ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing put on a good show for its hometown family, friends and fans by sweeping both Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda races on the Streets of St. Petersburg, March 24 and 25.
After victories in Round 1 and 2 at Sebring a little over a week ago, Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing drivers Matthew Brabham and Spencer Pigot, both 18, came into St. Petersburg first and second in the point standings. After this weekend’s two races, the two young drivers switched positions.
Pigot started from pole in Race 1, but Brabham was hot on his trail for the entire 21-lap race. A short caution brought the two drivers back together at the halfway point, but Pigot was able to take the checkered flag a scant 0.197-second ahead of Brabham.
Trent Hindman, 16, rebounded from his disappointing Sebring weekend to finish in fifth. Henrick Furseth finished second in the National Class, his second podium in as many races.
For Race 2, Brabham started on the pole, but Pigot was able to get past his teammate with a pass in Turn 1 on the opening lap. The two battled for the lead, but after losing part of his front wing, Brabham was unable to get past Pigot.
Hindman finished fourth, his best finish of the season, and Furuseth finished eighth in the National class.
Pigot now leads Brabham in the Championship Class Driver standings by two points (Pigot – 115, Brabham - 113), and Hindman is ninth. Furuseth is tied for third in the National Class Driver standings, with only three points between him and the leader. With four wins, Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing leads the point standings in the Team Championship by 72 points.
“You always want to perform well in front of your hometown crowd, and I think we can definitely say we did that,” said team owner Dominic Cape. “Spencer and Matthew battled tremendously for the wins, but ultimately it was Spencer’s day. Trent had a great weekend too, and it will be his day soon. As always, I thank the crew for all their hard work and dedication.
Henrik had another fantastic performance at St. Petersburg, and we are all very proud of him. He came in with no testing before the opening rounds, and he is definitely a star of the future. We are glad he is in the Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing family. The Series also worked very hard to equalize the cars this weekend, so a big thanks to all the officials.”
After back-to-back race weekends, the team and its drivers have a two-month break as they prepare for the “Night Before the 500” at Lucas Oil Raceway, May 26th. The event is held the night before the prestigious Indianapolis 500. The team won the event with driver Petri Suvanto in 2011 and Patrick McKenna in 2010. For more information, please visit www.usf2000.com.
Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing was formed in 2010 as a partnership between two successful racing entities. With leadership from brothers Nicholas and Dominic Cape, and along with Wayne Taylor and his organization in Indianapolis, the team campaigns cars in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda. In 2011, the team helped Petri Suvanto claim the driver championship. For more information, please visit www.capemotorsports.com. You can follow the team on Facebook and Twitter for updates (CMwithWTR).