Wayside, N.J. - Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing driver Trent Hindman experienced the ups and downs of street racing at the penultimate rounds of the 2012 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda. After early contact knocked him out of Race 1, he regrouped and drove from the back to just miss a top-10 finish.
After several IZOD IndyCar Series cars were damaged by an existing railroad crossing during their opening practice, drivers and series officials decided to install a chicane on the front straight on the Inner Harbor circuit. The work delayed the sole scheduled practice session for USF2000, so to help get drivers acclimated with the new layout, officials turned the scheduled qualifying session into a second practice and set the field for Race 1 by championship points.
The decision put Hindman sixth on the grid for Race 1 Saturday afternoon. After avoiding an opening lap dust-up and gaining a couple spots on the subsequent restart, Hindman made contact with the rear wing of Neil Alberico's spun car in the Turn 4 hairpin, cutting Hindman's left-rear tire and ultimately putting him into the wall at the next corner and out of the race.
"I had no place to go", said a dejected Hindman. "I gave up the corner but he spun on the exit and he rolled back just enough to catch my right rear. The car felt fine until I turned left at the next corner, the tire went down and I found the wall"
Hindman was credited with a 25th place finish overall (15th in the Championship class) and more importantly, like the season opener at Sebring, the lack of a representative race lap meant that Hindman would start Race 2 deep in the field. With the tight confines of the Inner Harbor circuit, he set a goal for himself of a top-15 finish.
Driving a head's up race, Hindman avoided incidents in front of him moving up to 12th place before a multi-car incident on the front straight in the closing laps ended the race behind the pace car. 12th place turned into 11th place after a post-race exclusion of another driver.
"The car felt great and I was getting more comfortable with it and the track as the race progressed. I just wish the race stayed green to the end; I might have been able to get into the Top 10. Still, after Race 1 , I was just happy to drive the car back to the paddock."
With 15th and 11th place finishes, Trent Hindman loses a little ground to Roman Lagudi (four points to be exact) in the battle for the Top 5 in the USF2000 standings after 12 of 14 rounds.
Standings, 2012 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda after 12 of 14 Rounds
1. Matthew Brabham, 307 points
2. Spencer Pigot -41
3. Scott Anderson, -67
4. Matthew DiLeo, -102
5. Roman Lagudi, -134
6. Trent Hindman, -153
Next up
The 2012 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda wraps up In two weeks with a double-header at Virginia International Raceway the weekend of September 15-16.
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Trent Hindman
Wayside, N.J. native Trent Hindman comes to the 2012 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda off a diverse season of racing that includes winning the Ontario Formula Ford Championship, a runner-up finish in the BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda and selection to the prestigious Team USA Scholarship. A former Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shoot-out winner, Hindman’s goal is to progress through the “Mazda Road to Indy” program, culminating in a ride in the IZOD IndyCar Series. Hindman is racing with defending USF2000 champions Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing and would like to thank Sparco, Racelite Protection and Altemus Prime Communications for their support.
Away from the track, Hindman attends Ocean Township High School in Oakhurst, N.J. He resides in Wayside with his parents Doug and Kim and his sister Sloane.
Learn more about Trent Hindman at www.trenthindman.com.