By Patrick Stephan
Here is the report from USF2000 presented by Cooper Tires race #2 of 3 this weekend at Mid-Ohio.
Max Taylor initially has trouble getting going on pit lane but is able to rejoin in time for the start.
Pole sitter Simon Sikes get the jump, but we have a couple cars off track at Turn 1 as we stay green anyway with Logan Adams buried in the gravel and Danny Dysyelski also off the track over there. Max Taylor was also involved in the incident. Yellow then waves as the leaders were allowed to race for most of the lap.
The order at the end of Lap 1 is Sikes, Clark, Hughes, Papasavvas, Johnson, Garcia, Douglas, Ho, Corry, Gardner, Ping, Garciarce, Schrage, Morey, Towns, Golan, Etter, Jameison, Scully, Dyszelski, Adams, Taylor, Cox (DNS).
Dyszelski drives back to the pits to make repairs his rear wing. Taylor had tried to get back but has to stop at the entry to the keyhole and will be brought back by the safety team. Adams is also back on the track, but is a lap down after being pulled out of the gravel trap.
Schrage – again starting at the back due to not turning any laps in qualifying is able to get from 21st to 13th avoiding the carnage on the first lap.
Back to green on Lap 4 and Sikes the lead as the restart on at the flag stand (not back stretch like INDYCAR series and INDY NXT). Sikes keeps the lead, but Hughes goes inside of Mac Clark, who is also passed by Papasavvas, but gets the spot back down at Turn 6.
Lap 5 order is Sikes, Hughes, Clark, Papasavvas, Johnson, Garcia, Corry, Douglas, Gardner, and Ho is 10th.
Lots of action further back, especially over at the keyhole (Turn 2) with several cars side by side.
Lap 9 and Nikita Johnson moves to 4th by passing Papasavvas. Up front Skikes is out to a 4.7 second lead, with much of the field behind him almost nose to tail around the track.
Lap 10 of 20 planned and Sikes lead is up another seconds to 5.7. Very competitive event – if we ignore the the lead Sikes is creating. Lots of looking inside at 2, 4, and 5, etc., but appreciate the good judgment at this point of the race to not push a bad position.
Scratch that. Johnson and Clark are battling for 3rd, and Johnson goes off the track as his move around the outside at Turn 4 didn’t work out with perhaps slight contact from the inside car of Clark. He goes through the grass and rejoins, but drops back a few spots.
Lap 14 and we are under yellow as Ping is side by side with (perhaps Adams??) lots of tire smoke entering Turn 4 and Ping slides off the outside at corner entry and winds up stopped in the gravel trap. They would get Ping back on the track, but he drives the car back with suspension damage.
Lap 15 order is Sikes, Hughes, Clark, Papasavvas, Garcia, Corry, Johnson, Douglas, Gardner, Garciarce, Ho, Morey, Schrage, Dyszelski, Towns, Golan, Scully, Jameison, Etter, Ping, Adams, Taylor, Cox (DNS).
Back to green completing Lap 16 and the single file restart works up to Turn 2 — and we’ve got another car barrel rolling today (See our INDYCAR coverage from TrackSideOnline.com – though that site might not be up at the moment – so check NBC Sports/Peacock/Twitter).
Hughes tried to take the lead on the inside of the key hole, but there isn’t any room (would love an overhead to see if the door was ever open – but it was certainly being shut when they got to the corner). Hughes left front and the right rear of Sikes make contact. Hughes starts to roll and is turning over as they continue through the corner. Sikes rear wing is ripped off with Hughes rolling over the top of Sikes and continuing to barrel roll through the Turn 2 gravel trap.
He is attended to by the AMR INDYCAR Safety team and is out of the car.
Lap 17 order is Clark, Sikes, Papasavvas, Garcia, Corry, Johnson
Lap 19 completed and we get the green and white flags to restart as Sikes heads to pit lane…he won’t try to run without a rear wing assembly.
More contact on this restart toward the back of the field, but up front Mac Clark takes the win over Papasavvas, Corry, Johnson, Garcia, Douglas, Gardner, Garciarce, Ho, Morey, Schrage, Jameison, Golan, Etter, Scully, Dyszelski, Towns, Sikes, Hughes, Ping, Adams, Taylor, Cox.
This is Mac Clark’s 3rd USF2000 win. He won earlier this season at Indianapolis Raceway Park and last year at Portland (#2). He is also the reigning USF Juniors champion.
“It was a crazy second race here at Mid-Ohio. That was insane,” said Clark, 19, from Milton, Ontario, Canada – oh and it’s Canada Day! “We managed to take advantage on the second to last restart and just be smart, keep our nose clean and managed to come away with the win. It is really special on Canada Day weekend for me to get it done and just a really big thank you to the team. This is really good for us in terms of the point standings, so I am really excited. A big thank you to all my sponsors. I wouldn’t be here without them.”
Provisional championship points after 12 of 18 races:
1. Simon Sikes, 277
2. Lochie Hughes, 270
3. Nikita Johnson, 246
4. Mac Clark, 224
5. Evagoras Papasavvas, 216
6. Chase Gardner, 147
7. Jorge Garciarce, 161
8. Sam Corry, 159
9. Jacob Douglas, 127
10 Max Garcia, 127
USF2000 presented by Cooper Tires Mid-Ohio Race #2 Results:
| Pos | Car # | Driver | Laps | Diff | Gap | Team |
| 1 | 1 | Mac Clark | 20 | LAP 20 | DEForce Racing | |
| 2 | 6 | Evagoras Papasavvas | 20 | 0.2189 | 0.2189 | Jay Howard Driver Development |
| 3 | 14 | Sam Corry | 20 | 0.5676 | 0.3487 | VRD Racing |
| 4 | 17 | Nikita Johnson | 20 | 0.8064 | 0.2388 | VRD Racing |
| 5 | 24 | Max Garcia | 20 | 1.1553 | 0.3489 | Pabst Racing |
| 6 | 23 | Jacob Douglas | 20 | 1.5306 | 0.3753 | Pabst Racing |
| 7 | 95 | Chase Gardner | 20 | 3.1324 | 1.6018 | Exclusive Autosport |
| 8 | 10 | Jorge Garciarce | 20 | 3.5138 | 0.3814 | DEForce Racing |
| 9 | 68 | Ethan Ho | 20 | 4.0374 | 0.5236 | DC Autosport |
| 10 | 7 | Al Morey | 20 | 4.3136 | 0.2762 | Jay Howard Driver Development |
| 11 | 90 | Thomas Schrage | 20 | 5.5886 | 1.275 | Exclusive Autosport |
| 12 | 12 | Maxwell Jamieson | 20 | 6.1206 | 0.532 | DEForce Racing |
| 13 | 11 | Brady Golan | 20 | 6.8273 | 0.7067 | DEForce Racing |
| 14 | 57 | Carson Etter | 20 | 6.9701 | 0.1428 | DC Autosport |
| 15 | 19 | Gordon Scully | 20 | 11.6287 | 4.6586 | VRD Racing |
| 16 | 18 | Danny Dyszelski | 20 | 32.8235 | 21.1948 | VRD Racong |
| 17 | 93 | Avery Towns | 19 | 3.6718 | 0.2381 | Exclusive Autosport |
| 18 | 22 | Simon Sikes | 19 | In Pit | 2.5523 | Pabst Racing |
| 19 | 8 | Lochie Hughes | 16 | Contact | 0.2473 | Jay Howard Driver Development |
| 20 | 97 | Zack Ping | 14 | Mechanical | 1 LAPS | VRD Racing |
| 21 | 9 | Logan Adams | 12 | Off Course | 80.6942 | Jay Howard Driver Development |
| 22 | 33 | Max Taylor | ‑‑‑ | Off Course | 0.0303 | VRD Racing |
| 23 | 67 | Elliot Cox | ‑‑‑ | DNS | Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development |