Eidson Sweeps St. Pete

A picture perfect day for racing was the ideal setting for Jake Eidson to wrap up his perfect weekend in Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda competition. With the second race of the Cooper Tires Grand Prix of St. Petersburg taking place under bright and sunny skies, Eidson led flag-to-flag yet again to sweep both races. Eidson was closely followed by the Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing teammates Aaron Telitz and Nico Jamin, both reprising their roles on the podium from Race 1.

Eidson took the green flag from pole position, and Telitz and Jamin were closely tucked in behind, but neither were able to wrest the lead away from the young American driving for Pabst Racing. The field was cleanly through the first corner today, with the young drivers having learned their lesson follow yesterday’s chaotic first lap. Eidson slowly began to stretch out an advantage, which was then promptly wiped out when Parker Thompson and Garth Rickards made contact in Turn 2, necessitating a long full course caution period to clean up the debris from Rickards contact with the wall. Thompson was able to continue and was absolved of any wrongdoing in the incident.

When the green flag came out Telitz was able to stay with Eidson on the restart as Eidson took a defensive line into Turn 1. That however, allowed Jamin to get alongside Eidson, but the two played it safe and remained in their respective positions. Eidson began to pull a small gap yet again, while behind him the battles played out. The John Cummiskey Racing teammates of Jordan Lloyd and Anthony Martin engaged in a spirited battle late in the race, with Martin eventually making a bold move on the inside of Turn 10 to claim fourth. On the final lap, Telitz was able to close the gap to Eidson, but it was too little too late and Eidson crossed the line to earn the trip to the top step of the podium. Telitz, Jamin, Martin, and Lloyd completed the top five.

There was but one blemish on Eidson’s weekend, as Telitz was able to post the fastest lap of the race, earning one bonus point that could be pivotal later in the championship. Eidson, Telitz, and the rest of the USF2000 field will return to action April 10-12 for a doubleheader weekend at NOLA Motorsports Park.

USF2000 Race 2 Results

1. Jake Eidson
2. Aaron Telitz
3. Nico Jamin
4. Anthony Martin
5. Jordan Lloyd
6. Parker Thompson
7. Keyvan Andres Soori
8. Nikita Lastochkin
9. Luke Gabin
10. Ayla Agren
11. Max Hanratty
12. Andrew List
13. James Dayson
14. Yufeng Luo
15. Garth Rickards
16. Victor Franzoni
17. Augie Lerch

USF2000 Points Standings

1. Jake Eidson (64)
2. Aaron Telitz (-13)
3. Nico Jamin (-20)
4. Anthony Martin (-26)
5. Jordan Lloyd (-34)