SASKATOON, Sask. – Exclusive Autosport concluded its third year in the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca just a week ago, securing fifth and sixth in the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires standings with Danial Frost and Nikita Lastochkin.
In the process, they added additional wins to their overall Road to Indy record and confirmed their position as a championship-contending squad.
“Overall there are a lot of positives to take from this year,” said Michael Duncalfe, Team Principal. “Defending the top step of the podium at Lucas Oil Raceway was certainly something special, as was winning on home soil at the Cooper Tires Toronto Grand Prix Presented by Allied Building Products. Both Danial and Nikita showed the paddock that they are strong contenders, consistently showing strong pace and good results throughout the year. As a team, our cars are fast and we showed we can challenge for wins on each and every track. Had things gone a bit differently at a few events the outcome (from a championship perspective) would have been a lot different for us this year. I am proud of the team and the drivers. Everyone put their best foot forward and worked incredibly hard this year. The team will continue to work really hard over the off-season to develop and prepare our program for a championship run in 2020.”
The 2019 campaign started off strongly as Frost scored his first career Indy Pro 2000 podium at the season opener in St. Petersburg to begin his rookie season, scoring a third-place finish in Race 2 which simply fueled his impressive season-long pace. The Singaporean’s season was highlighted by a pole position for the iconic Carb Night Classic Freedom 90 at the Lucas Oil Raceway oval in May, which led to a dominating win as Danial led every lap. Frost would also go on to score an emotional win in the team’s home country of Canada, dominating Race 1 on the streets of Toronto. This victory placed him in the position to fight for third in the championship, although a few races did not go exactly as planned and he would eventually finish a strong fifth in the championship.
Lastochkin, a Russian-born Los Angeles, CA resident, was focused on making his presence known in his third year in the program by fighting some of the series heavyweights throughout the season, carding a pair of fourth place finishes, coming at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Nikita finished his campaign with five top-five finishes enroute to sixth overall in the championship.
“2019 was a great season of racing for Exclusive Autosport,” said team Manager Mirl Swan. “Everyone on the team worked really well together, all striving to improve each aspect of the race programs week in and week out. We enjoyed great results and wins along the way. Also, having the opportunity to work with all of our drivers, seeing them mature and develop throughout the season was very rewarding. We’re looking forward to continued success and development as we prepare all of the Exclusive Autosport Road to Indy programs for next year.”
Exclusive Autosport has officially set their eyes on the 2020 season with the recent announcement that they will be adding an Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires program to their Road to Indy efforts, running alongside their USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000 cars that are already in place. The team has seats available for the upcoming Chris Griffis test (October 19-20) at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Exclusive Autosport is pleased to be able to partner with great companies, such as AERO™ Advanced Paint Technology (www.rethinkpaint.com), which is used on all their race cars.
EXCLUSIVE AUTOSPORT – DRIVER RESULTS AND QUOTES
2019 INDY PRO 2000 PRESENTED BY COOPER TIRES SEASON
DANIAL FROST - #68
Championship Standings: 5th
Driver Quote: “Laguna was an emotional weekend, not only because it was the end of the season, but also because we weren’t able to deliver the podium spot in the championship. We had very good pace at the end of the weekend with the circumstances we were in. In the final race I was in the lead, which meant that if I maintained that position, I would not only have won the race, but secured third place in the championship. But due to unfortunate events, our push rod broke, causing us to lose out. Nevertheless, this is what happens in racing and we’ll move forward from this. Thank you to Exclusive Autosport for the exceptional year and the amazing year we’ve had. Thank you to my sponsor Denjet, my family and fans who have been there for me. I’m very excited to see what’s planned for the coming year. Bring on 2020!”
NIKITA LASTOCHKIN - #90
Championship Standings: 6th
Driver Quote: “I would like to thank everyone at Exclusive Autosport for a great season. Michael and Kimberly Duncalfe were great to work with and made it for an enjoyable year. Mirl Swan and David Kanning were there every weekend to make sure the car is fast, so I would like to thank them as well.”