Parker Thompson, who has finished in the top three of the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires championship the past two seasons, led both sessions of testing for the middle rung of the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires ladder. The DEForce Racing veteran was the only driver to break the 79-second barrier, turning in the quickest lap of 78.984 seconds.

Parker Thompson on track in his No. 9 DEForce Racing PM-18 during Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires spring training at Homestead-Miami Speedway (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

Thompson led a pair of Juncos Racing veterans in Artem Petrov and Sting Ray Robb, who along with Toby Sowery (Turn 3 Motorsport) and Manuel Sulaiman (DEForce Racing) rounded out the top five on the combined timesheet. That group was covered by less than half-a-second.

The top nine drivers were all within one second of Thompson at the top of the timesheet.

Juncos Racing rookie Nate Aranda was the busiest driver, completing 51 laps of the 2.21-mile, 14-turn Homestead-Miami Speedway roval.

Session #1

A pair of veterans led the way during the first official Indy Pro 2000 test session of the 2020 season. Parker Thompson’s lap of 79.658 seconds in the DEForce Racing/Tundra Process Solutions/Nossack Food Group sponsored No.9 DEForce Racing PM-18, was only five-hundredths of a second quicker than Juncos Racing’s Sting Ray Robb.

Thompson was joined in the top five by his teammate Manuel Sulaiman, who had the third quickest time. Robb’s teammate, Artem Petrov, turned in the fourth-fastest lap in the 60-minute session.

Reigning USF2000 champion Braden Eves (Exclusive Autosport) rounded out the top five despite only turning five laps due to an issue with his 2.0L power plant.

Juncos Racing rookie Nate Aranda was the busiest driver, turning 27 laps of the 2.21-mile, 14-turn Homestead-Miami Speedway roval. The 15 drivers were able to complete a total of 315 circuits.

Session #2

Once again, it was veteran Thompson that led the way during the second and final Indy Pro 2000 session of the day. The Canadian only turned 11-laps, with his quickest lap clocking in at almost two-tenths ahead of Juncos Racing sophomore Artem Petrov. Only one-hundredth of a second behind the Russian driver was his teammate Robb.

Rounding out the top five were Toby Sowery, who is helping Turn 3 Motorsports sort out a second car, and Thompson’s DEForce Racing teammate and rookie Sulaiman.

Unfortunately, Eves was not able to get back on track after having an issue with his power plant in the first session. The top nine drivers were covered by one second.

The Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires Championship series is back on track tomorrow (Sunday) for a trio of 45-minute sessions.

Sting Ray Robb wheels the No. 2 Juncos Racing PM-18 around the Homestead-Miami Speedway roval during Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires spring training (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires Championship testing – combined timesheet.

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM QUICK LAP BACK TOTAL LAPS
1 9 Parker Thompson DEForce Racing 1:18.984 –.—- 32
2 42 Artem Petrov Juncos Racing 1:19.170 0.1864 39
3 2 Sting Ray Robb Juncos Racing 1:19.177 0.1932 38
4 30 Toby Sowery Turn 3 Motorsport 1:19.216 0.2320 42
5 8 Manuel Sulaiman DEForce Racing 1:19.475 0.4910 31
6 5 Phillippe Denes RP Motorsport USA 1:19.760 0.7759 38
7 18 Hunter McElrea Pabst Racing 1:19.861 0.8772 42
8 19 Colin Kaminsky Pabst Racing 1:20.004 1.0196 41
9 4 Lucas Peterson RP Motorsport USA 1:20.021 1.0368 43
10 1 Braden Eves Exclusive Autosport 1:20.132 1.1483 5
11 6 Moises de la Vara DEForce Racing 1:20.673 1.6892 33
12 37 Sabre Cook Team Benik 1:20.683 1.6991 14
13 69 Nate Aranda Juncos Racing 1:20.796 1.8117 51
14 3 Antoine Comeau Turn 3 Motorsport 1:20.916 1.9322 42
15 7 Kory Enders DEForce Racing 1:20.949 1.9648 18
16 83 Charles Finelli FatBoy Racing 1:24.100 5.1157 44