Evan Cooley leads the way with photo finish win at 2025 YACademy Winter Series opener
HOMESTEAD, FL – Exclusive Autosport kicked off the 2025 season on the Homestead-Miami Speedway road course this past weekend, running three USF Juniors cars in the YACademy Winter Series opener with Evan Cooley, Brenden Cooley, and Kaylee Countryman. Exclusive returns to the YACademy Winter Series as the 2-time driver and team champions. The team, and drivers, have put in incredible work over the offseason and are looking to defend the championship titles.
They are off to a good start racking up one win, two podiums, and four top-five finishes. Evan Cooley currently is sitting second in the driver championship and the team in third. Exclusive Autosport will now travel to NOLA Motorsports Park in Louisiana for the second, and final, event of the series this week on February 12-13.
“What an exciting weekend,” said Joshua Cooley, Co-Owner and President. “All three of our drivers showed great pace immediately in the practice seasons. Having both Evan and Kaylee make the Super Pole was a big boost to the team and gave them confidence that we have what it takes to win. Our drivers gained valuable experience over the three races with many highs and lows. Kaylee showed great pace each race, but luck was not on her side in the end. Brenden achieved his first top-five finish and narrowly missed another in sixth. Evan heads to NOLA with two podiums, including the win in the closest finish in YACadamy /USF history! I’m incredibility proud of all three drivers, the EA crew, engineers, and coaches. It was a true team effort here in Homestead-Miami and I look forward to continuing on in round 2 at NOLA.”
The weekend kicked off Friday with a full day of practice where all three EA drivers showed tremendous pace. Saturday opened with practice followed by the one and only unique qualifying session called the ‘Superpole’ that sends the top-eight into a bonus session where drivers fight for the coveted top starting position. Both Evan and Kaylee advanced to the bonus session where they would ultimately end up P3 and P7, respectfully. Brenden would start in the 11th position for Race 1. The day was capped off with an opening race that saw all three EA drivers jockeying for positions each lap. Evan Cooley emerged in third, securing his first podium of the season. Brendan Cooley and Countryman had strong pace all race long, but bad luck forced them deep in the final results.
In Race 2 on Sunday morning, Evan fought for the lead, and despite getting pushed off the track multiple times, he ended up with a fourth place finish. Brendan had his best outing since first sitting in a USF Juniors car last season, crossing the line in fifth to put two EA cars in the top-five. Kaylee ran strong the entire race, sitting inside the top-10 for a majority of the laps before ultimately finishing 15th.
Race 3 happened later in the day, Sunday, and quickly became an entertaining race for the drivers teams and spectators alike. Evan ran strong, however was taken out by another driver, which forced him to fall to the tail of the field. After fighting his way back through the 24-car field, Evan would make a huge pass for the lead going into Turn 1, with just two laps to go. He emerged at the front of a five-wide thrilling drag race to win one of the closest finishes in motorsports history. Brenden was nipping at the top-five’s heels the entire race and would bring it home in sixth. Kaylee proved her consistency in running strong during races, however, a late race incident would take her out of contention to finish.
The team will now head to NOLA Motorsports Park for the finale of the 2025 YACademy series with practice and qualifying on Wednesday, February 12th, finishing up on Thursday, February 13th with all three races to crown a driver and team champion.
Exclusive Autosport is pleased to be able to partner with a great company - Corpay Cross-Border Solutions (https://cross-border.corpay.com/exclusive-autosport/) - who specialize in helping companies of all sizes power their international payments, execute plans to manage their currency risk and support their growth around the world.
Exclusive Autosport is also happy to partner with the state-of-the-art establishment of Autobahn Country Club and their Autobahn Driver Academy (https://autobahncc.com/driver-academy/) - our 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.
EXCLUSIVE AUTOSPORT – DRIVER RESULTS AND QUOTES
YACADEMY WINTER SERIES – ROUNDS 1-3 – FEBRUARY 8-9, 2025
KAYLEE COUNTRYMAN - #90
Qualifying: 7th – 1:24.612
Race 1: Start – 7th / Finish – 17th
Race 2: Start - 7th / Finish – 15th
Race 3: Start – 13th / Finish – 21st (contact)
Driver Quote: “Ultimately, we had the pace and showed we can race, but didn’t have the best of luck. I’m looking forward to getting some more rain and racing experience at NOLA before the start of an intense season. I want to thank EA for the support and coaching, as well as my parents and sponsors for helping me along the way.”
EVAN COOLEY - #91
Qualifying: 3rd – 1:24.154
Race 1: Start – 3rd / Finish – 3rd
Race 2: Start – 5th / Finish – 4th
Race 3: Start – 3rd / Finish – 1st
Driver Quote: “Overall, it was a solid weekend here in Homestead with many ups and downs. We were very fast in practice and qualifying, setting the pace for the field. After making the Superpole, I qualified third for the first race and was able to battle up front and land a podium. For the second race I started fifth and got pushed off-track multiple times but still managed to recover to fourth. In the final race, it was crucial to perform well in order to set us up to continue the championship fight in NOLA. Starting third, I quickly made my way up to the lead, but got taken out on lap two, dropping me all the way to the back. I was able to avoid the chaos and fight my way back to the lead with two laps to go and I held the lead to the end in an incredibly close finish to win the race. I want to thank the whole Exclusive Autosport team for a rocket of a car all weekend, and my sponsors Brown Brothers Harriman, Innovel Global Logistics, Sim Racing Chicago, and Autobahn Country Club. I’m currently second in points and we have our sights set on taking the championship in NOLA.”
BRENDEN COOLEY - #92
Qualifying: 11th – 1:24.081
Race 1: Start – 11th / Finish – 20th (contact)
Race 2: Start – 11th / Finish – 5th
Race 3: Start – 8th / Finish - 6th
Driver Quote: “It was a good weekend overall at the first round of the YACademy Winter Series. From the first test sessions of the event, we showed we had some great speed. Qualifying didn’t exactly go our way, but I definitely learned a lot about managing the draft, which would become very crucial in the races. Race 1 was a bit up and down, but after starting 11th for Race 2, I was able to race my way up to a fifth-place finish. I ended the weekend strong in Race 3 by moving up from P8 to P6 and scoring some crucial championship points. I’d like to thank Exclusive Autosport, Braden Eves, Lou D’Agostino, and my parents for all their help.”
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS:
Evan Cooley – P2
Brenden Cooley – P7
Kaylee Countryman – P22