Braden Eves delivers a record-setting and flawless Freedom 90 performance
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (May 30, 2024) – Over the past seven years, Exclusive Autosport has enjoyed impressive success at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park, sipping victory champagne after five major wins with drivers Parker Thompson, Daniel Frost, Louis Foster, and Salvador de Alba. The team returned to the 0.686-mile high-banked oval for the USF Pro Championships only oval race of the year this past weekend (May 23-25), entering cars in both the USF Pro 2000 Freedom 90 and the USF2000 Freedom 75. Since the team’s debut in USF Pro 2000 in 2018, Exclusive Autosport has been dominant, winning in five out of seven races. This past weekend was no different and, on this occasion, it was veteran EA driver Braden Eves who carried EA to not only the victory, but also new track records for both qualifying and race lap speed. To cap it all off, Eves now owns the honor of the fastest outright lap ever at the iconic track, laying down a speed of 126.905 mph in his Exclusive Autosport Corpay Cross-Border Solutions Tatuus IP22.
“I am beyond proud of the entire Exclusive Autosport team for an incredible weekend at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park,” said Michael Duncalfe, Co-Owner and CEO. “The #92 Exclusive Autosport Corpay car was a rocket from the get-go. Huge credit goes out to John Hayes, Dany, Kyle, and Jacob for all of their efforts. Braden did a fantastic job this weekend and showed how much he has matured as a driver and showed how strong the EA car is on the oval. It was especially exciting to share the win with my new co-owner, Josh Cooley, who has an oval background. For our first win as partners to be on an oval was truly incredible. We have had a tough start to the season, however, to come away with another win at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park was not only an incredible moment for our team, but also a confidence boost that we desperately needed. We are going to build from this momentum as we prepare for Road America next week.”
The weekend event got underway on Wednesday afternoon with unofficial testing, followed by official testing and qualifying on Thursday. Eves topped the charts in both official sessions on Thursday and then blistered the track in qualifying to secure the pole position for the Friday night event, all part of the annual Carb Night Classic. Rain, unfortunately, cancelled the Friday schedule, but a packed grandstand full of race fans returned on Saturday morning for the resumption of the event. Eves showed his mettle in the tough 90-lap race, leading from green to checker through a mid-race caution to win by 0.647 seconds. The victory advances Eves to seventh in the championship standings, just 49 out of the lead and right in the middle of the championship discussion.
“I could not be happier with our team’s performance at this year’s Carb Night Classic,” said Joshua Cooley, Co-Owner and President. “ Getting our third win in a row on the oval in the Freedom 90 so soon after joining the team made it that much more special. Braden drove an amazing race from start to finish in a perfectly prepared car by John and the crew. It was a well-deserved win for our entire USF Pro 2000 team. Joey fought hard in the USF2000 and showed a big improvement and solid pace the entire race, bringing home a solid top-10 finish. I’m really looking forward to seeing him get another shot at it next year. We are solidly in the hunt for a championship in both divisions and look forward to another strong showing at Road America in the next round.”
In the USF2000 Freedom 75, Joey Brienza powered his way to a top-10 finish in his Exclusive Autosport / Huntsman Mental Health Foundation entry. The University of Indiana freshman fought forward to finish ninth, moving him to sixth in the overall standings as the series closes on the halfway point of the schedule.
The team will now head back to the shop and prep the cars for Road America, which takes place in just over a week’s time on the June 7-9 weekend in Wisconsin.
Exclusive Autosport is pleased to be able to partner with a great company – Corpay Cross-Border Solutions (https://cross-border.corpay.com/exclusive-autosport/) – who specialize in helping companies of all sizes power their international payments, execute plans to manage their currency risk and support their growth around the world.
EXCLUSIVE AUTOSPORT – DRIVER RESULTS AND QUOTES
USF PRO 2000 – ROUND 9 / USF2000 – ROUND 8 – MAY 23-24, 2024
USF PRO 2000 CONTINENTAL TIRE FREEDOM 90
USF2000 CONTINENTAL TIRE FREEDOM 75
BRADEN EVES – #92 (FREEDOM 90)
Qualifying: 1st – 39.0250 (Total Time)
Race: Start – 1st / Finish – 1st
Driver Quote: “Oh man, well, honestly, I have to start off with the most important part of this which was how fantastic my car was. The Corpay Exclusive Autosport crew just gave me the best car. This is their third time in a row now, winning here, and this place is very, very car dependent. You can’t carry the car here. It’s really a team effort so big thanks to my engineer John Hayes, my team owner Michael Duncalfe, co-owner Josh Cooley and the whole team. It was a super tiring race. The new Continental tire was pulling 2.8-g consistently for 90 laps, so it’s not easy on the body, but I managed to hold on and take the win, so I’m really proud of that.”
JOEY BRIENZA – #91 (FREEDOM 75)
Qualifying: 11th – 42.9154 (Total Time)
Race: Start – 11th / Finish – 9th
Driver Quote: “That’s it for the oval race at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. It’s the only oval on the calendar and it brings excitement and challenges, but I am happy with how we worked through it all. A top-10 is a solid result. I want to thank my team, Exclusive Autosport, the Huntsman Mental Health Foundation, and my family and friends for all their support. See you at Road America.”
EXCLUSIVE AUTOSPORT – SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS:
Website: www.exclusiveautosport.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ExclusiveAutosport90
Twitter: @ExclAutosport
Instagram: @exclusiveautosport
TikTok: @exclusiveautosport