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Exclusive Autosport enters Pro Mazda with Red Deer’s Parker Thompson

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SASKATOON, SK (February 2, 2018) ā€“ The impressive pairing of Exclusive Autosport and Parker Thompson has delivered much success over the past three years, locking wins in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, the F1600 Super Series, the Toyo Tires F1600 Championship in Ontario and the Formula Tour 1600 series in Quebec.Ā  Thompson drove to major home country wins for Exclusive Autosport in both Montreal and Toronto in 2017, and this year, he will aim to extend this streak into the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. Exclusive Autosport has signed the 19-year-old Canadian to lead their rookie charge into the series, which is the second rung of the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires.Ā  Exclusive Autosport debuted in the USF2000 series in 2017 and promptly won three races enroute to third in the Driversā€™ Championship.Ā  With teams in F1600 and USF2000, Pro Mazda is the logical progression in their expansion and development and Thompson represents the first of two driver announcements for this level of their program.

ā€œWe are thrilled to welcome Parker back to the Exclusive Autosport program for 2018,ā€ commented Michael Duncalfe, Team Principal. ā€œI couldn’t think of a better driver to make our debut in Pro Mazda Championship with. He is an incredibly well rounded athlete and a fan favourite. I have said it before, Parker’s work ethic on and off the track is second to none.”

Whether it’s training at the gym, working on his marketing campaign or continuing his development as a driver, he invests so much of himself into his racing program/career. Although we feel we have some unfinished business (coming up short in the USF2000 driver championship in 2017), we made huge strides last year and it is such a positive that we get to build on that success and momentum from 2017. With the addition of Tim Lewis (as our lead engineer on the PM program), we have added more depth to the Exclusive Autosport Pro Mazda operation. I am confident that we will see Exclusive Autosport and Parker Thompson back in the winner circle in 2018.”

Exclusive Autosport made their USF2000 debut in 2017 after many successful seasons in both Canadian and American F1600 series, and they notched their first wins last July, sweeping the street race weekend in Toronto. Thompson provided their third win of the season at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course just two weeks later enroute to third in the overall championship standings. He also led the squad to fourth in the USF2000 Team Championship, the highest finishing rookie team.Ā  Thompson also ran with the operationā€™s Formula 1600 program last year, winning the F1600 Super Series on the strength of seven wins in 11 races, which included victories during the F1 Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal and at the famed Canadian Tire Motorsports Park (aka Mosport) in Bowmanville, Ontario.

Earlier in January, Duncalfe announced his hiring of veteran race engineer Tim Lewis to manage the engineering staff of the Exclusive Autosport Pro Mazda effort.Ā  Testing has gone extremely well with Lewis and Thompson having already developed a very strong working relationship.Ā  The team is planning to run a pair of cars in the Pro Mazda Championship and hopes to be able to announce its second driver by the end of February.

ā€œI am extremely proud to have the opportunity to continue working with Michael Duncalfe and the Exclusive Autosport family,ā€ Thompson enthused.

ā€œWe have all enjoyed some immense success together over the last few years, and I look forward to bringing our momentum from 2017 into the 2018 Pro Mazda Championship. It’s an honor to lead EA’s charge into the Pro Mazda category, and I can’t wait to pick up where we left off last year in USF2000. It’s not often when a driver has the opportunity to work with the same group of guys in back-to-back years, and I want to capitalize on this relationship. Getting to work with a veteran engineer like Tim Lewis and crew chief Jay Green developing this new Pro Mazda is going to be game changer. Anything but a championship this year will not be acceptable. Thank you to all of my partners, and Exclusive Autosport for making this all possible and believing in my abilities. I look forward to proving that they made a good decision in 2018.”

Thompson is pleased to have Badlands Motorsports Resort joining his group of marketing partners for 2018; a list that includes valued associates like Wheelhouse Media, Openhwy, TriQuest NDT, Todayville, Sparco, and Bell Helmets.

ā€œWhen not behind the wheel, Parker is an active member our community, and a strong advocate for responsible road driving habits, crusading across Canada with his teen focused program ā€˜Drive to Stay Aliveā€™,ā€ commented Jay Zelazo, the CEO of Badlands Motorsport Resort. ā€œDriving for the Saskatoon-based Exclusive Autosport team, Parker epitomizes the spirit of Canadian Prairies, and demonstrates many of the values held in high regard by Badlands Motorsports Resort. We are excited to continue our relationship with this up-and-coming Canadian race car driver as the development of our world-class motorsports facility and tourism resort progresses.ā€

With the opening round of the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires just over six weeks away, at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Florida on March 9-11, pre-season testing will continue.Ā  In addition to their pair of Pro Mazda cars, Exclusive Autosport is also planning to run at least three cars in the USF2000 program this year, and will announce their first driver next week.

About Exclusive Autosport:

Exclusive Autosport (EA) is a professional racing team dedicated to the success of its drivers in open wheel formula car competition in North America.Ā  EA operate teams in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda and Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires in the United States and the Formula Tour 1600 series in Canada.Ā  Exclusiveā€™s drivers have secured numerous race wins, podium finishes and pole positions, as well as Rookie of the Year championships, a Team USA Scholarship and nominations for Team Canada F1600. Exclusiveā€™s drivers are on the podium in over 80% of the races they enter.Ā  Exclusive Management Inc., the teamā€™s parent company, has enjoyed great success in both open wheel and sports car racing and has worked with standout drivers like Thomas McGregor, Jack Mitchell Jr., Shelby Blackstock, Gregory Liefooghe, Jayson Clunie, David Levine and Trenton Estep.Ā  EM Inc. drivers are highly sought after in the motorsports industry.

Todayville is proud to sponsor Parker Thompson Racing.

 

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Media

Top Five Huge Stories the Media Buried This Week

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#5 – CNN panel lectures America on military ā€œaccountabilityā€ā€¦ and then melts down when Scott Jennings points out that no one was held accountable for the disaster in Afghanistan or Bidenā€™s open border.

NEERA TANDEN:Ā ā€œThe military requires accountability. Itā€™s the most accountable organization. You are supposed to be accountable to higher-ups. Politics isnā€™t supposed to have to do with any of this, and the fact that thatā€™s happening, that theyā€™re just basically saying nothing to do here, is a big problem, I think, for those who believe in accountability.ā€

@ScottJenningsKY:Ā ā€œI think Republicans arenā€™t interested in any lectures on accountability in the military after the Biden administration. I mean, the bar for getting rid of a Secretary of Defense is apparently pretty high. You can get 13 people killed and go AWOL and not tell the commander in chief, and thatā€™s not a fireable offense.ā€

ā€œBut these lectures about accountability and national security after letting 10 million people into the country who raped and murdered and committed violent acts and no remorse or accountability.ā€

NEERA TANDEN:Ā ā€œWhat are you talking about? They closed the border.ā€

#4 – Bill Gates says we wonā€™t need humans ā€œfor most things.ā€

During an appearance onĀ The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon asked Gates a pretty direct question: ā€œWill we still need humans?ā€

Gates responded, ā€œNot for most things. Weā€™ll decide ā€¦ There will be some things that we reserve for ourselves, but in terms of making things and moving things and growing food, over time those will be basically solved problems.ā€

VIDEO:Ā @TheChiefNerd

#3 – Rep. Jim Jordan hammers NPR CEO Katherine Maher for three straight minutes over political bias, the Hunter Biden laptop cover-up, and NPRā€™s 87-to-0 Democrat staff ratio.

REP JORDAN:Ā “Is NPR biased?”

MAHER:Ā “I have never seen any political bias.”

JORDAN:Ā “In the DC area, editorial positions at NPR have 87 registered Democrats and 0 Republicans.”

MAHER:Ā “We do not track the voter registration, but I find that concerning.”

JORDAN:Ā “87-0 and you’re not biased?”

MAHER:Ā “I think that is concerning if those numbers are accurate.”

JORDAN:Ā “October 2020, the NYPost had the Hunter Biden laptop story, and one of those 87 Democrat editors said, ‘We don’t want to waste our readers and listeners’ time on stories that are just pure distractions.’ Was that story a pure distraction?”

Video + Transcript viaĀ @Kanekoathegreat

While youā€™re here, donā€™t forget to subscribe to this page for more weekly news roundups.

#2 – Utah becomes the first state to officially BAN fluoride in all public drinking water.

For decades, fluoride was accepted as a safe way to prevent tooth decay. Few questioned it.

But last year, in a dramatic legal twist, a federal judge ruled that fluoride may actually lower childrenā€™s IQā€”and cited evidence that could upend everything we thought we knew.

That ruling sent shockwaves through the public health world.

Judge Edward Chen pointed to scientific studies showing a ā€œhigh level of certaintyā€ that fluoride exposure ā€œposes a riskā€ to developing brains.

He ordered the EPA to reexamine its safety standards, warning that the margin for safety may be far too narrow.

At the center of the case: dozens of peer-reviewed studies linking everyday fluoride exposureā€”even at levels found in U.S. tap waterā€”to reduced intellectual capacity in children.

It wasnā€™t just one paper. The National Toxicology Program, a branch of the U.S. government, also concluded that higher fluoride levels were ā€œconsistently associatedā€ with lower IQ in kids.

They flagged 1.5 mg/L as a risk threshold. Some communities hover right near it.

In response to the growing evidence, Utah passed HB 81, banning all fluoride additives in public water.

The law takes effect May 7. It doesnā€™t ban fluoride completely. Anyone who wants it can still get itā€”like any other prescription.

And thatā€™s the point: Utahā€™s lawmakers say this is about informed consent and personal choice.

This issue is no longer on the fringe. Across the country, cities and towns are quietly rethinking water fluoridationā€”and some have already pulled out. Utah is the first state to take bold action. It may not be the last.

The conversation surrounding fluoride has shifted from ā€œIs it helpful?ā€ to ā€œIs it safe?ā€ And for the first time in nearly a century, that question is being taken seriously.

VIDEO:Ā @TheChiefNerd

#1 – RFK Jr. Drops Stunning Vaccine Announcement

Kennedy revealed that the CDC is creating aĀ new sub-agency focused entirely on vaccine injuriesā€”a long-overdue shift for patients whoā€™ve spent years searching for answers without any support from the government.

ā€œWeā€™re incorporating an agency within CDC that is going to specialize in vaccine injuries,ā€ Kennedy announced.

ā€œThese are priorities for the American people. More and more people are suffering from these injuries, and we are committed to having gold-standard science make sure that we can figure out what the treatments are and that we can deliver the best treatments possible to the American people.ā€

For years, the vaccine-injured have felt ignored or dismissed, as public health agencies refused to even acknowledge the problem. Now, thereā€™s finally an initiative underway to investigate their injuries and to provide support.

Thanks for reading! This weekly roundup takes time and care to put togetherā€”and I do my best to make it your go-to source for the stories that matter most but rarely get the attention they deserve.

If you like my work and want to support me and my family and help keep this page alive, the most powerful thing you can do is sign up for theĀ email listĀ andĀ become a paid subscriber.

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International

ā€˜Lot Of Nonsenseā€™: Kari Lake Announces Voice Of America Is Dumping Legacy Outlets

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From theĀ Daily Caller News Foundation

By Hailey Gomez

Special Adviser for the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) Kari Lake announced Friday that Voice of America (VOA) will terminate its contracts with The Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse.

VOA, an international broadcasting state media network, is funded by USAGM, with former President Joe BidenĀ requestingĀ in March 2024 a budget increase for the 2025 fiscal year to further support the radio network. In an XĀ postĀ on Friday, Lake announced USAGM will end its ā€œexpensive and unnecessary newswireĀ contracts,ā€ adding that some of the major agreements included ā€œtens-of-millions of dollars in contractsā€ with AP News, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.

ā€œUSAGM is an American taxpayer funded News Organization with an 83-year history. We should not be paying outside news companies to tell us what the news isā€”with nearly a billion-dollar budget, we should be producing news ourselves,ā€ Lake wrote. ā€œAnd if thatā€™s not possible, the American taxpayer should demand to know why.ā€

During a meeting withĀ VOAĀ staffers Friday, employees were reportedly told to ā€œstop using wire service material for their reports,ā€Ā accordingĀ to Newsmax. Notably, audio, video, and text reports have often been used to supplement coverage from locations where reporters are not present, the outlet reported.

In an interview with Newsmax prior to the official contract cuts, Lake discussed how the agency was finding ā€œa lot of nonsense that the American taxpayer shouldnā€™t be paying for.ā€

ā€œToday, I started the process of terminating the agencyā€™s contracts with the Associated Press, Reuters, & the Agence France-Presse. This will save taxpayers about 53 million dollars. The purpose of our agency is to tell the American story. We donā€™t need to outsource that responsibility to anyone else,ā€ LakeĀ wroteĀ in an X post regarding the interview.

Disputes between The AP and the White House began in February after the corporate media outlet was revokedĀ press accessĀ for refusing to call the Gulf of America by its new name. The AP filed a lawsuit on Feb. 21Ā againstĀ White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich for injunctive relief.

Lake wasĀ swornĀ in as USAGMā€™s special adviser on March 3, saying sheā€™s ā€œlooking forwardā€ to serving America and ā€œstreamliningā€ the agency. The cuts from the agency follow President Donald Trumpā€™s push for his second administration to review the governmentā€™s wasteful spending.

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