BROWNSBURG, Ind. – DC Autosport with Cape Motorsports has announced Nicholas d’Orlando as the first of three drivers that will contest the new USF Juniors Presented by Cooper Tires series for the team.
D’Orlando, 18, joins the team following a breakout season in the 2021 FRP F16000 Championship, his first full season in race cars. The Hartsdale, N.Y., native set a new record for victories (12) and scored 19 top-five finishes, four pole positions and set 10 fastest race laps in 24 races to capture the series championship title.
Don Conner leads the DC Autosport with Cape Motorsports team, along with brothers Nicholas and Dominic Cape. Conner was lead engineer in 2017 when the Cape Motorsports team earned the US F4 Championship Powered by Honda title with Kyle Kirkwood and headed up the DCA w/Cape team in 2018, winning the title with Dakota Dickerson. The team looks forward to starting a new chapter this year.
“We’re excited to have Nicholas in our driver line up,” said Conner. “Having won the 2017 and 2018 F4 titles with these cars, we’re looking to repeat that kind of success in the inaugural USF Juniors championship.”
Before his move to race cars, d’Orlando enjoyed a successful karting career that began at the age of five. He captured numerous national championship titles, was named to the US Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals team, and scored podium finishes in the Florida Winter Tour in three successive seasons (2014-2014) and a third-place finish in the 2015 SKUSA SuperNats in the X30 Junior class. The young d’Orlando raced in Europe as a factory driver, first with CompKart USA and later with the Kart Republic team.
He and his brother Michael – who returns to the Cape Motorsports Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship team this season – are the first siblings to share the podium at a karting event, at both the 2014 FWT Cortext TaG Cadet Championship and the 2015 USF Rotax MiniMax National Championship. Nicholas captured the MiniMax title the year after Michael earned the same honor.
Now, the pair have the chance to pair up on an open-wheel team, albeit in two different racing series, though they will share a track at the USF Juniors’ season opener at Barber Motorsports Park.
“I have a connection with the Capes though my brother and met Don through them,” said d’Orlando. “We decided that the best fit would be for Michael and me to be in the same program, with people I know and that I know I work well with. But it’s not just chemistry. DC Autosport has good results, with two championships in the F4 series. I hope to go for the scholarship but realistically, I hope to finish in the top 10 and learn as much as I can.
“Last year was a good experience,” d’Orlando continued. “We had 24 races, so we had tons of track time. That was ideal for me, as it was my first experience in a car. It was a good way for up-and-coming drivers to learn so they could move up to a series like the Road to Indy. And I’m looking forward to sharing the track with Michael at Barber – it will be nice for my parents as well! But at the very least, it will be good to have us both in similar programs, like we were during our karting days. We can support each other and learn from each other, being on the same consistent page.”
The inaugural USF Juniors season will see a slate of 16 races over six event weekends, with drivers competing for a scholarship package valued at over $300,000 to help the champion advance to the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship – the first run on the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires ladder. Sanctioned by USAC, USF Juniors will utilize the popular Ligier JS chassis and HPD powerplant.