Indianapolis, Ind. – With the second Mid-Ohio event of the season now being postponed until later this year, Turn 3 Motorsport will shift its focus to the oval portion of the 2020 Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires beginning this weekend at Lucas Oil Raceway’s longstanding Carb Night Classic, a prelude to the world famous Indianapolis 500 which takes place this Sunday.
Last year, it was then Indy Pro 2000 rookie Danial Frost who cleaned up at the .686-mile oval by winning both the pole position and the race after leading all 90 laps of the nighttime event. After some bumps in the road at the previous round, Frost’s “reigning champion” status at Lucas Oil Raceway should be a confidence booster for the #68 DEN-JET driver going into this week’s oval challenge.
“My goal for this weekend, as with every weekend, is to go in and perform at my very best,” said Frost. “Ovals are mentally challenging, but it’s still racing, and I’m up for the challenge. This is new for us as a team, but we have the tools to be at the front, and I am confident that the team will do their very best to give me the best possible car. I have been training on the racing simulator and doing qualifying and race runs to be as ready as possible for this weekend. I look forward to seeing how this weekend turns out for us!”
As a full season rookie, this will be teammate Antoine Comeau’s first venture to the Indianapolis oval and only his second ever oval race. Still, it was his oval debut at World Wide Technology Raceway last season where he achieved his highest finish of the year, making the #3 ACR/Eastern driver enthusiastic about his prospects at Lucas Oil Raceway this week.
“I am excited to get back to the oval tracks,” said Comeau. “Last year, the Gateway oval was my most promising event and highest finish of the season. I feel like I have made a lot of progress since then, so hopefully I can be competitive this weekend.”
Coming off a rollercoaster weekend at Mid-Ohio, the team’s goal is to refocus and lock down some solid finishes over the next three back to back races to regain ground in the championship points.
“I’m looking forward to heading to Lucas Oil Raceway,” said Team Owner Peter Dempsey. “It’s going to be our first time there as a team having only competed at Gateway last year with Indy Pro 2000. Lucas Oil Raceway is one of the most demanding ovals we’ve ever been to, so it’s going to be a very tough weekend; ovals are always a challenge for everyone. It’s going to be important for us to extract the most out of our cars and drivers, maximize our weekend, and try to rebound from our topsy turvy weekend at Mid-Ohio during the last round. We are excited to get on track tomorrow, and hopefully we can get the results we need.”
The Indy Pro 2000 cars are on track beginning tomorrow with three official test sessions followed by nighttime qualifying at 8:10pm EST. The Cooper Tires Freedom 90 will take place on Friday night at 7:50pm EST. Live timing and video coverage will be available through www.indypro2000.com and Road to Indy TV.