Tim Paul Signs for 2017 F2000 Championship Series Season
Salem, NH – The F2000 Championship Series grid is quickly filling out for a highly anticipated 2017 season as former dirt-track driver Tim Paul has signed to return to F2000 competition in the No. 06 Screaming Monkey Racing/CellMark Paper entry prepared by Momentum Motorsports.
Paul has previously run both full-season and partial campaigns in F2000 competition in his trademark green and orange Van Diemen, and is now back for all seven double-race weekends in the USAC Racing-sanctioned F2000 Series.
“We’re back! This is a full time chase for the 2017 Championship until we’ve won or we’re mathematically out of it,” said Paul. “I can’t wait.”
Paul is expected to log some test miles before the season opener at VIR, April 28-30. He was last in an F2000 car at New Jersey Motorsports Park in August of 2016.
“I’m finally getting back into the gym after having back surgery New Year’s Eve 2016 from a crash at the season ender MX5 Cup race at Road Atlanta in October,” Paul said. “It’s been a long road; I’m finally feeling like I’m getting back into the swing of things after only having a few race weekends in 2016. My physical conditioning has been the hardest thing coming back, my mind is still sharp and I know how to wheel a car around, but getting back to being in good shape is a long road after being out for so long. I’m not there yet, but it’s coming and we are still working on it all the time.”
The signing of the former sprint and midget car driver follows the news of two other high profile driver confirmations.
“The F2000 field is always strong, especially the top five. In any given year there have been guys who have the potential and talent to win anywhere they go. This year is kind of a question mark, there will be a lot of new faces and being out for so much of last year it’s hard to keep the narrative going,” Paul added. “The VIR weekend will tell us what we need to know and we’re aiming to make that information that we are the ones to chase this year, but you never know. The competition is so high anything can happen. We’re doing everything we can to put ourselves at the front for 2017, but that’s everybody’s goal so we’ll slug it out like we always do.”
Brandon Dixon, who finished third in the 2016 title chase, and won a race, is coming back to contend for a full-season title run.
After winning the Championship in both F1600 and Atlantic last season, K-Hill Motorsports has again zeroed in on the F2000 title too, recently confirming the signing of stand-out 16-year-old karter Zach Holden to a full season program.
2017 F1600, F2000, Atlantic Schedule:
April 28-30: VIRginia International Raceway
May 12-13: Mid-Ohio
June 8-11: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
June 30-July 2: Mid-Ohio
July 28-July 30: Pittsburgh
August 25-27: Summit Point
October 6-8: New Jersey Motorsports Park
Photos:
1. Tim Paul
On the Web:F1600: www.F1600Series.com | Facebook | Twitter
F2000: www.F2000Series.com | Facebook | Twitter
Atlantic: www. AtlanticChampionshipSeries.com | Facebook | Twitter
About Formula Race Promotions:
Formula Race Promotions (FRP) operates the F1600, F2000 and Atlantic Championship Series. Starting with F2000 in 2006, FRP added F1600 in 2011 and Atlantic in 2012. The Series’ philosophy is to offer a vertical integration between club and professional racing, while offering some of the best race tracks and significant amounts of track time in single-class running. The 2017 schedule is composed of seven-points paying weekends. FRP is privately owned and sanctioned by USAC.
Sources: Monty Mathisen/MathisenMedia PR