WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. – For the seventh consecutive year, Cape Motorsports has won the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda driver’s title. This season, Jupiter, Florida’s Oliver Askew delivered the crown to the veteran racing team, winning seven races enroute to the championship. The final race on the first rung of the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires ladder was run at Watkins Glen International in update New York, and after qualifying on the pole position, the 20-year-old ran a calculated race to ensure the championship crown, finishing second to cap the season with a total of 11 podium finishes.
Askew was strong out of the gate in the practice sessions, knowing that his focus would be set on developing a strong set-up for the single race of the weekend. Oliver laid down the third fastest time in both the 30-minute sessions, which were each held on Friday. Qualifying for the 30-minute race was run in much cooler temperatures on Saturday morning, with the race scheduled for a 1:15 pm start that afternoon. The Cape crew provided Askew with an extremely strong car, and the rookie stepped up and drove it to the pole position, turning in a paddock-leading lap of 1:46.1627 to steal away an important bonus point that removed even more pressure for the race. Oliver would start the final race of the year with a 13-point lead on Rinus VeeKay and a fourth-place finish would clinch the title.
At the start of the 30-minute main event, VeeKay powered around the outside of Oliver in the opening corner and set about building a gap on the Cape Motorsports pilot, who settled into the pace that was needed. Over the course of the 17 laps, Askew maintained a comfortable gap back to the third place running Calvin Ming, eventually scoring a runner-up result which gave him the lucrative championship by seven points over VeeKay.
Cape Motorsports finished the 2017 USF2000 season with a total of seven wins, 13 podiums, and 15 top-10 finishes thanks to addition results been delivered by Ricky Donison, who ran the first half of the year with the team. The work will now begin to prepare for 2018 and the goal of extending their Driver Championship streak to eight straight seasons.
DRIVER PERFORMANCE / QUOTES
COOPER TIRES USF2000 CHAMPIONSHIP POWERED BY MAZDA
EVENT #8 – SEPTEMBER 1-3, 2017
WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL – WATKINS GLEN, NY
OLIVER ASKEW - USF2000 #3
Qualifying: 1st – 1:46.1627
Race: Start – 1st / Finish – 2nd
Driver Quote: “It was unbelievable day today. I've been envisioning this championship for quite some time and to have it all come together takes a huge weight off my shoulders. Hats off once again to Cape Motorsports for giving me the best car in the field to do the job. I’m so thankful for the support I’ve received from Mazda and I’m thrilled that I’ll once again be piloting a Soul Red car in 2018 as a proud recipient of their scholarship program. Without them, I wouldn’t be here.”
About Cape Motorsports: Cape Motorsports campaigns cars in the F4 US Championship, Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda and the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. The team is the winningest operation in USF2000 history, having won the last seven Driver and Team Championships with pilots like Matthew Brabham, Petri Suvanto, Scott Hargrove, Florian LaTorre, Nico Jamin, Anthony Martin and now, Oliver Askew. The goal of Cape Motorsports is to provide unmatched driver development both on and off the track. It is difficult for a young driver to jump into a professional series and win, regardless of talent. Through coaching and mentoring, Cape Motorsports provides young drivers with as much knowledge of motorsports to become as successful as possible.