INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – For American Darren Keane, the third and fourth rounds of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship provided the opportunity to rebound from the opening event at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.
The 19-year-old college student came to the 14-turn 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course with a new mindset from the last two rounds, focused on concentration but more importantly on simply enjoying the opportunity to race at this level. Keane started the weekend on top of the charts in the Thursday test sessions and official practice and when qualifying came around on Friday, he put his No. 2 Cape Motorsports entry on the outside of the front row for both races in the doubleheader.
Unfortunately, due to a turn one incident at the start of Race 1, Keane was shuffled back to dead last. Drawing from his new outlook, Darren dug deep and rallied to an outstanding sixth place finish. In Race 2, he showed his maturity by racing for the win, but also remembered the year-end championship points and maximized his machine to take second place. The points accrued over the entire weekend have moved him into a tie for third place in the championship standings.
The weekend started on Thursday with two unofficial test sessions followed by the one and only official practice session. Keane was third on the speed charts in his No. 2 Cape Motorsports Tatuus USF-17. Friday morning began with qualifying for Race 1, and Darren was on and off the provisional pole during the session, only to end up in second. Qualifying for Race 2 followed just a couple hours later, and again after having the pole for an extended period of time during the session, Darren was nipped at the last minute again, meaning he would start the second race in second as well.
Race 1 capped Friday’s schedule and in turn one’s true fashion, a scramble ensued and it did not end well for Darren. After being tapped from behind and squeezed down from the side, he was spun around as the field streamed by. Keane returned to the track at the tail end of the field, but he continued to fight forward, catching the first pack to begin marching back to a tremendous sixth place finished. Keane was also able to capture the fastest lap of the race, earning a bonus point in the process.
Saturday’s action started bright and early with the second race of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship doubleheader. The weather was cool but ideal. Darren started off-pole and, with a clean start, he prepared to attack for the win. Two full-course yellows aided in the third-place driver in keeping up with Darren, eventually slipped by to take the spot. The Boca Raton, Fla. resident kept his cool, kept fighting, and fought back to retake the second position. After the third and final full-course yellow, Keane set his sights on first place but there were just not enough laps to mount an attack. Darren finished in second with a huge smile on his face, knowing that this was exactly what he needed for points. He now is tied for third in the championship and is ready to attack at the next race on the schedule.
Keane will return to Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship competition on May 23-24 on the 5/8-mile banked oval of Lucas Oil Raceway during the Carb Night Classic. Darren will just have a short month after that to prepare for his next race at one of America’s favorite road courses - Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI.
DARREN KEANE RACING – DRIVER RESULTS AND QUOTES
USF2000 – ROUNDS 3/4 – MAY 9-11, 2019
GRAND PRIX OF INDIANAPOLIS – INDIANAPOLIS, IN
DARREN KEANE - #2
Qualifying 1: 2nd – 1:24.602
Qualifying 2: 2nd – 1:24.734
Race 1: Start – 2nd / Finish – 6th
Race 2: Start – 2nd / Finish – 2nd
Quote: “It was a great weekend at IMS. We came away with good points and are now tied for third in the championship. We’re going to build from that second place and fight for wins in the upcoming races. Huge thanks to all my friends and family who came out to support me. Also, a huge thanks to Cape Motorsport, Ozz Negri, and Alycia Hodapp for all their hard work throughout the weekend.”