May 13, 2017 | For Immediate Release
A rundown of the action from Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Saturday, featuring three F1600 races, two F2000 races and a single Atlantic Championship race.
F1600: Cowley Three for Three
Lexington, OH – Matthew Cowley made it three wins in one day in F1600 Championship Series competition at Mid-Ohio on Saturday. Cowley becomes the first F1600 driver to win three races in one day.
In race one, he broke away from the back; while in race two and three, he emerged after battling with Zach Holden taking the checkered flag after a near race-long fight with Zach Holden.
Link: Race 1 Rundown | Video Recap
Link: Race 2 Rundown | Video Recap
Full results are available here.
##Quotes From Race 1##
Matthew Cowley, Team Pelfrey:
“I felt I took to the track, it’s a great track. It’s got a Brands Hatch feel with ups and downs, wavy and slick. It was the plan to get a good start, to try to get into the lead early. I put in a few (big) opening laps to try to get momentum going and build a gap.”
Yuven Sundaramoorthy, K-Hill Motorsports:
“At the start I managed to gain a position on Zach Holden. From there I knew if I lost a few positions it was fine because the draft is so big here. I got lucky at the end, in the right position at the right time.”
Lance Fenderson, K-Hill Motorsports:
“It was a bad qualifying yesterday. We got to the lead pack. It took me a couple of laps to get there. The leader broke away. The last couple of laps were interesting with the K-Hill drivers second, third and fourth.”
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F2000: LaRue and McCusker Split Wins
Lexington, OH – John LaRue led every lap to win the Saturday morning F2000 Championship Series race at Mid-Ohio, round three of the 2017 season. Brandon Dixon finished second while Austin McCusker drove through the field to finish third and will start on pole for race two.
A little later in the day, from pole, Austin McCusker led every lap at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to win round four of the F2000 Championship Series season. McCusker put together a last-minute deal to drive the No. 95 Mazda-powered Van Diemen, and took the win over brother John McCusker. Brandon Dixon, Robert Allaer and Steve Jenks completed the top five.
Link: Race 2 Rundown | Video Recap
Full results are available here.
##Quotes From Race 2##
Austin McCusker, Dotworks Racing:
“Going one-two is good for my brother and I. I need to thank the teams and boys. I sure hope I am back in a F2000 car soon. I also need to thank ADSA/Wright for the car and Company Motorsports for all their support.”
John McCusker, Dotworks Racing:
“We had some trouble this morning with a dead battery in the first race. I need to thank the team for fixing it and we came back for a good race – with Austin and I finishing first and second.”
Brandon Dixon (Masters Class Winner), Citation Engineering:
“I was just struggling to keep pace the second half of the race and keep the tires under the car. I was doing all I could.”
Robert Allaer (Masters Class – Second Place), LTD Motorsports:
“It’s a good day at Mid-Ohio. I need to count my blessings as the car is going home in one piece.”
Steve Jenks (Masters Class – Third Place), Tumenas Motorsports:
“I made that race more fun than it needed to be going off early in Thunder Valley. I gave up spots to Tim (Paul) and Dave (Weitzenhof) but got around them again. I needed more laps to chase down Robert.”
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Atlantic: Portante Sweeps Mid-Ohio Weekend
Lexington, OH – Peter Portante pulled off a Mid-Ohio weekend sweep in Atlantic Championship Series competition, winning Saturday afternoon’s race with a third-to-first move on the opening lap. From there, the K-Hill Motorsports pulled a gap but had to fend off a charging David Grant in the closing stages. Portante narrowly took the victory, with a margin of just over a second back to Polestar’s David Grant. Keith Grant finished third.
Full results are available here.
##QUOTES##
Peter Portante, K-Hill Motorsports:
“If I didn’t get the lead on the opening lap, I wouldn’t have a shot, David is in another world. The first lap was all we had; we have been struggling with an electrical issue that is getting worse. The guys threw everything at it they could.”
David Grant, Polestar Racing Group:
“The car was great today. We changed the setup yesterday and it came into full force today. Peter gapped us by about 10 seconds and it took a lot of the race to catch him. It was a great run.”
Keith Grant, Polestar Racing Group:
“I just didn’t have the speed today. David was a lot quicker and pulled away.”
John Burke (Masters Class Winner), Company Motorsports:
“We were struggling all weekend and cracked a head in the No. 55. Fortunately we had another car because my son wasn’t here. We got that sorted out, got in the No. 19 and had fun, it was a good race.
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All Formula Race Promotions series next head to Indianapolis, June 8-11.