Over the next week and a couple of days, a 2.258-mile, 13-Turn road course will help determine the favorites to win the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship title and generous advancement scholarship that goes with it.

The lowest rung on the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires is set to contest their 55th, 56th, 57th, 58th, 59th, and 60th series races at the Lexington, Ohio road course between now and August 9th.

The 180 points on offer in the six races equate to a little more than a third of the points on offer for the entire season.

There is an excellent chance that the season-long champion will win one of the six races. Last year’s champion Braden Eves was only the fourth eventual champion that did not win a race in the 21 previous seasons that USF2000 has competed at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Previous Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship race winners at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

YEAR DRIVER TEAM STARTING SPOT
2019 Race #2 Hunter McElrea Pabst Racing 1
2019 Race #1 Christian Rasmussen Jay Howard Driver Development 2
2018 Race #3 Kyle Kirkwood Cape Motorsports 2
2018 Race #2 Kyle Kirkwood Cape Motorsports 2
2018 Race #1 Kyle Kirkwood Cape Motorsports 1
2017 Race #2 Parker Thompson Exclusive Autosport 1
2017 Race #1 Oliver Askew Cape Motorsports 1
2016 Race #3 Anthony Martin Cape Motorsports 1
2016 Race #2 Anthony Martin Cape Motorsports 1
2016 Race #1 Anthony Martin Cape Motorsports 1
2015 Race #3 Nico Jamin Cape Motorsports 1
2015 Race #2 Nico Jamin Cape Motorsports 1
2015 Race #1 Nico Jamin Cape Motorsports 1
2014 Race #3 Florian Latorre Cape Motorsports 1
2014 Race #2 Jake Eidson Cape Motorsports 6
2014 Race #1 RC Enerson Team E Racing 2
2013 Race #3 Garett Grist Andretti Autosport 1
2013 Race #2 Neil Alberico Cape Motorsports 1
2013 Race #1 Neil Alberico Cape Motorsports 1
2012 Race #2 Scott Anderson Belardi Auto Racing 1
2012 Race #1 Spencer Pigot Cape Motorsports 1
2011 Race #2 Petri Suvanto Cape Motorsports 1
2011 Race #1 Petri Suvanto Cape Motorsports 1
2006 Race #4 JR Hildebrand Cape Motorsports 2
2006 Race #3 JR Hildebrand Cape Motorsports 1
2006 Race #2 JR Hildebrand Cape Motorsports 1
2006 Race #1 JR Hildebrand Cape Motorsports 1
2005 Race #4 Jay Howard Aiken Racing 2
2005 Race #3 Joey Foster Cape Motorsports 1
2005 Race #2 Jay Howard Aiken Racing 2
2005 Race #1 Jay Howard Aiken Racing 1
2004 Race #4 Adam Pecorari Andersen Walko Racing 1
2004 Race #3 Adam Pecorari Andersen Walko Racing 1
2004 Race #2 Adam Pecorari Andersen Walko Racing 5
2004 Race #1 Andre Prendeville Andersen Walko Racing 2
2003 Race #4 Jonathan Bomarito PR1 Motorsports 2
2003 Race #3 Jonathan Bomarito PR1 Motorsports 1
2003 Race #2 Westley Barber Cape Motorsports 1
2003 Race #1 Tonis Kasemets Pabst Racing 2
2002 Race #3 Ross Fonferko Cape Motorsports 5
2002 Race #2 Bryan Sellers Cape Motorsports 1
2002 Race #1 Tonis Kasemets Pabst Racing 3
2001 Race #3 Jason LaPoint Richard Morgan Racing 1
2001 Race #2 Doug Bell Cape Motorsports 2
2001 Race #1 Tonis Kasemets Tonis Kasemets 1
1999 Race #2 Jeff Wright Cape Motorsports 4
1999 Race #1 Dan Wheldon Primus Racing 2
1998 Race #2 David Besnard Primus Racing 1
1998 Race #1 David Besnard Primus Racing 1
1997 Zak Morioka Hayes Motorsports 1
1996 Steve Knapp Miller Miling/Elite Engines 1
1995 Race #2 Jeret Schroeder 2
1995 Race #1 Memo Gidley Cape Motorsports 2
1993 Chris Simmons SOTARE Racing 2

TSO Ladder Five

1) Can anybody stop the dominant Dane?

Christian Rasmussen, a Jay Howard Driver Development sophomore, started the 2020 USF2000 season with a perfect weekend at Road America. The 20-year-old scored the maximum 66 points, starting on pole, leading all the available laps, and setting the fastest lap in each race.

That performance leaves Rasmussen with a 19 point championship lead as the series heads to the 2.258-Mile, 13-Turn Mid-Ohio Road Course for six straight races.

2020 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship points table

RANK DRIVER TOTAL BACK
1 Christian Rasmussen 66
2 Josh Green – R 47 -19
3 Michael d’Orlando 42 -24
4 Eduardo Barrichello 39 -27
5 Matthew Round-Garrido 38 -28
6 Cameron Shields 29 -37
7 Christian Bogle 27 -39
8 Yuven Sundaramoorthy 25 -41
9 Prescott Campbell – R 20 -46
10 Kyle Dupell 18 -48
11T Bijoy Garg – R 16 -50
11T Reece Gold 16 -50
13T Christian Brooks – R 14 -52
13T Ayrton Ori – R 14 -52
13T Nico Christodoulou – R 14 -52
16 Jack William Miller 11 -55
17 Josh Pierson – R 10 -56
18T Max Kaeser – R 9 -57
18T Wyatt Brichacek – R 9 -57
20 Nolan Siegel 8 -58

“Race wins are always the goal, but the main focus right now is to extend the points lead and continue being consistent and winning races,” said Rasmussen. “We are thinking championship, so that’s the most important thing right now. Mid-Ohio has always been good to me: I won there in F4 and won there again last year. It’s a very technical, flowing track and I love that. And the team has always been strong there so I’m looking forward to keeping the winning streak going. I need to keep my head down and keep doing what I’m doing. The team is doing a good job, and I’m doing everything I can away from the track to stay fit, ready and sharp. We’re on the right path and we want to stay that way.”

Christian Rasmussen during a recent USF2000 test day at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

Rasmussen’s recent on-track prowess goes back to the middle of the 2019 season; he has five wins and nine trips to the podium in the last ten USF2000 races.

How has the Coppenhagen, Denmark native faired in his past visits to the demanding central Ohio road course?

Superb, and that might be an understatement. Rasmussen won his second career USF2000 start at Mid-Ohio last year, and in five races across USF2000 and the F4, United States Championship has three wins, two second-place finishes and has led a total of 40-laps.

The one hope that his competition has is Rasmussen’s results in official series testing at Mid-Ohio in June. The sophomore could only manage the 7th best time.

2) Will Cape dominance at Mid-O return?

Before last year, the last time that a Cape Motorsports driver didn’t visit victory lane at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was in 2004. The Brownsburg, Ind. team leads all of the pertinent categories at the Lexington, Ohio road course.

  • Wins – 28
  • Poles – 27
  • Podiums – 55

The list of drivers who have podiums for Cape Motorsports includes six drivers who have made NTT INDYCAR® SERIES starts. Neil Alberico, Oliver Askew, Westley Barber, Matthew Brabham, Doug Bell, Dane Cameron, Wade Cunningham, Jake Eidson, Ross Fonferko, Joey Foster, Peter Gray, Memo Gidley, Scott Hargrove, JR Hildebrand, Trent Hindman, Nico Jamin, Kyle Kirkwood, Florian Latorre, Anthony Martin, Chris Meredith, Spencer Pigot, Bryan Sellers, Petri Suvanto, Aaron Telitz, Parker Thompson, Bobby Wilson, and Jeff Wright are the drivers that have stood on the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course podium for Cape Motorsports.

Cape Motorsports driver Bryan Sellers leads current Pabst Racing engineer Tonis Kasemets during a 2002 USF2000 race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course ((Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

Drivers representing the team led three of the four test sessions during the recent open test at Mid-Ohio. They ended the test with four of the top five spots on the combined timesheet, including the quickest lap of the test, set by Michael d’Orlando.

3) Start up front, finish up front

In the previous 54 USF2000 races at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the average starting position of the winning driver is 1.6. The driver starting on pole has won 62.9% (34 of 54) races and the the winner has come from outside of the front two rows on only five occasions. That includes a ten-race stretch between 2014 and 2018 where the pole sitter also visited victory lane.

If you need more proof that qualifying well on the 2.258-Mile, 13-Turn Mid-Ohio Road Course is essential – in the last 33 races, the eventual winner has started from outside the first row on a single occasion. In 2014, Cape Motorsports pilot Jake Eidson won a very wet race from sixth on the starting grid.

Jake Eidson is interviewed after storming form sixth to the win in a wet USF2000 race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 2014 (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

4) Making his first Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires appearance

Unfortunately, due to travel restriction brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Brazilian rookie Kiko Porto was forced to miss the season-opening pair of races at Road America.

The 16-year-old was able to re-enter the United States recently and will start his season with DEForce Racing at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

DEForce Racing rookie Kiko Porto during the lone USF2000 in St. Petersburg, Fla. in March (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

Porto spent the 2019 racing season with the Houston, Texas-based DEForce Racing and finished second in the season-long F4 United States Championship Powered By Honda championship. He also had some success at Mid-Ohio, winning once and finishing in the top ten in all three of his starts in 2019.

“I can’t say how happy I am to finally be able to go back and do my first race in USF2000,” said Porto. “All these months of expectation and uncertainty are left behind, and now all I want to do is get in the car and do my job. I will do my best to make sure our results make up for the time we lost due to the pandemic.”

5) Three other stories/drivers to watch

#1

Pabst Racing sophomore Yuven Sundaramoorthy made his Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship debut at Mid-Ohio in 2018, twice finishing in the top ten in his first series action.

The recent high-school graduate, a native of Oconomowoc, Wisc., made a total of eight F1600 Championship Series starts in 2017 and 2018, winning once and standing on the podium five times.

The 17-year-old showed a lot of pace during the Mid-Ohio weekend last year, starting the pair of races in third and fourth, and collecting his best finish of the season. A sixth place in Race #1.

TSO Ladder expects Sundaramoorthy to contend for podiums this week.

#2

The Cape Motorsports quartet, consisting of Michael d’Orlando, Kyle Dupell, Josh Green, and Reece Gold scored four of the top five spots on the combined timesheet during a late June test at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Rookie Green, with a pair of podiums at Road America, currently sits second in the championship, only five points ahead of d’Orlando, his sophomore teammate.

Green will be making his first Road To Indy starts at Mid-Ohio, but does have a win and a pair of podium finishes in three F1600 Championship Series races last year.

Eighteen-year-old d’Orlando has three USF2000, and three F4 United States Championship starts at Mid-Ohio, finishing in the top ten twice in each series.

“I have some great teammates and that helps, since we’re always pushing each other to get faster,” said d’Orlando, who posted the fastest time during a preseason test at Mid-Ohio last month. “We’re sharing information, so we don’t have to do it on our own – but that can be a hindrance as well because I know three other fast guys are learning the exact same things I am. That means I have to try just that little bit more to try and beat them.

“I’m super excited to get to Mid-Ohio. We learned so much from the test, so that’s good knowing we have six races there over the next two weeks. It’s a track I feel we’re strong at so I’m ready to go out and give it my all.”

Gold, who needs to put a disappointing Road America weekend in the rearview mirror, led one of the recent test session at the central Ohio track. Gold made two starts at Mid-Ohio last year, finishing ninth and 12th.

The fourth member of the Cape Motorsports squad, Kyle Dupell, has three previous starts at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and was the fourth quickest driver during the recent open test.

TSO Ladder enjoys watching intra-team battles, and in just over a week, we should have a good idea which of the Cape Motorsports drivers has distinguished themselves as the team leader.

#3

During the late June test at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Jack William Miller was the only driver that was not part of the Cape Motorsports squad to crack the top five on the combined timesheet.

The 17-year-old Miller Vinatieri Motorsports ended the test with the third quickest lap and was the fastest driver during the third test session.7

Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship combined timesheet

RANIK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM QUICK LAP DIFFERENCE TOTAL LAPS
1 4 Michael d’Orlando Cape Motorsports 81.8805 68
2 2 Josh Green Cape Motorsports 81.9810 -0.1005 67
3 40 Jack William Miller Miller Vinatieri Motorsports 82.1118 -0.2313 78
4 8 Kyle Dupell Cape Motorsports 82.2840 -0.4035 49
5 3 Reece Gold Cape Motorsports 82.3429 -0.4624 56
6 9 Nolan Siegel Jay Howard Driver Development 82.3527 -0.4722 51
7 6 Christian Rasmussen Jay Howard Driver Development 82.4220 -0.5415 48
8 5 Wyatt Brichacek Jay Howard Driver Development 82.5953 -0.7148 74
9 44 Christian Brooks Exclusive Autosport 82.6369 -0.7564 42
10 23 Matthew Round-Garrido Pabst Racing 82.7750 -0.8945 60
11 7 Christian Bogle Jay Howard Driver Development 82.8110 -0.9305 72
12 18 Bijoy Garg Jay Howard Driver Development 82.8800 -0.9995 71
13 41 Max Kaeser Miller Vinatieri Motorsports 82.9691 -1.0886 77
14 20 Cameron Shields Legacy Autosport 83.0816 -1.2011 66
15 10 Nico Christodoulou DEForce Racing 83.1103 -1.2298 71
16 1 Prescott Campbell Exclusive Autosport 83.4712 -1.5907 56
17 90 Josh Pierson Exclusive Autosport 84.8264 -2.9459 30
18 27 Courtney Crone Legacy Autosport 85.0168 -3.1363 71
19 24 Michael Myers Legacy Autosport Inoperative transponder

The second-generation driver has plenty of experience on the 2.258-Mile, 13-Turn Mid-Ohio Road Course, making three USF2000 starts last year, and six F4 United States Championship starts between 2017 and 2018.

The first three of six races could be the event that “JWM” takes that next step forward in his development.

Wednesday schedule

TIME EVENT
10:30am – 11am USF2000 Practice #1
11:15am – 11:45am Indy Pro 2000 Practice #1
1:30pm – 2pm USF2000 Qualifying #1
2:15pm – 2:45pm Indy Pro 2000 Qualifying #1
4:30pm – 5:15pm USF2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Presented by Cooper Tires Honoring First Responders Race #1 (20 laps or 45 minutes)
5:30pm – 6:20pm Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Presented by Cooper Tires Honoring First Responders Race #1 (25 laps or 45 minutes)

Thursday Schedule

TIME EVENT
8am – 8:30am USF2000 Qualifying #2
8:45am – 9:15am Indy Pro 2000 Qualifying #2
11:30am – 12:15pm USF2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Presented by Cooper Tires Honoring First Responders Race #2 (20 laps or 45 minutes)
12:30pm – 1:20pm Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Presented by Cooper Tires Honoring First Responders Race #2 (25 laps or 45 minutes)
3:15pm – 4pm USF2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Presented by Cooper Tires Honoring First Responders Race #3 (20 laps or 45 minutes)
4:15pm – 5:05pm Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Presented by Cooper Tires Honoring First Responders Race #3 (25 laps or 45 minutes)

You can watch last year’s Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship races here:

2019 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Race #1

2019 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Race #2

 

Don’t miss any of the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires action: