By Steve Wittich

For the sixth straight race, Jay Howard Driver Development sophomore driver Christian Rasmussen had a dominant drive to cross under the checkered flag first.

It’s the first win at Lucas Oil Raceway and on an oval for both Rasmussen and his team Jay Howard Driver Development.

It’s the Danish driver’s ninth USF2000 victory, giving him a series win % of 42.9%

For the fourth straight race, 15-year-old Reece Gold stood on the podium as he was able to hold off a charging Jack William Miller.

Miller, a sophomore driving for Miller Vinatieri Motorsports, stood on the podium for the first time in his Road To Indy career.

Rounding out the top five were Gold’s Cape Motorsports teammate d’Orlando and Exclusive Autosport rookie Christian Brooks.

The call to start the 19 Elite Engine prepared came from the voice of the Road To Indy, Rob Howden, at 6:41 pm.

For the third straight Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship race, a front row consisting of Christian Rasmussen and Reece Gold brought the field to the green flag.

After an aborted start and yellow flag when Gold got too big of a jump on the pole-sitter Rasmussen, the green flag came out on the next lap as the drivers quickly realigned.

Rasmussen was able to get ahead of Gold as the field got cleanly through the first two corners at the south end of the 0.686-mile Lucas Oil Raceway oval.

The running order at the end of the first lap was: Rasmussen, Gold, d’Orlando, Josh Green, Jack William Miller, Matthew Round-Garrido, Christian Brooks, Eduardo Barrichello, Kyle Dupell, Nolan Siegel, Yuven Sundaramoorthy, Kiko Porto, Cameron Shields, Bijoy Garg, Christian Bogle, Max Kaeser, Wyatt Brichacek, Josh Pierson, and Prescott Campbell.

Gold put some early pressure on Rasmussen over the first three laps, but by the fifth lap, the Dane had been able to pull a 0.15-second lead.

The first nine cars quickly got into a single file, but behind them, the side-by-side action was furious, with Sundaramoorthy, Siegel, and Shields fighting over the tenth spot.

The most significant early mover was Josh Green, who went from his sixth starting spot to fourth.

At the ⅓ point of the race, Rasmussen’s lead over Gold was 0.9 seconds. The remainder of the top 10 was: d’Orlando, Green, Miller, Brooks, Round-Garrido, Barrichello, Dupell, and Sundaramoorthy.

All 19 drivers were on the lead lap with 25 of 75 done, but Rasmussen was starting to catch the tail of the 19-car field. On Lap 29, Rasmussen got by the first lapped car, the Exclusive Autosport rookie Josh Pierson.

The best battle in the middle third of the race was between Miller and Brooks for fifth place as they tried to pick their way through the traffic. The eventually went three-wide with Garg’s lapped car as the meat in the battle for the top five sandwich, but Miller was able to hold the spot.

At the ⅔ pole, Rasmussen had stretched his lead to 3.9 seconds over Gold. Gold only had a half-second lead over Gold, who had three seconds over his Cape Motorsports teammate d” Orlando. The remainder of the top ten was Green, Miller, Brooks, Round-Garrido, Duppel, Sundaramoorthy, and Barichello.

With 15 laps remaining, the gap between Rasmussen and Gold was 4.2 seconds. Gold had only a 0.2 second lead over his teammate. Gold was able to navigate traffic a little better and was able to build a more comfortable gap.

Further back, Josh Green got bogged down in lapped traffic, losing the fourth spot to Miller and Brooks’ fifth spot.

With five laps remaining, the lead-up front for Rasmussen was 6.9 seconds, who had lapped up to the 12th spot. Behind the leaders, Miller was able to get by d’Orlando for the final spot on the podium. Again, the second generation driver used traffic to get the pass completed.

Freedom 75 unofficial results.

For the fifth straight time this year, and for the eighth time in the last 12 USF2000 races, it was the dynamic Dane Christian Rasmussen that visited victory lane in the final race of the event.

Rasmussen has scored all but one point possible in the first five races of the season.

Rasmussen was joined on the podium by Cape Motorsports sophomore Michael d’Orlando. For the third time during the USF2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Presented by Cooper Tires Honoring First Responders event.

On the pace lap, the Excel Labels No. 23 of Matthew Round-Garrido came to a stop on the outside of Turn 1 with significant damage to the left front suspension. At the same time, the Metalloid sponsored No. 20 of Cameron Shields ground to a halt at the exit of The Keyhole. Both cars required wreckers to clear, and the field was shown the red flag while the AMR INDYCAR Safety Team got things cleaned up. Garrido was set to start fifth, and Shields was to start 12th.

The Elite Engines prepared engines were restarted, and the 20-lap race got underway with the front row of Rasmussen and Gold leading the way.

Rasmussen got a slight jump, with Gold, d’Orlando, and Brooks going three-wide into Turn 1. d’Orlando was able to get a better launch off the left-hand Turn 1 and beat his teammate Gold to The Keyhole.

The running order at the end of the first lap was: Rasmussen, d’Orlando, Gold, Brooks, Nolan Siegel (Jay Howard Driver Development), Jack William Miller (Miller Vinatieri Motorsports), Eduardo Barrichello (Pabst Racing), Kyle Dupell (Cape Motorsports), Yuven Sundaramoorthy (Pabst Racing), Josh Green (Cape Motorsports), Ayrton Ori (Legacy Autosport), Bijoy Garg (Jay Howard Driver Development), Wyatt Brichacek (Jay Howard Driver Development), Kiko Porto (DEForce Racing), Christian Bogle (Jay Howard Driver Development), Max Kaeser (Miller Vinatieri Motorsports), Josh Pierson (Exclusive Autosport), Prescott Campbell (Exclusive Autosport), Round-Garrido and Shields.

On the second lap, Siegel, who started fourth, went wide at Turn 9, dropping down the running order to 17th.

On Lap 6, the lead for Rasmussen was 0.9 seconds over d’Orlando. Behind the front group, Miller, in fifth, was facing massive pressure from fellow second-generation racer Barrichello.

Things settled in for the next few laps, and at the halfway point of the 20 lap race was 1.3 seconds over d’Orlando, who was closely followed by Gold and Brooks, who were all covered by 3.7 seconds. Miller, in the Indy Dental Group/LLC/Lumist, sponsored No. 40, was in fifth.

Gold was starting to put some pressure on his teammate, which allowed Rasmussen to pull out to an almost three-second gap when he crossed the start/finish line with five laps remaining.

Green was the quickest driver on the track with four laps left and started to put pressure on Barrichello for the sixth spot.

Rasmussen turned the quickest lap of the race with two laps left, pulling away to a 4.3-second lead. Behind the leader, Gold was pressuring d’Orlando, looking for the outside pass in Turn 4. He wasn’t quite able to get it completed and tucked back in behind his teammate.

On the final lap, Gold once again got a great run off the Keyhole. The teammates went side-by-side through Turn 4 and Turn 5 before d’Orlando shut the door, solidifying the second step of the podium.

Unofficial race results

By Steve Wittich

In the best of weather, the track surface at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is continually evolving; add some moisture to that, and ‘anything’ can happen.

This time, ‘anything’ suited 20-year-old Juncos Racing driver Artem Petrov, after grabbing the lead on Lap 7, drove away from the chaos that unfolded behind him.

The win is the second time that Road To Success / Bell/ 226ers No. 42 has visited victory lane in 2020. The win is the fourth victory at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for Juncos Racing, with Petrov joining Victor Franzoni and Rinus van Kalmthout (VeeKay) as winners in Ohio for the Speedway, Ind. based team.

Coming second for the second time this season was Andretti Steinbrenner Racing rookie Devlin DeFrancesco, who gained most of the six spots from his eighth starting spot as the track got slicker with moisture.

The “most eventful” race award goes to Petrov’s Juncos Racing teammate Sting Ray Robb. The Idahoan started on the outside of the front row, fell to sixth, moved back to fourth, fell to sixth again, and ended up with his ninth career Indy Pro 2000 podium.

Danial Frost (Turn 3 Motorsport) and Braden Eves (Exclusive Autosport), who led the first six laps of the race, had late issues, dropping them to eighth and ninth place, making an already title fight even tighter.

Only 15 points separate the top five in points after the first four Indy Pro 2000 races of 2020.

Danial Frost (Turn 3 Motorsport)- 90
Artem Petrov (Juncos Racing) – 87
Devlin DeFrancesco (Andretti Steinbrenner Racing) – 85
Braden Eves (Exclusive Autosport) – 82
Sting Ray Robb (Juncos Racing) – 75

The front row of Eves and Robb slowly brought the field to the green flag. Eves got a great start, and Robb had to defend against Frost.

As the field went into Turn 4, Petrov, Hunter McElrea (Pabst Racing), and Devlin DeFrancesco (Andretti Steinbrenner Racing) were three-wide, with the Juncos Racing Russian driver holding fourth.

The running order after the first lap was: Eves, Robb, Frost, Parker Thompson (DEForce Racing), Petrov, McElrea, DeFrancesco, Colin Kaminsky (Pabst Racing), Manuel Sulaiman (DEForce Racing), Nate Aranda (Juncos Racing), Moisés de la Vara (DEForce Racing), Antoine Comeau (Turn 3 Motorsport), Sabre Cook (BN Racing with Team Benik), Bob Kaminsky (Pabst Racing), Charles Finelli (Fatboy Racing!), Jacob Loomis (BN Racing with Team Benik) and Kory Enders (DEForce Racing).

On the second lap, Petrov able to move back to his fourth starting spot.

On the next lap, Petrov gained another position going by Frost for the final spot on the podium. Further back, DeFrancesco, Sulaiman, and de la Vera also made up spots.

Robb planted himself right on the gearbox of Eves, putting immense pressure on Eves.

As the field started Lap 5, the lead was a slim 0.4 seconds, but things were about to get heated.

Eves, Robb, and Petrov went into the braking zone of Turn 4 three-wide. Robb grabbed the lead briefly through “Madness” but got loose, letting Eves retake the lead and allowing his teammate Petrov to move into second.

On Lap 6, Robb, Frost, and Thompson went three-wide into The Keyhole, with Thompson moving past the two drivers in front of him to grab the podium’s last spot.

On Lap 7, Petrov went to outside Eves going into Turn 4, getting the pass completed before they got to the corner. Right behind them, DeFrancesco went to inside Robb, moving past the Juncos Racing veteran to move into the top five.

The yellow flag came out on Lap 8, bringing a brief reprise in the hectic action. The cause of the caution was the Slick Locks sponsored No. 19 of Colin Kaminsky, who had an incident in Turn 4 while running in ninth place.

The running order when the field got the green flag to start lap 10 was: Petrov, Eves, Thompson, Frost, DeFrancesco, Robb, Sulaiman, McElrea, de la Vera, Cook, Aranda, Comeau, Kaminsky, Finelli, Loomis, Kaminsky and Enders.

Lap 12 was a busy one with Frost getting by Thompson for the last spot on the podium. Also, making passes for position was Robb and McElrea.

Petrov’s lead to start Lap 15 was 1.8 seconds. Behind the leader, Eves was being pressured by Frost, Thompson, and Robb. Further back, McElrea was right on the gearbox of DeFrancesco.

On Lap 17, Frost looked to the outside of Eves in Turn 2 and Turn, but the Ohio born driver was able to hold onto the second step of the podium.

On the next lap, Robb made an aggressive pass around the outside of Thompson to move back into fourth place. Robb’s spot in fourth didn’t last long as he fell back two spots on the next lap.

Further back in the field, Cook had her hands mirrors full of Aranda and Comeau for the final spot in the top 10.

With five laps remaining, Petrov’s lead had grown to 3.7 seconds over Eves. Frost was still pressuring Wednesday’s winner.

The skies started to get darker, and a light rain began to make an already slick 2.258-Mile, 13-Turn Mid-Ohio Road Course even more treacherous.

Eves, from second, was facing immense pressure as the field streamed towards the Keyhole; the Race #1 winner had an issue in the famous 180-degree corner, falling to ninth in the running order. That moved the European trained DeFrancesco into second, while Frost remained in third. Robb and Thompson rounded out the Top 5.

On Lap 23, Robb moved back onto the podium, making a clean pass of Frost in Turn 4.

As the white flag flew, moisture started falling from the sky, and the track was getting slick. Frost tried to pass Robb in Turn 5, but the two made contact with the points leader Frost dropping to eighth.

Petrov pulled away to an impressive 8.2-second win with DeFrancesco crossing the line second and Robb staying on track after the contact to grab a podium.

With the Race #3 grid set by Race #2 lap times, Loomis, Kaminsky, and Enders, all had early race issues, and all put on fresh rubber to earn a good starting spot.

It was an excellent strategy for all three drivers as they will start in the top three spots for the final Indy Pro 2000 race of the event.

Loomis, with a lap of 78.091 seconds, will start on the pole with Kaminsky starting outside of him and Enders starting right behind him. Frost shall begin on the second row with Enders with the Juncos Racing teammates of Robb and Petrov starting in the third row.

Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Presented by Cooper Tires Honoring First Responders Race #2 Unofficial Results.

For the fourth straight race to start the 2020 USF2000 season, it was Jay Howard Driver Development sophomore Christian Rasmussen that drove his JHDD, CSU|One Cure/ Lucas Oil sponsored No. 6 into victory lane.

For the second straight race, fellow sophomore Reece Gold (Cape Motorsports) started on the outside of the front row, and this time he was able to hold that spot through the first lap and was able to keep Rasmussen in his sights, improving one place from his third-place finish in Wednesday’s race.

Rounding out the podium was another sophomore and first-time podium visitor. Nolan Siegel (Jay Howard Driver Development) was able to perfectly defend 20 laps to stand on his first Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires podium.

The first of two Thursday USF2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Presented by Cooper Tires Honoring First Responders races rolled off at 11:30 am with a front row of Rasmussen and Gold bringing the field to the green flag.

The 20 drivers were clean on Lap 1, and the running order and when they crossed under the starter to complete lap #1 was: Rasmussen, Gold, Siegel, Christian Brooks (Exclusive Autosport), Yuven Sundaramoorthy (Pabst Racing), Jack William Miller (Miller Vinatieri Motorsports), Kyle Dupell (Cape Motorsports), Christian Bogle (Jay Howard Driver Development), Josh Green (Cape Motorsports), Cameron Shields (Legacy Autosport), Prescott Campbell (Exclusive Autosport), Eduardo Barrichello (Pabst Racing), Wyatt Brichacek (Jay Howard Driver Development), Bijoy Garg (Jay Howard Driver Development), Michael d’Orlando (Cape Motorsports), Max Kaeser (Miller Vinatieri Motorsports), Ayrton Ori (Legacy Autosport) and Josh Pierson (Exclusive Autosport)

The running order at the end of the first lap was: 6 3 9 44 23 21 40 8 7 2 20 1 12 22 5 18 4 41 41 27 16

The most significant early mover was Kyle Dupell (Cape Motorsports), who had gained three spots over the first two laps.

At the start of Lap 3, Gold was still within 0.8 seconds of the leader and was pushing hard. The front pair had pulled a gap of 2.5 seconds over third-place Siegel, who was defending against Brooks, Round-Garrido, Sundaramoorthy, and Dupell.

On Lap 4, Brooks looked to the inside of Siegel into the Keyhole, but the Jay Howard Driver Development sophomore was able to hold onto the spot, getting a better run down to Turn 4 and holding the final spot on the podium.

To start Lap 5, Rasmussen’s lead had grown to 1.5 seconds over Gold. On the next lap, Gold set the quickest lap of the race to that point, moving a little closer to the leader. Rasmussen reset the fast lap on the next lap, extending his lead again.

Siegel was almost four seconds behind Gold, but after the immense pressure of the opening laps, he built just over a one-second gap to Brooks. Round-Garrido was hassling the Exclusive Autosport driver.

Rasmussen’s lead over Gold when the crossed-flags were shown to signify the 20 lap race’s halfway point was 2.5 seconds. Siegel was 4.7 seconds behind Gold, with Brooks, Round-Garrido, Sundaramoorthy, Dupell, Miller, Green, and Shields rounding out the top ten.

On Lap 10, Miller was battling the Cape Motorsports duo of Dupell and Green. Contact was made in the Turn 5, Turn 6, and Turn 7 portion of the track. Miller was forced to pit road with damage to his front wing.

The yellow flag was shown to the field on Lap 12 for the No. 5 of Brichacek, who had an issue in Turn 11 and the No. 27 of Ayrton Ori, who spun in Turn 9.

The running order under yellow was Rasmussen, Gold, Siegel, Round-Garrido, Brooks, Sundaramoorthy, Dupell, Green, Shields, d’Orlando, Barrichello, Bogle, Campbell, Garg, Kaeser, Peirson, Miller, Porto, Ori and Brichacek.

The Road To Indy pace car pulled off the track, and the green flag came back out to begin Lap 16.

The battling in the top 10 on the first back to green was fierce, but all the drivers were able to hold their positions.

On Lap 17, Round-Garrido was forced to play defense against Brooks. Also involved in that battle was Sundaramoorthy.

1.5 seconds 2 remaining – Seigel pressured by Round Garrido and Brooks

On the final lap, Round-Garrido took a look inside of Siegel in Turn 4, but the 15-year-old was able to hold off Round-Garrido to grab his first career podium.

USF2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Presented by Cooper Tires Honoring First Responders Unofficial Results

By Steve Wittich

So far, so good for Braden Eves in his home race. After leading the lone Indy Pro 2000 practice session, the Gahanna, Ohio native, grabbed his first Indy Pro 2000 pole with a lap of 76.434 seconds in the Road To Indy/Cooper Tires/MDRN Livery/CCFI/Huston Insurance No. 1.

The top eight drivers covered by a slim half-second margin and Eves was an even skinnier three-hundredths over current championship points leader Danial Frost (Turn 3 Motorsport).

Veterans Sting Ray Robb (Juncos Racing) and Parker Thompson (DEForce Racing) will start on the second row.

With an ambient temperature of 84F and feels like temperature of a humid 86F, the first of two Indy Pro 2000 qualifying sessions got underway with the 17 entries, all taking quickly to the 2.258-Mile, 13-Turn Mid-Ohio Road Course.

The first driver to complete a lap at speed was Sting Ray Robb in the Firehouse/Goodheart Animal Health Centers sponsored No. 2 Juncos Racing PM-18.

Robb also led after all drivers had completed their second laps, was quickly followed by Juncos Racing teammate Petrov.

Over the next few minutes, Parker Thompson and then Braden Eves grabbed the provisional pole, but all drivers were just getting their fresh Cooper rubber up to temperature.

Just before the halfway point, Devlin DeFrancesco led several drivers that came to the attention of their crews to make adjustments to their cars for the second half of qualifying.

At the halfway point of the session, 20 minutes of guaranteed qualifying time was Eves, one of two drivers with laps under 77 seconds. Frost, Hunter McElrea, Parker Thompson, and Artem Petrov made up the rest of the top five and were all within two-tenths of a second of Eves.

With nine minutes left in the 20-minute session, the top 11 drivers were within one second of eves.

It took a few laps to get the fresh rubber up to temperature before the lap times started to come down.

With just under five-minutes left qualifying, Robb jumped to the to provisional pole. That didn’t last long as Thompson, and then Frost quickly supplanted him.

At the 18 minute point of qualifying, drivers sector times were showing green, with the Pabst Racing duo of Colin Kaminsky and Hunter McElrea improved.

With one minute remaining, Eves turned in a flier that was only two-thousandths behind Frost.

The reigning USF2000 driver wasn’t done though, going quicker on his final lap and stealing the pole from Frost.

Indy Pro 2000 unofficial qualifying results

For the first time in his Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires career, Eduardo Barrichello will start a USF2000 race from the pole.

The second-generation driver turned a lap of 81.733 seconds in his Ale sponsored No. 22 Pabst Racing machine. That gave him a gap of only four-thousandths-of-a-second over fellow sophomore Reece Gold (Cape Motorsports).

With only two-tenths of a second covering the top six drivers, it was one of the closest USF2000 qualifying sessions that we’ve witnessed.

The first of two qualifying sessions for the USF2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Presented by Cooper Tires Honoring First Responders got started right on time at 1:30 pm.

There were a few fluffy white clouds in the brilliant blue sky, with an ambient temperature of 83F.

The first driver to complete a lap at speed was Rasmussen, but early in the session, the drivers were busy getting their Cooper Tires up to the optimal operating temperature. Most teams had bolted on a sticker set of Coopers for qualifying after utilizing a set carried over from Road America during the morning practice session.

When most drivers had completed only three laps and with just under 15-minutes remaining in the session, Barrichello, who led the morning practice, was the quickest driver.

With eight minutes remaining in the session, it was Cape Motorsports sophomore Reece Gold with a lap at 82.044 seconds that was the quickest driver, with Rasmussen, Green, Barichello, and Duppel in the top five.

Rasmussen was the first driver to turn a lap below 82 seconds, but every driver on track got quicker and quicker.

With five minutes remaining in the session, the top ten drivers on the timing screen were all within a half-second of Rasmussen, and 16 of the 20 drivers were within one second.

Gold was the second driver to hold the provisional pole in the last five minutes of the session, but he wouldn’t last.

With three minutes remaining, Barichello had moved back to the provisional pole, with the top five drivers all within two-tenths-of-a-second of the top spot.

With just over one minute left in the session, the red flag came out for Bijoy Garg, ending the session and giving Eduardo Barrichello his first career pole.

Unofficial Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship qualifying results

The first of three USF2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Presented by Cooper Tires Honoring First Responders get the green flag at 4:30 pm.

By Steve Wittich

The top three in the lone Indy Pro 2000 practice session for the Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Presented by Cooper Tires Honoring First Responders were separated by less than two-tenths of a second.

Leading the way, with a lap timed at 77.513 seconds, was defending Cooper Tires USF2000 Champion and Exclusive Autosport rookie Braden Eves.

He was joined in the top three by fellow rookie Manuel Sulaiman (DEForce Racing) and sophomore Danial Frost (Turn 3 Motorsport).

The lone Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires practice session got started at 11:15 am. The temperature when the 30-minute session got started was 80F, and the wind was blowing briskly from the south.

The red flag came out with only six minutes gone in the session for a car that had come to a stop at pit exit and so that the AMR INDYCAR Safety Team could complete a track inspection.

At that point in the session, the quickest driver was points leader Frost at 79.635 seconds, but most drivers had not yet turned a lap at speed.

The car that had caused the red after dropping a bunch of gearbox fluid in Turn 4, 5 and 6, was the DAN-JET sponsored No. 68 of Frost. The problem was not terminal as the Singaporean driver was able to get back out on the track.

After a lengthy delay for clean-up, the session was extended, and when the green flag came back out, the time remaining clock read 25-minutes.

Frost quickly lowered the time-to-beat to 78.864 seconds, and for the first 20 minutes of the session was the only driver to break the 79-second barrier.

With just under 10-minutes left in the session, the time to beat was lowered again. Once again, it was Frost, who turned the first lap under 78 seconds.

In desperate need of a bounce-back weekend, Thompson spent quite a bit of time with the second quickest time and was the third driver to turn a lap under 78 seconds.

With five minutes left in the session, Frost and Eves were the only drivers with laps in the 77-second range.

With two minutes left in the session, Frost was finally knocked off the top spot by Eves in the Road To Indy/Cooper Tires/MDRN Livery/CCFI/Huston Insurance sponsored No. 1.

TSO was told that Eves was quick during the recent Road To Indy test at Mid-Ohio, but was having transponder issues. It’s always nice to know that a source was being honest.

Late in the session, pole sitter at Road America Sulaiman threw down a flier, that wasn’t quick enough to top Eves but did move him ahead of Frost with the second-fastest lap.

Another rookie, Pabst Racing’s Hunter McElrea, turned the quickest lap of the session on his final lap.

Qualifying for the first Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Presented by Cooper Tires Honoring First Responders race starts at 2:15 pm.

Results of Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Presented by Cooper Tires Honoring First Responders practice