As a New Year dawns on the karting community, a new season starts next week with the annual and prestigious running for the Formula Kart Productions Florida Winter Tour (FWT). With the first event taking place at the Palm Beach International Raceway (PBIR) in Jupiter, Florida, DeFrancesco Racing (DFR) will enter a duo of drivers over the two race weekends across a host of different classes. While the familiar face of Devlin DeFrancesco will again be seen at the FWT, fellow teams and drivers will also see NASCAR Camping World Truck Series driver and four-time race winner, Nelson Piquet Jr., join them.
“It is a pleasure to welcome Nelson into the program,” expressed DFR Team Manager Nick Mitchell. “He will be a force on track and while under the tent, he will be a role model who Devlin can look up to. He has won races in three of NASCAR’s sanctioned programs including the Camping World Truck Series, Nationwide and the K&N Pro Series East.”
The first weekend of action will see Devlin compete in the TaG Junior division as he enters the series as one of the top rookies in the class. Graduation from the Vortex TaG Cadet class, DeFrancesco has already competed in one event aboard the bigger and faster kart fairing very well at the 2012 edition of the SuperKarts! USA (SKUSA) SuperNationals. Now back at the familiar Florida venue, DeFrancesco will look to start his 2013 campaign off right with a race win over the January 11-13 weekend.
With back-to-back weekends of action, Devlin will enter the Rotax Junior ranks January 18-20 at the same circuit. With a talent-laden field set to see action, DeFrancesco will look to turn his European experience from 2012 into speed around the fast PBIR facility. Slated to compete both weekends aboard a Supertune USA powered CRG, DeFrancesco will be a driver to watch come the main event.
Joining DFR for the opening round of Rotax competition will be NASCAR regular Nelson Piquet Jr. Always wanting to return to his roots, Piquet will see action in the Rotax Senior division aboard a Tony Kart. The recent NASCAR Camping World Series race winner and Delavaco supported driver is excited and ready to jump back in the seat of a competitive racing kart.
Running against him at the annual Granja Viana 500, DFR made the deal to have him at the Florida Winter Tour in 2013. Finishing second out of sixty teams in the prestigious event, the only Brazilian driver to ever win NASCAR events in the series national divisions, proved that he still has the natural talent to hustle a competitive kart around the track.
“We are welcoming Nelson with open arms,” expressed Team Owner Andy DeFrancesco. “It is great to have him support karting and the Florida Winter Tour.”
Mitchell continued, “The Florida Winter Tour has gained popularity around the world and the competition is second to none. To challenge for race wins and podium results in this series is something to be proud of. I am confident that both the drivers in the DFR program will the opportunity to run at the front of the field and with a little racing luck, we will be able to add to our team win total.”
Scheduled to be on track January 10th, the DFR crew will begin with unofficial testing leading up to wheel-to-wheel action over the two separate weekends. With official practice taking place Saturday morning, friends, families, sponsors and supporters can follow all the real-time action by visiting www.FloridaWinter.Tour.com/Live.
For more information on Devlin and Lachlan DeFrancesco’s supporters, please visit them online at www.BRM-Manufacture.com, www.Yogurtys.com, www.YogenFruz.com, www.SunnyBrook.ca, www.XYZLive.net,www.Delavaco.com and www.Alpinestars.com or follow them on Twitter at @Alpinestars, @MyWatchIs_BRM, @Yogurtys, @YogenFruz @SunnybrookHSC, @Delavaco and @Alpinestars.
For more information on DeFrancesco Racing, please contact Andy DeFrancesco via e-mail to Info@DFRUSA.com or visit them online at www.DFRUSA.com. For more information on Devlin DeFrancesco, please visit him online atwww.DevlinDeFrancesco.com. For more information on Nelson Piquet Jr, www.npiquet.com. For real time updates from DFR Racing and Devlin DeFrancesco live trackside, please follow them on Twitter at @DFR_USA, @DevlinD00, @LachlanD03 and @NelsonPiquet.
