Pabst Racing Starts the 2015 Season With Two Victories and Multiple Podiums on Mazda Road To Indy

Oconomowoc, Wis. - Pabst Racing walked away from the first races of the new season the way every team hopes to, as winners. The 2015 USF2000 Cooper Tires Winterfest series took place over the course of two weeks at both NOLA Motorsports Park and Barber Motorsports Park. The first three races of the Winterfest Championship were held February 19th and 20th at NOLA and continued at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama February 25th and 26th.

The Pabst team proved that they were ready to get back to action with Jake Eidson by bringing home two wins during the first trio of Winterfest races at NOLA in the #22 Pabst Racing VanDiemen USF2000 car, including the very first race of season. Eidson, a second year USF2000 Championship driver, was thrilled to open the season by qualifying on the pole and securing the wins he had been working so hard for.

"Being able to win the first race of the USF2000 Winterfest was an amazing feeling because last year it felt like I was always capable of winning but it was just out of reach for the longest time." Said Eidson. "Being able to come straight out with a win is a huge relief."

Not only did the team secure three podiums with Eidson, they also completed NOLA with two additional top-ten finishes in the #23 USF2000 car driven by rookie Yufeng Luo. Impressing the team with his consistency throughout the weekend, Luo did exactly as he hoped by learning the new landscape and staying on track.

"I learned that I have some work to do but there's great potential for us to make progress as the season moves on." Said Luo. "My goal for the rest of the season is keep pushing and see where it takes us!"

Next up was Barber Motorsports Park where Pabst Racing would face some unexpected bad weather and adversity, forcing the series to reduce the event to a two-race battle instead of three. In the first race, Eidson would find himself back on the podium with a second place finish. After qualifying one the pole, bad luck would make it's presence in the second and final race (which was for double points due to cancellation of third event) when Pabst Racing was forced to retire early with driver Jake Eidson in the final race due to an unfortunate fuel pump failure, crushing the team's hopes of winning the Cooper Tires Winterfest Championship.

A huge disappointment for both the team and Eidson, team owner Augie Pabst reflected on the weekend's ups and downs.

"On the positive side, we were able win some races and run at the front in all of the Winterfest events, which was our goal coming in. Having said that, having our championship hopes eliminated by a small mechanical failure was heartbreaking for the entire team." said Pabst. "We are looking forward to starting right where we left off at St. Petersburg March 27-29."

Despite great highs and lows, Eidson ended up third in the Cooper Tires Winterfest Championship and Pabst Racing came fourth in the Team Championship Points.

From here, the team is focused full steam ahead on the 2015 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, which will begin on March 27th alongside the Verizon INDYCAR Series on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.

Full Results:

NOLA Motorsports Park

Jake Eidson #22

Qual Race 1 - P1

Race 1 - P1

Qual Race 2 - P2

Race 2 - P3

Qual Race 3 - P2

Race 3 - P1 

Yufeng Luo #23

Qual Race 1 - P11

Race 1 - P11

Qual Race 2 - P10

Race 2 - P10

Qual Race 3 - P10

Race 3 - P10

Barber Motorsports Park

Jake Eidson #22

Qual Race 1 - P3

Race 1 - P2

Qual Race 2 - P1

Race 2 - P14 DNF (Mechanical)

About Pabst Racing

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.