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USF2000 at Portland International Raceway – Preview – entertaining title fight between Eves and McElrea – Rasmussen is hot – some newcomers

Posted by  on Thursday, August 29th 2019     

 

By Steve Wittich

Game on! Only nine points separate Braden Eves and Hunter McElrea in the chase for the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship title chase with only four races left on the calendar.

The 20-year-old Eves started the season with four straight trips to victory lane and a 44-point lead over Pabst Racing rookie McElrea when the “Month of May” came to a close.

One win, and two races later, the New Albany, Ohio driver began summer with a 41 point advantage over his Yankee/Kiwi/Aussie rival.

But, a mistake, some bad luck, a lack of pace, and being a victim of another driver’s aggressive driving has resulted in an average finish of 7.5 over the last four races.

In that same span, McElrea has a win and three podiums, outscoring Eves by an 88 to 56 margin.

Braden Eves (No. 8) leads his Cape Motorsports teammate Darren Keane (No. 2) and Hunter McElrea (No. 22) earlier during the 2019 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship season (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

The bottom rung of the Road To Indy has visited the 1.964-mile, 12-Turn road course four times and all four times, it was Cape Motorsports driver that stood on the top step of the podium.

Previous USF2000 winners at Portland International Raceway

YEAR DRIVER TEAM
2018 Race #2 Kyle Kirkwood Cape Motorsports
2018 Race #1 Kyle Kirkwood Cape Motorsports
2006 Race #2 J.R. Hildebrand Cape Motorsports
2006 Race #1 J.R. Hildebrand Cape Motorsports

Eves has a slight track knowledge advantage over McElrea after making his series debut on the 1.964-mile, 12-Turn road course last year. Competing with Newman Wachs Racing, he finished an impressive sixth in his first race and was taken out in Turn 1 on Lap 1 in his second race.

But, with a trio of 45-minute test sessions today, that advantage shouldn’t be too significant.

Road Course Crystal Ball… advantage McElrea?

Maybe, but certainly not by much.

The final four races of the championship will be contested on natural terrain road courses, giving us reason to look backward.

In the previous six races contested on natural terrain road courses at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Road America, and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Hunter McElrea has outscored Braden Eves by a slim 160 to 143 margin.

Eves has three wins compared to two for McElrea (Christian Rasmussen has the other win), but McElrea’s average finish of 2.0 is better than Eves’ average of 3.7.

Road Course Points Through Six Of Ten Races

RANK DRIVER POINTS BACK
1 Braden Eves – R 260
2 Hunter McElrea – R 251 -9
3 Darren Keane 207 -53
4 Colin Kaminsky 199 -61
5 Christian Rasmussen – R 198 -62
6 Manuel Sulaiman – R 161 -99
7 Cameron Shields – R 137 -123
8 Bruna Tomaselli 130 -130
9 Jak Crawford – R 130 -130
10 Reece Gold – R 125 -135
11 Matthew Round-Garrido – R 122 -138
12 Yuven Sundaramoorthy – R 119 -141
13 Zach Holden 107 -153
14 Eduardo Barrichello- R 93 -167
15 Alexandre Baron 92 -168
16 Nolan Siegel – R 89 -171
17 Christian Bogle – R 75 -185
18 Jack William Miller – R 69 -191
19 Anthony Famularo – R 67 -193
20 Manuel Cabrera 21 -239
21 Dakota Dickerson 15 -245
22 Jose Sierra 12 -248
23 Timmy Pagliuso 9 -251
24 Nate Aranda – R 2 -258

Going fast and leading laps aka bonus points

With only nine points separating Braden Eves and Hunter McElrea, don’t be surprised if bonus points play a role in who wins the title.

Each race has three bonus points available; one each for winning the pole, one for leading the most laps, and one for having the quickest race lap.

Eves has three poles, led the most laps on four occasions and had the quickest lap of the race twice to score nine bonus points so far this season.

McElrea has six bonus points, including a trio of pole positions, twice leading the most laps as well as collecting the quickest lap of the race once.

The only driver to score ‘max points’ so far in 2019 is Eves, who accomplished the feat in the second race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

USF2000 bonus points in 2019

RANK DRIVER POINTS
1 Darren Keane 9
2 Braden Eves – R 9
3 Hunter McElrea – R 6
4 Christian Rasmussen – R 5
5 Colin Kaminsky 2

Hot Dane

Hunter McElrea isn’t the only driver that has made up significant ground in the championship in July.

Jay Howard Driver’s Development’s Christian Rasmussen heads to the final four races as the hottest driver over the last five races. The rookie’s 131 points are 19 more than the next most productive driver.

Rasmussen has two wins, four podiums, one pole, and has led 55 of 97 laps over that five-race span. He has also had the first or second quickest race lap in all five races.

The Danish driver will need some significant help if he is to win the title and advancement scholarship. But, don’t be surprised to see him play the role of spoiler.

Other potential spoilers

Only nine points separate Darren Keane, Colin Kaminsky, and Christian Rasmussen in an entertaining battle for the third spot in the championship.

Cape Motorsports veteran Keane currently holds that third spot and is also on a role. The 19-year-old University of Florida sophomore has scored the second-most points over the last five races, including his first career win, three podiums, and three quickest race laps.

“I’m really looking forward to racing at Portland this weekend and the next four races,” Keane enthused, having just started his sophomore year at the University of Florida. “I think it is a track that I will mesh well with. The goal is two clean finishes and some good points, but I’m always aiming for the top step of the podium! I’m third in the championship and a bit far behind the leaders and I feel a bit like I’m the underdog with nothing to lose, so I’m just going to go for the wins. This championship is theirs to loose. I can’t wait to get on track this Thursday and show what we’ve got. It’s also nice to be back with the Cape boys after a long break. All in all, I’m excited for a great weekend!

Kaminsky is coming off a pair of podiums at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and trail only McElrea and Eves in points scored on natural terrain road courses. The University of Pittsburgh student’s average finish in the six previous natural terrain road course is 4.2.

Team title

The USF2000 Driver’s Championship isn’t the only one that is heating up. We’ll be carefully watching the Team Championship over the last two events.

Cape Motorsports had sprinted out to a healthy lead early in the season, but Pabst Racing has been on a tear lately and has cut the gap to a slender nine-point margin.

The Oconomowoc, Wisconsin based Pabst Racing has won the last two team titles.

USF2000 team points

RANK TEAM POINTS
1 Cape Motorsports 292
2 Pabst Racing 283
3 DEForce Racing 142
4 Newman Wachs Racing 83
5 Legacy Autosport 98
7 BN Racing 99
6 Jay Howard Driver Development 132
8 Miller Vinatieri Motorsports 46
9 Exclusive Autosport 20
10 Team E-JAY 5

Changes

Moving

After contesting the first 11 races of the season with Miller Vinatieri Motorsports, Eduardo Barrichello will be making a move to DEForce Racing to get behind the wheel of the Bib’s Chocolate sponsored No. 91.

“I’m really happy to have the opportunity to drive with DEForce for the last two race weekends of the USF2000 season. I want to thank Miller Vinatieri Motorsports for their support throughout the year. Now I’m looking forward to the new challenge ahead of me.”

The Brazilian’s three top-10 finishes this season have come on the natural terrain road courses at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Road America.

Returning

Making his return to the series for the first time this season Kyle Dupell, who calls Portland, Ore. home. The 20-year-old will be at the wheel of the Opal Creek Capital / Family Help and Wellness sponsored No. 73 from the Newman Wachs Racing stable.

Dupell made 14 USF2000 starts last year, including a pair of tenth place finishes on the 1.964-mile, 12-Turn road course.

“I’m extremely excited to be joining Newman Wachs Racing for the Grand Prix of Portland,” Dupell enthused. “I believe we can do some great things together this weekend. Everything started coming together in winter testing this year, leading sessions in both Indy Pro 2000 and USF2000 in official testing. I’m looking forward to the challenge of jumping into the car for the first time this year and seeing what we’re made of. Thank you to Opal Creek Capital for coming on-board with us again, and Family Help and Wellness for joining up with us and making this possible.”

Newbees

Jay Howard Driver Development will be running a third car this weekend. F1600 Championship Series stand-out Josh Green will be behind the wheel of the JHDD, CSU | One Cure, Pelican Energy, Lucas Oil sponsored No. 5.

The Mount Kisco, N.Y. driver, has won seven times and finished on the podium in 18-races, sitting second in the championship. The high-school senior was recently named as one of the six finalists for the Team USA Scholarship.

“I’m extremely excited to get to work this weekend!” said a thrilled Green. “Being my first time in the car at a new track, it’ll be a huge learning curve, and I’m confident I’ll learn a massive amount with a team as prestigious as JHDD. I can’t wait to figure out what this new car likes from both an engineering and driving standpoint, as well as speaking to, and learning from, as many new people as possible. I can’t thank Jay Howard and JHDD enough for the opportunity.”

Ayrton Ori, from Orlando, Fla. is the second F1600 Championship Series driver that will be making his series debut piloting the No. 77 Legacy Autosport USF-17. The 15-year-old has stood on the podium one time throughout two seasons and also has experience in SCCA Formula F competition.

“The whole crew at Legacy Autosport treated me like family,” explained Ori. “I was able to get fitted to the car comfortably and while on track, the team consistently worked with me to ensure I was learning with each passing lap. Driving a non-winged car is much different than a USF2000, but I am excited and ready for the challenge that lies ahead.”

A Champion

DEForce Racing rookie Manuel Sulaiman heads to the Pacific Northwest as a champion. The Puebla, Mexico won ten times on the way to clinching the 2018–19 edition of the NACAM Formula 4 Championship. Fellow USF2000 competitor Jak Crawford finished right behind Sulaiman.

This week 13 years ago, Alexander Rossi, who is in the fight for the NTT IndyCar Series championship, tested with Cape Motorsports. Here was the press release from the series at that time. https://web.archive.org/web/20061024041122/http://www.cooperseries.com/news/news_september0206_alexander_rossi_tests_in_palmetto.html

Palmetto FL (September 1, 2006) – The fourteen-year-old talented driver and Skip Barber 2006 Scholarship winner from Nevada City, California came to Group Four Park with the expectation of doing well but not setting the world on fire. It turned out he would set a track record in a Formula 1000 car.

Despite blistering heat and having never driven the F1000 car, Alexander Rossi would adapt quickly and begin putting down laps that would challenge the times of other drivers many years his senior. Dominic and Nicholas Cape, owners of Cape Motorsports, would put Alexander through a series of tests to assess his ability to adapt and communicate how the car was performing.

Nicholas Cape, co-owner of Cape Motorsports, stated, “Rossi is a talent beyond his years. He showed impressive pace and adaptability and never put a wheel wrong. When you consider his age and where he is in his career, this definitely marks him as future champion.”

Alexander would continue putting in faster laps as the day progressed, learning the car and controls, adjusting the setup and then concentrating on the track. By early afternoon he would go on to set a new track record in an F1000 car.

Rossi would draw on his experiences in a Skip Barber car and a Formula Renault car to provide analysis of the new F1000 car. “The Skip Barber car is similar as it’s a frame rail chassis, but it doesn’t have as much power. The Formula Renault 1.6 is the exact opposite. It has a carbon fiber chassis and only 90 hp at the wheels. The F1000 car was an in-between thing because it had power but was a frame rail chassis, so it didn’t take me long to adjust. I really enjoyed the car. It was fun to drive.”

Rossi’s background in karting and experience with Skip Barber and Formula Renault is the foundation for a bright future for this young but mature driver from California. He is currently third in the point’s race in the Skip Barber National Championship presented by RACER. His next race will be one of the support races with the Champ Car World Series at Road America in Elkhart Lake, WI, September 22-24.

Alexander Rossi testing with Cape Motorsports (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

Other Steve type things

  • Braden Eves has five podiums this season. All of them are wins.
  • The USF2000 Championship has only visited Portland International Raceway twice and that eventual champion – J.R. Hildebrand in 2006 and Kyle Kirkwood in 2018 – has won.
  • The pole-sitter has won three of the four USF2000 races at Portland International Raceway.

Race Weekend Basics

Race #1: Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix Presented by Allied Building Products
Race #2: Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix Presented by Allied Building Products

Race #1 distance: 25 laps or 40 minutes
Race #2 distance: 25 laps or 40 minutes

Each entry can utilize three new sets of Cooper Tire slicks as well as one set of used/scuffed tires from the test at Portland International Raceway.

Drivers failing to slow at least 15% in a timing sector with a local yellow will be subject to a two-place grid spot penalty.

Drivers who fail to heed the checkered flag at the end of a session will receive a two-grid spot penalty

Causing one red flag will result in a driver losing their fastest lap.

Causing a second red flag will wipe out all of drivers laps, and they will be parked for the remainder of the session

Driver points are distributed as follows: 30 – 25 – 22 – 19 – 17 – 15 -14 – 13 – 12 – 11 – 10 – 9 – 8 – 7 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – an additional one point will be awarded to the pole sitter, to the driver who leads the most laps, and to the driver who turns the quickest race lap

Watch last year’s USF2000 races

Race #1

Race #2

 

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

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Road To Indy at Mid-Ohio – Sunday – McElrea wins – title gap is now down to single digits

Posted by  on Sunday, July 28th 2019     

By Steve Wittich

Game on for the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship. Cape Motorsports rookie Braden Eves won four of the first five races of the season to build a 44 championship lead over Hunter McElrea as the “Month of May” came to an end.

Hunter McElrea celebrates winning a Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

McElrea, the Mazda Road To Indy 200K Shootout Winner has turned the tables though, winning twice in the last six races and outscoring Eves by 36 points in those half-dozen races.

With a trip to the top step of the podium from the pole and the quickest lap of the race, the American born Kiwi scored 33 points, the maximum on offer.

Eves finished outside of the top five for the third straight race, meaning his points lead over McElrea is now only nine points. It’s the first time that McElrea has been with single digits of Eaves all season.

Christian Rasmussen, who started second for his third consecutive race was not able to repeat his first lap heroics from the Sunday’s race in Toronto and Saturday’s race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. It is the Dane’s fourth straight race standing on one of the top two steps of the podium.

For the fourth time this season, Pabst Racing veteran Colin Kaminsky wheeled his Slick Locks sponsored No. 23 to a podium position.

Before the race note: Darren Keane, Reece Gold, Braden Eves, Manuel Sulaiman, Bruna Tomaselli, and Nolan Siegel were all penalized two grid spots for failing to slow by at least 15% in an area with a local yellow.

The front row of McElrea Rasmussen brought the 17 2.0L powered Tatuus chassis to the green flag, and unlike their big siblings, got their 20 lap race started cleanly.

McElrea got a good jump, but Rasmussen was able to close enough to take a look around the outside in the Keyhole but had to pull back in line and could not get a run down the back straight.

The running order at the end of the first lap was McElrea, Rasmussen, Kaminsky, Sundaramoorthy, Holden, Round-Garrido, Eves, Crawford, Miller, Gold, Sulaiman, Barichello, Siegel, Bogle, Tomaselli, Keane and Pagliuso.

On Lap 2, Siegel had to come to pit road to repair a damaged front wing.

On Lap 3, Jack William Miller made a daring pass of championship leader Eves on the inside of Turn 8. Eves pushed wide, and lost three more spots, dropping to 11th.

McElrea’s lead with six laps remaining was a slim 0.6553 seconds over Rasmussen. Behind the front four, Sundaramoorthy lost two spots to Matthew Round-Garrido and Jak Crawford.

On Lap 8, Eves was able to gain two spots to move back into the top 10. He passed Sulaiman on track and earned another spot when Miller went off track in Turn 10 and 11.

At the half-way point of the race, McElrea’s lead was 1.2 seconds over Rasmussen, who had a safe gap over Kaminsky. Holden was running fourth, with Round-Garrido running fifth. The BN Racing driver had the rest of the top ten – Crawford, Sundaramoorthy, Gold, Eves and Keane nose-to-tail behind him.

On Lap 12, Eves lost a spot to his Cape Motorsports teammate Keane to fall to tenth.

Round-Garrido was making his car wide, but on the next lap lost the fifth spot to Cape Motorsports 14-year-old Crawford.

With six laps remaining, Keane was able to pass his teammate gold to move up to the eighth spot.

McElrea’s lead with five laps remaining was 1.1 seconds. Behind him, Keane, who started last was working on Sundaramoorthy for the seventh spot, getting around him and immediately putting pressure on Round-Garrido.

Keane was able to gain one more spot in the final three laps to end up finishing 11 places higher than he started.

With two laps remaining, McElrea’s lead over the Jay Howard Driver Development rookie was under one second and was 0.7 seconds when they got the white flag.

On lap 19, Sundaramoorthy and Round-Garrido made contact in Turn 5, dropping them down to 14th and 13th respectively.

In the chaos, Eves was able to get past his teammate gold, moving from 10th at the start of the white flag lap to take the checkered flag in seventh. Bookmark, those three spots, we’ll come back to them when the championship comes to a close at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in September.

Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Race #2 Unofficial Results

RANK CAR. NO DRIVER TEAM DIFFERENCE
1 22 Hunter McElrea Pabst Racing 20 LAPS
2 6 Christian Rasmussen Jay Howard Driver Development 0.5652
3 23 Colin Kaminsky Pabst Racing 8.1742
4 14 Zach Holden Legacy Autosport 8.6937
5 4 Jak Crawford Cape Motorsports 14.3891
6 2 Darren Keane Cape Motorsports 17.2252
7 8 Braden Eves Cape Motorsports 20.7171
8 12 Manuel Sulaiman DEForce Racing 21.1403
9 3 Reece Gold Cape Motorsports 25.9813
10 24 Bruna Tomaselli Pabst Racing 26.3793
11 41 Eduardo Barrichello Miller Vinatieri Motorsports 28.1250
12 40 Jack William Miller Miller Vinatieri Motorsports 28.5486
13 27 Matthew Round-Garrido BN Racing 33.9488
14 21 Yuven Sundaramoorthy Pabst Racing 33.9488
15 7 Christian Bogle Jay Howard Driver Development 41.5165
16 77 Timmy Pagliuso Legacy Autosport – 1 LAP
17 36 Nolan Siegel Newman Wachs Racing – 1 LAP

The lowest rung of the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires is back in action at the Portland International Raceway on Labor Day weekend.

category: USF2000 News/Results

Road To Indy at Mid-Ohio – Sunday – Kirkwood drives to victory lane for fifth time in six Indy Pro 2000 races – narrows championship deficit to 13 points

Posted by  on Sunday, July 28th 2019     

By Steve Wittich

There is no Road To Indy driver hotter than Kyle Kirkwood right now. The reigning USF2000 champion has won five of the last six Indy Pro 2000 races, and it’s his 17th career win in 25 Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires starts.

The 20-year-old has now won all five of his Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires starts on the 2.258-Mile, 13-Turn Mid-Ohio Road Course.

Sting Ray Robb used a daring Turn 1 pass to move to the second step of the podium. It’s the 17-year-olds fifth Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires podium.

Lindh’s incredible run of consistency continued for one more race. The Juncos Racing rookie started a season-worst sixth but finished on the podium for the ninth time in the first 11 races of the 2019 season.

The gap between leader Lindh and second place Kirkwood is now 13 points.

When the engines were fired for Indy Pro 2000 race #2, the ambient temperature was 78F, the track temperature was 89F, and the humidity was 67%.

The front row of Kirkwood and Frost led the baker’s dozen drivers slowly to the green. Robb, who was starting fourth locked up the brakes. His teammate and championship leader Lindh got into the back of him.

That caused a stack up behind them, with Antonio Serravalle and Antoine Comeau getting air as they ran into the back the drivers they were starting behind, Moisés de la Vara and Nikita Lastochkin.

Oops (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

The start was waved off as Comeau’s No. 3 from Turn 3 Motorsport ended up in the grass on drivers right.

The AMR INDYCAR Safety Team got the PM-18 restarted and all of the carbon fiber cleaned up, for a double-file start to begin Lap 3.

Before that, Lastochkin, de la Vara, and Serravalle all came to pit road for repairs.

Also, race control penalized Frost for an improper start, and he had to move to the back of the field for the Lap 3 start.

The running order after the first green flag lap was Kirkwood, Thompson, Robb, Rodriguez, Lindh, Denes, de la Vara, Abel, Lastochkin, Finelli, Frost, Serravalle, and Comeau.

On Lap 5, Lindh moved to fourth, getting past Rodriguez.

By the half-way point of the race, Kirkwood had a 1.3 second lead over Thompson. Robb and Lindh were closing up on Thompson, running within a second of the second-place runner.

Behind the front group, de la Vara, Abel, Lastochkin and Frost were battling for seventh through tenth.

By Lap 15, Frost had moved his way past the other three drivers to grab the seventh spot. Three laps later, he was able to get by Denes to move up to sixth after restarting on Lap 3 in 11th.

With seven laps remaining, Kirkwood’s lead was at 1.5 seconds but was erased when the yellow flag came out.

de la Vara’s DEForce Racing No. 6 did two full spins after dropping his left wheels at the exit of Turn 8, coming to a stop in the gravel. The AMR INDYCAR Safety Team was able to get him out and restarted, and he drove back to pit road.

The running order under caution was Kirkwood, Thompson, Robb, Lindh, Rodriguez, Frost, Denes, Lastochkin, Abel, Serravalle, Comeau,

The green flag came with four laps remaining. Kirkwood got a good jump, and for the second straight race, Robb made an aggressive move on a restart, passing Thompson to the inside. Thompson then lost another spot to Lindh on the run uphill to The Keyhole, dropping the Canadian off the podium.

Further back, Frost got around Rodriguez to grab the fourth spot.

With two laps remaining, Kirkwood’s lead was 1.6 second over Robb.

On Lap 23, Rodriguez grabbed the fifth spot back.

Kirkwood ended up crossing the line 3.5 seconds ahead of Robb with Lindh grabbing the last spot on the podium.

Kory Enders was entered this weekend but was not able to take part in the races. The DEForce Racing driver had to head home to Texas for a family issue.

Kyle Kirkwood rolls into victory lane at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

Cooper Tires Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Race #2 Unofficial Results

RANK CAR. NO DRIVER TEAM DIFFERENCE
1 28 Kyle Kirkwood RP Motorsport Racing 25 LAPS
2 2 Sting Ray Robb Juncos Racing 3.4783
3 10 Rasmus Lindh Juncos Racing 3.9523
4 8 Parker Thompson Abel Motorsports 4.5132
5 5 Ian Rodriguez RP Motorsport Racing 5.3491
6 68 Danial Frost Exclusive Autosport 7.9953
7 90 Nikita Lastochkin Exclusive Autosport 8.3256
8 98 Phillippe Denes FatBoy Racing 11.1495
9 11 Antonio Serravalle Pserra Racing/Jay Howard Driver Development 11.4824
10 51 Jacob Abel Abel Motorsports 46.0435
11 3 Antoine Comeau Turn 3 Motorsport -1 LAP
12 83 Charles Finelli FatBoy Racing – 7 LAPS
13 6 Moises de la Vara DEForce Racing – 7 LAPS
14 7 Kory Enders DEForce Racing

The middle run of the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires will be back on track in a month for their second oval race of the season at World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway.

category: Cooper Tires USF2000 powered by Mazda - TSO
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Road To Indy at Mid-Ohio – Rasmussen makes first lap pass for the lead in second straight USF2000 victory

Posted by  on Saturday, July 27th 2019     

By Steve Wittich

For the second straight race, Christian Rasmussen made a first lap pass for the lead after starting on the outside of the front row.

Christian Rasmussen celebrates a USF2000 win on the podium at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

The Jay Howard Driver Development driver survived a Lap 3 restart, steadily and consistently driving away from an intense battle for second. The 20-year-old crossed the finish line with a healthy 9.5753 second gap over the pole sitter Hunter McElrea.

McElrea, spent 13 laps battling Matthew Round-Garrido for second, finally passing the BN Racing driver with four laps to go. After the race, McElrea was less than pleased with some of the Englishman’s defensive driving maneuvers.

Combine the three extra points earned by that pass with an eighth place finish by championship leader Braden Eves and the Kiwi starts Sunday’s race 13 points closer to the points lead. The margin between first and second is now 28 points.

McElrea’s Pabst Racing teammate Colin Kaminsky was able to get around Round-Garrido at the same time, finishing on the podium for the third time this year.

The call to start the 17 2.0L Elite Engines powering the 17 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship entries came as scheduled at 4:01 pm. The ambient temperature was 84F, the track temperature was 115F and the humidity was a comfortable 45%.

The front row of McElrea and Rasmussen brought the field to the green flag on the front straight. McElrea got a decent jump, with Rasmussen ducking in behind the Soul Red No. 22. The Dane was able to grab the lead in Turn 4 on the first lap.

The start of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

At the back of the field, the No. 77 of Timmy Pagliuso, went way too deep into Turn 4, spinning and getting stuck in ‘China Beach.’ The yellow flag came out before the first lap was completed.

The running order at the end of first lap was Rasmussen, McElrea, Round-Garrido, Tomaselli, Kaminsky, Yuven Sundaramoorthy, Jak Crawford, Braden Eves, Manuel Sulaiman, Darren Keane, Eduardo Barrichello, Zach Holden, Jack William Miller, Reece Gold, Christian Bogle, Nolan Siegel and Pagliuso.

The green flag came back out to begin Lap 4. Rasmussen jumped out to a big lead. Behind him, Round-Garrido was able to get past McElrea for second with an outside Turn 4 pass.

On Lap 6, Kaminsky made a move on Tomaselli for fourth, immediately putting pressure on his teammate McElrea.

Rasmussen crossed the line 1.8 seconds ahead his former Jay Howard Driver Development teammate Round-Garrido. The Pabst Racing foursome of McElrea, Kaminsky, Tomaselli, and Sundaramoorthy were running nose to tail in third through sixth.

By Lap 8, McElrea was all over the gearbox of Round-Garrido, looking to the outside of the BN Racing driver in Turn 4, but thinking better of it and tucking back in behind him.

The Mazda Road To Indy 200K Scholarship winner faked to the outside again on the next lap, but once again, dropped in behind Round-Garrido.

Out front Rasmussen had built a 3.99 second lead.

Only three seconds covered second place Round-Garrido, to eighth place Eves.

On Lap 11, McElrea looked to inside of Round-Garrido, but once again, was unable to complete the pass.

Rasmussen had a 5.3 second lead with five to go. Behind him, ten cars were running line-astern, proving that the passing at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course isn’t easy.

The JHDD/CSU|One Cure/Lucas Oil sponsored No. 6 in the hands of Rasmussen was turning incredibly consistent laps out front.

With four laps remaining, Round-Garrido made a mistake, falling off the podium to fourth after being passed by McElrea and Kaminsky.

Further back in the field an inter team battle between a trio of Cape Motorsports teammate was underway. Newcomer Crawford was defending against Eves and Keane.

The 14-year-old was able to hold off his older teammate to bring the RE/Max, Am Cap Home Loans home sponsored No. 4 in seventh place.

Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Race #1 Unofficial Results

RANK CAR. NO DRIVER TEAM DIFFERENCE
1 6 Christian Rasmussen Jay Howard Driver Development 20 LAPS
2 22 Hunter McElrea Pabst Racing 9.5753
3 23 Colin Kaminsky Pabst Racing 10.7498
4 27 Matt Round-Garrido BN Racing 11.2931
5 24 Bruna Tomaselli Pabst Racing 12.7114
6 21 Yuven Sundaramoorthy Pabst Racing 13.2952
7 4 Jak Crawford Cape Motorsports 13.8461
8 8 Braden Eves Cape Motorsports 14.0798
9 2 Darren Keane Cape Motorsports 14.5044
10 14 Zach Holden Legacy Autosport 15.1382
11 12 Manuel Sulaiman DEForce Racing 15.6301
12 3 Reece Gold Cape Motorsports 27.0755
13 40 Jack William Miller Miller Vinatieri Motorsports 27.4602
14 41 Eduardo Barrichello Miller Vinatieri Motorsports 28.6715
15 7 Christian Bogle Jay Howard Driver Development 29.2901
16 36 Nolan Siegel Newman Wachs Racing 32.1383
17 77 Timmy Pagliuso Legacy Autosport 18 LAPS

Sunday’s final 20-lap or 40-minute Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio race is scheduled to get underway at 11:05 am.

category: Cooper Tires USF2000 powered by Mazda - TSO, Uncategorized

Road To Indy at Mid-Ohio – Saturday – McElrea wins second straight USF2000 pole – Rasmussen starts second again

Posted by  on Saturday, July 27th 2019     

By Steve Wittich

For the second straight USF2000 qualifying session, the Soul Red No. 22 of Mazda Road to Indy 200K scholarship winner Hunter McElrea, was the fastest car on track. It’s the American born Kiwi’s third pole of the season.

For the third straight race, Christian Rasmussen will start from the outside of the front row. The Jay Howard Driver Development rookie missed out on his second pole of the season by only one-hundredth of a second.

Cape Motorsports and Braden Eves, who struggled in qualifying yesterday, improved the MDRN Livery/Community Choice Financial sponsored No. 8 for this morning and will start on the outside of the second row.

The 17 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship drivers took to the 2.258-Mile, 13-Turn Mid-Ohio Road Course for their second qualifying session at 8:35 am. It was hazy, possibly from campfires was still clinging in the air and perhaps from the 74% humidity, or most likely both. The air temperature was 72F, and the track temperature was 76F.

Second-generation driver Eduardo Barrichello was the first driver to set a time.

With just over 13 minutes remaining, the red flag came out for Timmy Pagiliuso, the pilot of the No. 77 from the Legacy Autosport, who spun coming off the keyhole, ending up in the gravel trap on the inside of the track. The AMR INDYCAR Safety Team was able to tow him to the pavement, and the newcomer was able to drive back to pit road.

The quickest driver when the red flag came out was Rasmussen with a lap timed at 82.967 seconds. He was joined by Colin Kaminsky, Hunter McElrea, Jack William Miller, Eduardo Barrichello, Nolan Siegel, Christian Bogle, Darren Keane, Manuel Sulaiman, and Reece Gold.

Matthew Round-Garrido, Bruna Tomaselli and Yuven Sundaramoorthy had yet to complete a lap.

The green flag came back out with just under nine minutes remaining, with 16 drivers headed out on the track.

Points leader Braden Eves was the first driver back on track, and the first driver to improve his placement on the timing screens, moving to the outside of the provisional front row.

McElrea went quicker on his first three hot laps, before falling off on his fourth lap. Rasmussen briefly held the provisional pole, but not for long, as McElrea was able to pip him as he crossed the timing line.

The second red flag of the session was shown with the checkered flag with just over 30 seconds remaining when Excel Labs/No Stone Unturned sponsored No. 27 of Matthew Round-Garrido had an incident at the exit of Turn 11.

The BN Racing driver had the sixth quickest lap but lost that for causing the red flag. The Englishman, who is coming off his first podium, with start 14th.

Some drivers, including championship contender Darren Keane, were on hot laps that had to be aborted. The Cape Motorsports veteran will start Sunday’s race #2 from the inside of the eighth row.

Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Qualifying #2 Unofficial Results

RANK CAR. NO DRIVER TEAM QUICK LAP DIFFERENCE
1 22 Hunter McElrea Pabst Racing 1:21.386 –.—-
2 6 Christian Rasmussen Jay Howard Driver Development 1:21.401 0.0150
3 23 Colin Kaminsky Pabst Racing 1:21.727 0.3404
4 8 Braden Eves Cape Motorsports 1:21.815 0.4283
5 21 Yuven Sundaramoorthy Pabst Racing 1:21.825 0.4383
6 14 Zach Holden Legacy Autosport 1:22.270 0.8834
7 4 Jak Crawford Cape Motorsports 1:22.285 0.8982
8 40 Jack William Miller Miller Vinatieri Motorsports 1:22.350 0.9635
9 3 Reece Gold Cape Motorsports 1:22.363 0.9761
10 36 Nolan Siegel Newman Wachs Racing 1:22.396 1.0097
11 12 Manuel Sulaiman DEForce Racing 1:22.463 1.0768
12 24 Bruna Tomaselli Pabst Racing 1:22.697 1.3100
13 41 Eduardo Barrichello Miller Vinatieri Motorsports 1:22.780 1.3932
14 27 Matt Round-Garrido BN Racing 1:22.833 1.4464
15 2 Darren Keane Cape Motorsports 1:22.842 1.4558
16 7 Christian Bogle Jay Howard Driver Development 1:23.935 2.5488
17 77 Timmy Pagliuso Legacy Autosport 1:28.605 7.2181

The first Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Race of the weekend, a 20 lap or 40-minute race is scheduled to get the green flag this afternoon at 4:05 pm.

category: Cooper Tires USF2000 powered by Mazda - TSO

Road To Indy at Mid-Ohio – Friday – McElrea on pole for USF2000 Race #1 – Four of top five from Pabst Racing stable

Posted by  on Friday, July 26th 2019     

By Steve Wittich

For much of the 20-minute USF2000 qualifying session, it appeared that Pabst Racing might lock out the front row, but the Oconomowoc, Wisc. team had to settle for putting four drivers in the top five.

For the second race of the season, it will be Mazda backed Road To Indy 200K Scholarship that starts on the pole for a Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship race. It’s only the second time that Pabst Racing will start on pole at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

It was Hunter McElrea who grabbed the pole for the first Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

It was Jay Howard Driver Development pilot Christian Rasmussen, that broke up the Pabst Racing party, and will start on the outside of the front row for the second straight race.

The second row will consist of Yuven Sundaramoorthy and Bruna Tomaselli, who both had their best career qualifying sessions. The fourth member of the Pabst Racing squad, Colin Kaminsky, will start on the inside of the third row beside BN Racing rookie Matthew Round-Garrido.

Cape Motorsports drivers had won 13 of last 17 USF2000 poles at the 2.258-Mile, 13-Turn Mid-Ohio Road Course, but struggled today. The best any of the four drivers could do was eighth, by newcomer Jak Crawford. His teammate points leader Braden Eves will start ninth.

The ambient temperature when the first of two Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship qualifying session began at 1:55 pm was 80F. The track temperature was 118F and the humidity a reasonably comfortable 50%.

Rasmussen grabbed the early provisional pole, throwing down a lap at 83.076 seconds early. That lap held until Manuel Sulaiman briefly held the top spot.

With 12 minutes remaining in the session, Keane was on pit road for adjustments.

McElrea was the quickest driver at the 10-minute mark of the 20-minute session, turning a lap at 82.1933 seconds. The remainder of the top 10 were Colin Kaminsky, Yuven Sundaramoorthy, Christian Rasmussen, Jak Crawford, Manuel Sulaiman, Jack William Miller, Bruna Tomaselli, Braden Eves, and Nolan Siegel.

With seven minutes remaining, it was Pabst Racing racing holding down the top four spots. Tomaselli was on top, followed by McElrea, Kaminsky, and Sundaramoorthy.

Two laps later, it was the Soul Red No. 22 piloted by McElrea, went back to the top of the timing screens. He was able to go quicker yet on his next lap.

The top five with two-minutes remaining were: McElrea, Rasmussen, Sundaramoorthy, Tomaselli, and Kaminsky. The Cooper Tires were clearly outside of their optimal grip level, as none of the 17 drivers were able to improve on their final lap.

Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Qualifying #1 Unofficial Results

RANK CAR. NO DRIVER TEAM QUICK LAP DIFFERENCE
1 22 Hunter McElrea Pabst Racing 1:21.513 –.—-
2 6 Christian Rasmussen Jay Howard Driver Development 1:21.657 0.1441
3 21 Yuven Sundaramoorthy Pabst Racing 1:21.768 0.2555
4 24 Bruna Tomaselli Pabst Racing 1:21.773 0.2600
5 23 Colin Kaminsky Pabst Racing 1:21.834 0.3216
6 27 Matt Round-Garrido BN Racing 1:21.901 0.3882
7 12 Manuel Sulaiman DEForce Racing 1:21.971 0.4583
8 4 Jak Crawford Cape Motorsports 1:21.978 0.4658
9 8 Braden Eves Cape Motorsports 1:22.018 0.5054
10 2 Darren Keane Cape Motorsports 1:22.084 0.5713
11 14 Zach Holden Legacy Autosport 1:22.132 0.6199
12 41 Eduardo Barrichello Miller Vinatieri Motorsports 1:22.309 0.7965
13 40 Jack William Miller Miller Vinatieri Motorsports 1:22.593 1.0803
14 36 Nolan Siegel Newman Wachs Racing 1:22.619 1.1061
15 3 Reece Gold Cape Motorsports 1:22.667 1.1542
16 7 Christian Bogle Jay Howard Driver Development 1:23.436 1.9232
17 77 Timmy Pagliuso Legacy Autosport 1:25.717 4.2046

The Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship is back on track for their second qualifying session on Saturday morning at 8:35 am.

category: USF2000 News/Results
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Road To Indy at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course – Friday – McElrea leads USF2000 practice – four Pabst Racing drivers in the top 8

Posted by  on Friday, July 26th 2019     

By Steve Wittich

The lowest rung of the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires had three test sessions (120 minutes), but no timing or scoring was available. Editorial note from Steve – I actually like that. It allows the teams to work on a designed testing plan with no pressure to turn in that ultimate quick lap.

The temperature when the 30-minute session began was in the upper 60’s but quickly surpassed 70F. There was a light haze, but that burned off quickly.

At the half-way point of the session, winner of the Mazda Road To Indy 200K Scholarship winner McElrea had the quickest lap at 82.028 seconds. The rest of the top ten were Christian Rasmussen, Yuven Sundaramoorthy, Darren Keane, Matthew Round-Garrido, Braden Eves, Jak Crawford, Reece Gold, Bruna Tomaselli, and Colin Kaminsky.

Times continued to drop throughout the half-hour session with McElrea going under 82 seconds, on his first lap in the second half of the session.

With five minutes remaining, McElrea and Rasmussen were the only drivers with laps in the 81-second range and were over seven-tenths ahead of Kaminsky, who had the third-best time.

At that point in the session spots, three through 13 were separated by only a half-second.

In the last few minutes of the session, five more drivers were able to get within six-tenths of McElrea.

The 17 drivers that took to the 2.258-Mile, 13-Turn Mid-Ohio Road Course turned a total of 322 laps in a session that went clean and green. Rasmussen, Kaminsky and Christian Bogle all turned 21-laps, the most of the session.

Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Practice #1 Results

RANK CAR. NO DRIVER TEAM QUICK LAP DIFFERENCE TOTAL LAPS
1 22 Hunter McElrea Pabst Racing 1:21.424 –.—- 20
2 6 Christian Rasmussen Jay Howard Driver Development 1:21.546 0.1223 21
3 21 Yuven Sundaramoorthy Pabst Racing 1:21.819 0.3952 19
4 23 Colin Kaminsky Pabst Racing 1:21.906 0.4813 21
5 27 Matt Round-Garrido BN Racing 1:21.953 0.5288 18
6 2 Darren Keane Cape Motorsports 1:22.021 0.5968 18
7 8 Braden Eves Cape Motorsports 1:22.050 0.6260 15
8 24 Bruna Tomaselli Pabst Racing 1:22.065 0.6410 20
9 4 Jak Crawford Cape Motorsports 1:22.231 0.8065 19
10 3 Reece Gold Cape Motorsports 1:22.269 0.8452 20
11 14 Zach Holden Legacy Autosport 1:22.315 0.8904 20
12 12 Manuel Sulaiman DEForce Racing 1:22.357 0.9325 19
13 40 Jack William Miller Miller Vinatieri Motorsports 1:22.580 1.1554 17
14 41 Eduardo Barrichello Miller Vinatieri Motorsports 1:22.773 1.3490 15
15 7 Christian Bogle Jay Howard Driver Development 1:23.110 1.6854 21
16 36 Nolan Siegel Newman Wachs Racing 1:23.225 1.8006 20
17 77 Timmy Pagliuso Legacy Autosport 1:26.718 5.2940 19

The first rung of the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires is back on track at 1:55 pm for a 20-minute qualifying session.

category: USF2000 News/Results
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Road To Indy at Mid-Ohio – Previewing the USF2000 action – Eves has lead as series heads to iconic circuit for the 53rd and 54th time

Posted by  on Thursday, July 25th 2019     

By Steve Wittich

Championship leader Braden Eves and his closest competitor Hunter McElrea will both need to put forgettable weekends in Toronto behind them as the chase for the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship heads to the hills of central Ohio and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Cape Motorsports rookie Eves had a 41 point lead over fellow rookie McElrea before the doubleheader weekend began in Toronto. Both drivers scored a mediocre 29 points, meaning the gap after the last street course races of the season remains at 41 points.

New Albany, Ohio’s Braden Eves holds a comfortable lead in the USF2000 Championship as they visit his home track, the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

Eves string of eight straight top-five finishes came to an end with a punctured tire in the Turn 3 run-off area in the waning laps of Sunday’s race ‘north of the border.’ The 20-year-old had contact with Colin Kaminsky in Turn 1 while battling for the final step on the podium, before failing to get his No. 8 Cape Motorsports USF-17 slowed down to make the turn from Lake Shore Boulevard to Ontario Drive. Eves got lucky that McElrea had unfortunate contact earlier in the race, and will need to drive smart in the remaining six races to hold onto his comfortable points lead.

Eves, who calls Columbus, Ohio suburb New Albany home, is making his first Road To Indy starts at his home track with a new partner. Tiffin, Ohio based Huston Insurance has come on board to support the Ohioan.

“I am really excited to compete at Mid-Ohio,” exclaimed Eves. “I always have a lot of friends and family that come out to support me there. I really want to be able to win in front of all of them, as well as get a win for my new sponsor, Huston Insurance. Overall though, I have my eyes on the championship, so I am going to make sure I maximize my results every session out.”

McElrea, who stood on the podium for the seventh time this season in the first race in Toronto, bested Eves, making up some ground in the championship. McElrea started the second race in 11th and had moved up to fifth before making contact with the Turn 5 wall while battling for position on Lap 14. A trip to pit road for repairs and a 14th place finish negated any chances the pilot of the No. 22 Soul Red machine had of making up ground on Eves.

Don’t count out Eves Cape Motorsports teammate Darren Keane just yet, the Deerfield Beach, Fla. born driver scored a long-overdue first victory in Toronto and has been the hottest driver in the series over the last three races. Keane has outscored Eves by 25 points over those three races that included the 19-year-old setting the quickest lap of the race each time.

Keane has been the quickest driver in five of nine race so far this year, and the average of his fastest lap is 1.78. His average easily bests McElrea and Kirkwood’s averages of 4.63 and 4.78 respectively.

“I’m going to use the momentum gained from Toronto heading into the weekend,” said Keane going into the crucial weekend of action. “I’m going to use the same approach once again and will be looking for two clean races and some good points. I’ve been working hard on my craft, going back to my roots of karting to become the sharpest I can be. I’m really looking forward to seeing what the Cape Motorsports #2 can do this weekend, and I’m aiming for that top step!”

Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship standings with six races remaining

RANK DRIVER POINTS BACK
1 Braden Eves – R 233
2 Hunter McElrea – R 192 -41
3 Darren Keane 180 -53
4 Colin Kaminsky 155 -78
5 Christian Rasmussen – R 141 -92
6 Manuel Sulaiman – R 138 -95
7 Cameron Shields – R 137 -96
8 Reece Gold – R 104 -129
9 Bruna Tomaselli 102 -131
10 Jak Crawford – R 99 -134
11 Yuven Sundaramoorthy – R 97 -136
12 Matthew Round-Garrido – R 95 -138
13 Alexandre Baron 92 -141
14 Nolan Siegel – R 80 -153
15 Zach Holden 77 -156
16 Eduardo Barrichello- R 76 -157
17 Anthony Famularo – R 67 -166
18 Christian Bogle – R 63 -170
19 Jack William Miller – R 52 -181
20 Manuel Cabrera 21 -212
21 Dakota Dickerson 15 -218
22 Jose Sierra 12 -221
23 Nate Aranda – R 2 -231

Other storylines to follow this weekend

Will a change impact chemistry?

Rapid rookie Jak Crawford, from Houston, Texas makes a move from DEForce Racing to perennial championship winners Cape Motorsports. One of three 14-year-olds in the field, Crawford has a trio of top-five finishes in his seven starts.

It will be interesting to watch how Crawford fits in with Braden Eves, Darren Keane and Reece Gold. The trio has developed real chemistry over the first nine races of the year that has propelled the St. Petersburg, Fla. squad to 43 point lead in the USF2000 team championship.

Crawford is quick, leading the recent testing and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and could help push the other drivers to get faster. The rookie also benefits by having the opportunity to work with experienced drivers Keane and Eves.

The battle for a spot in the top five

Only 18 points separate a quartet of drivers fighting for the top five on the points table.

Kaminsky, Christian Rasmussen (Jay Howard Driver Development), Cameron Shields (Newman Wachs Racing) and Manuel Sulaiman (DEForce Racing) are long shots to get themselves into the advancement scholarship conversation, but all four drivers have the pace to gun for wins – in the case of Rasmussen and Shields – more trips to the top step of the podium.

Veteran Kaminsky was the quickest of the four drivers at the recent two-day series test on the 2.258-mile, 13-Turn Mid-Ohio Road Course and has also scored the most points in the first four natural terrain road courses of the 2019 season.

2019 USF2000 points through four of ten races on natural terrain road courses

RANK DRIVER POINTS
1 Braden Eves – R 116
2 Hunter McElrea – R 101
3 Darren Keane 76
4 Colin Kaminsky 75
5 Cameron Shields – R 56
6 Manuel Sulaiman – R 47
7 Bruna Tomaselli 46
8 Eduardo Barrichello- R 45
9 Jak Crawford – R 44
10T Reece Gold – R 40
10T Yuven Sundaramoorthy – R 40
12 Christian Rasmussen – R 35
13 Alexandre Baron 34
14 Anthony Famularo – R 33
15T Matthew Round-Garrido – R 31
15T Nolan Siegel – R 31
17 Christian Bogle – R 27
18 Jack William Miller – R 22
19T Zach Holden 15
19T Dakota Dickerson 15
21 Manuel Cabrera 11

Other drivers, we’re watching

Zach Holden returns to Legacy Autosport for a second race weekend. The Greenfield, Ind. driver and team had pace in Toronto and could interrupt the podium party at a circuit the 18-year-old has won at in F1600 Championship Series competition.

Pabst Racing rookie Yuven Sundaramoorthy made his USF2000 debut at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with Exclusive Autosport last year. The 16-year-old was impressive, finishing in the top ten twice. Sundaramoorthy has completed every lap this season and is due for a breakout weekend.

Did we learn anything in testing?

Jak Crawford, who was driving for DEForce Racing, led the recent two-day test at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. But, Braden Eves and Hunter McElrea were both less than a tenth behind the 14-year-old. The top eight drivers were less than a half-second from the top of the time of 81.3106 seconds set by Crawford on the second day of the test.

Crawford, McElrea (twice), Colin Kaminsky, and Darren Keane all led one of the five sessions. The final session was washed out.

Debut

Timmy Pagliuso will be pulling double-duty this weekend. The Fishers, Ind. driver, will be making his Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship debut with Legacy Autosport. He’ll also work his ‘day job,’ changing the right-rear tire on Takuma Sato’s No. 30 Mi-Jack / Panasonic Honda during the NTT IndyCar Series sessions.

Some Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course history

The Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio doubleheader will be the 53rd and 54th times that the lowest rung of the Road To Indy has raced on the iconic road course. Yes, you read that right, FIVE-THREE and FIVE-FOUR.

USF2000 winners at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

YEAR DRIVER TEAM
2018 Race #3 Kyle Kirkwood Cape Motorsports
2018 Race #2 Kyle Kirkwood Cape Motorsports
2018 Race #1 Kyle Kirkwood Cape Motorsports
2017 Race #2 Parker Thompson Exclusive Autosport
2017 Race #1 Oliver Askew Cape Motorsports
2016 Race #3 Anthony Martin Cape Motorsports
2016 Race #2 Anthony Martin Cape Motorsports
2016 Race #1 Anthony Martin Cape Motorsports
2015 Race #3 Nico Jamin Cape Motorsports
2015 Race #2 Nico Jamin Cape Motorsports
2015 Race #1 Nico Jamin Cape Motorsports
2014 Race #3 Florian Latorre Cape Motorsports
2014 Race #2 Jake Eidson Cape Motorsports
2014 Race #1 RC Enerson Team E Racing
2013 Race #3 Garett Grist Andretti Autosport
2013 Race #2 Neil Alberico Cape Motorsports
2013 Race #1 Neil Alberico Cape Motorsports
2012 Race #2 Scott Anderson Belardi Auto Racing
2012 Race #1 Spencer Pigot Cape Motorsports
2011 Race #2 Petri Suvanto Cape Motorsports
2011 Race #1 Petri Suvanto Cape Motorsports
2006 Race #4 JR Hildebrand Cape Motorsports
2006 Race #3 JR Hildebrand Cape Motorsports
2006 Race #2 JR Hildebrand Cape Motorsports
2006 Race #1 JR Hildebrand Cape Motorsports
2005 Race #4 Jay Howard Aiken Racing
2005 Race #3 Joey Foster Cape Motorsports
2005 Race #2 Jay Howard Aiken Racing
2005 Race #1 Jay Howard Aiken Racing
2004 Race #4 Adam Pecorari Andersen Walko Racing
2004 Race #3 Adam Pecorari Andersen Walko Racing
2004 Race #2 Adam Pecorari Andersen Walko Racing
2004 Race #1 Andre Prendeville Andersen Walko Racing
2003 Race #4 Jonathan Bomarito PR1 Motorsports
2003 Race #3 Jonathan Bomarito PR1 Motorsports
2003 Race #2 Westley Barber Cape Motorsports
2003 Race #1 Tonis Kasemets Pabst Racing
2002 Race #3 Ross Fonferko Cape Motorsports
2002 Race #2 Bryan Sellers Cape Motorsports
2002 Race #1 Tonis Kasemets Pabst Racing
2001 Race #3 Jason LaPoint Richard Morgan Racing
2001 Race #2 Doug Bell Cape Motorsports
2001 Race #1 Tonis Kasemets Tonis Kasemets
1999 Race #2 Jeff Wright Cape Motorsports
1999 Race #1 Dan Wheldon Primus Racing
1998 Race #2 David Besnard Primus Racing
1998 Race #1 David Besnard Primus Racing
1997 Zak Morioka Hayes Motorsports
1996 Steve Knapp Miller Miling/Elite Engines
1995 Race #2 Jeret Schroeder
1995 Race #1 Memo Gidley Cape Motorsports
1993 Chris Simmons SOTARE Racing

2014 USF2000 winner at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course will be contesting the NTT IndyCar Series race at the iconic road course with Carlin this weekend. (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

It should come as no surprise, but Cape Motorsports absolutely dominates the USF2000 statistics at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

The team has won 28 races, over 50% of the races contested. The Cape Brothers first win occurred in 1995 with Memo Gidley winning form the inside of the front row. That win total includes a trip to victory lane in 13 of the last 14 races.

The team also has 27 poles and a ridiculous 55 podiums. Neil Alberico, Oliver Askew, Westley Barber, Matthew Brabham, Doug Bell, Dane Cameron, Wade Cunningham, Jake Eidson, Ross Fonferko, Joey Foster, Peter Gray, Memo Gidley, Scott Hargrove, JR Hildebrand, Trent Hindman, Nico Jamin, Kyle Kirkwood, Florian Latorre, Anthony Martin, Chris Meredith, Spencer Pigot, Bryan Sellers, Petri Suvanto, Aaron Telitz, Parker Thompson, Bobby Wilson and Jeff Wright are the drivers that have stood on the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course podium for Cape Motorsports.

The pole-sitter has won 39 of 52 races. The furthest back a winner has started was sixth (Jake Eidson in 2014). The average starting position of the winner is 1.6.

The pole-sitter has failed to finish in only six of 52 races, including Kaylen Frederick in Race #2 last year. Jimmy Chianas finished 30th in 1995 Race #1, the worst finish by a pole winner. The average finishing position of the driver who starts on the inside of the front row is 4.0.

The previous 52 races have occurred over 20 seasons, and the eventual series champion has won at least one race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 17 of those years. Only the 2013 (Scott Hargrove), 2012 (Matthew Brabham) and 2004 (Bobby Wilson) champions failed to win a race on the 2.258-mile, 13-Turn Mid-Ohio Road Course.

Race weekend basics

Race name: Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio

Race #1 length: 20 laps or 40 minutes
Race #2 length: 20 laps or 40 minutes

Qualifying Record: 80.250 seconds by Matthew Brabham in 2012
Race Record: 81.2979 seconds by Kyle Kirkwood in 2018

Each entry can utilize three new sets of Cooper Tire slicks as well as one set of used/scuffed tires from the race weekend in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Drivers failing to slow at least 15% in a timing sector with a local yellow will be subject to a two-place grid spot penalty.

Drivers who fail to heed the checkered flag at the end of a session will receive a two-grid spot penalty.

To avoid a red flag and penalty (see below) during qualifying, you must park your disabled vehicle in a safe area (determined by the race director)

Causing one red flag during a session will result in a driver losing their fastest lap.

Causing a second red flag during the same session will wipe out all of drivers laps, and they will be parked for the remainder of the session

Driver points are distributed as follows: 30 – 25 – 22 – 19 – 17 – 15 -14 – 13 – 12 – 11 – 10 – 9 – 8 – 7 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – an additional one point will be awarded to the pole sitter, to the driver who leads the most laps, and to the driver who turns the quickest race lap.

Watch the 2018 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course races.

Race #1

Race #2

Race #3

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

 

category: Cooper Tires USF2000 powered by Mazda - TSO
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Road To Indy in Toronto – Saturday – Keane grabs emotional first USF2000 win

Posted by  on Saturday, July 13th 2019     

It was only a matter of time before Darren Keane stood on the top step of the USF2000 podium, but it must have felt like it might never come for the Cape Motorsports pilot.

The 19-year-old was making his 31st USF2000 start but has been the quickest driver of the year, scoring the fastest lap of the race on three occasions.

Darren Keane celebrates with his dad after his first USF2000 victory in Toronto (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

It’s the 10th win on the 1.786-mile, 11-turn Exhibition Place street circuit for Cape Motorsports.

Until his second-place finish in Saturday’s race, Christian Rasmussen’s results had not matched his pace so far this year. It’s the first podium for the 20-year-old from Denmark as well as the first in Road To Indy competition for Jay Howard Driver Development.

Finishing on the podium for the seventh time in the first eight races of the season was Hunter McElrea. The Pabst Racing rookie recovered from a first practice crash that destroyed the No. 22 USF-17.

Championship leader Braden Eves was able to move up two spots from his sixth starting spot, finishing only one place behind his closest championship competitor, McElrea. The New Albany, the Ohio native, now holds a 38 point championship lead over the Pabst Racing rookie.

Zach Holden, who started 12th after ending qualifying in the barriers, finished the race in an impressive fifth place.

The 2.0L engines powering the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship cars were fired at 11:28 pm, eight minutes late after repairs were needed to the Turn 8 tire barrier.

The running order at the end of the first lap was: Rasmussen, Keane, McElrea, Braden Eves, Reece Gold, Cameron Shields, Colin Kaminsky, Zach Holden, Matthew Round-Garrido, Bruna Tomaselli, Jack William Miller, Manuel Sulaiman, Eduardo Barrichello, Christian Bogle, Jak Crawford, Yuven Sundaramoorthy, and Nolan Siegel.

The biggest mover in the first two laps was Holden, who gained six spots from his 12th starting spot.

On Lap 3, Reece Gold, who started fourth lost a pair of spots to Shields and Holden. Later on that lap, Holden was able to move to fifth, getting by Shields.

On Lap 6, championship leader Eves, who was running fourth had a moment in the final turn, but the Cape Motorsports rookie was able to keep the No. 8 off the wall.

Keane, who dropped over a second and a half behind Rasmussen early began to turn the quickest lap of the race after fastest lap of the competition, and when the duo saw the crossed flags, the lead was only 0.9 seconds.

On Lap 11, Keane was able to take the lead under braking in Turn 3. Only six corners later, Keane had a massive moment in Turn 9 with the rear end stepping out, allowing the JHDD/CSU | One Cure/Lucas Oil No. 6 to remain affixed under Keane’s gearbox.

On the next lap, Rasmussen positioning himself on the outside of Keane on the run down Lake Shore Boulevard, Keane got through the uphill right-hander first, but the two drivers went side-by-side through Turn 4 before Rasmussen smartly conceded the spot.

The battling up-front gave McElrea a sliver of hope in getting back into the fight for the lead.

The Kiwi’s sliver opened a little wider when Rassmussen became the third front runner to have a significant moment in the final three turns, allowing the Mazda sponsored Soul Red No. 22 to move to the second step of the podium.

Keane’s lead over McElrea when they crossed the line with six laps left was 0.8368 seconds. McElrea was still facing enormous pressure from Rasmussen.

Keane, who set his fastest lap of the race on his next circuit saw his lead grow to 0.9508 seconds.

The first and only yellow flag of the race came out on Lap 18 when Cameron Shields made contact with the tire barriers at the exit of Turn 8 after getting a little too deep into the right-hander.

Rasmussen was able to get to the inside of McElrea for the second spot on the podium milliseconds before the yellow flag came out.

The AMR INDYCAR Safety Team was able to get things cleaned up quickly, and the field had one last lap of green to make things happen.

Keane was got a decent jump, but Rasmussen was right under his gearbox on the run down Lakeshore Drive, and the two drivers went through Turn 3 and Turn 4 beside each other before Keane took charge in Turn 5.

The Telcel sponsored No. 12 of Manuel Sulaiman had a quietly good race, finishing seventh after starting 12th.

Cooper Tires Grand Prix Presented by Allied Building Products Race #1 Unofficial Results

RANK CAR NO NAME TEAM DIFFERENCE
1 2 Darren Keane Cape Motorsports
2 6 Christian Rasmussen Jay Howard Driver Development -1.1439
3 22 Hunter McElrea Pabst Racing -2.4964
4 8 Braden Eves Cape Motorsports -2.6062
5 14 Zach Holden Legacy Autosport -2.9959
6 23 Colin Kaminsky Pabst Racing -3.4755
7 12 Manuel Sulaiman DEForce Racing -4.0148
8 27 Matt Round-Garrido BN Racing -4.888
9 40 Jack William Miller Miller Vinatieri Motorsports -5.407
10 7 Christian Bogle Jay Howard Driver Development -5.7333
11 24 Bruna Tomaselli Pabst Racing -5.8477
12 52 Jak Crawford DEForce Racing -6.4634
13 3 Reece Gold Cape Motorsports -7.0135
14 21 Yuven Sundaramoorthy Pabst Racing -8.2286
15 41 Eduardo Barrichello Miller Vinatieri Motorsports -8.5473
16 36 Nolan Siegel Newman Wachs Racing -8.8119
17 73 Cameron Shields Newman Wachs Racing – 5 LAPS
category: Cooper Tires USF2000 powered by Mazda - TSO

Road To Indy in Toronto – Saturday – Keane nabs pole for USF2000 Race #2

Posted by  on Saturday, July 13th 2019     

For the second straight qualifying session, it was Christian Rasmussen and Darren Keane leading the way in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship series. After turning the second quickest lap in Saturday’s qualifying session, it was Keane, the Cape Motorsports veteran that will start on the pole for Sunday’s race.

It’s Keane’s second pole of the season. The 19-year-old also started on the pole for the second race in St. Petersburg, Fla.

The pole is the 12th time that a Cape Motorsports driver will start on the pole in Toronto. Keane joins fellow Cape Motorsports pole sitters Oliver Askew, Anthony Martin, Nico Jamin, Florian Latorre, Neil Alberico, and J.R. Hildebrand.

Rasmussen, who will start on pole for today’s race will start to the outside of Keane.

Points leader Braden Eves (Cape Motorsports) and Pabst Racing veteran will start on the second row.

For the second straight day, it was the Elite 2.0L engines that served as a wake-up call for the residents of Liberty Village. The 17 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship drivers took to the 1.786-mile, 11-turn Exhibition Place street circuit at 8:05 am for 20 minutes of qualifying.

Keane grabbed provisional pole early and held it until the half-way point of the session. Keane’s quick lap with 10 minutes remaining was 72.361 seconds. He was followed in the top five by his teammate and points leader Eves, Race # 1 pole winner Rasmussen, second generation driver Eduardo Barrichello and Pabst Racing’s Colin Kaminsky.

Keane and Rasmussen were the first two drivers to break the 72-second barrier.

With eight minutes remaining McElrea was on pit road with reports that he had brushed the wall. The Cape Motorsports crew was able to get him back out on track with seven minutes remaining. Unfortunately for the Mazda $200K Scholarship Shootout winner, a red flag negated a last minute run and the No. 22 Soul Red machine will start on the inside of row six.

With just over six minutes remaining, the red flag came out for Barrichello, who had an incident in Turn 8. At the time, the Brazilian was the fifth quickest driver. However, he lost his fastest lap for causing the red flag, dropping down to sixth.

The AMR INDYCAR Safety Team was able to get things cleaned up quickly, and drivers were given one flying lap to try and improve on their position. However, the red flag was shown on the final lap when Bruna Tomaselli spun in Turn 1.

The Legacy Autosport crew worked late into the night to get the Metalloid Corporation sponsored No. 14 prepared after Zach Holden found the tire barriers at the exit of Turn 8. Holden was able to turn nine laps and will start seventh.

Qualifying for Race #2 was the first session that 14-year-old Jak Crawford was able to turn laps at speed on the 1.786-mile, 11-turn Exhibition Place street circuit, and after 11 trouble-free laps, will start 13th.

USF2000 Unofficial Qualifying Results For Race #2

RANK CAR NO NAME TEAM QUICK LAP DIFFERENCE TOTAL LAPS
1 2 Darren Keane Cape Motorsports 1:11.747 –.—- 12
2 6 Christian Rasmussen Jay Howard Driver Development 1:11.874 0.1278 12
3 8 Braden Eves Cape Motorsports 1:11.960 0.2137 12
4 23 Colin Kaminsky Pabst Racing 1:12.587 0.8403 12
5 73 Cameron Shields Newman Wachs Racing 1:12.854 1.1078 12
6 41 Eduardo Barrichello Miller Vinatieri Motorsports 1:12.967 1.2202 8
7 14 Zach Holden Legacy Autosport 1:12.967 1.2204 11
8 12 Manuel Sulaiman DEForce Racing 1:13.057 1.3103 12
9 27 Matt Round-Garrido BN Racing 1:13.079 1.3325 12
10 7 Christian Bogle Jay Howard Driver Development 1:13.332 1.5856 12
11 22 Hunter McElrea Pabst Racing 1:13.377 1.6302 8
12 36 Nolan Siegel Newman Wachs Racing 1:13.671 1.9247 12
13 52 Jak Crawford DEForce Racing 1:13.699 1.9526 11
14 40 Jack William Miller Miller Vinatieri Motorsports 1:13.774 2.0270 11
15 21 Yuven Sundaramoorthy Pabst Racing 1:14.023 2.2762 12
16 24 Bruna Tomaselli Pabst Racing 1:14.261 2.5145 12
17 3 Reece Gold Cape Motorsports 1:15.337 3.5904 3

Teams will have just under three hours to get their USF-17s turned. The first of two Cooper Tires Grand Prix Presented by Allied Building Products races is scheduled for 11:20 am.

category: Cooper Tires USF2000 powered by Mazda - TSO
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