Career best for Ping in round four

LEEDS, Ala. – With a quick set of back-to-back race weekends, the first four races of the USF Juniors Presented by Cooper Tires program are now in the books. With a trying weekend at the Ozarks International Raceway due to a practice crash, Velocity Racing Development (VRD) driver Noah Ping reset his focus at Barber Motorsports Park earning a pair of top-10 results in rounds three and four.

“The car came back in one piece, so it was definitely a step up from our first event weekend,” expressed Noah Ping. “The VRD team is amazing and that is shown in the speed by all the team cars, so I just need to push myself a little harder to make sure I can be up at the front of the pack with them.”

After a couple of practice sessions on Thursday, it was straight into qualifying for round three where Ping found himself in the front half of the field. Scoring the eighth fastest lap of the session and securing a row four starting spot for the first wheel-to-wheel action of the weekend, Ping was ready to attack and move forward.

Ping added, “I was able to get a good start and jump forward a couple of spots but eventually finished today’s race in the ninth position. It is so hard to pass here so if you fall behind, it is hard to move forward.”

Race two on the weekend would go a little better for the USF Juniors rookie. After starting again in the ninth position, Noah was able to advance forward to cross the line in seventh, scoring his career best USF Juniors result to date.

“The talent in USF Juniors is pretty good, so any sort of loss in time in qualifying will hurt you throughout the race weekend,” explained Ping. “One thing I know I need to improve on is my qualifying and that will for sure help when we get into the races.”

The next stop for the USF Juniors program will be the Virginia International Raceway for rounds five and six over the June 3-5 weekend.