Californian was three-for-three in his Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing entry at Sebring International Raceway
LOS GATOS, CALIF. – Junior formula car standout Neil Alberico has firmly established himself as the driver to beat in the 2013 edition of the Cooper Tires Winterfest series, after sweeping the opening tripleheader this past week (February 5-6) at Sebring International Raceway. The second-year USF2000 Championship racer led every session in central Florida en route to steering his Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing entry into victory lane three straight times. Alberico as a result enters the championship-finale tripleheader this coming weekend (February 9-10) at Palm Beach International with a sizeable points lead, and the chance to start the season off with a series title.
Prior to the highly-talented USF2000 Championship field first taking to the historic 3.74-mile Sebring road course, Alberico was confident he could be among those battling for top honors. That belief was immediately well justified, as the Bondurant Championship Race Series champion and Team USA scholarship winner was quickly at the top of the speedcharts in practice. It was a position Alberico was not to relinquish for the rest of the two-day Winterfest event.
Continually working with his talented Cape Motorsports crew - which has won the previous two USF2000 Championship titles - Alberico developed his No. 2 Racelite Protection/Bondurant School of High Performance Driving/eFormulaCarNews.com/J&M Trophies/Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing steed each time he took to the track. This work was promptly rewarded in qualifying via a new USF2000 Championship lap record, and reinforced with a flag-to-flag win in race one that also featured the 20 year-old further lowering the lap record (2:03.074).
After a flawless day one of the Winterfest tripleheader at Sebring, the attention and pressure was squarely on Alberico on day two. The Californian met the challenge head-on, continuing his run of perfection via two more flag-to-flag wins, holding off a talented Cape Motorsports teammate to end the first of two events with three wins in three races. Alberico as a result enters the final three races of the six-race title fight at PBIR with a sizeable 21-point advantage in the standings.
"We couldn't have asked for a better start to the season," stated Alberico. "All the guys at Cape Motorsports have been working so hard during the off-season. They definitely earned these wins. We just need to keep this ball rolling into the next races at Palm Beach International Raceway."
Alberico and the entire Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing crew have little time to savor the perfect outing at Sebring, as the quest for the Cooper Tires Winterfest title continues on Saturday (February 9), with practice, qualifying, and race one of the season-ending tripleheader at Palm Beach International Raceway.
Those interested in supporting this rising American racer are encouraged to contact Neil Alberico directly @ neil@neilalberico.com to discuss sponsorship opportunities.
Learn more about Neil Alberico at neilalberico.com and keep up to date via Twitter @ NeilAlberico and Facebook @ Neil-Alberico-Racing.
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About Neil Alberico:
A native of Los Gatos, Calif., Alberico first started racing karts at the age of 10, competing in IKF region 11 action. Over the course of four seasons (2004-07), the young talent captured the Junior Sportsman, Junior Super Sportsman, and Junior Puma championship titles. In 2008, Alberico first got behind the wheel of a race car, graduating from the Skip Barber 2-day Advanced school at Laguna Seca prior to participating in the Formula BMW recruitment day at Miller Motorsports Park. Continuing to race in the karting ranks while raising funds to pursue a career in motorsports, Alberico won the Snap-On Stars of Karting Series National finale in Las Vegas in 2009, before finishing third in CKI National TAG Senior championship. Alberico built on this success in 2010, winning the TaG Senior class in the WSK North American Series, as well as the Bondurant Championship Race Series, capturing 10 wins in first full season of car competition. As part of the prize package for winning the Bondurant Championship, the teenager tested a Pro Formula Mazda with World Speed Motorsports and a Formula Atlantic Swift 016.a with Finlay Motorsports. In 2011, Alberico made his European racing debut, competing in the world-renowned Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain with Irish-based Cliff Dempsey Racing. Finish ninth in his maiden FF season, the Californian earned a Team USA Scholarships. As a Team USA driver, he captured a Semi-Final win and finished third in the historic 40th Formula Ford Festival. Alberico joined the Mazda Road to Indy program in 2012, earning a podium finish and nine top-fives in his rookie season in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda. This season, the California standout returns to USF2000 Championship action, joining two-time defending champion Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing.