ELKHART LAKE, Wisc. – American Darren Keane cemented his position in the lead pack of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship standings last weekend at Road America, bouncing back from a tough opening race to finish second in the backend of the doubleheader.

The 18-year-old University of Florida student was pushed to the back of the field in Race 1 but still managed to climb back to 12^th, and then stormed back on Sunday, jumping from fifth to second in his No. 2 Cape Motorsports Tatuus USF-17. The runner-up finish locked him into fourth in the championship point standings, just 10 points out of third.  Overall, the Road America event again showed that Darren will be in the title fight as the season begins heads into the second half of the schedule with four events remaining.

The weekend started on Friday with one official 30-minute practice followed by qualifying for Race 1. Keane was quick out of the trailer, sitting third in practice before timing in with the fourth quickest time for the opening race to place him on the outside of the second row. In Race 1, Darren was caught in an unfortunate incident that dropped him to the tail of the field. The Boca Raton, Florida resident scrapped his way back forward and finished 12^th in the final tally.

Keane was again on his game for Race 2 qualifying, timing in fifth. In the race, which was held first thing on Sunday morning ahead of the NTT IndyCar Series main event, Darren was on the move forward from the green flag. By the end of the 12 laps, he had advanced to second and simply ran out of time to chase down the leader. Keane posted the fastest lap of the race in the process, earning an additional bonus point that was added to his current tally of 121 points. He is now just 10 points out of third and 83 points behind the championship leader.

Keane will return to Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship competition this week for the series test at Mid-Ohio to prepare for Rounds 10, 11, and 12 that take place at the end of July. Before then, in just over two weeks, Darren will head north of the border for the streets of Toronto to a track that he counts as one of his favorites.  

DARREN KEANE RACING – DRIVER RESULTS AND QUOTES

USF2000 – ROUNDS 6/7 – JUNE 21-23, 2019

REV GROUP GRAND PRIX – ELKHART LAKE, WI

DARREN KEANE - #2

Qualifying 1: 4^th– 2:10.686

Qualifying 2: 5^th – 2:09.775

Race 1: Start – 4^th / Finish – 12^th  

Race 2: Start – 5^th / Finish – 2^nd

Quote: “It was another great weekend at Road America for myself and the team. We were able to comeback from a disappointing result in Race 1 to finish second in Race 2. I got some great points and my confidence is high heading into my favorite race of the year in Toronto. Huge thanks to everyone at Cape Motorsport, Ozz Negri, In2itive Media Management, and my family for their continued support.”