OCONOMOWOC, Wis. - The Pabst Racing team is counting down the days until the start of the USF2000 Championship's 14-race schedule after a great deal of learning and a taste of podium during the Cooper Tires Winterfest Championship. Not only did Pabst Racing end up third in the team championship standings, they scored a third-place result with driver Jesse Lazare in the No. 21 entry at Palm Beach International Raceway on February 10.

Team owner/president Augie Pabst III was very pleased with the excellent example of perseverance that the team displayed after struggles at the beginning of the weekend.

"The winter series was an excellent warm up for the entire team to help prepare for the 2013 regular series," said Pabst. "Once we overcame a fuel issue in Sebring, our drivers were able to continue improving throughout the week."

Both drivers consistently ran in the top 10 during the six-race schedule between Sebring and Palm Beach International, which spanned over four days in Florida. The fields were stacked with fierce competition including returning drivers and rookies with years of karting experience. 

USF2000 rookie and Canadian driver Jesse Lazare showed a dedication to learning and huge potential over the weekend as he bounced back after being taken out in lap one of the first of three races at Palm Beach with a podium in the final race of the Winterfest Championship. 

"It felt really great that I was able to accomplish a podium, but what made me more happy was that my team and I were able to keep moving forward every time we got on track," said 15-year-old Lazare. 

Ohio-native Jason Wolfe who pilots the No. 23 entry was also focused on learning and continuous improvement as he prepares for the Championship season-opener at Sebring on March 14th.

"Through Winterfest, I learned to never doubt yourself as a driver," said Wolfe. "Everything that can go wrong has a possibility of happening at any time even if you have the best guys working on your car." 

Wolfe recapped a quote from Pabst Racing's engineer Tonis Kasemets: "Good luck is hard to find and bad luck is hard to get rid of." Jason also noted that he has high expectations for himself this season and is focused on understanding set-up and feedback to work with the team to consistently achieve podiums. 

Pabst Racing places much focus on the development of their drivers, which Lazare experienced in his first race events with the team: "What I learned most over the week is how the car is supposed to work, and I really think if we push hard and keep working, we have a shot for the championship." 

Pabst Racing can't wait to get their Wisconsin-based team back to Florida and keep the momentum going.

"We were thrilled to finish off the winter series with a podium!" said Pabst. "The team has worked so hard to get our cars on top again and we're almost there. I think things will only get better going forward. Sebring and St. Petersburg cannot come soon enough!"

For more information, please visit www.PabstRacing.com.
 
*****

About Pabst Racing Services:
Pabst Racing has been preparing winning racecars since 1983. The Pabst team was started by Augie Pabst Jr., former sports car racing legend from the 1950s and early 1960s who won many races and championships throughout his career. Current President Augie Pabst III  (former driver as well), took over the business in 1991. By 1998 Augie III decided to focus on owning and maintaining a wide variety of winning racecars including SCCA Spec Racer, Shelby Can-Am, 911 Porsche, Ford Mustang GT-1 and primarily Van Diemen Formula 2000 cars. For more information please visit www.PabstRacing.com.