HARTSDALE, NY (June 13, 2023) –
Two-time Freedom 75 winner and reigning USF 2000 Champion Michael d’Orlando recently returned to Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park [“LOIRP”} for the USF Pro 2000 Championships' Freedom 90. The Carb Night Classic event took place over Memorial Day weekend and d'Orlando put in a solid performance to earn valuable points in the Drivers’ Championship.
LOIRP is the only oval circuit on the calendar for the 2023 USF Pro 2000 Championship and d’Orlando was ultimately looking to build on his back-to-back wins in the 2021 and 2022 USF 2000 series Freedom 75 on the 0.686 mile circuit. For the two test sessions on Thursday, he set the tone early with the fastest lap in the first test session and a very narrow second-fastest lap in the second test session. With his immediate strong performance right out of the starting gate, it came as quite a shock when he lapped the slowest he had run all day in Qualifying, only achieving a 7th place starting position for the Freedom 90 main event. Immediately after the conclusion of the Qualifying session, Turn 3 Motorsport went right to work to identify the issue based on d'Orlando’s feedback that the car felt completely different than any of the two practice sessions. It was ultimately determined and confirmed with the series that there were inconsistencies in the tires and apparently d'Orlando's Turn 3 Motorsports #1 USF Pro Championships/Priority Technology Holdings/Focused Project Management machine had one of the inconsistent sets of tires for his qualifying session.
Proving that his dominance in the test sessions on Thursday was no fluke, and that the performance in qualifying was related to the set of tires, the team put on a used set of tires for d’Orlando’s fifteen-minute practice session on Friday and he easily topped the charts again. Although he found the speed that was seemingly lost in qualifying, he was still required to start the main event in the 7th position. As 90-lap main event commenced later that evening, d’Orlando made some quick work to move up to the 5th spot in the opening laps and went into tire saving mode. Ultimately slipping back into the 6th position late in the race, he was ready to make a final charge in the last 10 laps of the race when unfortunately an incident on track forced a full course caution and the race would end under the yellow flag leaving d’Orlando in 6th.
“The weekend at LOIRP was quite interesting to say the least,” said d’Orlando. “The Turn 3 team and I put together a fast car, a car that I could consistently be the fastest with. Though misfortune struck again in qualifying, putting us with a P7 starting position for the race. I gave it everything I had in the race, but the third win in a row wasn’t in the cards for us today.”
The next rounds of the USF Pro Championships will commence again in support of the NTT INDYCAR series at Road America on July 16-18, 2023.
How to Help: Anyone can help the DELLC drivers continue their careers in motorsports in a variety of ways. We'd like to send a special thanks to our corporate partners at Digital Building Solutions, Priority Technology Holdings, Focused Project Management, Dino Luzzi Energy Drink, DB Collaborative, Turn 3 Motorsport, Pierpont Mechanical, UFC Gym - Mamaroneck NY, Celtic General Contractors and Rising Star Racing for their continued support.
To join our network of partners for business building opportunities, and for trackside corporate experiences with teams like Andretti Autosport, and their partners such as DHL, AutoNation and Gainbridge, contact Sherri d’Orlando at info@dorlandoracing.com or Art Wilmes at art.wilmes@risingstarracing.com. As Michael continues his pursuit in the USF Pro 2000 series this year, he is working to advance his career up to the 2024 Firestone Indy NXT series (owned and operated by Penske Entertainment Corp which also owns and operates the NTT IndyCar series). Indy NXT is broadcast live and on-demand on NBC's streaming service Peacock.
DELLC's partnership with Priority Technology Holdings provide businesses with better payment processing services, including merchant processing, payables, early pay, business banking and Lines Loans & MCAs, while also providing additional funding support for future motorsports talent. Visit www.priorityanddellc.com or Contact Us for details.
Every purchase of Dino Luzzi Energy Drink placed here on the TalkShopLive platform directly supports the DELLC drivers. Get yours today! Tell your friends!
To make a monetary donation at any level, click here. These are imperative to continue to complete the remaining 2023 season.
Where to watch: d’Orlando and Turn 3 Motorsport will return to action in the USF Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires at the L&W Supply Grand Prix of Road America in Elkart Lake, WI on June 15-18, 2023. All USF Pro 2000 events are streamed online at www.usfpro2000.com or download the USF Pro Championships app.
About d'Orlando Enterprises LLC: d'Orlando Enterprises LLC, also known as "DELLC", is a driver management, marketing, event planning and activation company with specific focus in the amateur and professional motorsports industry. We develop unique and remarkable VIP experiences, behind the scenes access, and other entertainment opportunities for partners and corporations at race events across the country, including the Indy500.
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