SBRS: Landon Yee scores big at Putnam Park

Landon Yee Scores Big and Moves to Fourth in Championship

Putnam Park, IN. The Formula Dodge National Championship presented by RACER, or more appropriately International Championship, visited Putnam Park Road Course a popular test track among race teams. With representative drivers from Brazil, Canada, Japan, Peru, United States, and Venezuela, this series has proven to be one of the ultimate training grounds for junior formula drivers.

American driver Landon Yee faired well this weekend with a pair of fifth place starting positions and two excellent races that saw him score thirty points out of a possible forty-two. Saturday saw Yee maintain his position at the start and move into third before the halfway point. He then applied pressure to second place and forced an error that allowed him to slip into second place and hunt down the leader. With five laps to go, a full course yellow was thrown and at the restart, the leader got a good jump and was able to pull out a sizeable lead. Yee did everything he could to try and close the gap but was unable to and finished a strong second.

"Starting from the fifth position made me realize that I would have my work cut out for me but as the race wore on, I knew that I had the speed to run with the leaders as long as I could catch up to them," said an enthused Yee. "Once I did, I was able to move into second place and I had my sights set on the leader. At the restart, he got a good jump and I was unable to make a move but still finished second and scored points."

Yee started from the fifth position for Sunday's race and once again maintained his position at the start. Yee stalked the fourth place driver and eventually was able to pass both third and fourth when they got together in turn one. With more than half the race left to go, Yee began to reel in the leaders but simply ran out of time and had to settle for a third place finish.

"After a great run on Saturday, I felt confident that I would receive a good result today," Yee continued. "I am still seeking my first career victory in the National Championship Series but a second and a third place finish were exactly what I needed to stay in the hunt for the championship."

With a two-month break until the next race, Yee will jump back into his go-kart and pound the pavement in hopes of a victory at the Rotax Max race in Las Vegas. The top five finishers will receive a fully paid trip to Malaysia in early 2002 for the Rotax Max World Finals where Yee hopes to test his skills against drivers from around the world. Photos and information on Landon Yee can be found at www.landonyee.com. For more information on the series you can visit their website at www.formuladodge.com.

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