Mac Clark in the MIR Raceline USA/Sekanskin/Valkyrie AI sponsored No. 17 from the DEForce Racing stable led the first ever USF Juniors Presented by Cooper Tires practice at Ozarks International Raceway (Photo Courtesy of Jose Mario Dias/USF Juniors)
By Steve Wittich
DEForce Racing’s Mac Clark set a lap time of 142.149 seconds over the 3.97-mile, 19-turn road course to lead the first official USF Juniors Presented by Cooper Tires practice at Ozarks International Raceway.
The 18-year-old Canadian has been dominant early in the inaugural USF Juniors season, leading testing at Barber Motorsports Park and pacing two of the three test sessions on Friday at Ozarks International Raceway.
Velocity Racing Development’s Alessandro De Tullio and Nikita Johnson were next on the timesheet, joined in the top five by Andre Castro and Alan Isambard, a pair of International Motorsport drivers.
Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development driver Elliot Cox was the first driver in the newest American open-wheel development series to set a lap time.
The red flag came out after just over eight minutes of green flag running, with only four drivers able to complete a lap at speed, with Cory leading the way.
Green flag conditions returned with six and half minutes remaining, enough time for the field to complete a pair of laps at speed.
Cooper Tires Grand Prix Of The Ozarks Practice Results
| RANK | CAR NO. | DRIVER | TEAM | FAST LAP | DIFFERENCE | TOTAL LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 | Mac Clark | DEForce Racing | 2:22.149 | — | 3 |
| 2 | 20 | Alessandro De Tullio | Velocity Racing Development | 2:23.428 | -1.279 | 4 |
| 3 | 7 | Nikita Johnson | Velocity Racing Development | 2:23.746 | -1.597 | 3 |
| 4 | 23 | Andre Castro | International Motorsport | 2:23.983 | -1.834 | 3 |
| 5 | 53 | Alan Isambard | International Motorsport | 2:25.320 | -3.171 | 3 |
| 6 | 67 | Elliot Cox | Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development | 2:25.651 | -3.502 | 4 |
| 7 | 14 | Sam Corry | Velocity Racing Development | 2:25.772 | -3.623 | 1 |
| 8 | 61 | Nicholas D’Orlando | DC Autosport w/Cape Motorsports | 2:25.967 | -3.818 | 3 |
| 9 | 19 | Jake Bonilla | DEForce Racing | 2:26.807 | -4.658 | 2 |
| 10 | 71 | Ethan Ho | DC Autosport w/Cape Motorsports | 2:27.436 | -5.287 | 2 |
| 11 | 24 | Earl Tucker | DC Autosport w/Cape Motorsports | 2:29.114 | -6.965 | 1 |
| 12 | 87 | Jeremy Fairbairn | Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports | 2:30.461 | -8.312 | 3 |
| 13 | 25 | Jacob Bolen | IGY6 Motorsports | 2:33.240 | -11.091 | 1 |
| 14 | 18 | Maxwell Jamieson | DEForce Racing | 2:36.128 | -13.979 | 3 |
The USF Juniors Presented by Cooper Tires drivers will qualify at 10:30 am (Central). Follow along on the USF Juniors website.