PALMETTO, FLA. – The chase for race wins and a championship crown in 2014 begins in earnest this weekend (March 29-30) for JAY Motorsports via the season-opening Cooper USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda doubleheader in St. Petersburg, Fla. With up-and-coming formula car racers Henrik Furuseth and Adrian Starrantino behind the wheels, the skilled squad is keenly focused on starting its campaign in ideal fashion on its home state soil.
JAY Motorsports, having been hard at work planning and preparing since the last checkered flag waved in 2013, is excited about the opportunity to get back to action. Confidence is high under the Florida-based team's awning entering the opening USF2000 Championship twin bill, thanks in large part to the talented driver line-up of Furuseth, Starrantino, and Colton Herta, who will not make his series debut until the second event due to age restrictions.
Furuseth enters the Verizon IndyCar Series opening event ready to build on both previous series success, and most recently a strong debut with his new squad during the off-season. The No. 96 Palfinger/Skedsmo Betong pilot was the National class champion is his debut season back in 2012, winning seven times, and was a front-runner as a Championship class rookie last season, securing two podium finishes. Combined with the fact the 17 year-old Norwegian secured a top-five and top-10 result during the recent Winterfest run focused on car and driver development, and he has a trip to the St. Petersburg post-race podium on his resume, the JAY Motorsports driver is set to start the year off on the right note.
"I am very much looking forward to the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg," commented Furuseth. "This will be my third time racing in this event. It is a great event, and I like the track a lot. We are looking to have a strong start to the season, with two strong finishes setting a good benchmark for the championship. I can't wait to get on track on Friday morning."
The Florida opener will provide Starrantino the first chance to officially display his talents in the USF2000 ranks. If past performances are any indication, he is ready to do just that. The 19 year-old rookie joins JAY Motorsports set to add to a resume that has several Skip Barber wins, and a runner-up finish in last season's hotly-contested F1600 Formula F Championship Series via four wins. Starrantino has impressed his crew and onlookers in pre-season testing in the No. 91 Auto World Collision Center/PPG/CoForce International racing steed. JAY Motorsports is certain they will have two racers worth watching in Florida.
"With Round One at St. Pete fast approaching, and I am more excited than ever," stated Starrantino. "The guys at JAY Motorsports and I have been putting in so much work during the off-season. I am very confident in our teams capabilities this season, and cannot wait to see what we do this year!"
The JAY Motorsports duo of Furuseth and Starrantino begin the 2014 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda title fight on Friday (March 28) via two practice sessions around the 1.8-mile St. Petersburg street circuit. Day two features the lone qualifying run, followed by race one of the season-opening twin bill at 4:40 pm local time. The doubleheader concludes on Sunday (March 30) at 8:50 am local time ahead of the Verizon IndyCar Series opener. Live timing and audio will be available at www.USF2000.com/results/live-timing
Additional information on JAY Motorsports can be obtained from the team’s website at JAYMotorsports.com. For direct contact, please contact Jay Green @ 304-610-5663 or jaymotorsports1@gmail.com and keep up to date via Twitter @JAYMotorsports and on Facebook @ JAY Motorsports LLC
The following links can be used to follow the JAY Motorsports drivers online and through social media:
Henrik Furuseth at FurusethMotorsport.no and keep up to date via Twitter @FurusethMotorsport, Facebook @ Furuseth Motorsport and YouTube @ Furuseth Motorsport.
Keep up to date with Colton Herta via Twitter @ColtonHerta and Facebook @ Colton Herta.
Learn more about Adrian Starrantino at Team-ASR.com and Keep up to date via Twitter @AdrianStarr94, Facebook @ Adrian Starrantino and YouTube @ Adrian Starrantino Racing.
About JAY Motorsports:
JAY Motorsports, LLC is a family owned and operated racing organization based in Florida. Led by former racer Jay Green, the team became one of the highest rated customer service representatives within the SCCA's spec categories. With countless wins in SCCA Club and Pro competition, the team became a mainstay in junior driver development over the years. By winning the 2009 and 2012 SCCA Formula Enterprises National Championships, they propelled their drivers to win spots on the prestigious MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development Team in 2009 and 2012. In addition to the 2009 and 2012 Runoffs gold medals, JAY Motorsports was the 2006 MARRS Spec Racer Ford champion, 2007 SCCA National Great Lakes Division Spec Racer Ford champion, 2008 SCCA National Great Lakes Division Spec Racer Ford and Formula Enterprises champion, 2008 SCCA Great Lakes/Central Division Formula Car Magazine Formula Enterprises champion, 2008 Carolina Cup Pro Series Spec Racer Ford champion, and 2009 SCCA Southeast Division ECR Spec Racer Ford champion. In 2012, JAY Motorsports entered the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda full-time, contesting both the National and Championship classes. Building on multiple top-10 finishes in its rookie campaign, the squad stood on the podium twice in 2013. This season JAY Motorsports is running a multi-car operation in pursuit of the Rookie of the Year award and series title.