Starrantino showcased talents on Streets of St. Petersburg with fourth and sixth place finishes, while Furuseth added a top-10 PALMETTO, FLA. – JAY Motorsports just missed a trip to the podium to start its 2014 race season, thanks to a strong rookie run on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. Adrian Starrantino showcased his talents with sixth- and fourth-place efforts in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda season-opener, and was joined in the top-10 by Henrik Furuseth.
The goal early on for the JAY Motorsports duo of Furuseth and Starrantino was to work on car setups in the opening two practice runs, getting the title chase underway within the concrete confines of the St. Petersburg street circuit,. Racing in front of friends and family, the Florida-based squad did just that, with Furuseth's No. 96 Palfinger/Skedsmo Betong entry leading the way in the first timed outing. Starrantino, likewise, got the ball rolling in the right direction, turning the eighth best time.
Following another solid practice effort, it was time to go qualifying. While the skilled duo were not quite able to turn the fast laps desired in the session, the pair positioned themselves for some strong outings, with Furuseth and Starrantino securing third row starting positions via the fifth and sixth best times.
When the cars rolled back on-course several hours later, they encountered a wet and tricky track. What followed was an entertaining affair that featured plenty of dicing for positions in reduced visibility. Starrantino was in contention for a place among the top-five throughout the 15-lap encounter, crossing the finish line in sixth, just ahead of his teammate, having spun and dropped back to eighth.
When the JAY Motorsports cars returned to the course one day later in picturesque Florida conditions, the stage was set to build on the strong debut outing. Initially it appeared that was the direction things were heading. It, however, was not to be for Furuseth, as a multi-car incident in Turn Three ended the Norwegian's race prematurely, along with six other racers.
"'We had a rough weekend in St. Petersburg," commented Furuseth. "It started off great in practice one, posting the quickest time by over half a second. I was happy with our progress in practice and our performance in qualifying, where I set the fifth best time. Neither of the races went our way though, as I had an unfortunate spin in the first race, and got taken out on the first lap in the second race. The pace was there all weekend, so it is disappointing to not get the results we wanted. I can't wait for the Grand Prix of Alabama in a month.''
It was not all bad news though, as Starrantino's No. 91 Auto World Collision Center/PPG/CoForce International racing steed avoided the first lap carnage. Attacking when the action resumed, the 19-year-old dueled for a place on the podium, ultimately just coming up short via a fourth-place finish.
"I am very pleased at how the opening round at St. Pete played out," stated Starrantino. "With a sixth and fourth, that gives us a nice starting platform for this season. We will take what we learned here and get ready for the next rounds at Barber Motorsports Park."
The JAY Motorsports drivers and crew now have a break until April 26-27, when the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda action resumes in Alabama at the Barber Motorsports Park facility. Highlights from the USF2000 Championship doubleheader on the streets of St. Petersburg will be air on NBC Sports on May 24th from 1:30 am to 2:30 am ET.
Additional information on JAY Motorsports can be obtained from the team’s website at JAYMotorsports.com. For direct contact, please contact Jay Green @ 304-610-5663 or jaymotorsports1@gmail.com and keep up to date via Twitter @JAYMotorsports and on Facebook @ JAY Motorsports LLC
The following links can be used to follow the JAY Motorsports drivers online and through social media:
Henrik Furuseth at FurusethMotorsport.no and keep up to date via Twitter @FurusethMotorsport, Facebook @ Furuseth Motorsport and YouTube @ Furuseth Motorsport.
Keep up to date with Colton Herta via Twitter @ColtonHerta and Facebook @ Colton Herta.
Learn more about Adrian Starrantino at Team-ASR.com and Keep up to date via Twitter @AdrianStarr94, Facebook @ Adrian Starrantino and YouTube @ Adrian Starrantino Racing.
About JAY Motorsports:
JAY Motorsports, LLC is a family owned and operated racing organization based in Florida. Led by former racer Jay Green, the team became one of the highest rated customer service representatives within the SCCA's spec categories. With countless wins in SCCA Club and Pro competition, the team became a mainstay in junior driver development over the years. By winning the 2009 and 2012 SCCA Formula Enterprises National Championships, they propelled their drivers to win spots on the prestigious MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development Team in 2009 and 2012. In addition to the 2009 and 2012 Runoffs gold medals, JAY Motorsports was the 2006 MARRS Spec Racer Ford champion, 2007 SCCA National Great Lakes Division Spec Racer Ford champion, 2008 SCCA National Great Lakes Division Spec Racer Ford and Formula Enterprises champion, 2008 SCCA Great Lakes/Central Division Formula Car Magazine Formula Enterprises champion, 2008 Carolina Cup Pro Series Spec Racer Ford champion, and 2009 SCCA Southeast Division ECR Spec Racer Ford champion. In 2012, JAY Motorsports entered the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda full-time, contesting both the National and Championship classes. Building on multiple top-10 finishes in its rookie campaign, the squad stood on the podium twice in 2013. This season JAY Motorsports is running a multi-car operation in pursuit of the Rookie of the Year award and series title.