Second-year driver earns first series podium in St. Pete
LOVELAND, Ohio – It was a great start to the USF2000 Presented by Cooper Tires championship for Evagoras Papasavvas. Racing out of the Jay Howard Driver Development (JHDD) program, Evagoras earned his first career USF2000 podium result on Saturday in a JHDD one-two finish and backed that result up with a solid fourth-place finish on Sunday to leave the first event weekend of the 2023 season only 10 markers out of the championship point lead.
“What a great way to start the season,” said Papasavvas. “A huge thank you to the JHDD program for providing me with the tools needed to run at the front of the field. The goal was to earn two solid results and help build some steam going into the rest of the season and I think we have done just that.”
After a single practice session on Friday, it was straight into the one and only qualifying session that set the grid for the first wheel-to-wheel action of the season. With the goal of starting in the top three rows, Papasavvas did just that earning the fourth fastest time in qualifying to line up outside row two. Starting closer to the front, Evagoras was ahead of the carnage that would happen behind him and challenged at the pointy end of the field all race long crossing the line in the second position.
“The only way we could have started the season better was with a win,” expressed Papasavvas, after standing on the second step of the podium next to teammate Lochie Hughes who scored the win. “A great race for us and an awesome way to start the season. I always knew we would be strong in St. Pete based on our performance last year in Toronto and happy to be able to prove this today.”
Returning to the track Sunday for the second wheel-to-wheel action in as many days, Papasavvas lined up on the outside of the front row in the second position as he looked to double up on his podium finishes. Progressing through the early morning race that would then make way for the NTT INDYCAR Series, Papasavvas was once again one of the fastest cars on track and secured his second top-five result in as many days finishing fourth.
Papasavvas continued, “It was a great start, but I will now shift my focus to Sebring for rounds three and four in a few weeks. No rest, just a winning attitude over here. A huge thank you to JHDD and all my partners for a successful start to the 2023 season.”
Evagoras Papasavvas would like to thank several new and returning partners for the 2023 season including Maison Mavrommatis, Attikouris Enterprises, BodyWise, Tiger Natural Gas, Ares Elite, D1 Cincinnati North, HLB Investments, and GutsWear.