Media inquiries:
Linda Mansfield, Restart Communications
Cell: (317) 201-0729
E-mail: LindaKMansfield@cs.com
 
 
 
 
USF2000 Season-Opening Doubleheader
Saturday and Sunday at St. Pete GP
Kicks Off Series' Revitalization
And New 'Road to Indy' Program
 
 
PALMETTO, Fla., March 25 - The Road to Indy starts on the streets of St. 
Petersburg, Fla. this weekend.
 
History will be made on Saturday and Sunday at the Honda Grand Prix of St. 
Petersburg when the revitalized USF2000 National Championship opens its 2010 
season.  
 
The series' qualifying session is set for 8 a.m. Saturday before the 
series' first two races of 2010 will be held at 12:20 p.m. Saturday and 8 a.m. 
Sunday. 
 
Two practice sessions on Friday at 10 a.m. and 3:25 p.m. will set the stage 
for the weekend action.
 
Although Formula 2000 cars raced in earlier editions of the Grand Prix of 
St. Petersburg, they haven't been on the card here in many years. The USF2000 
National Championship has been revitalized for 2010 with the blessings of 
the Indy Racing League (IRL), which has deemed the series the first step on 
its official "Road to Indy" program. The other steps on the ladder are the 
Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear and Firestone Indy Lights.
 
Indeed, this weekend's races at St. Petersburg mark one of only two times 
this season that all three of the IRL's developmental series will race on the 
same card as the headlining IZOD IndyCar Series. The other event will be at 
Iowa Speedway June 19-20.
 
They'll all also converge on Indianapolis in May. The USF2000 and Star 
Mazda set will be at O'Reilly Raceway Park on Saturday, May 29 while Firestone 
Indy Lights competes at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday, May 28 
prior to the Indy 500 on Sunday, May 30.
 
In addition to the IRL, the USF2000 Championship has other big supporters 
too, like Cooper Tires and Mazda.  Cooper Tires is the series' presenting 
sponsor and official tire supplier, while Mazda engines will power many of the 
cars. Mazda has also incorporated the series into its MAZDASPEED Motorsports 
driver development program. The 2010 champion of the top USF2000 class will 
receive a scholarship from Mazda to help him or her advance to the Star 
Mazda championship next year.
 
All sorts of stars have used F2000 cars as a stepping stone to big-league 
racing, including Indy 500 winners Buddy Rice, Sam Hornish Jr. and Dan 
Wheldon. Many drivers, team owners, engineers and mechanics have honed their 
skills in Formula 2000.
 
Whoever wins the USF2000 doubleheaders here in St. Petersburg this weekend 
will go into the record books for all time.  And if history holds, some 
drivers who will compete in Saturday and Sunday's races will also go on to 
appear in the record books in the years to come. Some will even go down in 
history as Indy 500 winners.
 
Who are some of these drivers?
 
As of Thursday morning 13 hopefuls have entered this weekend's USF2000 
doubleheader at St. Petersburg, the first two of 12 races in the series for 2010.
 
JDC Motorsports, the reigning Star Mazda team champion, leads the way with 
three entries.  One of its cars will be driven by Mikhail Goikhberg.  He's 
from St. Petersburg, but the city in Russia, not the one in Florida. His 
teammates are Raphael Abbate of Sao Paulo, Brazil, site of the IZOD IndyCar 
Series season opener, and Martin Sala of Bogota, Columbia.
 
Three other teams have entered two drivers each. Cape Motorsports with 
Wayne Taylor Racing will field cars for Patrick McKenna of Dublin, Ireland and 
British karting champ Josh Fielding of Chesterfield, England. McKenna is the 
reigning Motorsport Ireland Young Racing Driver of the Year.  
 
Liberty Motorsports is counting on the talents of Terrick Mansur of Aruba 
and Matthew Powers of Danville, Calif.  Pabst Racing Services believes it 
will have the edge with its drivers, Martin Scuncio of Concepcion, Chile and 
the only National class competitor in the race, J.R. Smart of Fitchburg, Wis.
 
Rounding out the field are single-car entries from AcceleRace Motorsports 
(Ardie Greenamyer of Louisville, Ky. driving); AIM Autosport (represented by 
Anthony Furfari of Woodbridge, Ontario); Andretti Autosport (with top karter 
and Skip Barber National driver Sage Karam from the Andrettis' hometown of 
Nazareth, Pa. behind the wheel) and Z Sports Midwest (which is banking on 
Benjamin Searcy of Tuscaloosa, Ala., who was the Rookie of the Year in another 
F2000 series in 2009).
 
All but Smart are competing in the top class, which is called the 
Championship class. It is open only to 2001-2010 Van Diemen chassis.  This year 
Championship class cars may be powered by either a Zetec 2-liter engine or a 
Mazda MZR engine, but beginning in 2011 only the Mazda powerplant will be used 
in the top class.
 
If there are no other National class entries received Smart has already won 
that division here, as he's the only entry so far in that class.  It is 
open to Van Diemens as well as any other chassis that conforms to current SCCA 
Formula Continental class regulations. National class cars will only use the 
Zetec 2-liter engine this year. 
 
Live timing and scoring and much more information can be found on the 
Internet at usf2000.com.
 
Although the Road to Indy starts on the same streets that St. Petersburg 
residents drive on daily, another town in the area also plays an important 
role in developing tomorrow's superstars.  The USF2000 series is administered 
by Andersen Promotions, which is based at Andersen RacePark in Palmetto, Fla. 
 
 
 
About Mazda:
 
On any given weekend there are more Mazdas on the road courses of America 
than any other brand of vehicle.  MX-5 Miata, RX-8, MAZDA3, MAZDA6, RX-7 and 
other vintage Mazda models are all popular race cars because every Mazda has 
the soul of a sports car. In fact, the largest road-racing class in the 
world is Spec Miata. With more than 2,500 first- and second-generation Miatas 
tearing up America's racetracks, it the most-raced production car in the 
world. Mazda's involvement in motorsports extends to its relationship with one 
of the world's premier road courses, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, 
Calif., and the Skip Barber Schools for driving and racing. 
 
Celebrating its 40th anniversary in the United States in 2010, Mazda North 
American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, Calif. It oversees the 
sales, marketing, parts business and customer service of Mazda vehicles in the 
United States, Canada and Mexico through nearly 900 dealers.  Operations in 
Canada are managed by Mazda Canada, Inc., located in Ontario. _Operations in 
Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City.
 
For more information see MazdaUSA.com.
 
About Cooper Tire & Rubber Company:
 
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is a global company that specializes in the 
design, manufacture, marketing and sales of passenger car and light truck 
tires and subsidiaries that specialize in medium truck, motorcycle and racing 
tires. With headquarters in Findlay, Ohio, Cooper Tire has manufacturing, 
sales, distribution, technical and design facilities within its family of 
companies located in 10 countries around the world. 
 
For more information visit Cooper Tire's Web site at coopertire.com.