HARTSDALE, NY- No matter how long you practice and try to perfect your craft, every top athlete knows that there's always something to learn. That very fact holds true in motorsports, and even after 12 years of racing experience, Michael d'Orlando got to learn something new by competing in his first oval circuit event, at Lucas Oil Raceway Park in Indianapolis, Ind, in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship.

And he did not disappoint. d'Orlando drove to an impressive fourth place finish while also showing the best performance of any driver in the 19 car field with no previous oval circuit experience.

D'Orlando ascended on the 2/3-mile oval circuit in Indianapolis, just a few miles up the road from the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway, sitting second in the Road to Indy USF2000 series' points race. Proving he's a quick study, he topped the charts in the first practice session and ultimately set the fastest lap of the entire practice day. To follow that up, he ended the day in the two-lap average-lap-time qualifying session with a solid 4th place effort.

The Freedom 75 main event was filled with exciting racing action. In the opening lap, d'Orlando took his opportunity to slot into the third spot where he would maintain focus and consistency for the next 73 laps, in his Focused Project Management/DB Collaborative #4 USF2000 machine prepared by Cape Motorsports. In the last two laps, d'Orlando found himself in an intense back-n-forth battle fighting for position with competitors coming back from deeper in the field. Ultimately, d'Orlando would take the checkered flag in the fourth position and although this is not the result he was looking for, this performance showed to be the best finishing result of any competitor without previous oval circuit experience. d'Orlando's commendable consistent efforts and performance continue to keep him second overall in points championship with the second half of the season to come.

"I really didn't know what to expect going into my first oval race. It was so very different than anything I've ever done before," explains Michael d'Orlando. "But it was an awesome experience and I developed a deep respect for this type of racing. I learned a lot. We worked so hard and it was very heartbreaking to miss the podium in just the last two laps. But now it's time to focus on the second half of the season and get the wins I know we are quite capable of."

Next up - the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship series returns to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a triple-header event on September 3rd & 4th. D'Orlando Enterprises would like to continue to extend their special thanks to their partners at DB Collaborative; UFC Gym - Mamaroneck, Motor Media USA, Eiffel apparel and Focused Project Management.