The first official practice session of the USF-17 era in USF2000 took place under sunny skies along the shores of Tampa Bay, and things started off very well for Team Pelfrey. The trio in the familiar yellow and black liveries finished with all three drivers in the top four.
The first red flag flew 12 minutes into the half-hour session with the top five times being set by Robert Megennis (Team Pelfrey), Rinus Van Kalmthout (Pabst Racing), Kaylen Frederick (Team Pelfrey), Ayla Agren (Team Pelfrey) and Dakota Dickerson (Newman Wachs Racing).
After a ten-minute red flag to for wall contact from Cape Motorsports rookies Oliver Askew in Turn 9,and Ricky Donison in Turn 10, along with contact from rookies Devin Wojcik, Andre Castro, and Kaylen Frederick, the track went back to green and the buzzing sound of 20 Mazda MZR 2.0L engines filled the early evening air for one last run on the 1.8-mile, 14-Turn street course.
Some chaos in the opening @USF2000 practice. Both @CMwithWTR cars tag the wall, as did @andre_c4stro #rookies #MRTI #TeamCooperTire pic.twitter.com/aZxHotDNyC
— MRTI Insider (@MRTI_Insider) March 9, 2017
Nobody could improve on Megennis’ top lap time, and the remainder of the top five was the same as when the red flag flew.
Most drivers were able to complete seven or eight flying laps during the half-hour session.
With the addition of a second qualifying session this year, that was the only USF2000 session, and the lowest rung of the MRTI ladder is back on track bright and early for their first qualifying session at 7:55 a.m
Complete USF2000 Practice 1 timesheet:
| RANK | CAR NO. | DRIVER | BEST LAP TIME | GAP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 80 | Robert Megennis | 1:14.6726 | — |
| 2 | 21 | Rinus VeeKay | 1:15.1135 | 0.4409 |
| 3 | 81 | Kaylen Frederick | 1:16.0642 | 1.3916 |
| 4 | 82 | Ayla Agren | 1:16.3344 | 1.6618 |
| 5 | 36 | Dakota Dickerson | 1:16.4127 | 1.7401 |
| 6 | 22 | Calvin Ming | 1:16.6257 | 1.9531 |
| 7 | 20 | Chandler Horton | 1:16.6344 | 1.9618 |
| 8 | 11 | Kory Enders | 1:16.8070 | 2.1344 |
| 9 | 37 | Andre Castro | 1:16.8502 | 2.1776 |
| 10 | 7 | Devin Wojcik | 1:17.0211 | 2.3485 |
| 11 | 38 | Cameron Das | 1:17.3415 | 2.6689 |
| 12 | 23 | Lucas Kohl | 1:17.7695 | 3.0969 |
| 13 | 12 | Moises de la Vara | 1:18.3414 | 3.6688 |
| 14 | 91 | Luke Gabin | 1:18.4604 | 3.7878 |
| 15 | 2 | Ricky Donison | 1:18.4972 | 3.8246 |
| 16 | 90 | Parker Thompson | 1:18.6545 | 3.9819 |
| 17 | 3 | Oliver Askew | 1:19.3079 | 4.6353 |
| 18 | 27 | Colin Kaminsky | 1:21.7166 | 7.0440 |
| 19 | 8 | Bruna Tomaselli* | 1:22.1196 | 7.4470 |
| 20 | 92 | Dev Gore | 1:22.3706 | 7.6980 |
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