By Patrick Stephan
Jacob Douglas led a Pabst Racing sweep of the Top 3 spots in USF 2000 qualifying at Portland International Raceway. Scoring his first career USF2000 Presented by Cooper Tires pole, the 18 year old from Christchurch, New Zealand (now residing in Indianapolis), posted a best lap of 1:12.2536. Just 0.2891 back was Max Garcia with championship leader Simon Sikes timing in 3rd quick.
Douglas previous best qualifying was 2nd this year at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, also a relatively flat circuit like Portland.
Nikita Johnson, running both the USF 2000 and USF Pro 2000 races this weekend timed in 7th.
Max Taylor in the #33 will be penalized 2 grid spots for violating Rule 8.5.7 – which I believe means he continued after the checkered flag.
Elliot Cox did not participate in the session as the crash he had to start practice reportedly damaged three corners of that car, requiring extensive repairs.
USF 2000 Presented by Cooper Tires Portland Qualifying Results:
| Pos | Car # | Driver | Best Time | Diff | Best Lap | Total Laps | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 23 | Jacob Douglas | 1:12.2536 | 1:12.2536 | 11 | 15 | Pabst Racing |
| 2 | 24 | Max Garcia | 1:12.5427 | 0.2891 | 13 | 15 | Pabst Racing |
| 3 | 22 | Simon Sikes | 1:12.5609 | 0.3073 | 13 | 15 | Pabst Racing |
| 4 | 90 | Thomas Schrage | 1:12.8502 | 0.5966 | 12 | 14 | Exclusive Autosport |
| 5 | 6 | Evagoras Papasavvas | 1:12.8796 | 0.626 | 9 | 13 | Jay Howard Driver Development |
| 6 | 1 | Mac Clark | 1:12.9524 | 0.6988 | 4 | 14 | DEForce Racing |
| 7 | 17 | Nikita Johnson | 1:12.9989 | 0.7453 | 11 | 13 | VRD Racing |
| 8 | 14 | Sam Corry | 1:13.0080 | 0.7544 | 11 | 13 | VRD Racing |
| 9 | 8 | Lochie Hughes | 1:13.0634 | 0.8098 | 4 | 13 | Jay Howard Driver Development |
| 10 | 68 | Ethan Ho | 1:13.0662 | 0.8126 | 12 | 13 | DC Autosport |
| 11 | 10 | Jorge Garciarce | 1:13.0914 | 0.8378 | 11 | 14 | DEForce Racing |
| 12 | 33 | Max Taylor | 1:13.2816 | 1.028 | 8 | 13 | VRD Racing |
| 13 | 11 | Lucas Fecury | 1:13.6091 | 1.3555 | 11 | 13 | DEForce Racing |
| 14 | 12 | Maxwell Jamieson | 1:13.7276 | 1.474 | 12 | 12 | DEForce Racing |
| 15 | 7 | Al Morey | 1:14.0410 | 1.7874 | 5 | 12 | Jay Howard Driver Development |
| 16 | 19 | Gordon Scully | 1:14.2414 | 1.9878 | 9 | 12 | VRD Racing |
| 17 | 57 | Carson Etter | 1:14.2889 | 2.0353 | 14 | 15 | DC Autosport |
| 18 | 9 | Ava Dobson | 1:16.3970 | 4.1434 | 13 | 15 | Jay Howard Driver Development |
| 19 | 67 | Elliot Cox | No Time | ‑‑‑ | ‑‑ | ‑‑‑ | Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development |