INDIANAPOLIS, IN - The Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda team of Belardi Auto Racing experienced their fair share of highs and lows this Labor Day weekend at the Grand Prix of Baltimore. The doubleheader weekend saw the team's 10th podium finish of 2012 as well as four top-10 finishes.
The only practice session scheduled for the weekend was delayed by nearly 30 minutes on Friday morning as officials continued to make adjustments to the track and make final inspections before the race weekend could officially begin. After some reviews by INDYCAR later in the day following additional practice sessions by both the Firestone Indy Lights and IZOD IndyCar series, league officials decided to add a chicane to the front straight near where a set of railroad tracks lay. The chicane was to be added to help with the severe bump all drivers were experiencing while going down the long straight at such high speeds. Officials decided to allow the USF2000 series another practice, bypass qualifying and use championship points to decide Race 1's starting lineup.
Unfortunately for Wayne Boyd, who would be participating in his first race of the season, he would begin near the back of the 28-car field in the No. 9 DHL/MoeryLAI/Belardi Auto Racing car. The British National would not get one lap in during Race 1 as he was involved in an accident during Lap 1; he was shown in 28th. Boyd's teammates Colin Thompson, Roman Lagudi and Scott Anderson had better luck with top-12 finishes. Anderson and Lagudi finished in fifth and sixth, respectively, while Thompson brought it home in a solid 12th.
Race 2's outcome became the highlight of the weekend when Fort Collins, CO resident Anderson captured his sixth podium of the season with a second-place finish. Perkasie, PA resident and brand-new Marist College freshman Colin Thompson would end up in his USF2000 career-best finish after driving his best race of the year. Thompson fought his way from a 10th-place starting position to finish fourth.
"Colin performed incredibly on Sunday," said team owner Brian Belardi. "It was undoubtedly his best race of the entire year and I am very proud of Colin - we all are. He didn't make any mistakes and fought his way towards the front, and I am sure if there had been a few more laps, Colin would have been on the podium. I'm really looking forward to seeing all our guys race at VIR after their performances this weekend."
Unfortunately for Thompson, while fighting to the front, the No. 11 The Thompson Organization/AWE Tuning/Sparco/Laboratory Testing/Belardi Auto Racing car's front wing sustained minor damage which led to failing the post-race inspection; the car was disqualified and shown in 28th.
New teammate Boyd maneuvered his way around the competition to gain 18 positions and end up in 10th after starting dead last due to no qualifying time from the previous race's DNF. Australian native Lagudi, who was involved in an incident, would end up eight laps down in P24.
With the bumpy streets of downtown Baltimore behind them, the team moves on to VIR - Virginia International Raceway - for the season finale which will be a doubleheader on Friday, September 14, and Saturday, September 15. The Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda will be a support series for the American Le Mans series.
About MoeryLAI
MoeryLAI is a fast-growing association consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. Focusing on serving the nation's leading associations, MoeryLAI helps those associations to generate more revenue by selling membership, sponsorship and exhibits or offering strategic advice on important business development issues. Abiding by their three core values of integrity, collaboration and entrepreneurism, MoeryLAI has helped clients successfully achieve top-line revenue growth. You can find more information on MoeryLAI on their website, www.MoeryLAI.com, follow them on Twitter - @JPMoery, or like them on Facebook - www.facebook.com/MoeryLAI.
About Belardi Auto Racing
Belardi Auto Racing is a Cooper Tires Presents USF2000 Powered by Mazda and Firestone Indy Lights team based in Brownsburg, Indiana. The 2011 season saw two race wins, 10 podiums, 17 top-five finishes and 36 top-tens. Follow the team on Twitter, Facebook or their official website,
www.BelardiAutoRacing.com.