| GET WELL to our dear friend and crew member Scott Hutchison Long time friend of the team Scott Hutchisoin fell victim to Guillan-Barre' Syndrome and is still in the hospital. Please join us in wishing him a speedy recovery from this dreadful disease. His Caring Bridge site can be found here.
ZSports Midwest Overcomes Early Setback to Capture Three Top-Tens
Late night repairs and focused drivers result in successful weekend for Anderson and Cheng
MINNEAPOLIS, MN (28 August 2010) – ZSports Midwest pilots David Cheng and Scott Anderson proved their mettle and their skill by posting top ten results in each of the two USF2000 National Championship Series Powered by Mazda races at historic Road America. Going faster by as much as a second each session, both drivers got more comfortable with every passing lap and posted their fastest laps of the weekend in the last race of the weekend. Anderson did a phenomonal job with his driving and racecraft in the 2 liter car despite doing double duty in the Skip Barber National Series and bagged a 10th place in Race 1. Cheng, the young Pacific 2000 standout, overcame a huge shunt early in the weekend to return to the track with renewed focus – and it showed with and 8th place finish in Race 1 and 10th in Race 2. The deal to run both young drivers came together late. “I couldn’t be more proud of our team – pulling together to make this last minute deal work,” stated team principal Ron Boltik. “Steve made it to the track early to get the drivers fitted on Wednesday night and then we pulled all nighter Thursday night to get David’s car repaired. Steve and I would like to thank Dave and Leslie to make all of this happen. All of this effort culminated in the opportunity to work with these fantastic young drivers and their families. The weekend, despite all the hard work, was a real treat.” The team and divers are in negotiations to run the USF2000 National Series finale at Road Atlanta supporting the prestigious ALMS Petit Lemans. Stay tuned for developments. More information about the series can be found at www.usf2000.com.
ZSports Midwest Welcomes David Cheng to its Lineup
Sammamish, WA native continues his 2-liter career at upcoming USF2000 National Series Powered by Mazda double header at Elkhart Lake
MINNEAPOLIS, MN (16 August 2010) – Formula Car standout David Cheng will join ZSports Midwest for this weekend’s USF2000 National Series double-header at Road America. Cheng joins the team after having raised eybrows with his performance at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in May where he finished on the podium in class in both races.
“I really enjoyed racing with USF2000 and it was a great weekend for us” says Cheng, “I’ve had many laps around Laguna and it paid off with setting the qualifying and race track records to get both poles, both fastest laps and two 3rd place podium finishes. Since then we have had the interest of racing in the USF2000 series. I am very excited to have this opportunity to race with a top team like ZSports Midwest, as is was put together on a pretty short notice, I have to thank my previous instructor Rob Slonaker who made this deal happen and will be working with us and coaching us this weekend.”
David started his career autocrossing and running RotaxMax karts. In 2008 he finished 7th in the Skip Barber Western Regional Series. He backed this up with both 5th place in the Skip Barber Eastern Regional Series while grabbing Pacific 2000 Rookie of the Year honors in 2009. He currently stands 4th in the 2010 Pacific 2000 Series.
“We’re fortunate to have David teaming up with Scott Anderson and ZSports Midwest at Road America,” stated Team co-owner Ron Boltik. “They’ve raced each other hard in the past – now we’ll have the ability to compare data and video to get the most out of their abilities at our home track. I too would like to thank Rob Slonaker and we look forward to working with him and David this weekend.” For more information or sponsorship opportunities visit David Cheng’s website at www.dchengracing.com. Contact ZSports Midwest by visiting www.zsportsmidwest.com or email Ron Boltik at ron@zsportsmidwest.com.
Scott Anderson to Join ZSports Midwest 
2010 Skip Barber National Series pilot will do double duty at Road America
Minneapolis, MN (7 August 2010) – ZSports Midwest welcomes Fort Collins Colorado native and Skip Barber National driver Scott Anderson to its team for the upcoming USF2000 National Series double header at Road America. “ZSports Midwest is excited to have Scott aboard for this event and possibly beyond,” said team principal Ron Boltik. “Scott will be competing in the Skip Barber event at our home track and this gives him, and us, the chance to show what he can do in a 2-liter car.” Anderson’s resume includes four years of karting where he ultimately earned 2nd place in the Colorado Sprint Championship, 1st place and Rookie of the year in the SCCA’s Rock Mountain region in Spec Racer Ford, and 3rd place in the 2009/2010 Skip Barber Western Series. He currently stands 7th in the Skip Barber National Series. “I am looking forward to racing with ZSports Midwest at Road America for my first USF2000 experience,” stated Anderson. I'm very excited to see how quickly I can adapt to the new car, and I feel that ZSports Midwest has the experience to get me up to speed quickly.” The USF2000 National Series is part of the Indy Racing League’s “Road to Indy” program as well as the MazdaSPEED Development Ladder Awards program. More information about the series can be found at www.usf2000.com. For more information on Scott or ZSports Midwest, contact Ron Boltik at ron@zsportsmidwest.com or visit www.zsportsmidwest.com. The team currently has another seat available for Road America. Contact Steve Thomson at (612) 964-9572 with specific inquiries.
Szykulski Shows Form with ZSports Midwest
Top SCCA CenDiv Formula Continental competitor captures podium finish at the 2010 June Sprints.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN (27 June 2010) – Fast all weekend, Jerry Szykulski took advantage of both preparation and good fortune to carry his ZSports Midwest prepared and engineered Elan DP08 Zetec to 2nd place at Road America. More....
ZSports Midwest Regroups - Seats Available for 2010 and Beyond
USF2000 standout and 2009 F2000 Rookie of the Year Benjamin Searcy’s season curtailed due to lack of funding.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN (11 May 2010) – ZSports Midwest finds itself in an unfamiliar position – unable to continue to run rising American Star Benjamin Searcy. The team finds itself with two empty cars and is taking inquiries from funded drivers for the rest of 2010.
Since teaming with ZSports Midwest, Searcy has racked up an impressive record. Arguably his most impressive run was also his first in 2-liter cars – he ran away with a 16-second win in a rain soaked debut at VIR. He backed this up with his second and third wins at Lime Rock and at Mid-Ohio, respectively – in dry conditions. He had never seen either circuit. He went on to win the 2009 F2000 “Rookie of the Year” award. His 2010 start was equally impressive when, after having to start from the rear of the grid due to contact, charged to top five in St. Petersburg, FL.
While efforts continue to work out the situation, ZSports Midwest is accepting inquiries to run F2000, USF2000 and SCCA Formula Continental events in 2010 and beyond. Contact Ron Boltik at 612-685-1384 or ron@zsportsmidwest.com with inquiries about what ZSports Midwest can offer potential racing stars and potential sponsors.
ZSports Midwest profiled on E Formula Car News..... Read the interview here....
ZSports Midwest’s Benjamin Searcy Rebounds to USF2000 Top Five Finish
2009 Rookie of the Year Earns Tilton “Hard Charger” award in USF2000 Series debut weekend. .jpg)
ST. PETERSBURG, FL (30 MAR 2010) – ZSports Midwest showed its mettle in a trying weekend which saw its young pilot Benjamin Searcy charging to a Round 2 top-five and a strong start toward the Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda crown. The Tuscaloosa, AL native Searcy showed superb form driving the Speedy Oil Change/MJM Turbocharger/Combustion Technologies Van Diemen in every session leading up to the “Road to Indy” opener on the challenging streets of St. Petersburg, solidly in the top-five on the time sheets in both practice sessions and in qualifying. Starting from 4th on the grid in Round 1, Searcy was advancing when he was punted out of the race in turn one lap one by a spinning competitor leaving his car damaged and out of the race.
Scheduling left no room for two qualifying sessions and the starting position for Round 2 was to be determined the fastest lap from Round 1. This left Searcy with the unenviable challenge of starting from the back of the Round 2 grid.
 Undaunted, Searcy completed lap one in P4. “The car had a bit of understeer initially, but I was able to avoid some on track incidences in the first couple of laps,” Searcy commented. “Then the tires and the track came to me and I was able to settle in. Unfortunately, the alternator belt failed on me five laps from the end and I lost power and pace. All in all, coming home with a top five after our Round 1 result is very satisfying.”
“I’m proud of Ben,” said ZSports co-owner and engineer Ron Boltik. “He kept tremendous poise in the face of some mechanical challenges during the weekend. We would prefer he not ever have to deal with them, but the manner in which he did only helps him develop professionally – on and off the track. Not only is he blazingly fast, he’s mature beyond his years.”
The ZSports crew and Ben are preparing for the high profile “Night before the 500” on May 29th at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis, IN and the pre-event test there in early May. Sactioned by the Indy Racing League, the revived Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda is the first rung on the IndyCar series "Road to Indy" ladder program and returns to the famous 5/8 mile oval in its efforts to further develop well rounded drivers and their futures in North American open-wheel racing.
More information about ZSports Midwest and Benjamin Searcy is available at www.zsportsmidwest.com. Call Ron Boltik at 612-685-1384 or email Ron at ron@zsportsmidwest.com with inquiries about what ZSports Midwest can offer potential racing stars and sponsorship opportunities.
GETTING READY FOR 2010
2010 looks to be an exciting year in 2-Liter racing. The highly successful, USF1 affiliated F2000 Championship Series returns with an exciting 7 event schedule. Dan Andersen has reintroduced the IRL sanctioned USF2000 National Series (which has two prominent oval races on its schedule). And SCCA Formula Continental racing is some of the most competiive ameteur open-wheel racing in the country. What this means is both career minded and experienced drivers alike have options -and ZSports Midwest is preparing for them. Our philosophy is to help our prospective customers decide the best direction and deliver the most competitive package possible. We offer complete preperation, engineering, data/video analysis, hospitality, and trackside support. Driver coaching and promotion services are available for a complete arrive-and-drive experience. We have several seats available, or if you prefer, we can prepare your car for you. Contact us for information about our off-season testing opportunities. ZSports Midwest looks forward to talking with you! | | Helping You Climb the Development Ladder ZSports Midwest, LLC provides the highest level engineering, prep and development for all drivers looking for the most competitive USF2000, F2000 and Formula Continental experience. | |