By Steve Wittich

Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship championship leader, DEForce Racing sophomore Kiko Porto, has had a long 53-day summer break to think about the final five races in the chase for the $401,305 scholarship and a seat in Indy Pro 2000.

The bottom rung of the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires turned their last competitive laps on Independence Day at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, where Porto and Cape Motorsports veteran Michael d’Orlando separated themselves from their competitors.

Porto grabbed the championship lead after a wire-to-wire victory at Road America five races ago, slowly building his lead with breathtaking qualifying pace and steady race efforts.

In the next five races, he has scored 127 points, the most of any driver during the same time frame, leaving him with a 19 point lead over d’Orlando as the series heads to the Garden State for a triple header at New Jersey Motorsports Park.

Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship points scored over the last five races.

RANK	DRIVER		POINTS
1	Kiko Porto		127
2	Michael d’Orlando		114
3	Simon Sikes		109
4	Thomas Nepveu – r		78
5	Yuven Sundaramoorthy		69
6	Jace Denmark – r		69
7	Josh Pierson		66
8	Spike Kohlbecker – r		63
9	Matthew Round-Garrido		57
10	Christian Brooks		56
11	Josh Green		54
12	Nolan Siegel		54
13	Billy Frazer – r		48
14	Bijoy Garg		35
15	Peter Vodanovich – r		31
16	Evan Stamer – r		25
17	Dylan Christie – r		21
18	Prescott Campbell		20
19	Myles Rowe – r		19
20	Ely Navarro – r		18
21	Jackson Lee – r		17
22	Trey Burke – r		14
23	Michael Myers		13
24	Kent Vaccaro – r		13
25	Erik Evans – r		11
26	Christian Weir		7
27	Nathan Byrd – r		3
28	Chase Hyland – r		3

The 2.25-mile, 12-turn Thunderbolt Raceway at New Jersey Motorsports Park road course will play host to the penultimate round of the USF2000 Championship for the second year in a row.

The 20-lap Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix trio will be the sixth, seventh, and eighth races held at the Millville, N.J. circuit.

Porto’s championship lead over d’Orlando comes down to his consistency and avoiding catastrophic finishes.

d’Orlando, a 19-year-old, and Porto have three wins apiece, but the Hartsdale, N.Y. driver leads Porto in the podium and laps led categories. The 19 point difference between the two drivers comes from two spots.

First, Porto has a six marker advantage in bonus points scored. Drivers are awarded one bonus point for winning the pole, leading the most laps, and turning the quickest lap in the race.

2021 USF2000 Bonus Points Scored

RANK	DRIVER		BONUS POINTS
1	Kiko Porto		11
2	Yuven Sundaramoorthy		9
T3	Michael d’Orlando		5
T3	Christian Brooks		5
5	Nolan Siegel		3
6	Prescott Campbell		2
T7	Thomas Nepveu		1
T7	Jackson Lee		1
T7	Peter Vodanovich		1
T7	Simon Sikes		1

Second, Porto has avoided finishes that result in single-digit points. That means finishes of 12th or worse. The Brazilian points leader’s worst finish came in the first race of the season, a tenth place way back in April at Barber Motorsports Park. Porto’s current streak of eight top-fives has allowed him to maintain the points lead.

Unfortunately for d’Orlando, he finished 23rd in Race #1 in St. Petersburg, Fla. and 20th in Race #2 at Road America, scoring only a single point in each race.

d’Orlando does have a slight advantage at New Jersey Motorsports Park, finishing third and fourth in races on the same circuit last year, while Porto missed those races due to COVID-19.

The pair of championship front runners finished Friday’s test with the fourth (Porto) and fifth (d’Orlando) quickest times, separated by a slim four-hundredths of a second.

Pabst Racing veteran Yuven Sundaramoorthy is currently third on the USF2000 points table, 51 points behind Porto and 32 points behind d’Orlando.

The University of Wisconsin freshman, who has also stood on the top step of the podium, will need to win races and get a little help from his competitors to move closer to battle for the scholarship.

The 18-year-old led the first test session at New Jersey Motorsports Park on Friday and ended the day second on the combined timesheet, an excellent start to the weekend.

Fifteen-year-old Josh Pierson, Sundaramoorthy’s Pabst Racing teammate, begins the weekend 73 points out of the championship lead. That leaves him needing to grab his first win, along with a lot of help from those drivers in front of him.

Pierson has been one of the most consistent drivers on the season, completing every lap so far and not finishing worse than 12th place in a race.

Christian Brooks, a double race winner in St. Petersburg, Fla., and championship leader through four rounds early in the 2021 season needs a summer break refresh and a solid finish to the season.

Like Pierson, wins and a whole lot of help from his competitors will be needed to win the championship and the $401,305 scholarship that goes with it.

After an unfortunate disqualification from a second-place finish in the third race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Brooks has struggled with consistency, dropping from first place in the championship down to fifth place on the points table.

The Californian has completed every lap in those races but has struggled in qualifying, starting the last five races – all on natural terrain road course circuits – an average of 14th. Brooks has gained 20 spots over where he qualified in those races, proving that the pilot of the Hot Wheels/Chaco Flaco/Bell Helmets sponsored No. 44 from the Exclusive Autosport stable still has the racecraft to fight for wins.

Brooks does have USF2000 experience at New Jersey Motorsports Park, finishing the three 2020 races at the same circuit with a fourth, fifth and seventh.

Rookie of the year fight

The battle for the 2021 USF2000 Rookie Of The Year has quietly turned into an entertaining fight between a quartet of teenagers representing three different stables and from three different countries.

Spike Kohlbecker (Ignite Autosport w/Cape Motorsports), from St. Louis, Missouri, was the early leader among the newcomers, but a recent spurt by the other drivers has made things much closer. Kohlbecker’s lead over Thomas Nepveu (Cape Motorsports), Jace Denmark (Pabst Racing), and Billy Frazer (Exclusive Autosport) is one, 17, and 41 points, respectively.

With nine top-ten finishes, St. Louis, Mo. born and bred Kohlbecker has been the most consistent of the rookies, leading that category along with the best average finish of the rookies, which for the top four is as follows:

• Spike Kohlbecker – 8.2
• Thomas Nepveu – 8.8
• Jace Denmark – 10.0
• Billy Frazer – 11.7

Nepveu is the only rookie to win a race this season, climbing to the top step of the podium at Road America in June. The Cape Motorsports driver also leads all rookies with three top-five finishes.

“This tripleheader weekend is an important one for me as I hope for three good results to improve my position in the Rookie of the Year championship standing,” said the 17-year-old Quebecer. “I know the track after a test day at that particular circuit earlier this year, and it’s not an easy task to overtake on this type of layout. We will be up to the challenge!”

Denmark, a 17-year-old from Phoneix, Arizona, has been the most consistent driver since May. The pilot of the Metal Works Custom Fabrication sponsored No. 23 has six straight top-ten finishes, a streak that began with an impressive third-place finish in the only oval event of the season at Lucas Oil Raceway. That podium is one of only three podiums by a rookie driver in 2021.

Frazer, an 18-year-old Kiwi, has some work to do to catch his fellow rookies, but he is coming off his best weekend in USF2000 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, qualifying in the first four rows of all three races and matching a season-best finish of fourth.

Kohlbecker was the quickest of the rookie in Friday testing at New Jersey Motorsports Park, giving him a slight edge heading into Saturday and Sunday.

The quickest driver in Friday testing was Turn 3 Motorsport sophomore Josh Green, who would love to cap off his season with several trips to the podium. Green is part of a battle for sixth place in the championship that has five drivers separated by only 17 points.

The Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship schedule for the weekend is as follows:

Saturday, August 28

• 8am – 8:30am –> Practice
• 10:15am – 10:45am –> Qualifying #1
• 2:30pm – 3:15pm –> Race #1 (20 laps)

Sunday, August 29

• 9am – 9:30am –> Qualifying #2
• 11:30am – 12:15pm –> Race #2 (20 laps)
• 2:30pm – 3:15pm –> Race #3 (20 laps)

By Steve Wittich

Indy Pro 2000 warm-up got underway at 11:30 am. The sun was shining with an ambient temperature of an already steamy 84F, with a track temperature at 109F.

The 20-minute session was surprisingly busy, with the baker’s dozen drivers completing 335 laps.

Hunter McElrea (Pabst Racing) completed the practice sweep, turning the quickest lap in testing, practice, and warm-up. His lap speed in Saturday morning warm-up was 139.913 mph.

The entire session was ‘clean and green.’ Pole sitter James Roe (Turn 3 Motorsport) was the busiest driver, completing 30 laps of the 1.25-mile egg-shaped oval.

Indy Pro 2000 warm-up results

RANK	CAR NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	FAST LAP (mph)	LAPS
1	18	Hunter McElrea	Pabst Racing	139.913	25
2	42	Artem Petrov	Exclusive Autosport	139.468	26
3	1	Christian Rasmussen	Jay Howard Driver Development	139.070	30
4	40	Jack William Miller	Miller Vinatieri Motorsports	138.881	22
5	91	Braden Eves	Exclusive Autosport	138.504	31
6	8	Nolan Siegel	DEForce Racing	137.883	24
7	51	Jacob Abel	Abel Motorsports	137.677	28
8	55	Reece Gold	Juncos Hollinger Racing	137.607	21
9	5	Wyatt Brichacek	Jay Howard Driver Development	137.283	31
10	7	Kory Enders	DEForce Racing	136.981	23
11	22	Manuel Sulaiman	Juncos Hollinger Racing	136.975	22
12	3	James Roe	Turn 3 Motorsport	136.749	30
13	21	Kyffin Simpson	Juncos Hollinger Racing	136.245	22

The 55 lap Cooper Tires Indy Pro 2000 Oval Challenge will get the green flag at 2:45 pm.

Qualifying notes

• The fifth driver on track, James Roe, laid down an early two-lap average of 139.081 mph had to wait through eight drivers before celebrating his first career pole with Turn 3 Motorsport team owner Peter Dempsey.

• Frost’s previous best start – fifth – came at Lucas Oil Raceway Park, the other oval on the schedule.
• The pole is the second in Indy Pro 2000 for Turn 3 Motorsport. The team’s first pole came with Danial Frost behind the wheel at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last year.
• Braden Eves will start the race outside the front row, the 2019 USF2000 champion’s sixth front row start of the season.
• Championship points leader Christian Rasmussen will have some work to do, starting seventh. Unfortunately, that’s the worst starting spot for the reigning USF2000 driver, who started sixth in the first race at Barber Motorsports Park and sixth in the first race at Road America. The Jay Howard Driver Development pilot had his worst two finishes of the season, 13th and tenth in those two races.

Indy Pro 2000 Friday Qualifying results

RANK	CAR NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	2 LAP AVERAGE (mph)
1	3	James Roe	Turn 3 Motorsport	139.081
2	91	Braden Eves	Exclusive Autosport	138.852
3	55	Reece Gold	Juncos Racing	138.103
4	42	Artem Petrov	Exclusive Autosport	138.057
5	18	Hunter McElrea	Pabst Racing	138.022
6	40	Jack William Miller	Miller Vinatieri Motorsports	137.022
7	1	Christian Rasmussen	Jay Howard Driver Development	137.562
8	8	Nolan Siegel	DEForce Racing	137.024
9	22	Manuel Sulaiman	Juncos Racing	136.409
10	51	Jacob Abel	Abel Motorsports	136.312
11	7	Kory Enders	DEForce Racing	136.090
12	21	Kyffin Simpson	Juncos Racing	135.400
13	5	Wyatt Brichacek	Jay Howard Driver Development	133.750

By Steve Wittich

Despite winning four Indy Lights races already this season, HMD Motorsports sophomore David Malukas still felt he had one last point to prove. His oval prowess.

Mission accomplished for the 19-year-old, who started from the pole and led every lap on the way to his first trip to the top step of the podium on an oval.

“What a race!, said an ecstatic Malukas. “This means the world to me, coming from a crash in Indy two years ago, then to win my third oval race in the series.

“I’m so happy, that’s the one thing that’s been holding me down and I got it off of me today. I’m sorry that we had to end under yellow but I understand that it was for safety reasons, but I know I deserved this win.

“This field is so competitive, but it blows my mind, the team I have behind me. Coming into the test here a few weeks ago, I hadn’t been on an oval in two years. We struggled but in the end, we found the car we needed just in time for qualifying.”

Championship points leader Kyle Kirkwood had an eventful but successful race, finishing on the Indy Lights podium for the eighth time this season and the 32nd time in 43 Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires races.

Kirkwood had an 11 point championship lead when the race weekend began; the Floridian’s second-place finish, combined with Malukas’ win, means he still leads after Friday’s race, but by only two points.

Coming home in third in his first career oval race was Benjamin Pedersen, who after the race said:

“I’m so happy to be on the podium after my first ever oval race! I absolutely loved it; I can’t wait to do more. We missed the setup a little bit, which made the first half of the race difficult, but it stabilized from there. The tire wear was a whole new element for me in the race – we’d done a couple of long runs in testing but not in this atmosphere. Lots to learn, like knowing what I want transitioning from qualifying to the race, playing with lines, with roll bars – we’re trying to learn as quickly as possible! We’ll take what we learned from today, and hopefully we can get more tomorrow.”

It’s the Danish rookie’s third podium of the season, and he will start fourth in tomorrow afternoon’s race.

Devlin DeFrancesco, a winner at World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway in Indy Pro 2000 last year, moved up from his seventh starting position to finish fourth. The Candian-born Miami resident’s eighth top-five of the 2021 Indy Lights seasons moved him up to fifth in the season long standings.

Alex Peroni, the Carlin rookie, won the Tilton Hard Charger award, finishing fifth after starting ninth.

A front row of Malukas and Kirkwood brought the field to the green flag for the fifth time this season. Malukas won the honor of starting on the inside of the front row for the fourth time in 2021.

Kirkwood dropped in behind Malukas as they crossed under the green flag to get the 75-lap race underway. The HMD Trucking sponsored No. 79 of Malukas grabbed the lead in Turn 1 and leading the first lap.

Behind the two leaders, Global Racing Group w/HMD drivers Pederson and Lundqvist, who started third and fourth, went side-by-side for the first lap before Lundqvist grabbed the final spot on the podium in Turn 1 on Lap 2.

Back out front, an aggressive Kirkwood took a look at Malukas on the outside of Turn 3, but the rear end of the Road to Indy/Cooper Tires/Construction Contractors Club sponsored No. 28 stepped out as he got on the power just past the apex of the 11-degree banked Turn 2. The Andretti Autosport driver was able to gain control, but the lurid slide cost him momentum, and Lundqvist was able to move to second.

“At the start of the race, I had a really good run on David Malukas, but I was a bit unaware of how the car was, what the balance was and how the conditions were,” explained Malukas. “I knew that if I wanted to capitalize on the position and take over the lead, I had to give it everything I got. It resulted in a pretty big moment between Turns 1 and 2 and I had a big slide on power. Then Linus [Lundqvist] was able to drive around us going into Turn 3, because I lost so much time out of [Turn] 2.”

Oversteer was something the Andretti Autosport/Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport dealt with for the entire race.

Further back, Sowery, Peroni, and DeFrancesco were battling furiously for sixth, seventh and eighth.

Thing settled in out front with Malukas lead over Lundqvist at 1.9 seconds after ten laps. The running order at that point of the race was Malukas, Lundqvist, Kirkwood, Pedersen, Robert Megennis (Andretti Autosport), Toby Sowery (Juncos Holinger Racing), DeFrancesco, Peroni, Danial Frost (Andretti Autosport), Sting Ray Robb (Juncos Hollinger Racing), Antonio Serravalle (Pserra Racing) and Christian Bogle (Carlin).

On Lap 17, Robb came to pit road, reporting to the crew that he had a gearbox issue. The Juncos Hollinger crew took the engine cover off the Sekady Capital/Goodheart-Firehouse Animal Centers sponsored No. 2, but the problem was terminal.

The next driver to have an issue was Serravalle, who was slow on the front straight with what looked like a right-front tire issue. The Canadian was able to pull the family-run No. 11 to a safe position at the end of pit road, and the 1.25-mile oval remained green.

On Lap 28, the first of two yellow flags came out when the m-start/Kumpf sponsored No. 51 of Sowery came to a stop in the grass on the inside of the track at the exit of Turn 2 with what turned out to be a broken hub on his left front wheel.

Out front, Lundqvist had started to close the gap to Malukas, closing the gap to just over one second when the yellow flag came out.

The AMR INDYCAR Safety Team cleared Sowery’s machine, and the green flag came back out to begin Lap 35.

Kirkwood had his second big moment on the race on the restart while attempting to pass Lundqvist for the second spot. In his words:

“On the restart, I had another run on what was second place, Linus, and came around the outside of him coming out of [Turn] 2. He drove us up into the wall, and I made contact with him on the middle of the straight, which almost caused him to spin and gave us damage to our nose.

“That was really the end of the race for us. You can really only make passes early on when you have a run, but once everyone slots in it’s nearly impossible to make any moves.”

Behind the leaders, DeFrancesco got a great restart, making a brave move around his teammate Megennis on the outside of Turn 3 and Turn 4 to gain one more position to sixth.

The following driver to have an issue was Megennis, who became the second driver to have a problem with the right front tire. The New Yorker was able to keep his No. 28 off the wall but was forced to pit road to change the offending tire.

After the excitement of the restart, things out front were stable, with Malukas holding around a one-second lead over Lundqvist.

On Lap 59, the second yellow flag of the race came out. This time it was for second place Lundqvist, who had a tire fail as he turned into Turn 3. The distinctive orange and black No. 26 made heavy right-side contact with the SAFER Barrier.

TSO Ladder caught up with Lundqvist after the incident, and thankfully, he was uninjured. But, unfortunately, the same could not be said for his car. The No. 26 has significant tub damage and is not repairable.

When we left the track, the combined Global Racing Group and HMD Motorsports crew were preparing the No. 59 that Nikita Lastochkin had wheeled this season.

In the interest of safety, Tony Cotman, RTI Competition Director/Indy Lights Race Director, decided to end the race after 66 of the scheduled 75-laps.

Results of Cooper Tires Indy Lights Oval Challenge Of St. Louis Race #1

RANK	CAR NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	DIFFERENCE
1	79	David Malukas	HMD Motorsports	66 LAPS
2	28	Kyle Kirkwood	Andretti Autosport	-0.5636
3	24	Benjamin Pedersen	Global Racing Group w/HMD Motorsports	-0.9515
4	17	Devlin DeFrancesco	Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport	-1.5391
5	5	Alex Peroni	Carlin	-1.9629
6	68	Danial Frost	Andretti Autosport	-2.5944
7	27	Robert Megennis	Andretti Autosport	-2 LAPS
8	7	Christian Bogle	Carlin	-2 LAPS
9	26	Linus Lundqvist	Global Racing Group w/HMD Motorsports	-8 LAPS
10	11	Antonio Serravalle	Pserra Racing	—9 LAPS
11	51	Toby Sowery	Juncos Hollinger Racing	-40 LAPS
12	2	Sting Ray Robb	Juncos Hollinger Racing	-49 LAPS

Tire issues

In response to the issues with the tires, the Indy Lights series announced some changes for Saturday’s 5:30 pm Cooper Tires Indy Lights Oval Challenge Of St. Louis.

The distance of the race will be 70 laps (87.5 miles) instead of 75 laps (93.75 miles). At that point, the starter will show the yellow and then the red flag.

The drivers will wheel their cars into pit road and to the attention of their crews, where at a minimum, they will change the right-side tires provided by Cooper Tires. If only changing right-side tires, the driver will hold their position when the yellow flag came out. A team is permitted to change all four tires, but that will necessitate starting from the back of the field.

No other changes to the IL-15s will be permitted.

The new tires provided to the teams must be used at speed in the 2:05 pm warm-up for a minimum of three laps.

Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires points standings after 13 of 20 races

RANK	DRIVER	TEAM		TOTAL
1	Kyle Kirkwood – r	Andretti Autosport		328
2	David Malukas	HMD Motorsports		326
3	Linus Lundqvist – r	Global Racing Group w/HMD		283
4	Danial Frost – r	Andretti Autosport		227
5	Devlin DeFrancesco – r	Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport		219
6	Toby Sowery	Juncos Racing		216
7	Benjamin Pedersen – r	Global Racing Group w/HMD		212
8	Alex Peroni – r	Carlin		205
9	Robert Megennis	Andretti Autosport		204
10	Sting Ray Robb – r	Juncos Racing		154
11	Christian Bogle – r	Carlin		145
12	Antonio Serravalle – r	Pserra Racing		143
13	Nikita Lastochkin – r	HMD Motorsports		123

 

By Steve Wittich

The call to fire the 2.0L turbo-charged engines powering the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires field was given at 9:55 am, with the top rung of the Road To Indy serving as the warm-up act for their big brothers, the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

The all Andretti Autosport front row of pole-sitter Danial Frost and Kyle Kirkwood brought the 13 drivers to the green flag after a pair of pace laps behind the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires pace car.

Frost got a good jump in the start zone, moving the right on the front straight to grab the preferred line into the fast Turn 1. Kirkwood slotted in behind Frost, with Linus Lundqvist (Global Racing Group w/HMD) trying the inside line in Turn 1. However, the Swede was not able to keep his foot in, wisely dropping in behind Kirkwood.

After the first lap of action, the running order was Frost, Kirkwood, Lundqvist, David Malukas (HMD Motorsports), Devlin DeFrancesco (Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport), Benjamin Pedersen (Global Racing Group w/HMD), Robert Megennis (Andretti Autosport), Toby Sowery (Juncos Racing), Alex Peroni (Carlin), Sting Ray Robb (Juncos Racing), Nikita Lastochkin (HMD Motorsports), Antonio Serravalle (Pserra Racing) and Christian Bogle (Carlin).

On Lap 2, Kirkwood got a great run off the Keyhole, used his push-to-pass, moved to Frost’s outside in Turn 3, and completed the pass before the pair got to the braking zone in Turn 4.

It only took the championship leader two laps to pull a ‘push-to-pass safe’ lead over Frost. Frost had Lundqvist on his gearbox, with positions two through nine separated by only five seconds.

On Lap 3, Sowery, who started eighth, got by Megennis on the long run downhill to Turn 4.

Kirkwood’s lead after five laps was 1.3 seconds over Frost. The No. 68 was the quickest car on Lap 4, pulling a 1.7-second gap to Lundqvist. The reigning Formula Regional Americas Championship Powered By Honda champion was facing immense pressure from his teammate Malukas.

On the seventh lap of the race, Frost went two-tenths quicker than the leader, moving to within 1.1 seconds of the lead.

On Lap 9, Boggle turned into Turn 1 a little late, and when he added some wheel to try and make the apex, the rear end stepped out. The rookie driver could catch it, but the No. 7 bounded through the gravel trap, high siding in the grass and bringing out the yellow flag.

The AMR INDYCAR Safety Team got the Pelican Energy-sponsored machine from the Carlin stable back on track and restarted. The driver from Covington, La. brought the car to pit road and the attention of the crew.

The green flag came back out to start Lap 12, with Kirkwood getting a good jump. After getting through Turn 1, Pedersen took a look inside Turn 2 but could not complete that pass. That gave Sowery an advantage into Turn 4, with the No. 51 Juncos Racing machine attempting the outside pass. But, again, Pedersen defended well, grabbing the inside line and braking late enough to hold onto sixth.

On Lap 14, Malukas moved past his teammate Lundqvist after the 22-year-old missed the second apex of the two-apex Keyhole.

The No. 79 immediately took off after Frost, quickly pulling away from the orange and black No. 26.

After 15 laps of action, Kirkwood’s lead was 1.6 seconds, just outside of the 1.5-second push-to-pass range. Frost needed to start paying attention to what was happening behind him, with Malukas with 0.8 seconds of the second-place driver.

On Lap 16, DeFrancesco turned his quickest lap of the race and started to catch up to Lundqvist for fourth place.

At the halfway point of the 35 lap Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Race #2, Kirkwood’s lead had grown to 2.2 seconds over Frost. The rest of the running order was Malukas, Lundqvist, DeFrancesco, Pedersen, Sowery, Megennis, Peroni, Robb, Lastochkin, Serravalle and Bogle.

Kirkwood’s lead after 20 laps had grown to just over three seconds. The best battle on the track was between Pedersen, who was working hard to defend against Sowery.

On Lap 23, Sowery used a great exit off The Keyhole, push-to-pass, and completed the pass around the outside of Pedersen in Turn 4, moving to fourth.

With ten laps remaining, Kirkwood’s lead was a comfortable 3.1 seconds over Frost. Frost had increased the gap to Malukas to 1.4 seconds. The best battle on the 2.258-Mile, 13-Turn Mid-Ohio Road Course was for seventh, with Megennis only 0.6 seconds behind Pedersen.

On Lap 26, Sowery turned his quickest lap of the race, moving to within 1.6 seconds of DeFrancesco. Three laps later, Sowery went faster again, moving to within 0.7 seconds of the highlighter yellow and orange machine of DeFrancesco.

Kirkwood’s lead with five laps remaining was up to 4.5 seconds over Frost.

On that lap, DeFrancesco went wide in Turn 4, allowing Sowery to attempt an outside pass in Turn 4. The pair made wheel-to-wheel contact at the exit of the right-hander, with the No. 51 dropping two wheels into the grass. The pair went side-by-side through Turn 5 and 6 before DeFrancesco used the preferred line in Turn 7 to hold off Sowery.

With three laps remaining, Malukas had closed to within 0.7 seconds of Frost for the second step on the podium.

Upfront, Kirkwood’s lead had grown to five seconds over Frost, whose advantage to Malukas had fallen to 0.6 seconds with two laps remaining. On that lap, Megennis got around Pedersen for seventh.

Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Race #2 results (unofficial)

RANK	CAR NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	DIFF.
1	28	Kyle Kirkwood	Andretti Autosport	35 LAPS
2	68	Danial Frost	Andretti Autosport	4.1660
3	79	David Malukas	HMD Motorsports	4.8076
4	26	Linus Lundqvist	Global Racing Group w/HMD Motorsports	8.1424
5	17	Devlin DeFrancesco	Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport	13.4894
6	51	Toby Sowery	Juncos Racing	14.0083
7	27	Robert Megennis	Andretti Autosport	17.6080
8	24	Benjamin Pedersen	Global Racing Group wHMD Motorsports	18.7311
9	5	Alex Peroni	Carlin	19.2162
10	2	Sting Ray Robb	Juncos Racing	20.1702
11	59	Nikita Lastochkin	HMD Motorsports	28.8213
12	11	Antonio Serravalle	Pserra Racing	29.3824
13	7	Christian Bogle	Carlin	-2 LAPS

By Steve Wittich

They are only digits, but there is no denying that the numbers that Kyle Kirkwood is compiling early in his career are spectacular.

The Andretti Autosport Indy Lights rookie went wire-to-wire in the first Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio, leading all 35 laps on the way to his fifth win of the 2021 season. The 2018 USF2000 and 2019 Indy Pro 2000 champion has now stood on the top step of the Road To Indy podium 26 times, giving him an incredible win percentage of 63.4%. In addition, the Jupiter, Fla. native, has now won 52 times in North American junior formula categories.

The 22-year-old has now won all six of his Road To Indy races at the 2.258-Mile, 13-Turn Mid-Ohio Road Course, and ten straight F4 United States Championship, Formula Regional Americas Championship, USF2000, Indy Pro 2000, and Indy Lights races at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (Mid-Ohio) dating back to 2017.

“After a not-so-great race at Road America, it’s nice to come back here and get a win,” said Kirkwood. “Mid-Ohio is one of my favorite tracks, and it’s nice to get the win here. We knew we’d been strong here after testing. That was a perfect race, though David really kept me on my toes for the first ten laps.

“As the track started gaining grip, I gained confidence, especially after I saw David make that small mistake. The Andretti cars have been on rails for the past four weekends, and we really had race pace today. I feel as though this should be our fifth win in a row, and to grab the points lead again after finishing 10th at Road America feels really good – everything’s clicking and I feel we’re back on a roll. We have some good weekends ahead of us.”

The win gives Kirkwood a two-point advantage in the fight for the $1,289,425 advancement scholarship.

The win is the sixth straight for an Andretti Autosport driver at Mid-Ohio, and the team’s eighth overall at the circuit, moving them out of a tie with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports on the all-time Mid-Ohio wins list.

Finishing 6.8666 seconds behind Kirkwood was his Andretti Autosport teammate and fellow Indy Lights rookie Danial Frost, who stood on the podium for the second race in a row, the third time in 2021 and the 15th time in his Road To Indy career.

“We had a decent start and managed to get a gap from the guys behind, so it was just a matter of focusing forward,” explained Frost, who moved from eighth to fifth on the points table. “I did my best to get past Malukas, but then he made a small mistake, and I got the position. I’m quite happy. I think that was the maximum we could get today. The charge on Kyle was going to be difficult because we were already a distance behind him. But I’m starting on pole tomorrow, and it’s hard to pass here, so I think we have a good chance. But congratulations to Kyle on the win today.”

Standing on the podium for the eighth time this season was David Malukas (HMD Motorsports), who survived a wild ride at the exit of Turn 9, leaving the Chicago, Ill. native in second place in the championship.

After a pair of laps behind the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires pace car, the front row of Kyle Kirkwood (Andretti Autosport) and David Malukas (HMD Motorsports) brought the field to the green flag on the front straight.

Kirkwood’s advantage when he punched off in the start zone wasn’t enough that Malukas wasn’t able to go side-by-side through Turn 1. In Turn 2, Malukas took a look around the outside of Kirkwood but could not make that move stick.

“I know, I couldn’t believe it, exclaimed Malukas to TSO Ladder regarding his race start. “When we went into (Turn) 1, we were side-by-side, and I was jumping in the seat (cue Malukas making the universal sign for go faster, go faster) and saying ‘let’s go!’

“I put him under pressure into Turn 1, but my whole plan was to brake early and try and get a run into Turn 2. I had to take the outside line, but man, the line here is so thin. When I went wide, I had no grip at all.

“So, going into (Turn) 4, it was too late. If you can’t get it done by Turn 4, it’s just sit back and relax and enjoy. The track was tough the first couple of laps, the car was all over the place, left and right. The first lap was not easy.”

Behind the leaders on the first lap, Megennis dropped his right-side tires off the track after being crowded by Toby Sowery (Juncos Racing), kicking up a dust storm and allowing the No. 51 to gain an advantage.

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

The biggest gainer on the first lap was Juncos Racing veteran Toby Sowery, who moved up to seventh from his ninth-place starting spot. His teammate, Sting Ray Robb, lost three spots, dropping from this seventh place starting spot to 10th.

After five laps, Kirkwood’s lead over Malukas was only 0.8 seconds, still within the push-to-pass range. Frost, who won the pole for Race #2, was just outside one second in the final podium spot. Rounding out the top five were Lundqvist and DeFrancesco.

On Lap 11, Malukas missed the apex in the tricky and fast Turn 9, going for a wild ride through the grass at the corner exit.

That allowed Frost to move into second, with Malukas dropping one spot, quickly facing pressure from his teammate Lundqvist. However, Malukas held off the orange and black No. 26, pulling out of the push-to-pass range within two laps.

When he was shown the crossed flags, Kirkwood’s lead over Frost was a comfortable 4.2 seconds over his teammate Frost. Frost’s gap to Malukas was also over four seconds. There were three battles on 2.258-Mile, 13-Turn Mid-Ohio Road Course within one second; DeFrancesco was pressuring Lundqvist for fourth, Sowery was pressuring Pedersen for sixth, and Robb was pressuring Boggle.

Kirkwood’s lead over Frost as they began Lap 22 was just under five seconds. Malukas had lowered the gap to Frost to under four seconds but wasn’t closing the gap quick enough to threaten the Singaporean rookie.

On Lap 23, Serravalle came to pit road.

With ten laps remaining, Sowery took a look around the outside of Pedersen in Turn 4, but the rear of the No. 51 stepped out. The Cambridge, UK native saved the car, dropping behind the No. 24 of Pedersen.

On the next lap, the Juncos Racing veteran got an even better run off The Keyhole, getting further alongside Pedersen in the braking zone, completing the pass for sixth.

With six laps left, Pedersen once again found himself under pressure. This time, the Sailpoint/Sirius/Juniper/DataRobot sponsored No. 27 of Megennis was hassling the Danish driver.

Kirkwood’s lead over his teammate, Frost, was an impressive 7.1 seconds with five laps remaining. Malukas was within 3.5 seconds of Frost.

Further back, Sowery had pulled an impressive 4.7-second gap to Pedersen and was starting to put some pressure on DeFrancesco for fifth, moving to within a second on the white flag lap.

Over the race’s final quarter, DeFrancesco was also catching Lundqvist, finishing 0.7 only seconds behind the Swedish driver.

Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Race #1 Results (unofficial)

RANK	CAR NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	DIFF.
1	28	Kyle Kirkwood	Andretti Autosport	35 LAPS
2	68	Danial Frost	Andretti Autosport	-6.8666
3	79	David Malukas	HMD Motorsports	-10.4069
4	26	Linus Lundqvist	Global Racing Group w/HMD Motorsports	-13.252
5	17	Devlin DeFrancesco	Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport	-14.0368
6	51	Toby Sowery	Juncos Racing	-14.6599
7	24	Benjamin Pedersen	Global Racing Group wHMD Motorsports	-22.067
8	27	Robert Megennis	Andretti Autosport	-22.6861
9	5	Alex Peroni	Carlin	-26.3576
10	7	Christian Bogle	Carlin	-42.5132
11	2	Sting Ray Robb	Juncos Racing	-43.244
12	59	Nikita Lastochkin	HMD Motorsports	-44.942
13	11	Antonio Serravalle	Pserra Racing	-6 LAPS

Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Race #2 is scheduled to get the green flag at 10 am on Sunday.

By Steve Wittich

DEForce Racing veteran Kiko Porto led the second USF2000 race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course wire-to-wire to take home his third win of the 2021 season and extend his championship points lead.

The Brazilian held off race #1 winner Michael d’Orlando (Cape Motorsports), who visited the podium for the sixth time this season.

Simon Sikes (Legacy Autosport) came home third, extending his podium streak to three races.

The call to fire the 28 Elite Engine-prepared power plants for Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix Of Mid-Ohio Race #2 came at 2:25 pm; the ambient temperature was 77F. The skies were sunny, and hills surrounding the 2.258-Mile, 13-Turn Mid-Ohio Road Course were full of fans.

For the fourth straight race, DEForce Racing veteran Porto brought the USF2000 field to the green flag in front of the Cooper Tire Tower on the front straight of the 60-year-old road course.

The running order after a clean, but busy first lap was: Porto, d’Orlando, Simon Sikes (Legacy Autosport), Matthew Round-Garrido (Exclusive Autosport), Thomas Nepveu (Cape Motorsports), Nolan Siegel (DEForce Racing), Billy Frazer (Exclusive Autosport), Christian Brooks (Exclusive Autosport), Spike Kohlbecker (Ignite Autosport w/Cape Motorsports), Jace Denmark (Pabst Racing), Josh Green (Turn 3 Motorsport), Myles Rowe (Force Indy), Prescott Campbell (DEForce Racing), Jackson Lee (Jay Howard Driver Development), Josh Pierson (Pabst Racing), Evan Stamer (Ignite Autosport w/Cape Motorsports), Bijoy Garg (Jay Howard Driver Development), Peter Vodanovich (Jay Howard Driver Development), Dylan Christie (Turn 3 Motorsport), Trey Burke (Joe Dooling Autosports), Christian Weir (Turn 3 Motorsport), Ely Navarro (DEForce Racing), Michael Myers (Michael Myers Racing), Kent Vaccaro (Miller Vinatieri Motorsports), Yuven Sundaramoorthy (Pabst Racing), Chase Hyland (Jay Howard Driver Development), Nathan Byrd (Legacy Autosport) and Erik Evans (Velocity Racing Development).

On the second lap, in Turn 5, Vodonovich spun. The No. 9 Jay Howard Driver Development machine could continue, but he was forced to pit road for repairs.

After a hectic first lap, the field settled in for the 20 lapper. Porto held the lead at the front of the field, but d’Orlando remained within a half-second of the championship leader.

Sikes, who gained one spot on the first lap to grab the last spot on the podium, had a comfortable gap of 2.5 seconds to Round-Garrido.

Championship contender Sundaramoorthy started the 20 lap race from the 11th spot and fell down the running order, finishing the first lap in the 25th spot. However, the third-year driver was able to recover 11 spots, finishing the race in 14th.

On Lap 9, newcomer Hyland had an off-track excursion in Turn 1, but was able to continue, ensuring the green flag remained out.

Porto’s lead at the halfway point of the race was still in the half-second range, with d’Orlando patiently waiting to see if the DEForce Racing driver made a mistake. Sikes, Round-Garrido, Nepveu, Frazer, Siegel, Kohlbecker, Brooks and Denmark

On Lap 11, Jackson Lee came to pit road to bolt on fresh Cooper Tire slicks to grab the quickest lap and improve his starting position for Race #3. The Avon, Ind. driver, turned the fastest lap of the race by a significant margin and will start Sunday morning’s from the inside of row three, his best start of the season.

With five laps remaining, the gap between Porto and d’Orlando remained at a half-second, with the rest of the top five evenly spread out and not within striking distance.

Outside of the top five – Frazer, Siegel, Kohlbecker, Brooks, Denmark, Green, Pierson, Campbell, Rowe, and Sundaramoorthy – were scrapping hammer and tong for 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th. That was running order when the ten drivers crossed the start/finish line with two laps remaining.

There was plenty of side-by-side battling in that group over the final two laps, with
Siegel, Brooks, Denmark, Green, and Sundaramoorthy all gaining spots and the rest of the driver losing places. Kohlbecker lost three places, the most of the group.

Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix Of Mid-Ohio Race #2 – unofficial results

RANK	CAR NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	DIFF.
1	12	Kiko Porto	DEForce Racing	20 LAPS
2	4	Michael d’Orlando	Cape Motorsports	-0.4085
3	19	Simon Sikes	Legacy Autosport	-4.4027
4	92	Matt Round-Garrido	Exclusive Autosport	-6.3545
5	2	Thomas Nepveu	Cape Motorsports	-9.2243
6	10	Nolan Siegel	DEForce Racing	-9.9042
7	91	Billy Frazer	Exclusive Autosport	-10.6588
8	44	Christian Brooks	Exclusive Autosport	-11.2737
9	23	Jace Denmark	Pabst Racing	-11.6158
10	33	Josh Green	Turn 3 Motorsport	-11.9953
11	5	Spike Kohlbecker	Ignite Autosports w/Cape Motorsports	-12.3075
12	24	Josh Pierson	Pabst Racing	-12.5659
13	11	Prescott Campbell	DEForce Racing	-12.9008
14	22	Yuven Sundaramoorthy	Pabst Racing	-13.1773
15	3	Evan Stamer	Ignite Autosports w/Cape Motorsports	-16.8365
16	99	Myles Rowe	Force Indy	-22.8595
17	63	Trey Burke	Joe Dooling Autosports	-24.9846
18	1	Ely Navarro	DEForce Racing	-25.2194
19	32	Christian Weir	Turn 3 Motorsport	-26.2917
20	42	Michael Myers	Michael Myers Racing	-26.9212
21	29	Erik Evans	Velocity Racing Development	-35.5305
22	16	Kent Vaccaro	Miller Vinatieri Motorsports	-39.8844
23	20	Nathan Byrd	Legacy Autosport	-75.3229
24	7	Chase Hyland	Jay Howard Driver Development	-78.4022
25	34	Dylan Christie	Turn 3 Motorsport	– 1 LAP
26	8	Jackson Lee	Jay Howard Driver Development	– 1 LAP
27	6	Bijoy Garg	Jay Howard Driver Development	– 1 LAP
28	9	Peter Vodanovich	Jay Howard Driver Development	-3 LAPS

The last of three Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix Of Mid-Ohio races will be the first track activity on Sunday, with the green flag scheduled for an early 8:05 am.

For the third straight race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, the front row will consist of Port and d’Orlando. It will be the fifth consecutive pole start for the driver of the Banco Daycoval/Petromega sponsored No. 12 from the DEForce Racing stable.

By Steve Wittich

Eighteen. The number of Road To Indy wins by Christian Rasmussen after the Jay Howard Driver Development rookie won his sixth Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires race of the 2021 season.

The Dane led all 25 laps, holding off Artem Petrov (Exclusive Autosport), who stood on an Indy Pro 2000 podium for the 12th time in his career. Rounding out the podium was Jacob Abel (Abel Motorsports), who stood on the podium for the second event in a row.

The front row of the Rasmussen and Petrov brought the field to the green flag. Petrov immediately dropped in behind the pole-sitter, following him through the fast left-hander.

That allowed Petrov to get side-by-side on the run to The Keyhole, with the Russian going to the outside of the Dane. Rasmussen missed the apex, and the two just missed making contact. The battle between the front two allowed Abel, who started fourth, to make it three-wide on the run down to Turn 4.

The trio went side-by-side into the braking zone, with all three wisely falling into place, behind the front three, McElrea, who was on the inside of Sulaiman, pushing the Juncos Racing driver into the grass, with the No. 22 spinning and getting high-sided on the curbing.

That brought out the yellow flag, with the running order Rasmussen, Petrov, Abel, McElrea, Eves, Reece Gold (Juncos Racing), Kyffin Simpson (Juncos Racing), Wyatt Brichacek (Jay Howard Driver Development), James Roe (Turn 3 Motorsport), Hunter Yeany (Velocity Racing Development), Jack William Miller (Miller Vinatieri Motorsports) and Manuel Sulaiman (Juncos Racing).

The AMR INDYCAR Safety Team was able to get the Telcel/Infinitum/WBC/Inteligentus/Anahuac sponsored No. 22 quickly back on track, with the Mexican driver staying on the lead lap.

With the quick work by the AMR INDYCAR Safety Team, the yellow was the only lap, with the green flag coming back out to start Lap 2.

On the first lap back to green, McElrea got a better run off Turn 2, completing the difficult outside pass in Turn 4 for the final spot on the podium.

On Lap 3, Eves was warned for blocking.

After five laps of action, Rasmussen’s lead over Petrov was 0.7837 seconds. The pair out front had a 2.3 second lead over McElrea, who had Abel pushing him.

The race settled into a rhythm for the next five laps, with Rasmussen’s lead over Petrov growing to 1.3 seconds. McElrea, in third, was just over five seconds adrift of Petrov. However, the Kiwi was still facing pressure from Abel, a winner in Formula Regional Americas Championship Powered By Honda at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last weekend.

Rasmussen’s lead when he saw the crossed flags signifying the halfway point of the 25 lap event was 1.9 seconds. Petrov, McElrea, Abel, and Eves rounded out the top five.

The best battle on the track with ten laps remaining was Abel, who was within a half-second of McElrea for the final spot on the podium. Further back, Eves, Gold, and Simpson were separated by only 1.5 seconds.

Rasmussen began Lap 17 with a 1.6 second lead over Petrov, turning almost identical laps. However, Petrov was nearly two-tenths of a second quicker on that lap, dropping the gap to 1.5 seconds.

The leading pair were the quickest drivers on track, with Roe, who was running eighth, turning the next fastest laps as the race approached the final five laps.

Rasmussen crossed the line 1.7 seconds ahead of Petrov with five laps remaining. Further back, a pair of drivers on one car teams – McElrea with Pabst Racing and Abel with Abel Motorsports – separated by only half a second.

With three laps remaining, Eves, Gold, Simpson, and Roe in fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth, were covered by only 1.6 seconds. Later in that lap, McElrea made a mistake in Turn 4, allowing Abel to move around McElrea for the final spot on the podium.

Rasmussen got the white flag 1.3 seconds ahead of Petrov. Further back, it was now only 1.3 seconds separating Eves, Gold, Simpson, and Roe. That quartet crossed the line in that exact order, separated by only 1.1 seconds.

Cooper Tires Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix Of Mid-Ohio Race #1 Unofficial Results

RANK	CAR NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	DIFF.
1	1	Christian Rasmussen	Jay Howard Driver Development	——
2	42	Artem Petrov	Exclusive Autosport	0.9675
3	51	Jacob Abel	Abel Motorsports	11.1979
4	18	Hunter McElrea	Pabst Racing	13.7779
5	91	Braden Eves	Exclusive Autosport	18.3795
6	55	Reece Gold	Juncos Racing	18.8830
7	21	Kyffin Simpson	Juncos Racing	19.2344
8	3	James Roe	Turn 3 Motorsport	19.5353
9	40	Jack William Miller	Miller Vinatieri Motorsports	23.4731
10	5	Wyatt Brichacek	Jay Howard Driver Development	26.5308
11	11	Hunter Yeany	Velocity Racing Development	30.4140
12	22	Manuel Sulaiman	Juncos Racing	67.7568

Cooper Tires Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix Of Mid-Ohio Race #2 will get the green flag at 9 am on Sunday.