Hylton signs Yasukawa for Atlantics.
Hylton Motorsports team owner Keith Hylton has announced that he has signed Roger Yasukawa to pilot the No. 9/us print/Toyota/Swift in the 2002 CART Toyota Atlantic Series, beginning in Long Beach.
A native of Los Angeles, California, Yasukawa joins Hylton Motorsports from the CART Barber Dodge Pro Series. Yasukawa competed in 11 of 12 events in 2001, where he completed every race lap, earned his first victory in his final race in Vancouver, finished on the podium four times and earned 128 championship points, placing him an impressive fourth in the championship.
Hylton Motorsports team owner Keith Hylton has announced that he has signed Roger Yasukawa to pilot the No. 9/us print/Toyota/Swift in the 2002 CART Toyota Atlantic Series, beginning in Long Beach.
A native of Los Angeles, California, Yasukawa joins Hylton Motorsports from the CART Barber Dodge Pro Series. Yasukawa competed in 11 of 12 events in 2001, where he completed every race lap, earned his first victory in his final race in Vancouver, finished on the podium four times and earned 128 championship points, placing him an impressive fourth in the championship.
Hylton Motorsports, the defending CART Toyota Atlantic Championship team enters their fifth year of Atlantic competition. The 2002 season will mark the first time Hylton Motorsports has entered a full-time two car effort.
Keith Hylton is pleased to introduce another driver to Atlantic competition through the CART ladder system, ?It is time for Hylton to step-up to a two car team and I am pleased Roger is a part of that. He is a proven front-runner and a terrific representative for our team and our sport.? Hylton continued, "Roger and his teammate Ryan (Hunter-Reay) have some history racing against each other in the Barber Dodge Pro Series, so I am sure they will work well together and make a very strong combination."
Yasukawa began racing at the age of ten and competed in the Formula Vauxhall Jr. and Formula Palmer Audi series before earning the 1998 Skip Barber Formula Dodge West championship. In 1998, he made the jump to the Barber Dodge Pro Series and earned the Co-Rookie of the Year title. "I am very delighted to join Hylton Motorsports. Thank you to my sponsors Pacific Creative and Autobacs as they have helped me put together a very competitive effort with a terrific team. Unfortunately, we are not in Mexico competing this weekend, but we will start testing immediately and I am confident we will be well prepared for Long Beach," commented Yasukawa.
Yasukawa and his new teammate, Ryan Hunter-Reay competed against each other the past two seasons in the Barber Dodge Pro Series, and stood side-by-side on the podium in two events. "The Barber Dodge Pro Series was a very good experience for me. The series prepared me well for my move to Atlantics, where I am confident I will fight for the championship. There are quite a few drivers from the Pro Series in Atlantic this year, including my teammate, and I look forward to driving against them in the Atlantic formula," commented Yasukawa.
The Hylton Motorsports team will spend several days testing throughout the month of March in preparation for Yasukawa?s Atlantic debut on April 14th at the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach; round two of the CART Toyota Atlantic Championship.
