Texan sophomore fired up to return to challenging and famed venue
LEXINGTON, OHIO – JDC MotorSports and Clark Toppe are primed and ready for the penultimate weekend of the 2014 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered By Mazda. The series will hit the track for a tripleheader this weekend at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, and the JDC crew is focused on putting their driver up front. The 16-year-old Texan enters the weekend tied for the sixth in the USF2000 driver’s championship after a top-five finish in Round 9 in Toronto. The weekend will start on Thursday, with two test sessions and Friday’s action will feature one practice session ahead of qualifying, as well as the first race of the weekend. The second race will be run on Saturday, with the weekend’s final race taking place on Sunday morning. It will be an action-packed event that will require Toppe to remain totally focused from start to finish.
Toppe raced in the Mid-Ohio USF2000 tripleheader weekend with JDC MotorSports last year as well, but was not able to garner the results for which he had hoped. After struggling through test sessions and practice, Toppe qualified a solid 18th in a field of 28 USF2000 racers in his rookie run at the challenging track, but he wanted more. The first two races of the weekend saw Toppe fight to run in the top-20, but he emerged with more speed in the final event, recording his highest result of the weekend, thanks to a 12th place finish that completed the weekend on a positive note.
“I’m looking forward to being back at Mid-Ohio,” Toppe commented, ready to make amends for last year armed with a year’s experience and development. “Although I struggled last year, I believe that JDC and I can really show what we have, like we did at NOLA during Winterfest. I love this venue and I am ready to hit the track and get some good results toward our championship effort."
The driver from The Woodlands, Texas is coming off a successful weekend in rounds eight and nine of the USF2000 season, which were run on the famed street circuit in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on July 18-20. Toppe showed good speed in practice to begin the weekend. After qualifying 16th, Toppe advanced to finish 11th in the rain-soaked opening race and then gained 10 spots in the dry Race #2, powering from 15th to finish a strong fifth. After the important weekend in Toronto, Toppe is currently tied for the sixth position in the championship standings with a total of 115 points. In Toronto, Toppe showed that in the wet or dry, he is more than prepared and capable of recording impressive finishes, no matter where the series races.
About JDC MotorSports:
Involved in formula car racing since its inception in 1994, JDC MotorSports has established itself as one of the leading junior open-wheel teams in North America. Initially making its mark in the F2000 class of club racing competition, JDC Motorsports was soon a team worth watching in the pro ranks. Competing in the Formula Ford 2000 Zetec Championship, the team not only won races, but also helped develop multiple young drivers. In 2005, JDC Motorsports expanded its efforts, entering the Star Mazda Championship. Quickly becoming one of the top teams in the series, JDC captured both the driver and team titles in 2007, as well as Rookie of the Year honors, with Dane Cameron scoring a series-high three wins. In 2008, JDC Motorsports was the runner-up in the Star Mazda Championship and finished fourth in its inaugural season of F2000 Championship Series competition. The Minnesota-based team won the Star Mazda Championship title with Rookie of the Year Adam Christodoulou, and the F2000 Championship Series title with Chris Miller in 2009. The following year, JDC continued its winning ways, earning the Rookie of the Year award in the Star Mazda Championship with Connor De Philippi, and scoring a non-points win in the USF2000 National Championship. In 2011, the Minneapolis-based squad captured its third Star Mazda Championship title with Tristan Vautier, scored a win in the USF2000 National Championship, and made its Prototype Lites Championship debut, earning five podium finishes. JDC Motorsports added to its Star Mazda Championship win tally, USF2000 Championship podium total, and finished as the Prototype Lites Championship runner-up in 2012. Last year, the squad continued its run of Pro Mazda and USF2000 podium finishes, and was third in the Prototype Lites title fight.