ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Exclusive Autosport kicked off the USF Pro 2000 Presented by Continental Tire season strong with a podium and top-five finishes at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg and will head to the next rounds of the schedule at NOLA Motorsports Park sitting second in both the Driver and Team Championship standings. Canadian Mac Clark delivered two veteran performances in Florida, finishing fourth in Race 1 and then a strong second in the back end of the doubleheader. This consistency positions him second in the championship standings. Rookies Joey Brienza and Carson Etter both turned in solid performances over the course of the weekend, finishing each race. In Race 2, they scored their best finishes in 11th and 12th, respectively. Etter improved a total of 14 positions in the two races.

“It feels great to be back on the Pro 2000 podium with a solid second-place finish from Mac Clark,” said Michael Duncalfe, Co-Owner and CEO. “Overall, the team had a solid outing at St. Petersburg. There are always things that we can learn from or improve upon, but leaving sitting in second in both the driver and team championships is a fairly positive start to the season. We are really confident in our NOLA package and are looking forward to continuing the momentum into the next rounds of races.”

The weekend kicked off Friday morning with practice, followed by qualifying in the afternoon. Clark led the EA squad with the sixth fastest time, putting him on the outside of Row 3 for the first race of the weekend on Saturday. Brienza qualified 11th, while Etter found eight-tenths of a second to time in 20th.

The opening race of the doubleheader was chaotic, with multiple incidents, and the last lap saw Clark battling hard for the final step on the podium. Mac crossed the line in third, but a penalty for blocking dropped him to fourth. Brienza was embroiled in a race-long battle and finished 13th, with Etter less than a second behind him in 15th.

Race 2 on Sunday morning was just as action-packed as the opening event, and this time, Clark started eighth and needed to go into attack mode. Mac was the star of the opening lap, getting two positions on the run into the opening corner and then an additional spot later in the lap with a late braking move to the inside at Turn 10. Mac was able to successfully avoid two separate incidents involving drivers in front of him and continued to chase down the eventual race winner over the final laps. He delivered a stellar second-place finish that helped him leave Florida sitting second in the driver championship chase. Brienza was once again in a scrap for the top-10, ultimately finishing 11th with Etter right on his gearbox in 12th. The combined results of the trio have put EA second in the Team Championship after the opening rounds of the season.

The team has returned to the EA headquarters in Brownsburg, Indiana, to prep for the next round of the 2025 season, which takes place on the April 10-13 weekend at NOLA Motorsports Park. All three series will run together, each being a triple-header rounds, with USF Juniors drivers Brenden Cooley and Kaylee Countryman kicking off their seasons alongside their USF2000 and USF Pro 2000 teammates.

Qualifying: 6th  – 1:09.498

Race 1: Start – 6th / Finish – 4th

Race 2: Start -  8th / Finish – 2nd

Driver Quote: It was an awesome weekend getting two top-five finishes, one being on the podium. The #90 Exclusive Autosport Corpay Cross-Border Solutions car was on rails. Moving from eighth to second in Race 2 was lots of fun, and there was some crazy racing out there. It's always fun on the streets of St. Petersburg. I'd really like to thank my sponsors for getting me here. This deal came together really last-minute so a huge thank you to Clubine Motorsports, TNG Exotics, and Actuarial Risk Management – this couldn’t have been done without them. And, as well, to [team owners] Mr. Duncalfe and Mr. Cooley. They’ve welcomed me in like one of their own, and I couldn’t be more excited to start chasing this championship.”

Qualifying: 11th  – 1:09.726

Race 1: Start – 11th / Finish – 13th

Race 2: Start – 12th / Finish – 11th

Driver Quote: “St. Petersburg was a weekend of learning for me. My first time racing in USF Pro 2000 has its learning curve, but it was a great experience, and I’m ready for NOLA coming up in a little over a month.”

Qualifying: 20th  – 1:10.828

Race 1: Start – 21st  / Finish – 15th

Race 2: Start – 20th / Finish – 12th

Driver Quote: “It was a bit of a rough weekend, but we walked away completing all the laps we could, and we learned a lot. Huge thank you to the whole Exclusive Autosport team, PriorityWorkforce, GATC Health, friends, and family who came out to support me this weekend."