Wayside, N.J. – After a Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda rookie campaign that has seen its share of ups, downs and a lot of learning, Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing driver Trent Hindman returns to a familiar track this weekend for the final two rounds of the 2012 season, Virginia International Raceway.
Charm City quickly turned into the mean streets of Baltimore for the Wayside, N.J. driver. Quick in the limited available practice time on the Inner Harbor circuit, Hindman started sixth but was knocked out of Race 1 after early contact with another car. Relegated to the back of the field for Race 2, Hindman drove a smart race, avoided trouble and brought is car home in 11th.
“Baltimore was not the weekend I was looking for”, said Hindman. “There was a quick full course caution at the start of the first race and my incident was on the first green flag lap after that. So not only was I out of the first race early, without a full green flag lap to set my qualifying position I ended up starting Race 2 from 24th. Coming back to 11th was a good result, but the weekend could have been so much more.”
Virginia International Raceway Between the towns of Danville and Alton, Virginia, and less than a mile from the North Carolina border sits Virginia International Raceway. Restored and reopened in 2000 after decades of inactivity, VIR hosts professional auto and motorcycle racing, club events and is a popular test location for NASCAR Sprint Cup and Nationwide teams.
Hindman has a good history at Virginia International Raceway. Last year in Skip Barber National competition, Hindman scored a pair of top-five finishes at VIR, and at last week’s test, he was third in the morning session and quickest in the afternoon.
“I was surprised to see my name on the top of the timesheet in the afternoon session. I learned a lot during the morning session and the car felt really good but to run the quickest lap of the session was a nice bonus. I can’t wait to see what I can do when we go back this weekend.”
Drivers hit the track for their first official session of the weekend Thursday morning at 8:45 a.m. Eastern for Practice. Follow the action with Live Timing and Scoring at www.usf2000.com/livetiming, and semi-live on Twitter by following @altemus_prime.
Schedule, Rounds 13 and 14, 2012 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda
Virginia International Raceway, Alton, Va., 3.27-mile, 17-turn road course
Thursday, September 13
8:45 - 9:15 a.m., Practice
11:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m., Practice
5:00 - 5:30 p.m., Qualifying
Friday, September 14
11:40a.m. - 12:10 p.m., Round 13, 2012 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda
Saturday, September 15
9:15 - 9:45 a.m., Round 14, 2012 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda
Standings, 2012 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda after 12 of 14 Rounds
1. Matthew Brabham, 307 points
2. Spencer Pigot -41
3. Scott Anderson, -67
4. Matthew DiLeo, -102
5. Roman Lagudi, -134
6. Trent Hindman, -153
About Trent Hindman
Wayside, N.J. native Trent Hindman comes to the 2012 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda off a diverse season of racing that includes winning the Ontario Formula Ford Championship, a runner-up finish in the BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda and selection to the prestigious Team USA Scholarship. A former Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shoot-out winner, Hindman’s goal is to progress through the “Mazda Road to Indy” program, culminating in a ride in the IZOD IndyCar Series. Hindman is racing with defending USF2000 champions Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing and would like to thank Sparco, Racelite Protection and Altemus Prime Communications for their support.
Away from the track, Hindman attends Ocean Township High School in Oakhurst, N.J. He resides in Wayside with his parents Doug and Kim and his sister Sloane.
Learn more about Trent Hindman at www.trenthindman.com.