By Steve Wittich

A quick Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire note before we get to Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda testing.

According to a Belardi Auto Racing official, Chad Boat, who is scheduled to make his Indy Lights debut with the Brownsburg, Ind. based team this weekend, has not been, as of today, cleared to drive. The second generation driver took a nasty tumble during a USAC National Midget Race at Lincoln Speedway in Lincoln, Ill. on Sunday, July 2, 2017.

Boat will be reevaluated by the INDYCAR Medical staff in the morning.

 

A bakers dozen USF2000 drivers took part in a three-hour Friday afternoon test session in preparation for Sunday’s Mazda Iowa 60 presented by Cooper Tires race.

The entry list has seen one addition and one subtraction since it was first released on Wednesday. Cape Motorsports rookie Rick Donison has decided to sit out the oval round, and Ayla Agren returns to Team Pelfrey after missing the Road America rounds of the championship.

The eight oval rookies were given the first half-hour of the session to acclimatize themselves to the 0.894 mile Iowa Speedway oval.

Double Road America race winner Rinus Van Kalmthout (Rinus VeeKay) led the oval newcomers with a fastest lap of 130.856mph.

Results of the 30 minute rookie USF2000 session

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM FAST LAP LAPS TURNED
1 21 Rinus VeeKay Pabst Racing 130.856 42
2 81 Kaylen Frederick Team Pelfrey 129.390 34
3 22 Calvin Ming Pabst Racing 128.706 50
4 7 Devin Wojcik ArmsUp Motorsports 128.366 32
5 3 Oliver Askew Cape Motorsports 127.652 19
6 11 Kory Enders DEForce Racing 126.050 28
7 92 Dev Gore Exclusive Autosport 124.834 44
8 12 Moises de la Vara DEForce Racing 121.809 22

Half-an-hour after the remainder of the field took to the “Bullring,” Lucas Kohl made contact with the Turn 4 SAFER Barrier. Kohl was uninjured, but his car was not quite so lucky. The No. 23 Pabst Racing Mazda/Tatuus suffered damage to the rear wing, and the left rear corner of the car.

Rinus VeeKay, Alex Baron, and Calvin Ming all held the top spot on the time-sheet in the final half-hour of the session, but it was Ming who ended up with the quickest lap of the day. The driver from Guyana had a fastest lap of 132.399mph.

Results of the full USF2000 test session

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM QUICK LAP LAPS TURNED
1 22 Calvin Ming Pabst Racing 132.399 222
2 4 Alex Baron ArmsUp Motorsports 132.395 136
3 21 Rinus VeeKay Pabst Racing 132.383 186
4 3 Oliver Askew Cape Motorsports 131.950 145
5 7 Devin Wojcik ArmsUp Motorsports 131.695 179
6 82 Ayla Agren Team Pelfrey 131.198 150
7 23 Lucas Kohl Pabst Racing 130.950 51
8 80 Robert Megennis Team Pelfrey 130.799 127
9 81 Kaylen Frederick Team Pelfrey 130.078 168
10 90 Parker Thompson Exclusive Autosport 129.416 145
11 12 Moises de la Vara DEForce Racing 127.924 153
12 92 Dev Gore Exclusive Autosport 126.487 163
13 11 Kory Enders DEForce Racing 126.050 151

The drivers are back on track for their lone official practice session at 4:30pm on Saturday afternoon.

You can read our extensive USF2000 preview here —> USF2000 at Iowa Speedway – 2017 race preview – Championship chase takes a left turn on the way to Iowa