By Tony DiZinno

Exclusive Autosport has secured its second pole of the day in as many opportunities at St. Petersburg. On this occasion it was Braden Eves doing the honors, as the Ohioan continues his return to racing tour in the No. 91 Tatuus PM-18 for the Indy Pro 2000 series. It’s his fourth Indy Pro 2000 pole and ninth in his Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires career.

Eves uncorked the first and only lap in the 1:08 bracket, at 1:08.9361, on his fourth flying lap. Before he posted that lap, the top seven drivers in the ultra-competitive series were separated by just over two tenths of a second on their third flying laps. As Eves got his fourth lap in before others, he stretched the gap to 0.3339 of a second.

“I love it, just heading straight into qualifying after one practice session,” said the 2019 USF2000 champion. “I think it puts things more in the hands of the driver – it challenges us. It’s tough to push here, with the walls so close, but the stakes are so high. And it’s so important to get experience here. I came here two years ago in USF2000 and it was tough, going against the veterans. It’s a big advantage to have been on a street circuit before, and this is one of my favorite tracks and events.”

The pole win is Eves’ second Indy Pro 2000 pole of 2021, his fourth career series inside front row start, and the ninth pole in his Road To Indy career.

Timing paid off for him because shortly afterwards, a red flag flew with an incident that appeared to occur near the exit of Turn 3, a notoriously treacherous corner on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn St. Petersburg track. This occurred just after five minutes into the 20-minute session, and nearly brought the remainder of the session to a halt.

Hunter Yeany’s No. 11 Velocity Racing Development and Enzo Fittipaldi’s No. 74 RP Motorsport USA cars were both brought back to the paddock on tow trucks. Yeany’s car had rear wing damage and still showed stickers on its new set of Cooper Tires, while Fittipaldi’s car appeared to sustain more significant damage with a yellow tarp underneath the car when it went back behind the wall.

Update on this incident: Fittipaldi, who was on a hot lap, made significant contact with Yeany’s No. 11 Velocity Racing Development PM-18, as the latter driver was exiting pit road. Both drivers could get out of the cars under their own power and were checked, released and cleared to drive by INDYCAR medical. The RP Motorsport crew has a significant amount of work to complete to get the Claro/Baterias Moura/XP Investimentos/PLGG sponsored No. 74 of the multi-generational racer ready for Saturday’s morning second qualifying session. 

After track repairs and the red flag was lifted, the green flew with roughly one minute to go. But no one was able to improve.

Eves and fellow Barber Indy Pro 2000 winner Hunter McElrea, the two sparring partners who are quickly developing into a great rivalry, will share the front row. McElrea is in the No. 18 Pabst Racing car, and denied Exclusive a double front row lockout with Artem Petrov third in the No. 42 Exclusive entry.

Eves’ qualifying topper was the first Indy Pro 2000 pole in St. Petersburg, Fla., for Exclusive Autosport. It’s the Canadian team’s seventh career Indy Pro 2000 pole and the first on a street circuit.

The top entries from Jay Howard Driver Development (Christian Rasmussen), Juncos Racing (Reece Gold) and RP Motorsport USA (Enaam Ahmed) ensured five different teams in the top six of qualifying.

Even with the extended red and Eves’ 0.3 gap to second place, the top 12 of 17 cars were still covered by less than a second, just 0.9395.

 

The series is done on track for the day with its next session at 8 a.m. ET Saturday morning, qualifying for Race 2.

Indy Pro 2000 Race 1 Qualifying

P	No	Name	Team	FTime	Diff	Laps
1	91	Braden Eves	Exclusive Autosport	1:08.9361	1:08.9361	7
2	18	Hunter McElrea	Pabst Racing	1:09.2700	0.3339	6
3	42	Artem Petrov	Exclusive Autosport	1:09.3397	0.4036	6
4	1	Christian Rasmussen	Jay Howard Driver Development	1:09.3640	0.4279	6
5	55	Reece Gold	Juncos Racing	1:09.3726	0.4365	6
6	77	Enaam Ahmed	RP Motorsport USA	1:09.3922	0.4561	6
7	22	Manuel Sulaiman	Juncos Racing	1:09.4568	0.5207	6
8	5	Wyatt Brichacek	Jay Howard Driver Development	1:09.4920	0.5559	6
9	27	Colin Kaminsky	Pabst Racing	1:09.6602	0.7241	6
10	3	James Roe	Turn 3 Motorsport	1:09.7184	0.7823	6
11	51	Jacob Abel	Abel Motorsports	1:09.7348	0.7987	6
12	7	Cameron Shields	DEForce Racing	1:09.8756	0.9395	6
13	21	Kyffin Simpson	Juncos Racing	1:09.9584	1.0223	6
14	20	Flinn Lazier	Legacy Autosport	1:10.1185	1.1824	6
15	40	Jack William Miller	Miller Vinatieri Motorsports	1:10.1474	1.2113	4
16	74	Enzo Fittipaldi	RP Motorsport USA	1:12.2344	3.2983	3
17	11	Hunter Yeany	Velocity Racing Development	No Time	—	—

By Tony DiZinno

Exclusive Autosport teammates Christian Brooks and Matt Round-Garrido have locked out the front row for Saturday’s first Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship race of the weekend on the streets of St. Petersburg.

The pole is Brooks’ second of his career in his No. 44 Tatuus USF-17 – both at the 1.8-mile, 14-turn street course – and puts him in excellent position to break the series’ current run of four first-time winners in its last four races dating to the last time the series was at St. Petersburg in October. Brooks, Kiko Porto, Yuven Sundaramoorthy and Prescott Campbell have all secured debut wins in the last four events.

For this session, the two October 2020 winners, Porto and Brooks, were immediately within a tenth of each other on their first two flying laps at 1:12.8259 and 1:12.8489, respectively.

Brooks, the qualifying record holder at St. Pete, then jumped ahead on his third lap ahead of his Exclusive Autosport teammate Round-Garrido in the No. 92 car. Porto briefly fell to third. Both got faster as they continued to work in their sets of Cooper Tires, at 1:12.3460 and 1:12.4504 respectively on their fourth laps.

Just seven minutes into the session, the red flag flew again after it came out twice in practice. Barber race one polesitter and race winner Sundaramoorthy spun in Turn 1 in his No. 22 Pabst Racing entry. The University of Wisconsin – Madison freshman lost his best lap of the session for causing the red flag, but his second best lap was good enough for an inside third row start.

After the session restarted, Brooks lowered the mark to 1:12.1657 before Round-Garrido and Green slotted into second and third.

On his 11th lap, Brooks came within two hundredths of his own qualifying record from last year but came up just shy. His pole time today was 1:11.9887, just off his October time of 1:11.9662.

Round-Garrido came up 0.2924 of a second behind, with Michael d’Orlando third in the No. 4 Cape entry.

Similar to practice, veterans dominated the qualifying charts. Josh Green, Sundaramoorthy, Porto and Josh Pierson completed the top seven all within 0.4306 of a second before the first Florida freshman entered the grid. Billy Frazer, in Exclusive’s third of four cars, slotted in eighth and just 0.7246 off the pace. Myles Rowe in the Force Indy car and Campbell completed the top 10 in qualifying.

 

 

The series qualifies for Race 2 later this afternoon at 3:30 p.m. ET.

USF2000 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by Andersen RacePark Race 1 Qualifying Results

P	No	Name	Team	FTime	Diff	Laps
1	44	Christian Brooks	Exclusive Autosport	1:11.9887	0.0000	13
2	92	Matt Round-Garrido	Exclusive Autosport	1:12.2811	0.2924	13
3	4	Michael d’Orlando	Cape Motorsports	1:12.3252	0.3365	10
4	33	Josh Green	Turn 3 Motorsport	1:12.3489	0.3602	12
5	22	Yuven Sundaramoorthy	Pabst Racing	1:12.4032	0.4145	13
6	12	Kiko Porto	DEForce Racing	1:12.4039	0.4152	14
7	24	Josh Pierson	Pabst Racing	1:12.4193	0.4306	14
8	91	Billy Frazer	Exclusive Autosport	1:12.7133	0.7246	12
9	99	Myles Rowe	Force Indy	1:12.7203	0.7316	13
10	11	Prescott Campbell	DEForce Racing	1:12.7218	0.7331	13
11	5	Spike Kohlbecker	Cape Motorsports	1:12.7596	0.7709	10
12	23	Jace Denmark	Pabst Racing	1:12.8011	0.8124	13
13	6	Bijoy Garg	Jay Howard Driver Development	1:12.8576	0.8689	12
14	2	Thomas Nepveu	Cape Motorsports	1:12.8923	0.9036	13
15	42	Michael Myers	Michael Myers Racing	1:13.0002	1.0115	13
16	19	Andre Castro	Legacy Autosport	1:13.0777	1.0890	12
17	9	Peter Vodanovich	Jay Howard Driver Development	1:13.1024	1.1137	12
18	34	Dylan Christie	Turn 3 Motorsport	1:13.1045	1.1158	12
19	29	Erik Evans	Velocity Racing Development	1:13.1348	1.1461	13
20	1	Ely Navarro	DEForce Racing	1:13.1450	1.1563	13
21	3	Evan Stamer	Cape Motorsports	1:13.3613	1.3726	13
22	63	Trey Burke	Joe Dooling Autosports	1:13.5235	1.5348	13
23	8	Jackson Lee	Jay Howard Driver Development	1:13.6172	1.6285	7
24	16	Kent Vaccaro	Miller Vinatieri Motorsports	1:14.0816	2.0929	12
25	90	Grant Palmer	Exclusive Autosport	1:14.1652	2.1765	8
26	10	Nolan Siegel	DEForce Racing	No Time	—	—

 

By Steve Wittich

After a forgettable weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, 2019 Indy Pro 2000 champion Kyle Kirkwood began his home state event on the right foot. The Andretti Autosport rookie turned a lap at 65.3824 seconds, a slim one-hundredth of a second ahead of Carlin rookie Alex Peroni.

Rounding out the top five were David Malukas (HMD Motorsports), Danial Frost (Andretti Autosport) and Linus Lundqvist (Global Racing Group w/ HMD Motorsports).

Only three Indy Lights pilots are making their first Road To Indy starts on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn St. Petersburg street circuit. Peroni and Lundqvist finished the session in the top five, and Benjamin Pedersen (Global Racing Group w/HMD) was sixth-best.

One-second covered the top nine drivers, with all 13 entries covered by only 1.4 seconds.

After 15 of 45-minutes, Malukas was at the top of the timing screens with a lap timed at 66.9609 seconds. DeFrancesco, Frost, Lundqvist, and Kirkwood followed the HMD Motorsports sophomore in the top five.

With 23 minutes remaining in the session, Frost, who had a pair of Indy Pro 2000 podiums in St. Petersburg, Fla. in October, briefly took the top spot. The Singaporean’s time with the quickest lap was brief. On his next hot lap, Malukas went back to the point.

With 20 minutes remaining in the session, Frost became the first driver to break the 66-second barrier, with the following five drivers are within six-tenths-of-a-second of Frost.

With just over 16 minutes remaining in practice, the red flag came out Frost. His DAN-JET sponsored No. 68 IL-15 from the Andretti Autosport stable got too deep into Turn 10, running wide, clipping the tires with his right-rear before making moderate impact with the concrete jersey-barriers with the right front.

The 19-year-old got out of the car under his own power, but the Andretti Autosport crew will have some work to do to get his car ready for qualifying in just over two hours.

With a lap time at 65.9561 seconds, Frost had the quickest time when the green flag came back out with 13-minutes left in the lone Indy Lights practice session. The top five, including Malukas, Peroni, DeFrancesco and Kirkwood, were all within four-tenths-of-a-second of the top spot.

Timing and scoring went wonky over the last fifteen minutes of the session, but apparently, Kirkwood and Peroni found some speed near the end of the session after bolting on fresh Cooper Tire slicks.

Indy Lights Grand Prix of St. Petersburg presented by Foundation Building Materials practice #1 results

RANK	CAR NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	QUICK LAP	DIFFERENCE	TOTAL LAPS
1	28	Kyle Kirkwood	Andretti Autosport	65.3824	—	27
2	5	Alex Peroni	Carlin	65.3967	-0.0143	27
3	79	David Malukas	HMD Motorsports	65.6652	-0.2828	25
4	68	Danial Frost	Andretti Autosport	65.9561	-0.5737	16
5	26	Linus Lundqvist	Global Racing Group w/HMD Motorsports	66.0469	-0.6645	26
6	24	Benjamin Pedersen	Global Racing Group wHMD Motorsports	66.2086	-0.8262	26
7	17	Devlin DeFrancesco	Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport	66.2278	-0.8454	27
8	27	Robert Megennis	Andretti Autosport	66.2484	-0.866	26
9	51	Toby Sowery	Juncos Racing	66.3729	-0.9905	27
10	2	Sting Ray Robb	Juncos Racing	66.6443	-1.2619	25
11	11	Antonio Serravalle	Pserra Racing	66.7245	-1.3421	24
12	59	Nikita Lastochkin	HMD Motorsports	66.7343	-1.3519	26
13	7	Christian Bogle	Carlin	66.7845	-1.4021	28

By Steve Wittich

Exclusive Autosport veteran Braden Eves’ comeback tour continues in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Ohioan, who led the opening Indy Pro 2000 session on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn street circuit, 13-months ago, led the lone practice session with a lap timed at 68.8933 seconds.

Joining Eves in the top five was Christian Rasmussen (Jay Howard Driver Development), Hunter McElrea (Pabst Racing), Reece Gold (Juncos Racing), and Jack William Miller (Miller Vinatieri Motorsports).

The quintet that topped the lone Indy Pro 2000 practice in St. Petersburg, Fla. combined to win 24 of the last 32 USF2000 races over the past two seasons.

The top 14 drivers were within one second of Eves.

After a red-flag filled USF2000 practice session to start the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires action in St. Petersburg, Fla., the lone 30-minute Indy Pro 2000 practice session of the Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix Of St. Petersburg presented by Cooper Tires weekend got underway seven minutes late at 9:48 am.

The ambient temperature was 70F, and the track temperature was 83F, when the 17 Elite Engine powered PM-18s of the middle rung of the Road To Indy took to the 1.8-mile, 14-turn street circuit.

With nine minutes gone in the session, the red flag came out for Jacob Abel. The Abel Construction/Bell Helmets sponsored No. 51 PM-18 came to a halt in Turn 10. The AMR INDYCAR Safety Team was able to flat tow the bright red Abel Motorsports machine back to the crew on pit road.

When the red flag came out, the quickest driver was Colin Kaminsky (Pabst Racing), with his best lap of the green street circuit taking 69.9179 seconds. Artem Petrov (Juncos Racing), McElrea, Gold, Eves, Rasmussen, Cameron Shields (DEForce Racing), James Roe (Turn 3 Motorsport), Manuel Sulaiman (Juncos Racing) and Enzo Fittipaldi (RP Motorsport).

The green flag came back out with 17-minutes remaining in the session.

The drivers quickly got their Cooper Tire slicks up to the optimal operating temperature, and the timing screen began to light up green and purple as drivers went quicker and quicker.

Over the next five minutes, McElrea, Rasmussen, and Eves all spent time at the top of the timing screen. Once again, the field was super tight, with the dozen quickest drivers covered by only six-tenths-of-a-second.

McElrea held the quickest time with five of the 30-minutes remaining but was knocked off the top spot by Eves, who was then supplanted by the JHDD, CSU | One Cure/Lucas Oil sponsored No. 1 of Rasmussen.

On his 21st of 21 laps, Eves could jump back to the top of the timing screen with the first sub-69 second lap of the race weekend.

Gold, Jack William Miller (Miller Vinatieri Motorsports), Sulaiman, and Flinn Lazier (Legacy Autosport) all improved on their final laps.

Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix Of St. Petersburg presented by Cooper Tires practice #1 results

RANK	CAR NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	QUICK LAP	DIFFERENCE	TOTAL LAPS
1	91	Braden Eves	Exclusive Autosport	1:08.8933	1:08.8933	22
2	1	Christian Rasmussen	Jay Howard Driver Development	1:09.0819	0.1886	20
3	18	Hunter McElrea	Pabst Racing	1:09.1534	0.2601	21
4	55	Reece Gold	Juncos Racing	1:09.2394	0.3461	21
5	40	Jack William Miller	Miller Vinatieri Motorsports	1:09.2756	0.3823	21
6	42	Artem Petrov	Exclusive Autosport	1:09.3157	0.4224	21
7	27	Colin Kaminsky	Pabst Racing	1:09.3298	0.4365	20
8	5	Wyatt Brichacek	Jay Howard Driver Development	1:09.3548	0.4615	20
9	22	Manuel Sulaiman	Juncos Racing	1:09.4445	0.5512	19
10	77	Enaam Ahmed	RP Motorsport USA	1:09.5296	0.6363	20
11	74	Enzo Fittipaldi	RP Motorsport USA	1:09.5752	0.6819	19
12	7	Cameron Shields	DEForce Racing	1:09.7800	0.8867	20
13	20	Flinn Lazier	Legacy Autosport	1:09.9054	1.0121	20
14	3	James Roe	Turn 3 Motorsport	1:09.9199	1.0266	21
15	21	Kyffin Simpson	Juncos Racing	1:10.1484	1.2551	21
16	11	Hunter Yeany	Velocity Racing Development	1:10.4009	1.5076	14
17	51	Jacob Abel	Abel Motorsports	1:11.6990	2.8057	4

 

By Tony DiZinno

At a track where experience is generally rewarded, 10 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship veterans placed in the top 11 spots in the lone 30-minute practice session this weekend at St. Petersburg.

DEForce Racing started out strong with Brazilian Kiko Porto topping the timesheets around the 1.8-mile, 14-turn street circuit. Porto, who won his maiden USF2000 race here at the rescheduled 2020 date last October, was the only driver to break into the 1:12 bracket (1:12.9311) in the No. 12 Tatuus USF-17. This occurred on his fifth of 12 timed laps.

Matt Round-Garrido was second in the No. 92 Exclusive Autosport entry, 0.1966 of a second in arrears, ahead of Michael d’Orlando in the No. 4 Cape Motorsports entry, ensuring three different teams in the top three.

Barber Race 2 winner Prescott Campbell was fourth in the No. 11 DEForce car with Christian Brooks, the other 2020 St. Pete race winner, listed fifth in the No. 44 Exclusive entry. Brooks and Nolan Siegel, a Barber polesitter in another DEForce entry, appeared to have transponder issues during the session as Brooks’ time wasn’t listed until the final minutes and Siegel’s wasn’t listed at all.

Tenth-placed Spike Kohlbecker, one of the quartet of Cape drivers, was the only freshman to break through into the top 10 on the streets in this session. The driver of the No. 5 Cape car was 0.7641 of a second off Porto’s pace.

The 26 cars entered need to get up to speed quickly and avoid the biting St. Petersburg walls that tend to eat USF2000 cars over the years.

One team that got bit by the walls was Jay Howard Driver Development. This team arrived at St. Petersburg in October 2020 having wrapped the USF2000 championship with Christian Rasmussen, but the return to the streets in the spring brought struggles to start the weekend.

Peter Vodanovich brought out the red flag 13 minutes into the session, as his No. 9 JHDD entry contacted the wall in Turn 9. Vodanovich was 11th at the time of incident, the last of 11 listed cars within a second behind Porto at the top of the charts.

The session briefly resumed with 9 minutes remaining, only for it to go red again just after the restart with a second JHDD car in the barriers. This time it was the No. 8 car of Jackson Lee in Turn 8. The son of the NBC Sports broadcaster Kevin Lee was 16th at time of incident.

Next up is qualifying for Race 1 later today at 12:15 p.m. ET, followed by a second qualifying at 3:30 p.m. ET.

RANK	CAR NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	QUICK LAP	DIFFERENCE	TOTAL LAPS
1	12	Kiko Porto	DEForce Racing	1:12.9311	1:12.9311	12
2	92	Matt Round-Garrido	Exclusive Autosport	1:13.1277	0.1966	14
3	4	Michael d’Orlando	Cape Motorsports	1:13.2221	0.2910	13
4	11	Prescott Campbell	DEForce Racing	1:13.2377	0.3066	14
5	44	Christian Brooks	Exclusive Autosport	1:13.3096	0.3785	3
6	24	Josh Pierson	Pabst Racing	1:13.4064	0.4753	14
7	33	Josh Green	Turn 3 Motorsport	1:13.5303	0.5992	13
8	6	Bijoy Garg	Jay Howard Driver Development	1:13.5405	0.6094	13
9	22	Yuven Sundaramoorthy	Pabst Racing	1:13.5663	0.6352	14
10	5	Spike Kohlbecker	Cape Motorsports	1:13.6952	0.7641	13
11	42	Michael Myers	Michael Myers Racing	1:13.7267	0.7956	12
12	9	Peter Vodanovich	Jay Howard Driver Development	1:13.8034	0.8723	8
13	99	Myles Rowe	Force Indy	1:13.9805	1.0494	14
14	29	Erik Evans	Velocity Racing Development	1:14.0954	1.1643	14
15	1	Ely Navarro	DEForce Racing	1:14.1292	1.1981	12
16	23	Jace Denmark	Pabst Racing	1:14.2514	1.3203	14
17	8	Jackson Lee	Jay Howard Driver Development	1:14.3536	1.4225	9
18	91	Billy Frazer	Exclusive Autosport	1:14.3555	1.4244	13
19	90	Grant Palmer	Exclusive Autosport	1:14.5287	1.5976	14
20	63	Trey Burke	Joe Dooling Autosports	1:14.5621	1.6310	14
21	16	Kent Vaccaro	Miller Vinatieri Motorsports	1:14.5640	1.6329	14
22	2	Thomas Nepveu	Cape Motorsports	1:14.6577	1.7266	12
23	3	Evan Stamer	Cape Motorsports	1:14.6669	1.7358	13
24	19	Andre Castro	Legacy Autosport	1:14.6843	1.7532	13
25	34	Dylan Christie	Turn 3 Motorsport	1:14.8471	1.9160	14
26	10	Nolan Siegel	DEForce Racing	No Time	—	—

By Steve Wittich

The premier junior open-wheel series in North America, the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires championship, will be racing on the shores of Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg, Fla. (St. Pete) for the 25th and 26th time.

Andretti Autosport with Marco Andretti won the first time the series visited the 1.8-mile, 14-turn street circuit in 2005. Andretti Autosport’s win was the first of the squad’s five Indy Lights wins in St. Pete. Other active Indy Lights teams with wins at this event are Carlin (three) and Juncos Racing (one).

Current NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers with Indy Lights wins at St. Pete include Rinus VeeKay (2019), Pato O’Ward (2018), Felix Rosenqvist (2016), Ed Jones (2015) and Josef Newgarden (2011).

Indy Lights race winners in St. Petersburg, Fla.

YEAR	DRIVER	TEAM
2019 Race #2	Rinus VeeKay	Juncos Racing
2019 Race #1	Zachary Claman	Belardi Auto Racing
2018 Race #2	Santi Urrutia	Belardi Auto Racing
2018 Race #1	Patricio O’Ward	Andretti Autosport
2017 Race #2	Colton Herta	Andretti Autosport
2017 Race #1	Aaron Telitz	Belardi Auto Racing
2016 Race #2	Felix Rosenqvist	Belardi Auto Racing
2016 Race #1	Felix Serralles	Carlin
2015 Race #2	Ed Jones	Carlin
2015 Race #1	Ed Jones	Carlin
2014	Zach Veach	Andretti Autosport
2013	Jack Hawksworth	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
2012	Tristan Vautier	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
2011	Josef Newgarden	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
2010	JK Vernay	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
2009 Race #2	Junior Strous	Winners Circle Group
2009 Race #1	Junior Strous	Winners Circle Group
2008 Race #2	Richard Antinucci	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
2008 Race #1	Rafa Matos	Andretti Autosport
2007 Race #2	Alex Lloyd	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
2007 Race #1	Alex Lloyd	Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
2006 Race #2	Rafa Matos	Guthrie Racing
2006 Race #1	Rafa Matos	Guthrie Racing
2005	Marco Andretti	Andretti Autosport

 

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Can Kirkwood recover?

The race weekend at Barber Motorsports Park was a new experience for 2018 USF2000 and 2019 Indy Pro 2000 champion Kyle Kirkwood. The Jupiter, Fla. native, finished ninth on Saturday and fifth on Sunday.

“It was a tough weekend for the Andretti Autosport team as a whole,” said Kirkwood. “We played a lot of catch up but I was really proud of where we got the car compared to where we started. By race time, we were super fast but qualifying meant everything at Barber, especially without Push To Pass for that event. The positives to take away are that we got some points on the board, the team worked fantastically together to get us in contention and we learned a lot to take to the next events with race situations and car setup.”

The season-opening event is the first time in his Road To Indy career that he did not stand on the podium in at least one of two races during a double or triple header race weekend, a string of 13 race events. In 19 previous Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires events, Kirkwood had only failed to reach the podium on one other occasion when he finished fourth in a single Indy Pro 2000 race on the Lucas Oil Raceway oval.

Delving even deeper into his career, Kirkwood had stood on the podium at least once in the last 25 double or triple headers he contested (in the U.S.A.). A streak dating back to an F4 United States Championship weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2017.

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Speaking of Andretti Autosport

It was a forgettable weekend for the Andretti Autosport trio of Robert Megennis, Kyle Kirkwood, and Danial Frost. The team that has produced the last two Indy Lights champions and won 58 races in the series had an average finish of 8.7 at Barber Motorsports Park, and Kirkwood’s fifth-place finish in Sunday’s race was the best the squad could manage.

The team has five wins, eight poles, and 13 podiums in St. Petersburg, Fla., meaning they should be primed for a rebound.

The threesome of drivers has had past success on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn street circuit.

• Danial Frost has three podiums in four RTI appearances in St. Pete.
• Kyle Kirkwood has one win and two podiums in four RTI starts at St. Pete.
• Robert Megennis has made eight previous RTI starts in St. Pete, winning once and standing on the podium three times.

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No, we didn’t forget him.

Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport rookie Devlin DeFrancesco, unlike his teammates, had a strong Indy Lights debut at Barber Motorsports Park, gaining four spots in two races and twice finishing on the podium.

The Canadian also had consistent pace throughout the weekend, tying Kirkwood with the team’s best qualifying average (5.0) and the fastest lap of the race average (3.5).

“I’m really looking forward to heading back to St. Petersburg, said the Florida resident. “We were only there back in October last year for the Indy Pro 2000 final round, and I can’t wait to try the Indy Lights car there.

“I’ve been fortunate to race at some of the best street races in the world, including Macau and Pau. They present a huge challenge as you have to push hard, but there are huge consequences if you get it wrong.

“Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport has had great success here in the past and I’m looking forward to targeting more success for them this week.

“I’ve been reviewing videos from past races. I know Andretti has had strong cars there in past years with Pato (O’Ward), Colton (Herta), and Oliver (Askew). We have high expectations for the weekend and are really going to be able to take the fight to HMD (Motorsports).”

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They have the momentum

The four-car effort from HMD Motorsports and Global Racing Group w/HMD have the momentum after a memorable weekend at Barber Motorsports Park. Linus Lundqvist and David Malukas won races for the team that finished one-two on Saturday and Sunday.

Malukas, who won Sunday’s race at Barber Motorsports Park going away, should have tremendous confidence headed to St. Pete. The last time Indy Lights was on this track 13 months ago; he led the lone series practice session in 2020. 

Lundqvist is not quite a stranger to street circuits. The Swede made a pair of 2019 Euroformula Open starts on the Circuit de Pau-Ville, a tricky street circuit in the southwest of France.

Their rookie teammate Benjamin Pedersen, who is fourth in the championship standings, will be seeing a street circuit for the first time.

The team did collect two Indy Lights podiums on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn street circuit, with Toby Sowery behind the wheel in 2019.

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Secret weapon?

A driver representing Belardi Auto Racing made four of the last seven trips to the Indy Lights victory lane. Sadly, the Brian Belardi team is no longer with us, but the team’s engineer Tim Neff is now with Juncos Racing. The experienced Indy Lights engineer was also part of seven Schmidt Peterson Motorsports wins on the circuit, making him a valuable asset for Juncos Racing and their two drivers.

The two drivers, Toby Sowery and Sting Ray Robb have also had success in St. Petersburg, Fla. Veteran Sowery stood on a pair of Indy Lights podiums in 2019, while rookie Robb has eight previous Indy Pro 2000 starts on the circuit. The 19-year-old has one win, two podiums, six top-fives, and has never finished worse than seventh.

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Just over six years ago…

Carlin, a stalwart in the European Junior Formula scene, made their American debut in St. Petersburg, Fla., 316 weeks ago. And, what a debut it was.

The brilliant Carlin blue No. 11 of current Dale Coyne Racing With Vasser-Sullivan driver Ed Jones started on pole for the team’s first Indy Lights races, leading every lap and quickly letting the American racing scene that they had arrived.

Carlin’s complete results at St. Pete include three wins, two poles, four podiums, and 88 laps led.

The Delray Beach, Fla. led team returns to the gulf side of the Sunshine State and the track that hosted their first win with a pair of drivers.

Australian Alex Peroni had a solid start to the season, finishing fifth and sixth in the first two races of the season; he should be looking forward to his first American street circuit adventure.

The 21-year-old has made six previous street circuit starts in the Formula Renault category. His outstanding record in four starts on the tight Circuit de Pau-Ville street circuit and the iconic Circuit de Monaco include four wins, three poles, five podiums, and six top-five finishes.

Don’t be surprised to see Carlin and Peroni at the pointy end of the grid this weekend.

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Who is INDYCAR bound?

With a scholarship valued at $1,289,425 and entry into at least three NTT INDYCAR SERIES races, including the Indianapolis 500, it’s never too early to look at the championship standings.

With less than 10% of the season’s points handed out, we won’t put too much stock into the points, but we will remind you that the eventual champion won the season opener 38.2% of the 34 Indy Lights seasons. Only once, Jon Beekhuis in 1988, has the eventual champion failed to finish the first race of the season.

Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires 2021 championship standings after two races

RANK	DRIVER		TOTAL
1	Linus Lundqvist – r		57
2	Devlin DeFrancesco – r		44
3	David Malukas		40
4	Benjamin Pedersen – r		39
5	Toby Sowery		38
6	Alex Peroni – r		32
7	Kyle Kirkwood – r		29
8	Sting Ray Robb – r		26
9	Robert Megennis		23
10	Danial Frost – r		23
11	Nikita Lastochkin – r		22
12	Christian Bogle – r		22
13	Antonio Serravalle – r		19

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Randomness

• Kyle Kirkwood (USF2000 in 2018), Robert Megennis (USF2000 in 2017), and Sting Ray Robb (Indy Pro 2000) in 2020) are the drivers in the field with previous Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires wins in St. Pete.
• The race winner has started on the pole 11 times and on the front row 18 times (75%).
• The average starting position of the two-dozen previous race winners is 2.3. The average starting position of the ten race winners in the IL-15 era is 2.3.
• In 2016, Felix Serralles won from the inside of the fourth row, the furthest back a winner in St. Pete has started.

• Schmidt Peterson Motorsports has seven Indy Lights race wins in St. Pete, the most of any team.
• The average finishing position of the pole-sitter in 24 previous Indy Lights races in St. Pete is 4.2. In the IL-15 era, the average finishing position of the pole-sitter is 2.9.
• The pole-sitter has failed to start one race and was unable to finish four more.
• Eight different Andretti Autosport drivers have started from the pole in eight total races, the most inside front row start of any team.
• Nineteen different teams have sent drivers to the Indy Lights podium in St. Pete. Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, with 18 podiums, leads the way.
• Andretti Autosport drivers have led 274 laps in St. Pete, the most of any team.
• Nine of the 24 Indy Lights races have had a first lap caution, including the second race the last four years the series has visited.
• The first race of the weekend has run caution-free the last four years, the only caution-free Indy Lights races in St. Pete.
• Junior Strous crossed the finish line 0.443 seconds ahead of Sebastian Saavedra in Race #2 in 2009, the closest finish at this event.

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Indy Lights weekend schedule – all times Eastern

Friday

• 10:25am – Indy Lights Practice #1
• 1:25pm – Indy Lights Qualifying #1
• 5:25pm – Indy Lights Qualifying #2

Saturday

• 3:20pm – Indy Lights Race #1

Sunday

• 10am – Indy Lights Race #2

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Don’t miss any of the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires action:

• download the Road To Indy TV app from the Apple App Store or on Google Play to get video, audio, timing & scoring, news from TSO Ladder and much more – you can also get Road To Indy TV via Apple TV, Amazon Video, Roku or Microsoft Xbox One
• live timing – Road To Indy TV – Indy Lights – Pro Mazda – USF2000 – IndyCar Race Control
• on twitter – TSO Ladder – Team Cooper Tire – Road To Indy TV – Indy Lights – Indy Pro 2000 – USF2000
• on all social media channels via the #TeamCooperTire and #RoadToIndy hashtags

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A note about our presenting sponsor. 

Once again, a huge thank you to Cooper Tires for coming back to be the presenting sponsor of TSO Ladder for the fourth season. Without them, we would not be able to bring you our extensive Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires coverage. If you require tires, I highly recommend them. Our family has the Discover ® AT3 4S  on our SUV and CS5 Grand Touring on our car.

By Steve Wittich

The “thrill of victory and the agony of defeat” (sorry, ABC Wide World Of Sports) perfectly describes the weekend of Indy Lights Grand Prix Of Alabama presented by Cooper Tires Race #2 winner David Malukas.

After his season began in the Turn 1 barriers on Lap 1 on Saturday, he recovered with a perfect Sunday. The 19-year-old HMD Motorsports driver scored ‘max’ points, starting on the pole, leading every lap, and turning the fastest lap on the way to his first Indy Lights victory.

“This feels amazing. I took it easy in the beginning so as not to make any mistakes and get it all ruined, said Sunday’s race winner. “As the fuel load went down, I could feel the car really coming in and I knew I just had to take it easy. I had a big gap, all I had to do was bring it home. But I felt like Captain America out there, like I could do it all day and just keep pushing more and more! I fell in love with the track, the tires were still there, the car was amazing, I couldn’t do anything but go faster. I only took it easy that last lap.

“This has been a long time coming. By the end of 2019, it felt like a curse, that I just couldn’t get an Indy Lights win. We have the pace this year and could have won yesterday, but I knew I had the pace today. I put yesterday behind me and went for it, and brought it home.”

The win was the Chicago, Ill native’s fourth career Road To Indy trip to victory lane and his sixth win across all North American Junior Open Wheel series.

Malukas was joined on the podium by Saturday’s race winner and teammate Linus Lundqvist (Global Racing Group w/ HMD Motorsports). The Swede now has 18 podiums in 19 starts across Indy Lights and the Formula Regional Americas Championship.

Devlin DeFrancesco (Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport) had an adventurous run to the podium, falling down the running order on the first lap after being force wide in Turn 1, before clawing his way back to stand on his second podium in as many days.

“It was definitely a hectic race. Robert (Megennis) was very aggressive at the start and pushed me quite wide, but I can’t begrudge him – I would have done the same thing” said the Canadian after his second straight podium celebration. “I tried to gather it up and focus on moving forward, putting pressure on Toby (Sowery) and Robert. I kept pressing, trying to get him to make a mistake because I could see Robert having problems with locking up. But I also had to keep Alex Peroni behind; I almost lost the position to him. I was able to get by Robert when he had the issue. The Andretti Steinbrenner guys have done an amazing job this weekend, from where we started to a double podium. The HMD guys have been quick all weekend but I have a feeling the tables will turn very soon.”

Finishing fourth for the second race in a row was Juncos Racing veteran Toby Sowery, who is still knocking the rust off his skillset after taking a hiatus from track activity for a season.

Kyle Kirkwood recovered from a mistake in Turn 1, Lap 1 of Race 1, to come home fifth after starting seventh.

There were 40 on-track passes in the 35 lap race. Carlin rookie Alex Peroni made six on-track overtakes, the most of the 13 starters. Carlin rookie Christian Bogle gained three spots, the most of any driver.

The top five in championship standings (unofficial) headed to St. Petersburg, Fla. next weekend are:
1 – Linus Lundqvist (Global Racing Group w/HMD) – 57 points
2 – Devlin DeFrancesco (Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport) – 44 points
3 – David Malukas (HMD Motorsports) – 40 points
4 – Benjamin Pedersen (Global Racing Group w/HMD) – 39 points
5 – Toby Sowery (Juncos Racing) – 38 points

A quick note before the engines are fired. We checked in with Tony Cotman, the Road To Indy competition director and Indy Lights Race Director, regarding the absence of Push-To-Pass this weekend. He explained to TSO Ladder that they were experiencing a software issue. They were almost 100% certain that the system would work perfectly, but because they weren’t 100%, they didn’t think it would be fair if it worked with some cars and not with others. They will give it another shot in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The call to start the turbocharged 2.0L AER engines powering the baker’s dozen IL-15s for the second Indy Lights race at Barber Motorsports Park was given a little late at 12:35 pm after a caution filled Porsche Sprint Challenge Race.

After a pair of formation laps, the front row of Malukas and Lundqvist led the field to the green flag.

Malukas got the jump on Lundqvist, with Megennis starting behind the pole sitter, also getting a great start.

The big loser through the first half of Lap 1 was Devlin DeFrancesco (Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport), who lost three spots after getting pushed out wide in Turn 1. His teammate, Kirkwood, also went backward,

At the end of the first lap, the running order was: Malukas, Lundqvist, Megennis, Peroni, Toby Sowery (Juncos Racing), DeFrancesco, Benjamin Pedersen (Global Racing Group w/HMD), Danial Frost (Andretti Autosport), Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti Autosport), Sting Ray Robb (Juncos Racing), Nikita Lastochkin (HMD Motorsports), Christian Bogle (Carlin) and Antonio Serravalle (Pserra Racing)

The big mover on Lap 1 was Carlin rookie Peroni, whose aggressive first lap saw him move from the eighth starting spot up to fourth.

After five laps, Malukas’ lead was 1.1 seconds over Lundqvist. The entire field was still strung together with the top nine within seven seconds.

On Lap 6, Lastochkin moved into the top 10, getting by Robb.

After ten laps of action, Malukas’ lead had grown to 2.5 seconds. Lundqvist, in second, had a 4.1-second gap to Megennis in third.

Behind Megennis, a trio led by Peroni was within 1.5 seconds of the Andretti Autosport sophomore.

On Lap 12, Lundqvist turned the quickest lap of the race to that point, two-tenths-of-a-second quicker than Malukas.

Peroni, who was running fourth, had a sudden loss of power coming out of Turn 9, losing spots to Sowery and DeFrancesco.

Sowery quickly caught up to Megennis, with Sowery diving to the inside of Charlotte’s Web. The two veterans went side-by-side until Turn 8 when Sowery wisely backed out.

At the halfway point of the race, Malukas lead over Lundqvist was 3.1 seconds. Megennis was 13.3 seconds adrift of Lundqvist.

Malukas, with 12 laps remaining and the fuel load getting less, was the first driver to turn a sub-73-second lap.

On the next lap, Sowery dove to the inside in Turn 5 again. Megennis took a defensive line into the 180-degree left-hand turn.

With ten laps remaining, Malukas lead over his teammate was 3.6 seconds. Megennis was still in third place but had the following eight drivers with five seconds of him.

The best battle late in the race was between Andretti Autosport teammates Kirkwood and Frost. Kirkwood was getting the power down better out of Turn 6 and made a daring pass outside of Turn 8.

While the front two were on a Sunday stroll, behind them, the battle was intense.

Pederson, who had been running seventh, lost two spots to Kirkwood and Frost.

On Lap 30, Megennis had the left front tire give out in the Alabama Roller Coaster. DeFrancesco made up for a poor first lap by making an aggressive move to get by the wounded Megennis and Sowery to grab the final spot on the podium.

On the Peacock broadcast, Katie Kiel asked Megennis’ crew chief Jessica Mace what happened, and she supposed that the lockups into Turn 5, was the cause of the problem.

“My left-front tire went down. I was racing for third and I held on as long as I could,” said Fordham University student Robert Megennis.” We kind of struggled for pace so we’ll look back at the data and see why. I didn’t think the tire was going to blow up, I really didn’t lock it up that much or didn’t do anything too crazy. It sucks that we had a good result going today and we need to get points when we can.”

Kirkwood took advantage of Peroni getting bogged down behind them while trying to avoid the wounded No. 27.

With two laps remaining, Malukas had a comfortable 6.1 second lead over his teammate. The teammates also had the the two quickest laps of the race.

On the final lap, Frost, who was running seventh, was forced to pit road, which also appeared to be an issue with a tire.

Indy Lights Grand Prix Of Alabama presented by Cooper Tires Race #2 Unofficial Results.

RANK	CAR NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	DIFFERENCE
1	79	David Malukas	HMD Motorsports	——
2	26	Linus Lundqvist	Global Racing Group w/HMD Motorsports	-6.3895
3	17	Devlin DeFrancesco	Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport	-32.1326
4	51	Toby Sowery	Juncos Racing	-33.1431
5	28	Kyle Kirkwood	Andretti Autosport	-33.5494
6	5	Alex Peroni	Carlin	-36.5642
7	24	Benjamin Pedersen	Global Racing Group wHMD Motorsports	-39.4897
8	2	Sting Ray Robb	Juncos Racing	-39.8679
9	59	Nikita Lastochkin	HMD Motorsports	-40.9812
10	7	Christian Bogle	Carlin	-52.1906
11	11	Antonio Serravalle	Pserra Racing	-52.8125
12	68	Danial Frost	Andretti Autosport	-1 LAPS
13	27	Robert Megennis	Andretti Autosport	-3 LAPS

The top-rung of the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires is back on track in five days, on Friday, April 23, in St. Petersburg, Fla.

By Steve Wittich

Hunter McElrea, with an unorthodox win at Barber Motorsports Park, has now won two of the last three Indy Pro 2000 races.

The Pabst Racing sophomore wasn’t the first driver to cross the line but was declared the winner when a five-second post-race penalty was applied to Christian Rasmussen (Jay Howard Driver Development), who moved in reaction to McElrea while defending after a spin in Turn 5 threw away a significant lead.

“I was all over Christian for the first five laps to try and apply the pressure, but he had the most pace today,” explained the sophomore Pabst Racing pilot.  “Having gotten sixth yesterday, I was going for points today and was ready to accept second when I came out of Turn Five and he was stopped in the middle of the road. He put three blocks on me, so I feel as though he had the win just about in the bag but he gave it to me. He was super fast; I’m sure he’s disappointed. I love racing him, I know we’ll have some good battles this year, but I got lucky with that win and in this game, you have to take them. I probably had the second-place car today but I got lucky. This win puts me right where I need to be.”

Exclusive Autosport veteran Artem Petrov was able to hold off his teammate and winner of Saturday’s race Braden Eves, to stand on his second straight podium to start the 2021 Indy Pro 2000 season.

The race featured 39 passes, with Enzo Fittipaldi (RP Motorsport), James Roe (Turn 3 Motorsports), and Reece Gold (Juncos Racing), each completing five overtakes.

Petrov, Colin Kaminsky (Pabst Racing), Enaam Ahmed (RP Motorsport), James Roe (Turn 3 Motorsport), Hunter Yeany (Velocity Racing Development), and Jack William Miller (Miller Vinatieri Motorsports) all gained three spots during the race, the most in the field.

Eves, with a fourth-place finish, heads to the second event of the season in St. Petersburg, Fla., next weekend with the points lead.

Unofficial Top 5 Indy Pro 2000 points after two races
1 – Braden Eves (Exclusive Autosport) – 51 points
2 – Artem Petrov (Exclusive Autosport) – 47 points
3 – Hunter McElrea (Pabst Racing) – 45 points
4 – Christian Rasmussen (Jay Howard Driver Development) – 37 points
T5 – Reece Gold (Juncos Racing) – 30 points
T5 – Jacob Abel (Abel Motorsports) – 30 points

After having contract in Saturday’s race, the front row of Rasmussen and McElrea began Sunday’s race cleanly. Pole-sitter Rasmussen got a good jump on McElrea.

Gold, who started third, had an issue in Turn 1, with the podium driver from Saturday falling down the running order to 14th.

Petrov, who started sixth, moved up three spots on the first lap, passing his teammate Eves in Charlotte’s Web.

The running order at the end of the first lap was Rasmussen, McElrea, Petrov, Eves, Abel, Wyatt Brichacek (Jay Howard Driver Development), Colin Kaminsky (Pabst Racing), Manuel Sulaiman (Juncos Racing), James Roe (Turn 3 Motorsport), Kyffin Simpson (Juncos Racing), Enaam Ahmed (RP Motorsport), Hunter Yeany (Velocity Racing Development), Pietro Fittipaldi (RP Motorsport), Reece Gold (Juncos Racing), Jack William Miller (Miller Vinatieri Motorsports), Cameron Shields (DEForce Racing) and Flinn Lazier (Legacy Autosport).

Early on, McElrea would not let the Rasmussen getaway out front, with Exclusive Autosport teammates running in their tire tracks.

Just before the one-third point of the race, Simpson had an issue on the track, letting Ahmed, Yeany, and Fittipaldi get by before falling to the tail of the field.

Rasmussen’s lead was up to 2.3 seconds over McElrea, slowly gapping the Pabst Racing sophomore.

Petrov was 2.5 seconds behind McElrea in the final podium spot, but that spot wasn’t safe, as his teammate Eves was right on the Russian’s gearbox.

As the fuel burned off, lap times continued to fall, and drivers settled in for during the middle portion of the race.

At the halfway point of the race, Rasmussen’s lead over McElrea was 3.3 seconds. The remainder of the top ten was Petrov, Eves, Abel, Brichacek, Kaminsky, Sulaiman, Roe, and Ahmed.

The closest battle on the 2.3-mile, 17-turn natural terrain road course was at the halfway point of the 30-lap race was for fifth. Abel held the spot but was facing pressure from Brichacek and Kaminsky.

After putting pressure on Roe for at least ten laps, Ahmed moved past the Irishman for ninth on Lap 19.

On Lap 20, Rasmussen turned his quickest lap of the race along with McElrea. Rasmussen’s lap was a half-second quicker than the Pabst Racing driver, and the gap had increased to just over six seconds.

Despite a considerable lead upfront, there were still some great battles further back in the field. Exclusive Autosport teammates Petrov and Eves were only separated by 0.4 seconds with eight laps remaining.

On lap 23, the race at the front of the field got more interesting when Rasmussen spun in Turn 5. He kept the lead but had McElrea right on his tail.

Rasmussen clearly had the quicker car as he began to pull a gap to McElrea.

With five laps remaining, race control announced that Rasmussen would receive a five-second penalty for moving in reaction to McElrea.

“I was leading by quite a margin but made a mistake coming out of Turn Five, went wide, got on the curb and spun,” explained a disappointed Rasmussen, the reigning USF2000 champion. “It was completely my fault. I saw Hunter coming and went to the inside – which is where you’re supposed to go when you’re defending the position – and he went to the outside. I held my line, so I didn’t feel as though I impeded his line at all, kept the lead and pulled away again. I have to look at the video but I felt as though I kept to the rules in that situation. I’m not sure what I think of the penalty at the moment, but again, we have to look at the video and see what happened. Right now, I don’t think it was fair. I feel as though I deserve that victory, but that’s racing sometimes.”

With two laps remaining, Rasmussen’s gap to McElrea was 3.8 seconds. With one lap remaining, Rasmussen’s lead was 3.5 seconds ahead of McElrea.

Rasmussen crossed the finish line ahead of McElrea, but the gap was not over five seconds, giving the win to McElrea.

Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix Of Alabama Presented By Cooper Tires Race #2

RANK	CAR NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	DIFFERENCE
1	18	Hunter McElrea	Pabst Racing	30 LAPS
2	1	Christian Rasmussen	Jay Howard Driver Development	-1.4102
3	42	Artem Petrov	Exclusive Autosport	-5.9833
4	91	Braden Eves	Exclusive Autosport	-6.8317
5	51	Jacob Abel	Abel Motorsports	-14.3326
6	5	Wyatt Brichacek	Jay Howard Driver Development	-14.9258
7	27	Colin Kaminsky	Pabst Racing	-15.3529
8	22	Manuel Sulaiman	Juncos Racing	-16.4453
9	77	Enaam Ahmed	RP Motorsport USA	-16.9272
10	74	Enzo Fittipaldi	RP Motorsport USA	-18.3812
11	3	James Roe	Turn 3 Motorsport	-20.6469
12	11	Hunter Yeany	Velocity Racing Development	-26.7027
13	55	Reece Gold	Juncos Racing	-27.1185
14	40	Jack William Miller	Miller Vinatieri Motorsports	-27.6646
15	7	Cameron Shields	DEForce Racing	-28.2607
16	20	Flinn Lazier	Legacy Autosport	-40.2698
17	21	Kyffin Simpson	Juncos Racing	-69.8321

 

By Steve Wittich

Prescott Campbell, a DEForce Racing sophomore, utilized an on-track pass for the lead to become the fourth straight newbie to win a Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship race. That string dates back to St. Petersburg, Fla. in 2020 and includes Kiko Porto, Christian Brooks, Yuven Sundaramoorthy.

After a Lap 5 pass, the 20-year-old held off his teammate and pole-sitter Nolan Siegel, who finished on the second step of the podium. It was Siegel’s third career USF2000 podium.

“It’s hard to put this into words, I’m just ecstatic to finally get this done,” said Campbell, the 2019 Lucas Oil Formula Car Series champion. “I qualified P2 for race one, P2 in race two, finished P2 in Race One, so I was really hungry to go one better and I finally got it done. I ran a clean race, no mistakes, and that was the difference. With the aero wash, it’s hard to pass here so it takes a mistake to change position when you’re that close, but I’m gutted for Nolan. Huge thanks to the team, they gave us the best car this weekend as evidenced by my teammates’ performance as well – and thanks to my parents, they’re the ones who have gotten me here, and my sponsors as well.”

Joining Campbell and Siegel on the podium for the second time in as many races, was Josh Pierson (Pabst Racing), who moved up three spots after starting sixth.

“I gave it a good fight in Race One but it’s so hard to pass in the aero wash here, and it’s easy to make a mistake – there are a lot of places that if you touch a wheel, you’re off,” explained Pabst Racing sophomore and double podium driver Pierson. “Not putting a wheel wrong in the race under pressure was tough, but in the end, neither Yuven nor Prescott made any mistakes. I wish I could have gone for the victory, but there’s always next time. Michael (d’Orlando) pushed me pretty hard in the beginning and I enjoyed that. In Race Two, I feel as though I was the only car really making moves out there and I enjoyed that as well. I wasn’t able to do anything in the end but I had good pace and a good run – and a double podium on the day, so it’s a great way to start the season.”

Rounding out the top five were Kiko Porto (DEForce Racing) and Christian Brooks (Exclusive Autosport), making the evening race the second straight with an all-veteran top five. After a thrash by the No. 99 Force Indy crew, Myles Rowe came home in sixth, the highest finishing rookie.

The trip to the USF2000 victory lane is the second for DEForce Racing.

Campbell is the second Lucas Oil Formula Car Series champion to win a race, joining Reece Gold.

The race featured 95 on-track overtakes, with Jay Howard Driver Development rookie Jackson Lee leading that category with a dozen on-track passes. The 18-year-old also gained the most places during the race, gaining nine spots.

The top current top five in USF2000 points after the race are:

• Prescott Campbell – 56 points
• Josh Pierson – 44 points
• Yuven Sundaramoorthy – 43 points
• Nolan Siegel – 37 points
• Christian Brooks – 34 points

Of note from race #1, Jay Howard Driver Development driver Bijoy Garg was disqualified. The second-year driver originally finished 14th but was found to violate Rule 14.31.1., which states –

The minimum Car weight shall include all fuel, lubricants, coolants, cameras, Drivers weight and meet the
following minimums:
(a) All Events – 1260 pounds.

The second Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix Of Alabama was initially scheduled to get the green flag at 3:50 pm but was delayed did not get started until after NTT INDYCAR SERIES qualifying.

The all DEForce Racing front-row of Siegel and Campbell brought the field onto the front straight. The 26 starters were strung out, and the start was waved off. With sunset set for 7:19 pm, the clock began immediately.

The running order at the end of the first lap under was Siegel, Campbell, Porto, Pierson, Rowe, Green, Christie, Brooks, Nepveu, Denmark, d’Orlando, Frazer, Kohlbecker, Sundaramoorthy, Castro, Sikes, Vodanovich, Lee, Garg, Stamer, Round-Garrido, Vaccaro, Navarro, Palmer, Evans, and Burke.

As the field got to Charlotte’s web on the second green flag lap, the No. 6 of Bijoy Garg (Jay Howard Driver Development) spun in Turn 5 (it looked like he had help) and was hit by the No. 16 Kent Vaccaro (Miller Vinatieri Motorsports), who climbed over the front of Garg. That incident necessitated the yellow flag.

With all of the rubber from INDYCAR qualifying, the track was quite slick, which was noticeable in the race lap times, which were one-second slower than the morning races.

When the green flag came back out to begin lap five, the top ten were Siegel, Campbell, Pierson, Porto, Green, Rowe, Brooks, Christie, Nepveu, and Denmark.

On the first lap back to Green, Campbell took the lead for the first time in his USF2000 career. Campbell was quickly under pressure, and when the top four crossed the line to start lap seven, the top four were separated by under one second.

As the field was shown the crossed flags of the 20-lap race, Campbell had a 0.4 second lead over his teammate Siegel. Pierson, Porto, and Brooks – who had just passed Green.

Campbell’s lead over Siegel with five laps remaining was a half-second, but the top 11 were nose-to-tail and running within five seconds of the lead.

With two laps remaining, Siegel was continuing to pressure Campbell, holding a slim three-tenths-of-a-second lead.

Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix Of Alabama Race #2 results

RANK	CAR NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	DIFFERENCE
1	11	Prescott Campbell	DEForce Racing	LAP 20
2	10	Nolan Siegel	DEForce Racing	-0.5419
3	24	Josh Pierson	Pabst Racing	-0.8875
4	12	Kiko Porto	DEForce Racing	-1.1882
5	44	Christian Brooks	Exclusive Autosport	-1.7256
6	99	Myles Rowe	Force Indy	-2.3801
7	33	Josh Green	Turn 3 Motorsport	-4.2601
8	2	Thomas Nepveu	Cape Motorsports	-5.2277
9	4	Michael d’Orlando	Cape Motorsports	-5.3509
10	22	Yuven Sundaramoorthy	Pabst Racing	-5.4912
11	5	Spike Kohlbecker	Cape Motorsports	-5.7958
12	23	Jace Denmark	Pabst Racing	-6.5932
13	91	Billy Frazer	Exclusive Autosport	-7.1204
14	8	Jackson Lee	Jay Howard Driver Development	-9.8148
15	90	Grant Palmer	Exclusive Autosport	-10.476
16	29	Erik Evans	Velocity Racing Development	-13.6728
17	20	Simon Sikes	Legacy Autosport	-14.1107
18	1	Ely Navarro	DEForce Racing	-14.6863
19	19	Andre Castro	Legacy Autosport	-21.6675
20	34	Dylan Christie	Turn 3 Motorsport	-71.1599
21	3	Evan Stamer	Cape Motorsports	-1 LAPS
22	92	Matt Round-Garrido	Exclusive Autosport	– 8 LAPS
23	9	Peter Vodanovich	Jay Howard Driver Development	-8 LAPS
24	6	Bijoy Garg	Jay Howard Driver Development	– 18 LAPS
25	16	Kent Vaccaro	Miller Vinatieri Motorsports	– 18 LAPS
26	63	Trey Burke	Joe Dooling Autosports	– 18 LAPS

By Steve Wittich

It was a race of firsts for Global Racing Group w/HMD Motorsports and rookie driver Linus Lundqvist. It was a first Indy Lights event, a first qualifying session, a first pole, a first rolling start, and the first visit to victory lane after a dominant drive in their first Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires race.

The 22-year-old is the reigning Formula Regional Americas Championship Powered By Honda champion and has now won 16 of 19 open-wheel starts in North America.

“This was the dream, to continue the streak from last year, but we knew how tough this championship has been,” explained the Swedish driver. “Looking at the drivers on this grid, it’s amazing that we were able to get the first pole position of the year and now the first race win as well. It’s my favorite position, to be in the lead and controlling the pace, but you’re still pushing because the field is trying to catch you. You always keep an eye on tire management and manage your laps to his – if there’s a restart, you have to have the tires to keep on pushing. It’s unfortunate for the team that David got taken out in Turn One, otherwise we could have had a good fight on our hands. That will have to wait until tomorrow.”

Rounding out an all-rookie podium was Lundqvist’s teammate Benjamin Pedersen and Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport rookie Devlin DeFrancesco. Toby Sowery (Juncos Racing) and Alex Peroni (Carlin) were the final two drivers in the top five.

“I had a good start, with Kirkwood on the inside, and sent it in a bit late and that momentum sent him into my teammate,” explained second place finisher Benjamin Pedersen. “I feel badly for him. He’s helped me so much in the pre-season and I was looking forward to racing with him. I just kept moving forward, trying to not make any mistakes but keep the pressure on Linus. What a start for this Global Racing Group with HMD effort, our debut on the Road to Indy and in Indy Lights. I can’t say enough about the series, how welcoming they were and how pro everything is. I’m loving every minute of it.”

Lundqvist joins current NTT INDYCAR SERIES driver Felix Rosenqvist as Swedish drivers to stand on the top step of an Indy Lights podium.

Global Racing Group w/HMD is the seventh different team to win an Indy Lights race at Barber Motorsports Park.

DeFrancesco is the 15th Andretti Autosport/Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport pilot to stand on the podium at Barber Motorsports Park.

Sowery earned the single bonus point for setting the quickest race lap. The veteran’s 28th lap of the race timed at 72.7718 seconds over a second under the race track record set by Sean Rayhall in 2015.

The 2.0L AER turbocharged engines powering the baker’s dozen IL-15 machines were officially fired for the first time in a year and a half.

After a pair of pace laps, the front row of Lundqvist and Malukas brought the field to the green flag, with the pole-sitter arriving at Turn 1 first.

Unlike their little brothers, the USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000 t the exit of Turn 1, Kirkwood’s right front wing made contact with the left rear of Malukas. The No. 79 of Malukas shot to the right and made hard contact with the tire barriers on the driver’s right.

Kirkwood was able to continue but needed to come to pit road for a new front wing. Race control deemed that the 2019 Indy Pro 2000 champion was responsible for the contact, penalizing him for avoidable contact. Katie Kiel, Peacock’s pit reporter, asked Kirkwood’s engineer Doug Zister about the contact. The multi-championship \ winning engineer thought that his driver was aggressive because of the difficulty of passing at Barber Motorsports Park.

“The start of the race was very unfortunate, just locked up,” explained Malukas.  “I’ve got to look at the video to really know exactly what happened. It all happened really fast. We damaged the wing so we had to replace that and the right tire was cut. We started from the back after the caution and got a couple of positions in the first couple laps, but it became impossible to pass really quick. I think after that we fell into a groove without push-to-pass with it not being available this weekend. I think it would have been a different story if that was enabled, but we did what we could. We finally got the car into a good window, now we just need to get positions.”

Note: TSO Ladder caught up with Kirkwood after the race, and he entirely took the blame for the incident with Malukas and felt terrible for the HMD Motorsports driver. He also noted that he made mistakes in his season-opening USF2000 (2018) and Indy Pro 2000 (2019) races before winning those championships. 

Malukas was checked and released by the INDYCAR medical staff and cleared to participate in track activity. In his interview with Peacock, he stated that he was fine, that the car had moderate damage, and that he wasn’t impressed with the rookie driving.

When the green flag came back out to restart the 30-lap race on Lap 5, the running order was Lundqvist, Pederson, Sowery, DeFrancesco, Peroni, Robert Megennis (Andretti Autosport), Danial Frost (Andretti Autosport), Sting Ray Robb (Juncos Racing), Christian Bogle (Carlin), Nikita Lastochkin (HMD Motorsports), Antonio Serravalle (Pserra Racing), Kirkwood and Malukas.

On lap 8, DeFrancesco moved to the final podium position after Sowery got wide at the exit of Turn 6.

After ten of 30 laps, Lundqvist held a 2.7-second advantage over his teammate Pedersen, with DeFrancesco running in third. Sowery was running fourth, with Peroni, Megennis, Frost, and Robb all running within ten seconds of the leader.

With push-to-pass inactive for this race, Kirkwood struggled to get by Bogle, finally making the pass into the final corner on Lap 15.

The gap between the distinctive orange liveried Global Racing Group w/HMD running one-two remained consistent over the next ten laps. The HPD/Global Racing Group/FX Airguns/Paytrim/JULA sponsored No. 26 of Lundqvist had a 3 second lead with ten laps remaining.

The closest battle on the track was between Andretti Autosport teammates Robert Megennis and Danial Frost for sixth. Their teammate Kirkwood was pressuring Indy Pro 2000 champion Robb for the eighth spot behind them.

After remaining consistent for the first two-thirds of the race, Lundqvist began to pull away from his teammate Pedersen. With five minutes remaining, his lead was 4.4 seconds and growing.

For the first time in the race, Pedersen was facing pressure from behind, with DeFrancesco less than a second adrift of the second-place runner.

The best battle on the track was between Megennis, Frost, Robb, and Kirkwood for the sixth spot with three laps remaining. The foursome crossed the finish line within 1.5 seconds of each other, but the positions remained the same.

Lundqvist received the twin-checkered flags 5.3 seconds ahead of his teammate, who finished 0.6 seconds ahead of DeFrancesco.

Indy Lights Grand Prix Of Alabama presented by Cooper Tires #1 (unofficial results)

RANK	CAR NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	DIFFERENCE
1	26	Linus Lundqvist	Global Racing Group w/HMD Motorsports	30 laps
2	24	Benjamin Pedersen	Global Racing Group wHMD Motorsports	-5.3517
3	17	Devlin DeFrancesco	Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport	-5.981
4	51	Toby Sowery	Juncos Racing	-7.7214
5	5	Alex Peroni	Carlin	-12.5337
6	27	Robert Megennis	Andretti Autosport	-21.6282
7	68	Danial Frost	Andretti Autosport	-22.9966
8	2	Sting Ray Robb	Juncos Racing	-23.3486
9	28	Kyle Kirkwood	Andretti Autosport	-23.456
10	7	Christian Bogle	Carlin	-30.1144
11	59	Nikita Lastochkin	HMD Motorsports	-30.6155
12	11	Antonio Serravalle	Pserra Racing	-39.4766
13	79	David Malukas	HMD Motorsports	-30 laps