Team pilots Jamin and Eidson log their third career speedway events in Freedom 90

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Cape Motorsports’ team principals Nicholas and Dominic Cape have played a role in the development of countless professional racecar drivers over the years and they continued their work with their Mazda Road to Indy pilots this past weekend, running four cars in the Carb Night Classic on Friday night at Lucas Oil Raceway.

In the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, Nico Jamin and Jacob Eidson steered the team’s two entries in the Freedom 90, which was run on the banked 5/8-mile oval. Jamin and Eidson were put to the test, and were asked by the team to draw on their increasing skills, and they responded with a pair of solid performances. The crew worked hard to dial in their set-ups for the challenging track and, in the end, Jamin would lead with the way, finishing seventh at the end of the uninterrupted green-to-checker run.  Eidson ran a steady and consistent 90 laps and posted an eighth-place finish. 

“The first day went quite well but, unfortunately, qualifying and the race did not go as planned,” admitted Dominic Cape. “As a team, we'll keep working as hard as we can and we know that Nico and Jacob are improving with every race. We’re excited to get to Road America and get back at it!"

Thursday testing was plagued by a short burst of hard rain that halted the action, but the track was eventually dried to give both of Cape’s rookies significant running time in the early evening.  Jamin and Eidson both arrived to the event with a pair of USF2000 oval races under their belts, having run the ‘Night Before The 500’ in 2014 and 2015.  For both, this was their first speedway run in the more powerful and aerodynamic Pro Mazda cars.  Jamin was very quick in testing and topped the charts on Thursday, but qualifying did not go as planned and they finished up seventh and eighth after the Friday afternoon time trials. Nico and Jacob then ran consistent races to deal with the changing conditions, holding their starting positions through to the finish.

The 2016 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires will now move north to the famed Road America circuit on the June 24-26 weekend.  Jamin will enter the event sitting fifth in the overall point standings, just five points back of fourth.  Eidson is seventh overall, and is just three points behind sixth and 14 points away from Jamin.  There is a great deal of racing still to be completed in the 2016 season with visits to Road America, Iowa, Toronto, Mid-Ohio and Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

For more information on Cape Motorsports, please visit www.capemotorsports.com.

DRIVER PERFORMANCE – ROUND 7

Lucas Oil Raceway at Indianapolis

NICO JAMIN - #2
Qualifying: 7th – 117.753 mph average
Race: 7th

Driver Quote: “I am a little frustrated after this first oval race at Lucas Oil Raceway. After both practices on Thursday, it looked like we had all the tools needed to win this one. We topped both sessions, and the car felt great. The car drastically changed in qualifying and it became very hard to drive, I could do no better than seventh. We’re not sure what happened, but the team will work very hard to find out, and we'll be back strong at the next one."

JACOB EIDSON - #3
Qualifying: 8th – 116.300 mph average
Race: 8th 

Driver Quote: “Lucas Oil Raceway was a bit of a head scratching weekend, as we were strong in some sessions but when qualifying rolled around, we weren't quite on pace and at a track like Lucas Oil Raceway, starting position is very important. I want to thank the Cape Motorsport team for all the effort they put in these last few days and we can only better ourselves from this.”