MARKHAM, Ont., Canada – Exclusive Autosport endured a chaotic but ultimately rewarding inaugural Continental Tire Grand Prix of Markham in Canada this past weekend as part of the Ontario Honda Dealers of Ontario Indy at Markham, highlighted by a dominant victory for Jack Jeffers in the opening USF Pro 2000 race. The Texan followed up with a strong runner-up finish in Race 2 on Sunday to take over the championship point lead. Jeffers’ USF Pro 2000 teammate Joey Brienza was quick all weekend and posted a best finish of ninth in Race 1.

“It was a challenging weekend for everyone with the delays and the compressed schedule, but our team handled it exceptionally well," said Michael Duncalfe, Co-Owner and CEO. "Jack delivered when it mattered, and to leave Markham with a win, a second-place finish and the championship lead is exactly what we needed. Joey showed strong pace as well, and I am proud of the effort from the entire crew. We have a lot of racing still ahead of us, so the focus now is on carrying this momentum into Milwaukee."

The event got off to an unusual start when construction of the new street circuit was not completed in time for Friday’s scheduled running, forcing all on-track activity to be canceled. With the revised schedule leaving the USF Pro 2000 field with only a shortened practice session on Saturday morning, qualifying was also scrapped, and the Race 1 starting grid was set by championship points. Jeffers took full advantage of the opportunity, starting from pole and leading all 15 laps to claim the victory while also setting the fastest lap of the race to earn the pole for Sunday’s Race 2. Jeffers also regained the championship lead with the victory. Teammate Joey Brienza battled from ninth on the grid to finish ninth in the opener before the EA duo returned Sunday, where Jeffers again led laps and narrowly missed a weekend sweep with a second-place finish. Brienza had an incident early in the race, causing him to come in for repairs, ultimately putting him six laps down.

After Friday’s complete washout of on-track activity, Saturday became a condensed and action-packed day for the USF Pro 2000 field. With only a shortened practice session to learn the brand-new 2.1-mile Markham street circuit and qualifying canceled, the opening race grid was set by championship points, placing Jack Jeffers and the #92 Exclusive Autosport machine on pole, with teammate Joey Brienza starting ninth. Jeffers quickly proved comfortable around the new circuit, controlling the 15-lap race from start to finish despite three caution periods. He led every lap on his way to his first victory of the season, adding the fastest lap of 1:24.2228 and establishing the inaugural USF Pro 2000 race record at Markham, while securing the pole for Race 2. Brienza battled through the chaotic opening race and brought the #91 EA entry home ninth to complete the team’s first day of competition on the streets of Markham.

Sunday brought one final 45-minute battle on the streets of Markham, with Jeffers starting from pole and Brienza lining up 11th. Jeffers once again showed the strength of the #92, holding the lead through the opening half of the race and pacing the field for nine laps before ultimately crossing the line second, just 0.6487 seconds behind race winner Andres Cardenas to cap the weekend with a win and a runner-up finish. Brienza’s race was made more difficult by an early incident that damaged the #91 and forced him to pit for repairs. The Exclusive Autosport crew worked quickly to repair the damage and get Brienza back into the fight, limiting the setback to just six laps. Brienza continued to push all the way to the checkered flag and was ultimately classified 10th.

The team will now head back to the shop to prep for the drivers’ second and final oval race of the season as Jack and Joey prepare for next weekend’s race at the famed Milwaukee Mile in West Allis, WI.

Qualifying: 9th – Based on Points

Race 1: Start – 9th / Finish – 9th

Race 2: Start – 11th / Finish – 10th  

Driver Quote: "It was another good weekend in Markham. I managed to stay focused among the chaos, and we kept our heads down. I want to give a massive thank you to my entire team for all their hard work this weekend, throughout the chaos that unfolded. All eyes are on the Milwaukee Mile, where we had a great test, and I am excited to get on track."

Qualifying: 1st – Based on Points

Race 1: Start – 1st / Finish – 1st  

Race 2: Start – 1st / Finish – 2nd

Driver Quote: “Overall, it was a really strong weekend for us. This track has a little bit of everything and is really good for racing, so it was awesome to finally get out there and come away with a win and a second-place finish. It had been a while since we’d been on the top step, so getting that win and giving it back to the team felt really good. Race 2 didn’t give us much of an opportunity to fight back with all the cautions, but we still brought home solid points and set ourselves up well looking at the big picture. A huge thank you to everyone at Exclusive Autosport and especially my engineer and driver coach, Braden Eves, for all the work they’ve put in. Now we’ll turn our focus to the Milwaukee Mile.”

Exclusive Autosport is pleased to be able to partner with a great company - Corpay Cross-Border Solutions, which specializes in helping companies of all sizes power their international payments, manage their currency risk and support their global growth.

Exclusive Autosport is also happy to partner with the state-of-the-art establishment of Autobahn Country Club and their Autobahn Driver Academy. This collaboration will offer aspiring racers comprehensive training in open-wheel racing, leveraging EA’s proven track record of success in developing talent from grassroots levels to professional racing careers. The academy will benefit from EA’s innovative coaching techniques and its commitment to driver excellence.