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‘ACROSS THE LINE’ NEWSLETTER Issue #1
‘Across
The
Line’ END OF FINANCIAL YEAR
TAX DEDUCTIBLE
DONATIONS CLICK HERE TO
SUPPORT CAMERON
“To Finish First, First you must finish” - Rick Mears
AUSTRALIAN ROOKIE CAMERON
SHIELDS SCORES USF2000 WIN IN
DOMINANT FASHION
Newman Wachs Racing driver
Cameron Shields dominated the
Carb Night Classic Freedom 75,
winning his first race and delivering
Newman Wachs Racing its first
Cooper Tire USF2000 Championship
win (Photo: Road to Indy)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN (May 28, 2019) – In what was certainly a breakout event, 17-year-old Australian Cameron Shields delivered Newman Wachs Racing its first Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship victory this past weekend at the Carb Night Classic Freedom 75. Shields took to the high-banked 5/8
th mile Lucas Oil Raceway
oval, and dominated the action in commanding fashion, leading every lap of the race. Shields’ NWR teammate Nolan Siegel overcame an issue in qualifying to score his first top-10 of the season. This was the NWR duo’s second time on the track, as a week prior they took part in an official series test. Both drivers showed great speed in the test
and that pace carried over to the race weekend. In both practice sessions, they were two of the quickest on track and followed up with a win and a top-10 finish in the 75-lap race. “I couldn’t be happier for the team and Cameron on our first win in this series,” offered Brian Halahan, NWR Team Manager. “We have been working our butts off for two and a half years and finally all the hard work is starting to pay off. I’m also really happy about Nolan‘s results. I think he would’ve been better off had he not had an issue in qualifying. I’m sure he would’ve qualified in the top-seven without that happening.” The Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship series took to the track on Thursday afternoon for the first official practice followed by the Cooper Tires Freedom 75 qualifying after overnight rain soaked the track and paddock area. While both drivers had experience at the facility from the series test, but the track conditions were a bit different due to the rain. That didn’t seem to faze our drivers as both flirted with the fastest laps during practice. When two-lap qualifying came, Shields laid down the fastest speed for a majority of the session, getting topped
by one of the final qualifiers to miss out on the pole by just 0.0852 seconds. Friday’s action began with the series’ final practice session, just a little over two hours before the Freedom 75. More rain showers had passed through overnight, but our drivers were used to the changing conditions and proved to be two of the fastest on the track. After a couple hours of downtime, it was time to take to the speedway for a 75-lap shootout. As soon as the green flag flew, Shields took the lead and never looked back. Despite having never raced on an oval, he was consistently able to pull a significant lead, at one point almost five seconds, and if it weren’t for lapped traffic and two full-course cautions at laps 44 and 61, Cameron would have felt no pressure at all. He finished the race with 1.4-second gap, having led every lap, gaining much needed championship points. Driver Quote: “What an awesome
result for Newman Wachs Racing.
Every single person in our team put in
110% in the lead-up to this event and it
really paid off - at no time did anyone
put a foot wrong. It is an honor to be the
first driver to win for NWR in the
USF2000 Series and it is a privilege to
‘ACROSS THE LINE’ NEWSLETTER | Issue #1 2
drive for Eddie Wachs on his
team. I have so many people to
thank because it has been a long
road to get to where we are now;
however, there is still a very long
way to go this year so our full
focus will be on Road America and
making sure we can capitalize on
our strengths to continue closing
the championship point’s gap.”
Leaving Indianapolis, Shields moved up the order to sixth in the point standings, just two points out of third. Newman Wachs Racing will now head to the legendary four-mile, 14-turn Road America road course, located in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Rounds 6 and 7 will take place on June 21 – 23. CAMERON SHIELDS - #73
Qualifying 1: 2nd
– 44.878 (two-lap total
time / 110.057 mph)
Race: Start – 2nd
/ Finish – 1st
About Newman Wachs Racing: Newman Wachs Racing was formed
in 2005 by late actor and IndyCar
team owner Paul Newman and long-
time racing friend Eddie Wachs to aid
the development of young drivers in
Champ Car’s Cooper Tires Presents
the Atlantic Championship Powered
by Mazda. Among the drivers to go
through the NWR program were JR
Hildebrand, John Edwards and
Simona de Silvestro. After a
seven-year hiatus, Newman
Wachs Racing has returned to
racing, competing in the Cooper
Tires USF2000 Championship on
the Road to Indy.
Australian
Embassy
Invitation to
Washington DC Honouring 2018 Indy
500 Champion and
mentor, Will Power at
the residence of the
Australian Ambassador,
Mr Joe Hockey, along
with Team Penske
Owner Roger Penske. I
also had the privilege to
meet with the
Consulate- General of Chicago and
dignitaries, whom also visited me and the
Newman Wachs Racing team at Lucas
Oil Raceway – and witnessed our WIN!
END OF FINANCIAL YEAR
TAX DEDUCTIBLE
DONATIONS
The countdown is on! We are just a
couple weeks away from the End of
Financial Year. We have partnered
with the Australian Sports
Foundation, to assist sourcing
funding to enable me to compete in
the Cooper Tires USF2000 Series
on the Road To Indy pathway and
any donation that you can make is
greatly appreciated and help us be
able to race at the next round at
the Streets of Toronto, 13 – 14th
July, 2019. Another plus, is that it’s
completely tax-deductible!
‘ACROSS THE LINE’ NEWSLETTER | Issue #1 3
THANK YOU TO ALL MY RACE
PARTNERS & SUPPORTERS!
Road To Indy Insider Podcast - EP.17 - 2019 IMS - Breakdown
CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW FOR
MY PODCAST INTERVIEW
‘ACROSS THE LINE’ NEWSLETTER | Issue #1 4
FOLLOW MY JOURNEY - www.cs73racing.com
@CamShields73
@cameronshields73
@camshields73
21 - 23
ROAD AMERICA
22 – 23 JUNE 2019
Tune in Live on the Road to Indy TV app or USF2000.com!
Elkhart Lake, WISCONSIN 4.014-mile, 14-turn road course Race Record - Scott Anderson / 8/17/2012 / 2:09.656 (112.396 mph – 180.8838 kph)
Qualifying Record - Rasmus Lindh / 6/22/2018 / 2:09.2583 (111.795 mph – 179.9166 kph)