(Indianapolis, IN) - Danilo Estrela completed his first oval track race this past weekend in the 68th Annual Visit Hendricks County "Night Before the 500" at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis, Indiana. This would mark the first oval track experience for many of the young drivers in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda. Although he prefers road courses to oval tracks, Estrela was able to pilot the #11 Belardi Auto Racing (D&S Marketing USA) car to a fourth-place finish.

Qualifying was held in single car format which proved beneficial to many of the drivers. Estrela qualified in eighth position with a time of 43.343. "That was not good at all," Estrela spoke of his qualifier. "I tried the low line but the car had some oversteer. Now I will keep my head down for the race. It should be good."

The race was good for Estrela who got a big jump on the field at the green flag, overtaking several cars to gain the fourth position early. 

"It was a good start," he after the race. "But the car was loose sometimes which made it difficult." 

Despite the struggle with his car, he would battle it out with another competitor for third-place as the laps counted down in the incident-free event. Estrela was ultimately passed by his competitor leaving him in the fourth-place finishing spot. 

"When [Garett] Grist overtook me I lost momentum," said Estrela. "At least we are making points though."

Estrela currently sits third in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda official points standings. He will now have over a month until his next race with Belardi Auto Racing and the USF2000 Championship in Toronto on July 13-14, a race he is very much looking forward to. To keep up to date on what Estrela does between races, follow him on Twitter @daniloestrela12.