Auto racing: 17-year-old Evan Cooley racing up the ranks in USF 2000

SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Most 17-year-old boys making their first visit to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway end up in the Snakepit, where rock bands vie with girls in bikinis for their undivided attention.

Evan Cooley, of Frankfort, had a different destination in mind: the pit area, which leads to the race track and, for the most fortunate, the elevated podium, where the top three finishers in races are feted.

And on which Cooley, a junior at Lincoln-Way East, earned the right to stand on May 11. He finished third in the first USF 2000 race of the IndyCar road course weekend after starting the race – his first in the series – on the pole.

“It’s been awesome,” said Cooley, who jumped into a go-kart four years ago and has been progressing rapidly since, including a full-time ride this year in the USF Junior series, racing for Exclusive Autosport. “Sometimes it doesn’t feel real. It’s a dream come true already.”

Time was when a 17-year-old wasn’t even allowed in the pits, much less racing in any series at motor racing’s Valhalla, where legends have been made for over a century. Times have changed, and Cooley has taken advantage.

“For a debut weekend, it really couldn’t have gone much better,” Cooley said.

His race craft in Friday’s scrap was impressive. Shuffled back early, he stalked Evagoras Papasavvas for the better part of two laps before passing him in Turn 12, where passes are dearly bought, securing third place and the podium with two laps remaining. He also ran the race’s fastest lap.

Saturday’s race was even more promising, until the end. This time, pole-sitter Cooley held the lead most of the way, regaining it from Nico Christodoulou late in the 15-lap race. Cooley led at the white flag, but going into Turn 1, a sharp right-hander, Christodoulou pinched down on Cooley, who had all he could to do make the turn himself.

He did but collided with Christodoulou, who ended up flipping in the grass and upside-down. He was fine once the safety crew rolled the car over, but Cooley suffered at least a severe bruise to his left hand at the base of the thumb from the steering wheel spinning around when their wheels touched.

Veteran observers thought the collision was part of the natural course of the battle, occasioned by the fight for the position, but adding insult to injury, the stern stewards saw otherwise, penalizing him 30 seconds, which moved Cooley back to 15th, the last car on the lead lap, ruling he caused the contact.

“I went to the inside to defend, and as we’re going out, he turns into the corner pretty early and started squeezing me onto a curb,” Cooley said. “He gave me barely any room. I had too much speed and got into him. He came down on me. The penalty’s definitely questionable. It’s unfortunate what happened.”

Cooley didn’t let on how much his wrapped hand hurt, but his dad, Joshua Cooley, said at the time he’d be examined at Rush Memorial Hospital in Chicago once the swelling goes down, hoping there’s not a fracture.

“If it’s broken, he’s out for the season,” Joshua Cooley said. “But kids heal fast, right?”

The plan is to run at least one more USF 2000 weekend along with the full schedule in USF Junior, which features a similar open-wheel car with slightly less power. Cooley is ninth in the standings, 83 points behind leader Sebastian Wheldon, the 15-year-old son of the late Dan Wheldon, a two-time Indianapolis 500 winner.

Cooley’s racing prowess has been exciting for his friends in school to follow, he said.

“They think it’s pretty cool,” Cooley said. “I have to miss a lot of days of school, but I’m able to keep up with them and the schoolwork, keep my grades high.”

Racing runs in the family. Joshua Cooley, the chairman and CEO of ITI Intermodal in Joliet – which is sponsoring the car – ran dirt-track ovals in stock cars, but didn’t graduate to NASCAR, the top level. But the racing bug remained, he joined Autobahn Country Club on the south side of Joliet, and Evan soon jumped into a go-kart.

“Everything comes from there,” Cooley said. “I’ve definitely grown a lot from when I’ve started, I’d say a lot faster than some other people have progressed.

“And my dad, he’s like my manager. He does everything for me.”

Including writing the sponsoring checks.

“I’m more nervous when he’s in the car than I ever was myself,” Joshua Cooley said. “I only drove stock cars, so I told him he was on his own. He turns right. I can only go left. I’m extremely proud of his fast ride.”

Evan Cooley’s ultimate goal is simple: Win the IndyCar championship. Doesn’t everyone who passed his driver education class at Lincoln-Way East “with flying colors” last year think that way?