Evagoras Papasavvas leads JHDD on the results sheet
The USF Pro Championships Presented by Continental Tire season kicked off this past weekend on the famed Streets of St. Petersburg as the Jay Howard Driver Development program brought four drivers to the Sunshine State. With one driver in USF Pro 2000, a trio of competitors took part in the USF2000 effort as the Indianapolis-based program walked away with multiple podium results.
Leading the way on the results sheet was the second year USF2000 driver of Evagoras Papasavvas. Entering 2024 as a race winner, Papasavvas showed his speed in St. Pete by qualifying his JHDD-prepared machine with the fourth-fastest lap of the session. Starting race one from the outside of row two, the Ohio native earned his first podium result of the season in the first wheel-to-wheel action as he challenged for the win, eventually crossing the line in the second position. Returning to the track on Saturday for the final on-track action for the weekend, Papasavvas closed his St. Pete event with another podium finish in third showing his threat to contend for the series title.
Michael Costello joined Papasavvas inside the top-five on Friday as his ninth-place qualifying effort provided the momentum needed to drive forward in race one. Keeping his nose clean, car safe, and showing the speed to battle, Costello marched his way forward and finished in the fifth position in his first-ever race on the Streets of St. Pete. Unfortunately, race two did not go as well for Costello and he was classified in the 19th position after being forced to retire on lap 11.
Tanner DeFabis improved throughout the weekend as an issue with contact in practice forced him to miss qualifying on Friday due to a heavily damaged race car. Race one also resulted in a DNF, but DeFabis returned for race two finishing 14th and gained some valuable experience on the barrier-lined street circuit.
Open-wheel race winner and karting champion Frankie Mossman improved his results with each passing session this weekend. Taking on the talent-filled USF Pro 2000 field of competitors, Mossman qualified ninth before finishing eighth in race one, and fourth in race two as he moved inside the top-five. Showing the speed needed to compete at the front of the field, Mossman already has his sights set on the next event at a track that he has won at in the past, NOLA Motorsports Park.
“Good start to the season as St. Pete is a place that can either go very good, or very bad,” explained Jay Howard. “Evagoras quickly proved that he is a driver who can fight for the title, and I think once we move forward to other events, you will see Frankie on the podium in USF Pro. It is going to be another strong season for us, and we are looking forward to wins and many more podiums this year.”
JHDD will now turn their attention to the next rounds in USF2000, USF Pro 2000, and the opening rounds in the USF Juniors program at NOLA Motorsports Park over the April 5-7 weekend.
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