Oval debut for Mazda Motorsports driver

SHEBOYGAN FALLS, Wis. - Making the short trek from Sheboygan Falls, Wis., to Brownsburg, Ind., ArmsUp Motorsports claimed a top-10 finish in Round Five of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda. Driving the Soul Red car, Mazda Motorsports Scholarship winner Keith Donegan turned his oval debut into a sixth-place finish and now has his sights set on the famed Road America facility in a few weeks' time.

"I am very happy we qualified as well as we did. We couldn't have asked for more from Keith as he did a hell of a job getting the car there," explained Gregg Borland. "First oval race and there was a lot going on, but he had a great first lap. If that first yellow had not come out I think we would've done a really solid job and maybe even have been on the podium. We were moving up, catching the cars in front of us and I think the car was starting to work really well."

After completing two promoter's test sessions and one event practice session on Thursday, Keith and his ArmsUp squad returned Friday for qualifying and the race. Showing his talent behind the wheel, Donegan wrestled his car to a fourth-place result and would make his oval debut from outside row two.

"My first time on the oval was interesting," explained Donegan. "We didn't have much pace at the beginning of the weekend but then we found a balance that we really liked after the second session on Thursday. The car was quite loose in qualifying but we left it the same for the race thinking that it would be better with the cooler temperatures. After some understeer at the start, the car was good mid-race and then the safety car came out so that was a bit unfortunate and cut the race short. I gained a lot of experience this weekend as it was all new to me and I'm now looking forward to Road America."

Borland continued, "After a second yellow we never really got a chance to get back into a rhythm. I think the car was good in the long run but we didn't have anything at the end of the race. I was really really pleased with Keith, I think he did a great job; the crew, everybody did a great job. I'm looking forward to Road America because I think he's turned a corner and is going to be in a good spot now."

Next on the schedule for ArmsUp Motorsports will be a Cooper Tires USF2000 Series Test on June 11 and 12 at Road America. Taking part in their home event on June 21-24, ArmsUp Motorsports and Keith Donegan will be aiming for the top step of the podium in Rounds Six and Seven as they compete alongside the Verizon IndyCar Series.