Palmetto, Fla. – Team Pelfrey today announces an expansion of its open-wheel portfolio with confirmation of plans to field a three-car entry in the 2015 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda. The move will augment the Florida-based team’s current involvement in the F1600 Championship Series, which for many young drivers represents the first foray into semi-professional car racing, and the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires.
USF2000 is clearly defined as the first official step on the Mazda Road to Indy – an initiative unique to North America which offers scholarships to drivers at every level to assist in progression from the grassroots of the
sport, then on through Pro Mazda and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires to the Verizon IndyCar Series.
“We are extremely excited to see Team Pelfrey expand into the USF2000 ranks,” said Dan Andersen, Owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions. “They are a first-class organization and championship-winning team in both Pro Mazda and F1600. To tie their existing programs together with the addition of USF2000 makes perfect sense. Given their track record and level of expertise, I know they will be among the front-runners next season.”
The addition of a program in USF2000 represents a logical step for the championship-winning Team Pelfrey organization, which guided rising Verizon IndyCar Series star Jack Hawksworth to the Pro Mazda title in 2012 and claimed the top three finishing positions in this season’s F1600 campaign with Norwegian Ayla Agren and Americans Garth Rickards and Augie Lerch.
Team Pelfrey will carry a proven formula for success into its latest venture, with a major focus on driver development. In addition to traditional driver coaching and data analysis, Team Pelfrey offers advice on fitness, nutrition and career management as well as assisting in the process of securing sponsorship and developing commercial partnerships through its Pelfrey Performance initiative.
Pelfrey Performance will be present at all Mazda Road to Indy events next year. Each one of its drivers – in all three series – will be able to bring partners to events and gain access to a dedicated hospitality center, which can be tailored to their requirements to facilitate team building, corporate entertainment and business-to-business opportunities.
“These are exciting times at Team Pelfrey as we continue to expand the team along with our Mazda Road to Indy presence,” said Team Pelfrey’s Nigel Tuckey. “We are all about providing quality, all-encompassing development programs for young drivers at Team Pelfrey so the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda is a logical addition and ‘fills the gap’ between our other programs perfectly. Having the ability to provide a seamless transition from karts to Pro Mazda for our drivers has the whole Pelfrey crew highly motivated for continued success.”
Drivers for the new USF2000 season, which will comprise 16 races at eight different venues, in addition to a six-race preseason Cooper Tires Winterfest mini-series in February at NOLA Motorsports Park and Barber Motorsports Park, will be confirmed in the near future.
ABOUT TEAM PELFREY: Dale Pelfrey’s race team, based in Palmetto, Fla., is built upon the same principles he used 35 years ago when establishing his business career – hire the best, acquire the best and expect the best in order to achieve the most. After fielding cars in the IndyCar Series from 1998 until 2000, Team Pelfrey was reformed in 2011, winning on its Pro Mazda debut and going on to earn the Team Championship as well as second and third in the drivers’ title-chase with Connor De Phillippi and Nick Andries. Team Pelfrey went one better in 2012, guiding Jack Hawksworth to the Drivers’ Championship and earning a second successive Team Championship. An expansion into the F1600 Championship Series for the 2014 season saw Ayla Agren, Garth Rickards and Augie Lerch secure the top three positions in the points table.