SASKATOON, Sask. – Exclusive Autosport announced Saturday that Ohio’s Braden Eves will return to the team for next year’s Indy Pro 2000 Championship presented by Cooper Tires season.
The 2019 USF2000 champion got off to a tremendous start in his Road to Indy/Andersen Companies Tatuus PM-18, with his first series win coming at Mid-Ohio in late July.
Eves was in the middle of the hunt for the championship when a nasty incident at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway sidelined him for the remainder of the season.
Now well into completing his recovery, Eves has refocused on the 2021 season and is eager to get back behind the wheel.
“I’m extremely excited to rejoin Exclusive Autosport for the 2021 season,” said Eves. “This season we showed our incredible pace and the team did an incredible job consistently throughout the year. I’ll be coming back next year with unfinished business and I’m ready to get back after it. I can’t wait for a much more normal season after this year was so shaken up by the pandemic, but next year I’m coming back and I’m coming back stronger than ever.”
At the season opener in St. Petersburg back in March, Eves made his intentions known as he was a half-second quicker than his competition in the one and only practice session that was completed that weekend.
The event came to a halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the season didn’t get back underway until early July at Road America after a four-month hiatus.
Once the series was back in motion, Eves came out of the gate running by grabbing one win, two poles, two podiums, and four top-fives, adding to his extensive resume and putting him directly in the middle of the fight for the 2020 championship.
Unfortunately, the mid-season incident at IMS resulted in injuries that sidelined Eves for the rest of the shortened season.
Thankfully, Eves is in full recovery mode with plans to use the off-season to work on fitness and race craft to come back even stronger for the new season.
“I am thrilled to welcome Braden back to the team for 2021,” said Michael Duncalfe, team principal. “Braden is a fierce competitor both and off the track. His focus, attention to detail, and work ethic make him a true pleasure to work with. I am confident we will come back out of the gates in 2021 incredibly strong. Exclusive has a very strong Indy Pro 2000 program backed by numerous pole positions, podiums and race wins.
I am very much looking forward to the 2021 season and contending for the championship with Braden.”