons even after transitioning to cars, using it to maintain sharpness between professional seasons.
Gottsacker made his car-racing debut in 2016 with a part-time campaign in the Global Rallycross Championship's GRC Lites class for PMG Rallysport. Across five starts he posted a best finish of fifth, recorded twice at the Fair Park and Marine Corps Air Station New River rounds, and finished 13th in the points standings alongside teammate Parker Chase.
Gottsacker ran a half-season in the Pirelli World Challenge GT Sports class in 2016 for Performance Motorsports Group, driving a Ginetta G55 GT4 to a season-best fifth at Laguna Seca. In 2017 he joined Ginetta's Young Driver Development Program alongside Parker Chase, entering the British GT Championship with Century Motorsport. The pair won the Silver class in the opening round at Oulton Park before withdrawing from the program after three rounds to pursue other ventures.
Returning to the Pirelli World Challenge in 2017, Gottsacker scored a GTS class race victory at Portland before taking his first overall GTS podium at Mid-Ohio. He also made his IMSA SportsCar Championship debut that year alongside Chase in a TRG-run Porsche 911 GT3 R.
For 2018 he moved to Racers Edge Motorsports with a GT4-homologated SIN R1, winning at Portland and Utah Motorsports Campus but missing the GTS title by three points.
In 2019 Gottsacker joined ST Racing's BMW entry in the new GT4 America Series, pairing with Jon Miller in the West Pro-Am sub-classification. They swept weekends at COTA and Las Vegas, added victories at Laguna Seca and Portland, and claimed the title by 68 points. In 2020, now paired with Nick Wittmer, the duo won four races including two class victories at COTA, ultimately finishing second in the championship, six points behind Jarett Andretti and Colin Mullan.
In 2022, Gottsacker and ST Racing entered the 24 Hours of Dubai for the customer debut of the BMW M4 GT3. He also took part in the 24 Hours of Spa and the Indianapolis 8 Hours that year, winning the Silver class at the latter as the sole entrant in that category.
Gottsacker joined Hyundai's North American factory program in 2019, driving the new Hyundai Veloster N TCR in the Michelin Pilot Challenge paired with Mason Filippi. The duo scored three podiums and one race victory — elevated to a win after a drive-time penalty demoted the leading HART entry — and finished second in the championship. He matched the runner-up result in 2020 with new co-driver Mark Wilkins, taking two victories including a sweep of the Sebring rounds, but falling 11 points short of the champion sister entry.
In 2021 Gottsacker and Wilkins moved to Bryan Herta Autosport's No. 33 entry with the new Hyundai Elantra N TCR. They claimed one win at Laguna Seca and finished fifth in the championship. The 2022 season brought a co-driver change to long-time colleague Parker Chase; the pair scored two podiums including a victory at Mid-Ohio.
The 2023 season, contested alongside co-driver Robert Wickens, proved Gottsacker's most successful in TCR to date. Despite not winning a race, the pair accumulated seven podiums across ten races and clinched the TCR-class championship by 60 points over teammates Filippi and Wilkins. Gottsacker also made his debut at the Nurburgring 24 Hours in 2023 as part of Hyundai's factory lineup. His return to the Nurburgring in 2024 yielded a TCR-class victory alongside Filippi, Wilkins, and Bryson Morris.
In 2024, reunited with Wickens in the No. 33, Gottsacker opened the season with a pole at Daytona before a retirement in the race. The duo won at Mosport in July, their sole race victory, and collected six podiums in total for third in the championship. Gottsacker also made his debut in the TCR World Tour, contesting the two rounds at Mid-Ohio that ran in support of the Michelin Pilot Challenge.
For 2025, Gottsacker switched back to Filippi as co-driver and the pair claimed wins at Sebring and Mid-Ohio on their way to another Michelin Pilot Challenge TCR-class championship, clinching the title at Road Atlanta with a 20-point margin.
Outside racing, Gottsacker is an avid angler and earned his Eagle Scout certification while in high school.
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