Monterey, Calif. – Kory Enders matched his best result of the season finishing 3rd with DEForce Racing in the final race of the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires over the weekend at WeatherTech Laguna Raceway.

Enders started the weekend on a high note after leading a significant chunk of Practice 1 and ultimately finishing in the top three of the timing sheets. An unexpected bout of traffic caused turmoil in the first qualifying session resulting in Enders started from 9th for Race 1 and crossing the finish line in 11th after a tight race.

Knowing the No. 7 DEForce Racing Tatuus PM-18 was one of the most reliable machines on the grid, Enders went into Qualifying 2 determined for a better result. The 21-year-old started Race 2 from 5th and had a great jump on the green flag for the 25-lap event. A crash between two competitors on the opening laps resulted in three laps behind the safety car. By Lap Six, Enders was holding a strong position in 3rd with DEForce Racing teammate Moises de la Vara close behind.

Another incident came on Lap 14 and sent the pace car back out into the field, and the damaged car was removed. Enders was in 2nd for the restart and was feeling pressure from Canadian, Parker Thompson. Enders was able to make several advances on Rasmus Lindh for the lead, but a slight error on his part with just four laps to go allowed Thompson to slip by. Enders held onto 3rd place and crossed the finish line matching his best result of the 2019 Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires.

Kory Enders - Driver of the No. 7 DEForce Racing Tatuus PM-18

“That was insane. Starting 5th, we knew we had the chance to go for our first win. But no one could have seen that kind of start coming. On the restart, I was 2nd behind Rasmus and went side-by-side with him, and I thought we had the win right there. I thought I could wrap it up for the team. But to get a podium at my favorite track, there’s nothing better. We couldn’t ask for much more.”