The technicians for Cooper Tire busy at work during Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires spring training at Barber Motorsports Park (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)
By Steve Wittich
Mirroring USF2000, the second Indy Pro 2000 session was led by Jay Howard Driver Development rookie Wyatt Brichacek. The 20-year-old also led the first Indy Pro 2000 session of spring training.
Slotting in just behind Brichacek was Turn 3 Motorsport rookie James Roe, who was joined in the top five by Christian Rasmussen (Jay Howard Driver Development), Hunter McElrea (Pabst Racing), and Cameron Shields (DEForce Racing).
Much like the first Indy Pro 2000 session, the top 15 pilots were within one second of Brichacek’s No. 5 PM-18.
With 15 of the 60-minutes allotted for the second Indy Pro 2000 session completed, only 11 of the 17 drivers had turned a lap.
One of those was Enaam Ahmed, who ran afoul of race control immediately after the first session, was forced to sit the first ten minutes of the second session as punishment. The RP Motorsport driver recovered nicely to end his first day in an Indy Pro 2000 car less than four-tenths-of-a-second behind Brichacek.
At that point of the session, the leader was Juncos Racing rookie Gold, with a lap timed at 78.0225 seconds. He was followed immediately by his teammates Manuel Sulaiman and Kyffin Simpson, who were both within three-tenths-of-a-second of the No. 55.
After an early flurry of quick laps, the drivers settled into a rhythm, with only first session leader Wyatt Brichacek making a move. The Jay Howard Driver Development rookie put in a lap that was only five-hundredths of a second behind Gold.
Other drivers to turn their quickest in a couple of minutes before the 30-minute point of the session were Hunter McElrea (Pabst Racing), Cameron Shields (DEForce Racing), James Roe (Turn 3 Motorsport), and Jacob Abel (Abel Motorsport).
Times started to fall during the final fifteen minutes of the session, with McElrea, Shields, and finally Brichacek jumping to the top of the timesheet.
Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires spring training at Barber Motorsports Park test session #2 timesheet.
| RANK | CAR NO. | DRIVER | TEAM | QUICK LAP | DIFFERENCE | TOTAL LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 | Wyatt Brichacek | Jay Howard Driver Development | 1:17.3432 | — | 26 |
| 2 | 3 | James Roe | Turn 3 Motorsport | 1:17.5966 | 0.2534 | 21 |
| 3 | 1 | Christian Rasmussen | Jay Howard Driver Development | 1:17.6287 | 0.2855 | 26 |
| 4 | 18 | Hunter McElrea | Pabst Racing | 1:17.6317 | 0.2885 | 24 |
| 5 | 7 | Cameron Shields | DEForce Racing | 1:17.6603 | 0.3171 | 25 |
| 6 | 77 | Enaam Ahmed | RP Motorsport USA | 1:17.7393 | 0.3961 | 24 |
| 7 | 11 | Hunter Yeany | Velocity Racing Development | 1:17.8468 | 0.5036 | 24 |
| 8 | 55 | Reece Gold | Juncos Racing | 1:17.8848 | 0.5416 | 27 |
| 9 | 27 | Colin Kaminsky | Pabst Racing | 1:17.9078 | 0.5646 | 24 |
| 10 | 21 | Kyffin Simpson | Juncos Racing | 1:17.9930 | 0.6498 | 28 |
| 11 | 22 | Manuel Sulaiman | Juncos Racing | 1:18.1669 | 0.8237 | 27 |
| 12 | 42 | Artem Petrov | Exclusive Autosport | 1:18.2934 | 0.9502 | 20 |
| 13 | 74 | Enzo Fittipaldi | RP Motorsport USA | 1:18.3497 | 1.0065 | 30 |
| 14 | 91 | Braden Eves | Exclusive Autosport | 1:18.4206 | 1.0774 | 19 |
| 15 | 40 | Jack William Miller | Miller Vinatieri Motorsports | 1:18.4398 | 1.0966 | 26 |
| 16 | 51 | Jacob Abel | Abel Motorsports | 1:18.4834 | 1.1402 | 32 |
| 17 | 20 | Flinn Lazier | Legacy Autosport | 1:19.6739 | 2.3307 | 11 |