Sceats continues to impress in rookie season
PITTSBORO, Ind. – TJ Speed Motorsports returned to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, with momentum following its win at the famed Road America in 2023. Entering Liam Sceats, who began the weekend fourth in the USF Pro 2000 Presented by Continental Tire championship standings, and newcomer Cooper Becklin, who was making his series debut, TJ Speed closed the triple-header event with a podium result, several top-10 finishes, and a load more experience for a pair of rookie drivers.
After a test day on Thursday, Friday would be the home of official practice and qualifying, with two separate qualifying sessions setting the grids for races one and two. Sceats led the way for TJ Speed by earning a P10 result in the first qualifying session, while Becklin slotted into 16th in his first USF Pro 2000 qualifying session. In qualifying two, both Sceats and Becklin lacked a proper draft down the long Road America straightaways and completed the session in 14th and 16th respectively to start race two from the outside of rows seven and eight.
The skies were threatening and rain was in the forecast as the grid assembled for race one on Saturday morning. Thankfully, conditions mainly stayed dry through the 15-lap affair with Sceats moving forward two positions from his 10th-place qualifying the day before finishing eighth at the checkered flag. Behind him, Becklin navigated his first career series start also advancing positions to move from 16th to 13th on the results sheet. Race two was delayed due to a flooded racetrack but was run at the end of the day, much to the delight of Liam Sceats. A solid drive forward yet again netted the rookie driver another podium result in third, while Becklin added a ninth-place result, a double top-10 for the team.
The third and final race in the triple header took place on Sunday morning – another 15-lap affair for the TJ Speed duo. Sceats manages his way to an eighth-place result to close the weekend while Becklin gained more experience and closed his series debut weekend in 12th.
“It was good to be back on the podium with Liam, and Cooper did a great job in his series debut,” said team principal Tim Neff. “The weather changed all weekend long, and the track did as well which kept us on our toes. A little bit of a break now before heading to Mid-Ohio in July.”