#92: Billy Frazer, Exclusive Autosport, Corpay Cross-Border Solutions. Photo courtesy Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy

By Tony DiZinno

The Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship will hit the halfway point of its 2022 season with Rounds 9 and 10 this weekend at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis. The Cooper Tires Grand Prix of Road America powered by Elite Engines caps off a stretch of eight USF2000 races since April 29, after the season-opener in St. Petersburg was back in February.

Cape Motorsports’ Michael d’Orlando seized momentum of the championship lead with a win on the oval at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park two weeks ago, and with points and a half for that race, he’s now 17 points clear of Myles Rowe coming into this weekend (177-160). 

Rowe will be hoping for momentum for Oconomowoc, Wis.-based Pabst Racing at its home venue; recent wins from the team at this track have come in 2019 with Hunter McElrea and in 2017 with Rinus VeeKay. The VeeKay one was a weekend sweep. 

Jace Denmark (Pabst, test 1, 2:11.1855) and series debutante Nikita Johnson (Velocity Racing Development, test 2, 2:11.0399) led Thursday’s pair of test sessions but neither topped the timesheets in Friday’s lone official practice session before qualifying.

Those honors went to Billy Frazer of Exclusive Autosport, posting a best time of 2:11.2917 in his No. 92 Tatuus. With Thomas Nepveu (DEForce Racing), Myles Rowe (Pabst) and Michael d’Orlando (Cape) in tow, that meant there were four different teams in the top-four positions. Nepveu won Race 2 here last year for Cape; DEForce won Race 1 last year with series champion Kiko Porto. 

Thursday pacesetters Denmark and Johnson were fifth and 12th, respectively. Behind Denmark, Bijoy Garg, Christian Weir, Jackson Lee, Jagger Jones and Dylan Christie completed the top 10. Lee is due a bit of luck this weekend and beating teammate Jones in opening practice is a good sign of his potential. 

Johnson, 14, isn’t the only driver making his series debut this weekend. D’Orlando’s brother Nicholas makes his debut in another VRD car, while Evagoras Papasavvas is in one of the Jay Howard Driver Development cars. The field is at 23 cars this weekend, but Johnson’s presence in VRD’s No. 17 car means Englishman Alex Quinn isn’t back to win more races after sweeping the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course tripleheader last month. 

USF2000 qualifying takes place from 10:30 to 11 a.m. CDT and local time. 

USF2000 Cooper Tires GP of Road America – Practice

P No Name Team FTime Diff Laps
1 92 Billy Frazer Exclusive Autosport 2:11.2917 2:11.2917 11
2 10 Thomas Nepveu DEForce Racing 2:11.5806 0.2889 10
3 22 Myles Rowe Pabst Racing 2:11.6204 0.3287 13
4 4 Michael d’Orlando Cape Motorsports 2:11.7804 0.4887 11
5 23 Jace Denmark Pabst Racing 2:11.8400 0.5483 10
6 12 Bijoy Garg DEForce Racing 2:11.9506 0.6589 11
7 32 Christian Weir Turn 3 Motorsport 2:11.9820 0.6903 11
8 2 Jackson Lee Cape Motorsports 2:12.0294 0.7377 8
9 3 Jagger Jones Cape Motorsports 2:12.0407 0.7490 9
10 11 Dylan Christie DEForce Racing 2:12.0419 0.7502 11
11 61 Nicholas d’Orlando VRD Racing 2:12.0783 0.7866 11
12 17 Nikita Johnson VRD Racing 2:12.1488 0.8571 8
13 30 Viktor Andersson VRD Racing 2:12.1698 0.8781 10
14 91 Joey Brienza Exclusive Autosport 2:12.3211 1.0294 11
15 9 Jorge Garciarce Jay Howard Driver Development 2:12.3224 1.0307 13
16 33 Spike Kohlbecker Turn 3 Motorsport w/Ignite Autosport 2:12.5337 1.2420 11
17 8 Danny Dyszelski Jay Howard Driver Development 2:12.6462 1.3545 12
18 90 Jacob Douglas Exclusive Autosport 2:12.6701 1.3784 12
19 63 Trey Burke Joe Dooling Autosports 2:12.8253 1.5336 8
20 6 Evagoras Papasavvas Jay Howard Driver Development 2:12.9655 1.6738 10
21 5 Nicky Hays Cape Motorsports 2:13:0965 1.8048 9