Oconomowoc, Wis. - On Memorial Day weekend, Pabst Racing returned to the Indianapolis area with hopes of improving their 2014 Lucas Oil Raceway results, where they earned themselves a second place finish with driver Austin Cindric. After a great start to the 2015 racing season, the team proved that they are still a championship contending team when driver Jake Eidson brought home the win in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered By Mazda "Freedom 75" race on May 23.
The single day oval event, which took place alongside the Pro Mazda Championship and the United States Auto Club's Silver Crown Series, was held in Clermont, Indiana at the .686-mile pavement track. Jake Eidson proved his speed in qualifications, earning a second place starting position.
"It was a much needed win at Lucas Oil Raceway. During testing and practice I knew we had good pace and just had to apply that to the race," said Eidson. "The team made quite a few changes to the car to make sure it was completely dialed in and it showed!"
Rookie driver Yufeng Luo turned heads in his first oval race by qualifying fourth and earning a fifth place finish.
"The oval was something completely new for me," said Luo. "The good thing was that we were able to maintain top five throughout most of the weekend and we moved forward every session all the way up to the race."
Team owner Augie Pabst was extremely proud of the entire team and commended the drivers on their impressive performances.
"Two cars in the top five is always good, but to take the win was even better," said Pabst. "We were so close last year but came up just short of the win, so watching Jake lead from flag to flag was extremely gratifying for the entire team"
After a couple of weeks off, the team is eager to make their way to their next event which is this upcoming weekend in Toronto, Canada. Pabst Racing will take to the streets of Toronto alongside the rest of the Mazda Road to Indy series where driver Jake Eidson will make his return after winning there in 2014.
"I'm really looking forward to Toronto. The track was very kind to me last year as it was where I got my first win my rookie season," said Eidson. "It's a very challenging track and demands a lot from the drivers and teams. I'm confident the Pabst racing team will deliver and I'll have to do the same."
Luo will make his first appearance at Toronto and is hopeful that he to can maintain his momentum.
"I'm really excited for Toronto," said Luo. "I enjoy street course racing so it's a track I've been looking forward to a lot. If we can maintain our top-five momentum it would be really good."
The first and only 2015 race weekend outside of the United States for USF2000 will kick-off on Friday May 12th when the teams take to the streets for two practice sessions. After qualifications on Saturday morning at 9:20 a.m., Round 10 will take place at 12:40 p.m. Round 11 will take place on Sunday at 11:00 a.m.
With three total weekends remaining, the team currently sits second in driver championship points with Jake Eidson, and second in team championship points and as the season end quickly approaches, tension will undoubtedly run high. Pabst Racing is focused on continuing momentum and maintaining consistency at this critical point in the season.
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.