Texan rookie Jack Jeffers began the event with his first career pole and backed that with a second one for Race 2 to continue his position in second in the championship fight, now just 27 points behind the leader. Evan Cooley started P2 in Race 1 as part of Exclusive Autosport’s front row lockout and then drove to a pair of top-10 finishes that included a podium run to second at the back end of the doubleheader.

Lucas Fecury showed incredible pace all weekend long and delivered a strong fifth in Race 1 and eighth in Race 2 to stand as his best weekend of the year, creating huge momentum for the second half of the season. EA’s USF Juniors drivers, Brenden Cooley and Kaylee Countryman, were also at Road America to test the USF2000 waters, and they gained crucial experience throughout the weekend.

“Our pace across the board has been very strong in testing, practice and qualifying,” said Michael Duncalfe, Co-Owner and CEO. “It was great seeing Evan capitalize on that pace and finish second in race 2 – which is fantastic. However, our results this weekend (as a whole) are less than ideal and don’t match our goals or pace heading into the weekend.

"A huge shoutout to our USF Juniors regular drivers, Kaylee Countryman and Brenden Cooley, who stepped up for the weekend. Especially Brenden who qualified inside the top 10! Also, a massive thank you to Brenden for stepping aside, missing race 2, to allow teammate Jack Jeffers to use his car after Jack’s was destroyed in a race 1 incident. Brenden exemplified how much of a true team player he is. As a team, we will regroup and look ahead to Mid-Ohio.”

The weekend kicked off on Thursday with two unofficial tests with Fecury, Evan Cooley and Jeffers topping the charts in both sessions, along with Brendan Cooley pacing within the top five. Countryman was in the top 10 as well. Friday morning began with the series’ only official practice session, during which all three of the team’s full-time USF2000 drivers again demonstrated tremendous speed.

The weekend’s single qualifying session was held later that afternoon and saw Jeffers top the charts, resulting in his first (of two) USF2000 poles, with Evan Cooley not far behind, making it an EA front row lockout for Race 1. Fecury posted the fourth fastest time of the session, his best qualifying effort this season, while Brendan Cooley impressed in 10th. Countryman finished up 21st in her first USF2000 qualifying session.

The opening race of the doubleheader took place later Saturday morning in extremely warm temperatures. Jeffers jumped out to an early lead, while Evan Cooley and Fecury fought it out within the top four. After getting passed on Lap 3, Jeffers tried to immediately retake the lead in Turn 1 on the outside the very next lap, but a miscue on the exit resulted in contact with the retaining wall that ended his race.

Fecury continued to fight for a podium finish before a late-race caution flew. After the green and white flew together for a one-lap dash at the restart, he was fighting for the lead, but made slight contact, resulting in a fifth-place finish. Evan was within the chaotic top-five group throughout the entire race but would ultimately settle for the seventh spot amidst the restart chaos. Brendan and Kaylee did not have the starts they had hoped for, falling to the rear of the field. After being moved off the track by a competitor at the start, Brenden fought his way forward, but he was driven over in Turn 14 late in the race, bringing out the caution and ending his run. Countryman stayed out of trouble and brought home a clean car in the 15th position.

The final race of the weekend took place under extreme high temperatures with heat index warnings on Saturday afternoon. Due to the Race 1 incident, Jeffers’ car was unrepairable. Understanding that Jack is in championship contention, Brenden Cooley elected to relinquish his car to Jeffers, allowing him to start Race 2 on the pole and continue his championship hunt.

The start got immediately racy with our three full-time USF2000 drivers fighting it out in the top-six group. Jeffers led a handful of laps before making a slight error to fall back a couple of spots. A mid-race caution would come out, allowing the EA drivers to go back on the attack. All three drivers needed to be aggressive to make up crucial positions. Jeffers made another run to the outside in Turn 1 that did not deliver the intended results, dropping him back to seventh. Fecury was also in the fight for the win but got pinched by another driver in Turn 1, which allowed several cars to slip past. He finished eighth in the final tally.

In Race 2, it was Evan Cooley who emerged from the fire with an impressive runner-up finish, handling the situation well to secure the position, which moved him to sixth in the championship standings.

The EA squad will now head to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on July 4-6 for a packed weekend running with all three rungs of the USF Pro Championships ladder, featuring all eight team drivers.

Qualifying: 4th – 2:08.268

Race 1: Start – 4th / Finish – 5th

Race 2: Start – 6th / Finish – 8th

Driver Quote: “I qualified fourth and had a strong Race 1, battling for the lead until a last-lap contact dropped us to fifth. Race 2 was more challenging, as I finished eighth, but overall, the pace was there. We’re learning every time and getting closer to where we want to be. A huge thanks to all the Exclusive Autosport crew for all the effort over the weekend, my sponsors, and my family for all their support.”

Qualifying: 2nd – 2:08.088

Race 1: Start – 2nd / Finish –7th

Race 2: Start – 3rd / Finish – 2nd

Driver Quote: “The weekend was pretty good, and a good points haul. In the first race, I finished in P7 after a hard battle early on. In the second race, I took the lead early on with my teammate, who was running first, and I was running second. Then the pace car came out, and I fell back on the restart just because of the draft. There was nothing I could really do; I just got swallowed up. But I ground my way back up and just held onto second place for the rest of the race. I want to thank the entire team for their hard work. They have done a fantastic job this whole weekend, and I also want to thank all my sponsors and family for their continued support.

Qualifying: 1st – 2:08.053

Race 1: Start – 1st  / Finish – 22nd (DNF - Contact)

Race 2: Start – 1st / Finish – 7th

Driver Quote: “The weekend started super strong with me grabbing my first two USF2000 poles. Unfortunately, some errors resulted in a DNF for Race 1. With my car being unrepairable, my teammate, Brenden Cooley, gave up his car to keep me in contention for the championship. I’m incredibly thankful for his understanding and for being a true team player. We will now regroup, reset, and move forward onto Mid-Ohio. As always, a huge thank you to David Clubine and the entire EA crew for all their hard work, to Michael Duncalfe, Josh Cooley, and Corpay Cross-Border Solutions, and to my family for their unconditional support.”

Qualifying: 10th – 2:08.804

Race 1: Start – 10th  / Finish – 21st (DNF - Contact)

Race 2: Start – DNS

Driver Quote: “The weekend started off strong, ending practice in the top five and qualifying in the top 10. Race one didn’t go our way, as I was taken out by contact beyond my control with just a few laps to go. Sadly, during the race, my teammate was involved in an incident, causing his car to be unrepairable in time for Race 2. So, I made the tough decision to give him my car as he is in the middle of a championship fight. Coming into this weekend with no prior testing in the car, I’m very happy with the speed we showed and the confidence and experience I gained. Big thank you to Michael Duncalfe, Josh Cooley and Exclusive Autosport for giving me this opportunity.”

Qualifying: 21st – 2:10.200

Race 1: Start – 21st  / Finish – 15th

Race 2: Start – 19th / Finish – 19th

Driver Quote: “I had a great time driving the USF2000 car at Road America, and we learned more every session. It was great preparation for the Juniors race back here at RA in July, and for the following years. I want to thank Exclusive Autosport for this opportunity, and to all my sponsors for helping me out.”