Christian Rasmussen and the JHDD, CSU | One Cure/Lucas Oil sponsored No. 1 will start from the pole for Cooper Tires Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix Of Mid-Ohio Race #1 Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy
By Steve Wittich
Indy Pro 2000 championship leader Christian Rasmussen, for the second time this season and the 11th time in his Road To Indy career, will start a race from the pole.
The green flag for Cooper Tires Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix Of Mid-Ohio qualifying for Race #1 got underway at 1:45 pm. The ambient temperature was 67F, and the track temperature was 94F.
The sun was out, but the clouds were threatening once again, and the camera in The Keyhole showed a few drops of rain.
After a dozen drivers had completed a pair of laps, championship leader Rasmussen held the provisional pole with a lap time of 79.7496 seconds.
Also holding the provisional pole in the first half of the 20-minute session, Jack William Miller (Miller Vinatieri Motorsports) and James Roe (Turn 3 Motorsport).
At the session’s halfway point, much of the field was in pit road for a second set of Cooper Tire slicks.
Rasmussen, with a lap timed at 78.2323 seconds, held the provisional pole. Miller, Roe, McElrea, and Petrov.
The first driver to get his tires up to temperature, Gold was looking for his fifth pole of the season.
With five minutes remaining in qualifying, McElrea went to the provisional pole but was quickly supplanted by Eves at the top of the timing screens.
With 90 seconds remaining, Rasmussen went a half-second quicker than Eves, jumping to the provisional pole.
Cooper Tires Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix Of Mid-Ohio Race #1 qualifying results
| RANK | CAR NO. | DRIVER | TEAM | QUICK LAP | DIFF. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Christian Rasmussen | Jay Howard Driver Development | 1:17.5084 | —— |
| 2 | 42 | Artem Petrov | Exclusive Autosport | 1:17.9272 | 0.4188 |
| 3 | 18 | Hunter McElrea | Pabst Racing | 1:17.9937 | 0.4853 |
| 4 | 51 | Jacob Abel | Abel Motorsports | 1:18.0186 | 0.5102 |
| 5 | 91 | Braden Eves | Exclusive Autosport | 1:18.0277 | 0.5193 |
| 6 | 22 | Manuel Sulaiman | Juncos Racing | 1:18.1034 | 0.5950 |
| 7 | 55 | Reece Gold | Juncos Racing | 1:18.1882 | 0.6798 |
| 8 | 21 | Kyffin Simpson | Juncos Racing | 1:18.2003 | 0.6919 |
| 9 | 40 | Jack William Miller | Miller Vinatieri Motorsports | 1:18.3192 | 0.8108 |
| 10 | 5 | Wyatt Brichacek | Jay Howard Driver Development | 1:18.3322 | 0.8238 |
| 11 | 3 | James Roe | Turn 3 Motorsport | 1:18.3787 | 0.8703 |
| 12 | 11 | Hunter Yeany | Velocity Racing Development | 1:18.5521 | 1.0437 |
The series is the Saturday morning dew-sweepers, with their second qualifying session getting underway at 8:20 am. The first of two races get underway at 10:50 am.