IndyCars - Birmingham: Southern charm meets tire smoke and methanol fumes

[MarkyS]

It’s time once again for the IndyCar series to return to Alabama’s beautiful Barber Motorsports Park as they do…

The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama

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Barber Motorsports Park was designed as a race venue for motorcycles, and the facility is the home of the best racing motorcycle museum in the world. When IndyCars first explored racing there it was feared the track would be too narrow for such cars, and truthfully it is, but that hasn’t stopped the IndyCar contingent from finding a way to make passes there, nevertheless, and every year Barber produces some of the best racing of the season.

The 2.38-mile permanent road course has 17 turns and features 80 feet of elevation change that make it feel to the drivers like a roller coaster. In fact, the first few corners are known as the Carousel but also as the “Alabama Roller Coaster.” The race fan has a wonderful experience, with hillside race viewing all over the place, in sight of giant sculptures that dot the track. And with any lull in the action the superb museum is just across the way, loaded with motorcycles but also with a number of race cars.

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Barber track map…

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…and the elevation graphic

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Fans won’t find much of a lull in the action, however, as there are no less than 11 races scheduled over the weekend, with all four series that make up the Road to Indy in attendance, as well as the Blue Marble Radical Cup series. It shakes out this way:

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• Blue Marble Radical Cup - 3 races, one on Friday and two on Saturday
• USF Juniors - 2 races, on Thursday and Friday
• USF2000 - 2 races, on Saturday and Sunday
• Indy Pro 2000 - 2 races, on Saturday and Sunday
• Indy Lights - race on Sunday

…And, of course, the IndyCars are scheduled to race on Sunday.

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Let’s take a look at that support racing:

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The Blue Marble Radical Cup - utilizes the purpose-built Radical SR3 series of prototypes - small but powerful SportsCars with high-end motorcycle powerplants that propel them very quickly on the cheap. The series was designed to make racing possible for amateur participants who cannot afford to go IMSA or SRO GT racing. Radical classes are not limited to the SR3 anymore as more and more classes keep getting added to the series. As there are no IndyCar guys in this series, we will wish them safe and happy racing and concentrate on the open-wheel stuff, this weekend.

SR3 Radicals

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continued…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Support Racing…

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The Road to Indy is the ladder system that develops IndyCar drivers. It is made up of now four series in increasing complexity, performance and cost, each when conquered becomes a step towards entering the IndyCar series. All four of the rungs on the ladder will be racing at Barber this weekend. They are:

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USF Juniors - The now bottom rung of the ladder is a new series developed to give the uninitiated a place to develop both the technical skills of driving open wheel cars but also the career skills to keep advancing to higher rungs. The cars are the Ligier JS F4 Honda - same car as used in F4 United States. The Honda engine has 160 hp. The drivers will be coming out of karting or possibly F1600 and will have very little open wheel experience for the most part. The age range is 14 years old to whatever, though a driver can start at 13 as long as he or she turns 14 before season’s end.

The first race weekend for USF Juniors at Gravois Mills, Missouri just ended and it was dominated by Canadian Mac Clark, driving for D#EForce Racing. He thus leads the points as Barber begins.

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Mac Clark in his Ligier Honda

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USF2000 - The next step up on the ladder is a bit more complex and is populated with drivers who have more open-wheel racing experience - even at this lower level. USF2000 uses the all-carbon Tatuus USF-17 car, powered by a 2.0 liter engine made by Elite Engines, with about 175 hp. The cars have racing slicks and adjustable wings. The transmissions are a six-speed sequential gearbox, with steering-wheel paddle shifters. The brakes are 4-piston monobloc caliper sets, front and rear.

The fields are usually very large, very eclectic and very competitive but the talent range is also large - some very good while others are learning. After the first 2 rounds at St. Pete, the current points leader is Jace Denmark, a sophomore driving for Pabst Racing.

Jace Denmark

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.Indy Pro 2000 - This is the middle rung of the ladder. “IP2K” uses the PM-18 car from Tatuus, based on the USF-17, but with much bigger tires, much more wing, and a much more powerful engine. The Elite Engines 2.0 liter puts out 275 hp. The brakes are bias driver-adjustable, just like in the USF-17. Transmissions are six-speed paddle-shifter sequential jobs. With the bigger tires and more wing, the cars have substantially more downforce and braking than USF2000.

The fields are typically graduates from USF2000 or from European F3 and GP3, all used to more power and grip and with great racecraft. The level of competition across the board is more even, though the fields are smaller than USF2000. After the first 2 rounds at St. Pete, the current points leader in IP2k is Nolan Siegel for DEForce Racing, the youngest driver in the series at 17 and a rookie.

Nolan Siegel

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Indy Lights - The car is the Dallara IL-15 and is substantially bigger and better than the PM-18. It is much closer to an IndyCar in performance and feel - a great training ground to step up to the big cars. The Dallara uses a 450 hp turbo-charged engine from AER. The adjustable brakes are by PFC and are the biggest in the Road to Indy. The cars have much bigger wheels than the PM-18, providing much more grip. The IL-15 has one more thing - Push-to-Pass, just like on the big cars. That is, an additional burst of 50 horsepower is available to the driver under certain conditions, with the push of a button on the steering wheel.

The drivers are typically graduates of USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000, but can often come from GP3 or GP2 in Europe. These drivers are ready to make the move to the big cars by season’s end and many of the drivers in IndyCars are recent graduates of Indy Lights. The Lights held 1 race at St. Pete and it was WON by Matthew Brabham for Andretti Autosport, making Matty the series points leader coming to Barber.

.Matty Brabham

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Thursday will be a day of series testing for Indy Pro 2000 with 3 tests while USF Juniors will have a complete racing day, with a practice, followed by qualifying and then Race 1 of the weekend.

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Let’s GET THIS GOING!!!

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M

[MarkyS]

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The first on-track action of the weekend were the kids from USF Juniors…

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…who came out for their one and only practice session on the track, before qualifying for the two races of the weekend. The Juniors were at Barber just a few weeks ago for a series test, so all the drivers were very familiar with the track and 1 practice was all they needed, to see what shape the surface was in at this time.

Topping the practice was Andre Castro for International Motorsport. The 23-year-old has raced at Barber 4 times before, with a best finish of P9 in USF2000 in 2017 - a year in which he competed in just 4 races.

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Here were the TOP FIVE in practice, in order of speed:

1 - Andre Castro [R], International Motorsport
2 - Mac Clark [R], DEForce Racing
3 - Alessandro De Tullio [R], Velocity Racing Development
4 - Nicholas d’Orlando [R], DC Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports
5 - Ethan Ho [R], DC Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports

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Later in the day the Juniors held qualifying. This weekend, the session will grid Race 1 while each driver’s 2nd fastest qually lap OR their Race 1 best lap will grid Race 2.

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Here is the way USF Juniors will grid for Round Three of the season, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Mac Clark [R], DEForce Racing - time of 01:26.828s for a speed of 95.361mph

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P2 - Andre Castro [R], International Motorsport - time of 01:26.993s for a speed of 95.180mph

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Row 2

P3 - Nikita Johnson [R], Velocity Racing Development - time of 01:26.993s for a speed of 95.180mph

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P4 - Alessandro De Tullio [R], Velocity Racing Development - time of 01:27.162s for a speed of 94.996mph

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Row 3

P5 - Sam Corry [R], Velocity Racing Development - time of 01:27.162s for a speed of 94.996mph

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P6 - Ethan Ho [R], DC Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports - time of 01:27.395s for a speed of 94.742mph

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Row 4

P7 - Jeremy Fairbairn [R], Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports
P8 - Noah Ping [R], Velocity Racing Development

Row 5

P9 - Jake Bonilla [R], DEForce Racing
P10 - Nicholas d’Orlando [R], DC Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports

Row 6

P11 - Titus Sherlkock [R], Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports
P12 - Elliot Cox [R], Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development

Row 7

P13 - Earl Tucker [R], DC Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports
P14 - David Burketh [R], Future Star Racing

Row 8

P15 - Bianca Bustamante [R], IGY6 Motorsports
P16 - Maxwell Jamieson [R], DEForce Racing

Row 9

P17 - Jacob Bolen [R], IGY6 Motorsports
P18 - Alan Isambard [R], International Motorsport

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Notable:

• The TOP ELEVEN cars are within a second of each other. That is a remarkable show of parity despite the lack of formula car experience that many of these kids have. If anything, it shows that even at this rookie level of racing the better kids are committing to it and showing up to compete.

• This is now Mac Clark’s 3rd pole in three races. The Race 1 Fastest Laps will show if he comes away with a fourth pole for Race 2.

• Jason Prybil showed up at Ozarks International Raceway to run in the season openers for IGY6 Motorsports, but he did not participate. He is not here for the next two season rounds but 18-year-old David Burketh from Laurel, Maryland for Future Star Racing is here for his debut, so the car count is again 18, as it was in Missouri.

David Burketh

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Next up, the race…

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[MarkyS]

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Thursday at Barber - USF Juniors holds Race 1 of the weekend…

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…and though it was a LOT closer than at the Lake of the Ozarks, last weekend, the results were much the same, as 18-year-old Canadian Mac Clark WINS his 3rd in a row for DEForce Racing, while P2 and P3 went once again to two pilots from Velocity Racing Development. 14-year-old Sam Corry from Cornelius, North Carolina gets his 3rd podium and 1st P2 of the season from his P5 start, while 13-year-old Nikita Johnson from Gulfport, Florida grabs P3, collecting his 2nd podium of the season from his P3 start. .

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Mac goes 3 for 3 on the season

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For a track that is notoriously hard to pass on, this one had a TON of passes for position, and most of them up in the front half of the grid. The field got away cleanly with Mac leading from pole for the first few laps. On lap 3 Nikita Johnson set Fastest Lap from P3 while Sam Corry got by teammate Alessandro de Tullio to take over P4. P2 Andre Castro for International Motorsport was right on Clark’s rear, not letting him get away. Noah Ping for VRD took P7 from Jeremy Fairbairn for Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports and then took P6 from Ethan Ho for DC Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports. Jeremy followed through and Ho was suddenly in P8. On lap 5 Jeremy was able to re-pass Noah and claim P6 while Alessandro claimed Fastest Lap.

On lap 7 in Turn 5 Nikita passed Andre for P2 but then Sam blasted by both of them to take over P2 while Andre slipped to P4. By this time Mac was beginning to get away a few precious tenths of a second, as the trio battled behind him. Nikita claimed Fastest Lap. On lap 8 Noah Ping dropped from P7 to P-13 while Sam Corry reclaimed Fastest Lap, as the race intensified. On lap 9 Andre erred in Turn 1, allowing Alessandro to take P4 and Jeremy to sneak into P5. On lap 10 - the halfway point - Nikita took P2 from Sam Corry in Turn 5.

On lap 12 Fairbairn passed de Tullio to take P4 from him. The TOP FIVE cars were all in action, taking and defending. Clark was about 1 and a half seconds on top. On lap 14 Sam Corry set Fastest Lap for the final time as he passed Nikita to reclaim P2 and set sail after Clark. On lap 18 Alessandro retook P4 from Jeremy and Andre Castro followed him through, dropping Fairbairn to P6. Despite all the best efforts to catch Clark, he was able to cruise to the WIN two laps later, just 1 and a half seconds ahead of Sam Corry.

A great battle!

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Mac’s mentor, James Hinchcliffe, introduces the WINNER:

USF Juniors

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Your happy podium - That’s Sam Corry in P2 on the left, Mac Clark in P1 in the middle and Nikita Johnson in P3 on the right:

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We await word to see if perhaps Sam Corry’s last Fastest Lap from Race 1 will finally do the trick and displace Clark from the pole. We can say unequivocally that the competition in the Juniors is already FIERCE. These kids have come to play and we are the beneficiaries.

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Next up, Indy Pro 2000 holds testing…

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[MarkyS]

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Thursday at Barber - Indy Pro 2000 tests all day…

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The gang from IP2K elected to have 3 test sessions on Thursday, in between the USF Juniors action. A series test is just like a practice session, except that the series pays the track for the time, while a practice is part of the race weekend package, and the time is provided by the track.

The three sessions were in the morning, midday and in the afternoon. Most of the drivers tested fastest in the morning, when the track was coolest, but we have COMBINED all three sessions to create a full day look at the relative speeds.

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Here was the order of speed for Indy Pro 2000, with all 3 test sessions COMBINED and times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie; the driver’s best session is in ( )

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1 - Enaam Ahmed, Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 01:17.130s for a speed of 107.351mph (1)

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2 - Reece Gold, Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 01:17.534s for a speed of 107.267mph (2)

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3 - Josh Green [R], Turn 3 Motorsports - time of 01:17.534s for a speed of 106.891mph (1)

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4 - Braden Eves, Jay Howard Driver Development - time of 01:17.534s for a speed of 106.891mph (1)

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5 - Kiko Porto [R], DEForce Racing - time of 01:17.534s for a speed of 106.737mph (1)

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6 - Colin Kaminsky, Pabst Racing (1)
7 - Wyatt Brichacek, Jay Howard Driver Development (1)
8 - Jack William Miller, Miller Vinatieri Motorsports (1)
9 - Louis Foster [R], Exclusive Autosport (3)
10 - Nolan Siegel [R], DEForce Racing (1)

11 - Jordan Missig [R], Pabst Racing (1)
12 - Jonathan Browne [R], Turn 3 Motorsports (1)
13 - Salvador de Alba [R], Jay Howard Driver Development (3)
14 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy [R], Pabst Racing (1)
15 - Charles Finelli, FatBoy Racing! (2)

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Notable:

• The Juncos Hollinger boys have really got this track figured out. Enaam TOPPED the day and Session 1 while Reece TOPPED Session 2. Gold is a sure bet to be competing for the title all the way while Enaam wasn’t even sure if he could afford the full season, but he has proven to be so good, the UK-raised Pakistani is sure to keep finding a way to stay in it. Juncos are the kingmakers in IP2K so they are both on the right team at the right time.

• The talent level in IP2K is huge. Most of these guys have multiple WINS and even titles in their resumes, already. Almost all of them are capable of podiums on any day.

• The one exception is Charles Finelli. Charles is a gentleman racer - a rich guy who can afford to buy a car and go racing. While most gentlemen racers turn to SportsCars to indulge themselves Charles has always loved open wheel, instead. While Charles is simply not good enough to be anything but last in this field, even he is pretty damn good and enjoys a race WIN and 4 podiums in the now-defunct Pro Mazda National Class. Charles has two previous appearances at Barber, both in 2018.

Charles Finelli

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Enaam Ahmed

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Reece Gold comments on the good day:

USF Pro 2000

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Friday will be a day of official race practice for USF2000, Indy Pro 2000, Indy Lights and the IndyCars, with qually sessions for IP2K and USF2000. USF Juniors will hold Race 2…

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This was the last on-track activity of the day.

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M

[MarkyS]

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We just found out who was the pace car driver for USF Juniors Race 1…

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It was USF2000 driver Trey Burke for Joe Dooling Racing! Watch this quick vid as USF Juniors director Gustavo Yacaman makes sure Trey knows how to drive a standard shift without paddle shifters:

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Joe Dooling Autosports

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How nervous would you be??? Ha!

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M

[MarkyS]

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Friday morning at Barber - Indy Pro 2000 holds their practice session…

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…for the weekend, as they prepare their cars for qualifying for Race 1 later today.

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Here was the order of speed for the Indy Pro 2000 P-1 session, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Reece Gold, Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 01:17.4791s for a speed of 106.868mph

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2 - Enaam Ahmed, Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 01:17.5293s for a speed of 106.798mph

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3 - Kiko Porto [R], DEForce Racing - time of 01:17.5807s for a speed of 106.728mph

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4 - Louis Foster [R], Exclusive Autosport - time of 01:17.6203s for a speed of 106.673mph

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5 - Josh Green [R], Turn 3 Motorsports - time of 01:17.7097s for a speed of 106.550mph

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6 - Nolan Siegel [R], DEForce Racing
7 - Braden Eves, Jay Howard Driver Development
8 - Colin Kaminsky, Pabst Racing
9 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy [R], Pabst Racing
10 - Jonathan Browne [R], Turn 3 Motorsports

11 - Salvador de Alba [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
12 - Jack William Miller, Miller Vinatieri Motorsports
13 - Wyatt Brichacek, Jay Howard Driver Development
14 - Jordan Missig [R], Pabst Racing
15 - Charles Finelli, FatBoy Racing!

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Notable:

• We told you this was a rum group of drivers. The ENTIRE field, with the exception of Charles Finelli, is covered by 1 second! The TOP FIVE are covered by a mere 0.2 seconds. This is a remarkable display of talent and parity.

• While the two Juncos boys, Reece and Enaam, still top the charts, we see improvement behind them over the test sessions, as Louie Foster and Nolan Siegel got much better. So did Yuven Sundaramoorthy, who has multiple WINS in junior formula cars, but is still learning to tame the powerful PM-18. These three guys are dangerous good, so their improvement will only worry everyone else.

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Reece Gold - angling for another pole, today

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IP2K will go for the pole in Race 1 following the USF Juniors, who are about to go into Race 2 of the weekend.

On the pole for the 4th time in 4 races in the Juniors will be Mac Clark, with the TOP SIX starters shaping up this way:

Pole - Mac Clark [R], DEForce Racing
P2 - Andre Castro [R], International Motorsport

P3 - Nikita Johnson [R], Velocity Racing Development
P4 - Sam Corry [R], Velocity Racing Development

P5 - Alessandro De Tullio [R], Velocity Racing Development
P6 - Jeremy Fairbairn [R], Crosslink Kiwi Motorsport

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M

[MarkyS]

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Friday morning at Barber - USF Juniors hold Race 2 of their weekend…

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…and the results confirm that Mac Clark is running away with the title, already, as the 18-year-old Canadian goes four for four from pole for DEForce Racing. Starting and ending in P2 was 23-year-old New Yorker Andre Castro for International Motorsport while P3 went to 17-year-old Floridian Jeremy Fairbairn for Crosslink Kiwi Motorsports from his P6 start.

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Not able to start for some reasons were Alan Isambard for International Motorsport and Alessandro de Tullio for Velocity Racing Development. The first lap was waved off, due to a ragged formation. The second lap was almost complete when Jake Bonilla for DEForce Racing went off at Turn 17, bringing out a full-course caution, but not before Titus Sherlock for Crosslink took P6 from Ethan Ho for DC Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports and David Burketh for Future Star Racing took P9 from Nicolas d’Orlando for DC Autosport. Lap 4 saw Jeremy Fairbairn go to P4 over Sam Corry for VRD while Ethan Ho reclaimed P6 from Titus and Nicolas reclaimed P9 from David.

Lap 5 saw Andre Castro take Fastest Lap while a lap later Ethan Ho improved to P5 over Sam Corry. On lap 7 Jeremy pounced on Nikita Johnson for VRD and took P3 from him in Turn 12 while Sam Corry retook P5 from Ethan Ho. Out front, Mac began to ever-so-slightly stretch away from Andre and set Fastest Lap in the doing. On lap 8 Earl Tucker for DC Autosport was by David Burketh to take P10. A lap later Bianca Bustamante for IGY6 Motorsports took over P13 from Maxwell Jamieson for DEForce Racing. On lap 10 Sam Corry set Fastest Lap. By now Mac was 0.7 seconds out front and Andre Castro reset Fastest Lap on lap 11 in an effort to recapture him.

Mac responded on lap 12 with his own Fastest Lap. On lap 13 Earl spun in Turn 9, dropping out of P10 while Nicolas d’Orlando took P8 from Noah Ping for VRD. By lap 14 Mac was now 1.6 seconds out front and inching away. On lap 15 the series-long Sam Corry / Nikita Johnson show resumed as Sam took P4 from VRD teammate Nikita. By lap 17 there were five cars nose-to-tail and side-by-side battling, P3 to P8, all covered by only 0.3 seconds. On lap 19 Nicolas took P6 from Titus while Noah took P8 from Ethan. On the final lap Noah and Ethan both got by Titus to take over P7 and P8 respectively.

Mac sailed in as WINNER with a 2.66 second gap back to Andre, who was 5 seconds ahead of Jeremy.

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Notable:

• Clark didn’t getting far away, as he did at Ozarks, but he is still WINNING and without a serious challenge. He is straight up fast and also managing his tires better than everyone else and that allows him to inch away. He is simply making fewer mistakes . But Andre was also able to stay close, this time.

• Clark is now almost perfect for the season, taking 98 out of a possible 99 points. He only missed one race Fastest Lap. At this point we are looking more to see who can collect the Vice-Championship. Only time will tell if this is remains the case.

• This was also the first race of the season that did NOT have two Velocity Racing Development pilots on the podium. Sam Corry for VRD finished P4 - his first non-podium finish of the young season.

• The great fun was behind the leaders, as the field was frantic and racy with lots of passes for position, the whole race. The Juniors are all having a lot of fun out there.

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Your happy podium - That’s Andre Castro in P2 on the left, Mac Clark in P1 in the middle and Jeremy Fairbairn in P3 on the right:

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With these results, here are the TOP TEN in points leaving Barber:

1 - Mac Clark, 98
2 - Sam Corry, 70
3 - Nikita Johnson, 62
4 - Alessandro de Tullio, 59
5 - Andre Castro, 55
6 - Jeremy Fairbairn, 40
7 - Ethan Ho, 37
8 - Elliot Cox, 35
9 - Titus Sherlock, 32
10 - Noah Ping, 32

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Next up on the schedule for USF Juniors will be beautiful VIRginia International Raceway for season rounds 5, 6, and 7, June 3 - 5.

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Next, Indy Pro 2000 sets the grid for Race 1 of the weekend…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Friday morning at Barber - Indy Pro 2000 qualifies for Race 1 of the weekend…

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Whenever possible, the Road to Indy likes to have separate qualifying sessions for each race of a weekend, so as to let teams adjust their cars to changing track conditions, day to day and race to race. It is possible this weekend for Indy Pro 2000 and USF2000, so we got the first of 2 qually sessions for IP2K, here.

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Here is the way Indy Pro 2000 will grid for Season Round 3, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Reece Gold, Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 01:17.3343s for a speed of 107.068 mph

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P2 - Colin Kaminsky, Pabst Racing - time of 01:17.5000s for a speed of 106.839mph

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Row 2

P3 - Enaam Ahmed, Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 01:17.5414s for a speed of 106.782mph

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P4 - Braden Eves, Jay Howard Driver Development - time of 01:17.5540s for a speed of 106.764mph

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Row 3

P5 - Louis Foster [R], Exclusive Autosport - time of 01:17.5685s for a speed of 106.744mph

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P6 - Josh Green [R], Turn 3 Motorsports - time of 01:17.6168s for a speed of 106.678mph

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Row 4

P7 - Nolan Siegel [R], DEForce Racing
P8 - Kiko Porto [R], DEForce Racing

Row 5

P9 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy [R], Pabst Racing
P10 - Jordan Missig [R], Pabst Racing

Row 6

P11 - Jonathan Browne [R], Turn 3 Motorsports
P12 - Jack William Miller, Miller Vinatieri Motorsports

Row 7

P13 - Salvador de Alba [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
P14 - Wyatt Brichacek, Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 8

P15 - Charles Finelli, FatBoy Racing!

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Notable:

• No surprises here, except for Colin Kaminsky. Colin’s last full season in IP2K was 2020, which showed him to be a great performer, at times, but he was inconsistent. In 2021 he ran a partial season for Pabst. We don’t know how many races he will do in 2022. He was at St. Pete and now at Barber. Colin can be excellent and his penultimate lap in qualifying - boosting him to the front row - proves that.

• Reece Gold gave us 5 poles in 2021. This is his first pole in 2022, but we do not expect it to be his last. Reece was the only guy to break into the 107s on speed.

• Again, these guys are all fast. P1 through P13 were all covered by 1 second.

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Reece Gold chimes in about his pole:

USF Pro 2000

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The race is scheduled for midday on Saturday. Next up, USF2000 holds their practice session for the weekend…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Friday midday at Barber - USF2000 takes to the track for their practice session…

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This will be the one and only practice for the USF2000 gang before their first of two qually sessions, later this afternoon.

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Here was the order of speed for USF2000 P-1 practice, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Billy Frazer, Exclusive Autosport - time of 01:22.0483s for a speed of 100.916mph

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2 - Thomas Nepveu, DEForce Racing - time of 01:22.3602s for a speed of 100.534mph

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3 - Michael D’Orlando, Cape Motorsports - time of 01:22.4219s for a speed of 100.459mph

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4 - Myles Rowe, Pabst Racing - time of 01:22.4554s for a speed of 100.418mph

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5 - Christian Weir, Turn 3 Motorsports - time of 01:22.4638s for a speed of 100.408mph

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6 - Bijoy Garg, DEForce Racing
7 - Jagger Jones [R], Cape Motorsports
8 - Simon Sikes, Legacy Autosport
9 - Dylan Christie, DEForce Racing
10 - Jace Denmark, Pabst Racing

11 - Jacob Douglas [R], Exclusive Autosport
12 - Viktor Andersson [R], Velocity Racing Development
13 - Nicky Hays [R], Cape Motorsports
14 - Spike Kohlbecker, Turn 3 Motorsports
15 - Jackson Lee, Cape Motorsports
16 - Danny Dyszelski [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
17 - Trey Burke, Joe Dooling Autosports
18 - Yeoroo Lee [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
19 - Jorge Garciarce [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

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Notable:

• Billy Frazer was often good but inconsistent in his rookie season of 2021, with a huge range in performance and no podiums. Since then, he has been excellent in off-season testing and pulled down a P2 and a P6 at St. Pete. Billy is ready to WIN one. Billy was the 2020 Formula Ford New Zealand Champ, so he knows how to WIN.

• Myles Rowe is on life support, budget-wise, and in fact, without an infusion of cash, this will be his last weekend for 2022. He already had a WIN in 2021 and has a WIN from St. Pete in 2022, but he also had a huge shunt in St. Pete that took most of his budget away. It will be a bloody shame if he cannot continue. WINS and podiums can only help.

• The TOP TEN here are the fast guys so far this season, so, no surprises.

• Danny Dyszelski turned 14 years old on April 10th, making him eligible in this series, so this is his first USF2000 race of the season.

Danny Dyszelski

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Billy Frazer - Kiwi hot shoe

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Next up, the Indy Lights take on Barber for the first time this weekend…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Friday afternoon at Barber - The Indy Lights hold their one and only practice session…

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The Lights took to the track for 45 minutes to get their own practice session in before qualifying tomorrow for their 1 race of the weekend, on Sunday

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Here was the order of speed for the Indy Lights P-1 session, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Danial Frost, HMD Motorsports - time of 01:12.6511s for a speed of 113.969mph

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2 - Christian Rasmussen [R], Andretti Steinbrenner Racing - time of 01:12.6684s for a speed of 113.942mph

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3 - Linus Lundqvist, HMD Motorsports - time of 01:12.8248s for a speed of 113.698mph

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4 - Benjamin Pedersen, GRG w/HMD Motorsports - time of 01:12.8778s for a speed of 113.615mph

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5 - Hunter McElrea [R], Andretti Autosport - time of 01:13.1098s for a speed of 113.254mph

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6 - Matthew Brabham, Andretti Autosport
7 - Sting Ray Robb, Andretti Autosport
8 - Manuel Sulaiman, HMD Motorsports
9 - Kyffin Simpson [R], TJ Speed Motorsports
10 - Jacob Abel [R], Abel Motorsports

11 - Christian Bogle, HMD Motorsports
12 - James Roe [R], TJ Speed Motorsports
13 - Antonio Serravalle, Abel Motorsports
14 - Ernie Francis, Jr. [R], Force Indy

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Notable:

• Most of these drivers have been to Barber before in this or other series. The exceptions is Ernie Francis, jr. Matty Brabham has been here before but not since 2014 - 8 years ago.

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Danial Frost

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The Lights will qualify on Saturday just before Noon for their Sunday race, which may be in the rain. Next up, The IndyCar take off on their first practice of the weekend…

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M

[MarkyS]

+++

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Friday afternoon at Barber - The big cars finally get on the track…

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…for their first of three practice sessions, this weekend. This one was favoring Hondas and the Andretti squad showed a lot of strength, as did Chip Ganassi.

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Here was the order of speed for the IndyCars P-1 practice session, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:06.5149s for a speed of 124.483mph

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2 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:06.5657s for a speed of 124.388mph

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3 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:06.6657s for a speed of 124.202mph

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4 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:06.7046s for a speed of 124.129mph

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5 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske - time of 01:06.8705s for a speed of 123.821mph

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6 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing
7 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP
8 - Callum Ilott [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing
9 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing
10 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing

11 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
12 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing
13 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP
14 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner
15 - Christian Lundegaard [R], Rahal Letterman Lanigan
16 - Will Power, Team Penske
17 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
18 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
19 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing
20 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises

21 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing
22 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing
23 - David Malukas [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports
24 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises
25 - Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing
26 - Tatiana Calderon [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises

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Notable:

• There were 4 Chevys in the TOP TEN but only 1 in the TOP FIVE. Andretti Autosport put 3 of their guys in the TOP FIVE while Ganassi put 3 of their guys in the TOP TEN.

• Scott McLaughlin was the only Penske in the TOP FIVE and he got in there at the very end of the session. Will Power and Josef Newgarden - with 5 WINS here between them - were mired in the rear. Penske was one of the teams that chose not to test here, a few weeks ago.

• Newgarden has a chance to WIN 1 million dollars, this weekend, half of which he can keep, if he WINS the race. He is trying to take the bonus sponsored by PeopleReady, as he attempts to become the first driver this year to clinch a WIN on an oval, a street course and a road course. He has Texas and Long Beach for the first two. All he needs is a natural road course.

• Callum Ilott went out early and turned in some great laps that held up all through the session, making him the most outstanding rookie in the practice. Between Callum and the performance of Indy Pro 2000 drivers Reece Gold and Enaam Ahmed, Juncos Hollinger is beaming with pride and hope.

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Callum Ilott speaks:

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

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Colton Herta - TOPS in the P-1 practice

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The IndyCars will hold their 2nd practice first thing Saturday morning, to get set up for the Noon qualifying session. Next up, USF2000 qualifies for the first time

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M…

[MarkyS]

+++

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Friday afternoon at Barber - USF2000 holds their first of two qually sessions…

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Like Indy Pro 2000, the kids in USF2000 will get a separate qualifying session for each of their two races this weekend, so as to make proper adjustments for track and weather conditions that may prevail between races. This was the qually for USF2000 to grid Race 1.

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Here is the way USF2000 will grid for Season Round 3, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Myles Rowe, Pabst Racing - time of 01:21.9164s for a speed of 101.079mph

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P2 - Bijoy Garg, DEForce Racing - time of 01:22.0412s for a speed of 100.925mph

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Row 2

P3 - Jagger Jones [R], Cape Motorsports - time of 01:22.0916s for a speed of 100.863mph

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P4 - Simon Sikes, Legacy Autosport - time of 01:22.1940s for a speed of 100.737mph

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Row 3

P5 - Michael D’Orlando, Cape Motorsports - time of 01:22.2270s for a speed of 100.697mph

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P6 - Billy Frazer, Exclusive Autosport - time of 01:22.2492s for a speed of 100.670mph

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Row 4

P7 - Thomas Nepveu, DEForce Racing
P8 - Christian Weir, Turn 3 Motorsports

Row 5

P9 - Nicky Hays [R], Cape Motorsports
P10 - Dylan Christie, DEForce Racing

Row 6

P11 - Jace Denmark, Pabst Racing
P12 - Spike Kohlbecker, Turn 3 Motorsports

Row 7

P13 - Viktor Andersson [R], Velocity Racing Development
P14 - Jackson Lee, Cape Motorsports

Row 8

P15 - Jacob Douglas [R], Exclusive Autosport
P16 - Trey Burke, Joe Dooling Autosports

Row 9

P17 - Danny Dyszelski [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
P18 - Jorge Garciarce [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 10

P19 - Yeoroo Lee [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

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Notable:

• He did it!!. Any one of the TOP SIX could have taken pole and all tried but Myles Rowe really HAD TO do it, to keep his hope of remaining in the series alive. If he can get away cleanly and keep his tires under him, he stands an excellent chance of taking his 2nd WIN in the season on Saturday and then perhaps a sponsor will come calling.

• Myles’ pole-taking lap was his 12th of 13 he put in, and he grabbed the pole in the final minutes of qualifying.

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Myles comments:

USF2000 Series

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The race is scheduled for Saturday afternoon, but the USF2000 brigade will actually first qualify for Race 2 in the morning, right after the big cars practice. This gives teams overnight to adjust their cars and go for the Race 2 pole. Race 2 will then be on Sunday.

There is a good chance of rain Saturday afternoon and an even better chance of rain on Sunday. Everybody will be adjusting on the fly, from USF200 all the way up to the IndyCars. The added element will be adding to the drama.

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This was the last on-track activity of the day.

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M

[MarkyS]

+++

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Saturday morning at Barber - The IndyCars hold their 2nd practice of the weekend…

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…and this one was critical, as it was the last chance to get things ready for qualifying. A number of cars managed to spin off and or hit things, the worst being Alexander Rossi for Andretti Autosport, who spun in Turn 17 and clouted the barrier, mangling his Honda enough to require an engine and trans change. They are doing an “all-hands-on-deck” with 17 mechanics hitting it, trying to get the car ready for qualifying.

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Here was the order of speed for the IndyCar P-2 practice, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing - time of 01:05.9264s for a speed of 125.595mph

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2 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP - time of 01:06.0136s for a speed of 125.429mph

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3 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:06.0434s for a speed of 125.372mph

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4 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske - time of 01:06.1233s for a speed of 125.221mph

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5 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:06.2170s for a speed of 125.043mph

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6 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing
7 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing
8 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing
9 - Callum Ilott [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing
10 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

11 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
12 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
13 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing
14 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises
15 - Christian Lundegaard [R], Rahal Letterman Lanigan
16 - Will Power, Team Penske
17 - David Malukas [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports
18 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP
19 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner
20 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport

21 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing
22 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing
23 - Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing
24 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises
25 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing
26 - Tatiana Calderon [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises

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Notable:

• Rinus was close to the track record at the end. His was one of 4 Chevys in the TOP TEN. Teammate Conor Daly is also improved, so ECR is doing very well.

• Alexander Rossi was TOP FIVE when he spun, so if the guys can restore his car this might be one of his better visits to Barber - a track he notoriously dislikes. That makes Andretti very strong, as a team. The Ganassi boys are also very strong.

• Also spinning into the gravel were Romain Grosjean and Will Power. Helio Castroneves hit some of Rossi’s debris, but that appeared to do only quickly-repairable damage. Josef Newgarden and Kyle Kirkwood both went off but then back on in Turn 5. Everyone is pushing.

• The Penskes seemed to have come closer to finding what they need, with Scotty McLaughlin still leading the team.

• Jack Harvey made TOP TEN and Graham Rahal isn’t far behind. Both may get into the Fast 12 in qualifying for Rahal Letterman Lanigan, and that wasn’t in the cards yesterday.

• Pato O’Ward was very fast but looked like he was working very hard to be so. It’s as if he is pulling the car up to this level by sheer willpower. It would be unsustainable over a race as the tires wouldn’t make it.

• Callum Ilott is once again TOP TEN and the best rookie, despite the one-car effort of the team. The kid is quietly impressing everyone.

Callum Ilott

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The IndyCars will do knock-out qualifying starting at Noon local time. Next up, USF2000 qualifies for Race 2…

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M

[MarkyS]

+++

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Saturday morning at Barber - USF2000 qualifies for Race 2…

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Even before they do Race 1, later today, the kids from USF2000 took to the track qualify for Sunday’s Race 2, and we have a brand new pole-sitter, as Turn 3 Motorsport’s Christian Weir pulls it all out for the top spot.

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Here is the way USF2000 will grid for Season Round 4, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Christian Weir, Turn 3 Motorsports - time of 01:22.3788s for a speed of 100.511mph

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P2 - Myles Rowe, Pabst Racing - time of 01:22.3901s for a speed of 100.498mph

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Row 2

P3 - Jagger Jones [R], Cape Motorsports - time of 01:22.4076s for a speed of 100.476mph

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P4 - Simon Sikes, Legacy Autosport - time of 01:22.5496s for a speed of 100.303mph

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Row 3

P5 - Michael D’Orlando, Cape Motorsports - time of 01:22.5647s for a speed of 100.285mph

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P6 - Bijoy Garg, DEForce Racing - time of 01:22.5849s for a speed of 100.260mph

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Row 4

P7 - Thomas Nepveu, DEForce Racing
P8 - Jace Denmark, Pabst Racing

Row 5

P9 - Billy Frazer, Exclusive Autosport
P10 - Jackson Lee, Cape Motorsports

Row 6

P11 - Nicky Hays [R], Cape Motorsports
P12 - Jacob Douglas [R], Exclusive Autosport

Row 7

P13 - Dylan Christie, DEForce Racing
P14 - Spike Kohlbecker, Turn 3 Motorsports

Row 8

P15 - Viktor Andersson [R], Velocity Racing Development
P16 - Trey Burke, Joe Dooling Autosports

Row 9

P17 - Jorge Garciarce [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
P18 - Danny Dyszelski [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 10

P19 - Yeoroo Lee [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

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Notable:

• Christian has always been a TOP TEN driver and has occasionally been TOP FIVE, but no one would have called him for pole, so he is stepping it up.

• Myles Rowe almost gets two for two on poles and he did himself a great favor here to get on the front row for the second time, this weekend. He NEEDS this.

• Simon Sikes is probably on one of the least funded teams, so this is greatly his doing. Were he on a better team Simon would be going for poles with regularity.

• The rest of the TOP SIX were all expected to be there and so also the TOP TEN, with the exception of Jackson Lee. This is Jackson Lee’s best qually session since Mid-Ohio, last year, when he pulled out a P5 in qually. Jackson typically never qualifies in the TOP TEN, so he may be ready to move up.

Jackson Lee

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This race is scheduled to run on Sunday, first thing in the morning. It may thus avoid the expected rain, Sunday afternoon. Next, the Indy Lights hold their 2nd practice session, in anticipation of qualifying, this afternoon…

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M

[MarkyS]

+++

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Saturday morning at Barber - The Indy Lights hold their P-2 practice session…

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…in anticipation of qualifying in the late afternoon, today, and Danial Frost is once again on top.

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Here is the order of speed for the Indy Lights P-2 practice, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

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1 - Danial Frost, HMD Motorsports - time of 01:12.3734s for a speed of 114.407mph

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2 - Benjamin Pedersen, GRG w/HMD Motorsports - time of 01:12.4001s for a speed of 114.364mph

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3 - Linus Lundqvist, HMD Motorsports - time of 01:12.4117s for a speed of 114.346mph

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4 - Sting Ray Robb, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:12.4659s for a speed of 114.261mph

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5 - Christian Rasmussen [R], Andretti Steinbrenner Racing - time of 01:12.5533s for a speed of 114.123mph

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6 - Hunter McElrea [R], Andretti Autosport
7 - Jacob Abel [R], Abel Motorsports
8 - Matthew Brabham, Andretti Autosport
9 - Kyffin Simpson [R], TJ Speed Motorsports
10 - Manuel Sulaiman, HMD Motorsports

11 - Christian Bogle, HMD Motorsports
12 - Ernie Francis, Jr. [R], Force Indy
13 - James Roe [R], TJ Speed Motorsports
14 - Antonio Serravalle, Abel Motorsports

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Notable:

• This is 2nd session that Danial has topped, this weekend. The Singapore native is making a bid to emerge as a series leader, leaving Barber.

Danial Frost

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The Lights will qualify for their Sunday race this afternoon. Next up, the IndyCars qualify!..

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M

[MarkyS]

+++

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Saturday at Barber - the indyCars are qualified!..

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…and on the pole will be Rinus VeeKay for Ed Carpenter Racing, making him the 4th different pole-WINNER in 4 races.

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Here is the way the IndyCars will grid for Season Round 4, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing - time of 01:06.2507s for a speed of 124.980mph

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P2 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP - time of 01:06.4003s for a speed of 124.698mph

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Row 2

P3 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:06.4415s for a speed of 124.621 mph

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P4 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske - time of 01:06.4967s for a speed of 124.517mph

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Row 3

P5 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:06.5549s for a speed of 124.409mph

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P6 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP - time of 01:06.6410s for a speed of 124.248mph

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Row 4

P7 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
P8 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport

Row 5

P9 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
P10 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport

Row 6

P11 - Callum Ilott [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing
P12 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing

Row 7

P13 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing
P14 - Christian Lundegaard [R], Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Row 8

P15 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
P16 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing

Row 9

P17 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing
P18 - David Malukas [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports

Row 10

P19 - Will Power, Team Penske
P20 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner

Row 11

P21 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises
P22 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing

Row 12

P23 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises
P24 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing

Row 13

P25 - Tatiana Calderon [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises
P26 - Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing

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Notable:

• This is Rinus’ 2nd IndyCar pole. His last one was at Indianapolis on the Road Course, last year, and he WON that race. Ed Carpenter Racing also was the team that gave Josef Newgarden his first IndyCar WIN, right here at Barber.

• During the Fast 12 Marcus Ericsson went off track in the Turn 6/7 complex, bringing out a red flag. That robbed both Romain Grosjean and Colton Herta of a chance to complete their last laps, which might have put either or both in the Fast Six.

• Great effort by Arrow McLaren SP to get both their cars in the Fast Six. Pato held pole until the final lap by VeeKay., which was the last car in. That’s exactly why this format is so exciting. It goes down to the wire, more times than not.

• Best rookie was Callum Ilott who made the Fast 12 and is in P11. Callum was also caught out by the Ericsson red flag, but wasn’t likely to transfer, anyway.

• Dave Malukas and Helio Castroneves both went off course during the Q1 sessions. Helio’s car suffered not but David hit the left side pretty hard. It will be repaired in time for the P-3 practice, however.

• Alexander Rossi really bent his car in the P-2 practice but the whole Andretti team got on it and ended up giving him a car almost as good as before the shunt - sufficient to get him in the Fast Six and the only Andretti car to do so.

• Scott McLaughlin remained the fastest Penske, as he’s been all weekend. Josef Newgarden finally threw Scott’s set-up on his car to get better and he did get better but not enough to make the Fast Six. Will Power didn’t even make the Fast 12, saying the car felt great but was obviously not quick.

Will Power - perplexed.

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Rinus VeeKay on his pole:

NTT INDYCAR SERIES

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Next up for the IndyCars is the P-3 session, which is the warm-up, which usually happens on race-day morning. This weekend, the schedule is too full for that. The P-3 session will be later today, instead.

Next, Indy Pro 2000 holds Race 1 of their weekend. The grid for this is in post # 9…

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M

[MarkyS]

+++

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Saturday afternoon at Barber - Indy Pro 2000 holds their first race of the weekend…

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…and Reece Gold for Juncos Hollinger Racing went from pole to checkers for his first WIN of 2022. P2 was Colin Kaminsky for Pabst Racing from his P2 start while Enaam Ahmed for Juncos went from his P3 start to the final spot on the podium.

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The race started cleanly and the field began to stretch out almost immediately. On the first lap Jack William Miller for Miller Vinatieri pitted for some reason, but was able to rejoin a lap down. Yuven Sundaramoorthy for Pabst Racing passed Kiko Porto for DEForce Racing to take over P8. On lap 2 Yuven then went after Nolan Siegel for DEForce and took him for P7. Wyatt Brichacek for Jay Howard Driver Development then passed teammate Salvador de Alba for the P12 spot, but a lap later Sal returned the favor. On lap 12 Louis Foster for Exclusive Autosport set Fastest Lap in his effort to catch Braden Eves for JHDD in P4. Salvador de Alba then pitted for some reason and remained there for some 4 laps.

On Lap 5 Reece set Fastest Lap as he began to get away from Colin Kaminsky. Midrace, Yuven dropped wheels off course and ended up going from a promising P7 to P12. By lap 14 Reece was several second clear as things heated up again in the front group with Josh Green for Turn 3 Motorsports taking P5 from Foster. A lap later Nolan Siegel for DEForce set Fastest Lap trying to catch Louis. On lap 14 Louis reclaimed P5 from Josh in Turn 5. He then took P4 from Braden Eves a lap later in Turn 5 while Braden, Josh and Nolan all ran side-by-side and nose-to-tail, battling for position.

On lap 24 Louis set final Fastest Lap while going after Enaam Ahmed, still in P3, while Enaam closed up on Colin. All then ran out of laps as Reece cruised in almost 5 seconds clear of Colin on lap 25, while Colin was only a half second clear of Enaam.

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Notable:

• This is Gold’s second career Indy Pro 2000 WIN from pole, his first being at Race 1 from New Jersey in 2021, as a rookie.

• This equals Colin Kaminsky’s best IP2K results, with two other P2s in 2020 - his last full season. Colin also has 6 podiums in USF2000 but is still chasing that elusive first WIN.

• With the Fastest Lap and the P4 result Louis Foster took over the points lead from Nolan Siegel, 68 to 64 at the moment.

Foster - temporary points lead

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Your happy podium - That’s Colin Kaminsky in P2 on the left, Reece Gold in P1 in the middle and Enaam Ahmed in P3 on the right:

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Next up for Indy Pro 2000 will be late today, the qually session for Race 2. Next, Indy Lights qualify for their Sunday race…

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M

[MarkyS]

+++

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Saturday afternoon at Barber - The Indy Lights qualify…

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After leading two practice session it was just assumed that Danial Frost for HMD Motorsports would lead the qually session, but such was not the case as teammate Linus Lundqvist takes the pole while Danial faded, a lot.

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Here is the way Indy Lights will grid for Season Round 2, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Linus Lundqvist, HMD Motorsports - time of 01:12.5713s for a speed of 114.095mph

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P2 - Benjamin Pedersen, GRG w/HMD Motorsports - time of 01:12.5929s for a speed of 114.061mph

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Row 2

P3 - Sting Ray Robb, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:12.6731s for a speed of 113.935mph

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P4 - Christian Rasmussen [R], Andretti Steinbrenner Racing - time of 01:12.6753s for a speed of 113.931mph

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Row 3

P5 - Hunter McElrea [R], Andretti Autosport - time of 01:12.7964s for a speed of 113.742mph

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P6 - Kyffin Simpson [R], TJ Speed Motorsports - time of 01:12.8366s for a speed of 113.679mph

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Row 4

P7 - Manuel Sulaiman, HMD Motorsports
P8 - Danial Frost, HMD Motorsports

Row 5

P9 - Matthew Brabham, Andretti Autosport
P10 - Jacob Abel [R], Abel Motorsports

Row 6

P11 - James Roe [R], TJ Speed Motorsports
P12 - Ernie Francis, Jr. [R], Force Indy

Row 7

P13 - Christian Bogle, HMD Motorsports
P14 - Antonio Serravalle, Abel Motorsports

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Notable:

• We’re still trying to figure out what happened to Danial, who was easily the fastest guy on track all weekend, up to now. The field was covered by only 1 second, all the way back to P13, and Danial was only 0.3 seconds off pace for pole, but look what that means in this highly-competitive environment.

• This is Linus’ second Barber Motorsports Park pole and fourth Indy Lights pole.

Danial - What happened?

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The Indy Lights race is scheduled for mid-morning on Sunday. Next up, USF2000 holds their first race of the weekend. The grid for this is in post # 13…

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M

[MarkyS]

+++

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Saturday afternoon at Barber - USF2000 holds their Race 1…

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In order to hopefully stay in the Road to Indy Myles Rowe for Pabst Racing needed to get pole for Race 1 and he did it. Then, he needed to WIN Race 1 from pole and he just did that, too, making it two races WINS in a row for him. Taking P2 with a late-race attack was Billy Frazer for Exclusive Autosport from his P6 start. P3 went to Michael d’Orlando for Cape Motorsports from his P5 start.

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At the start of the race Myles came under lots of pressure at the Turn 5 hairpin from P3 starter Jagger Jones for Cape Motorsports but in the huge scrum in the turn Jagger was squeezed off and soon fell down the order to P9. That elevated Legacy Autosport’s Simon Sikes to P2 from his P4 start, while Bijoy Garg for DEForce fell from P2 to P5, Michael d’Orlando went from P5 to P4 and Billy Frazer went from P6 to P3. In the mean time, Race Control was looking at the start. Myles started to inch away and set Fastest Lap on lap 6. On lap 7 Race Control said Jackson Lee for Cape Motorsports and Danny Dyszelski for Jay Howard Driver Development were both penalized with a drive-through in the pits for jumping the start.

On lap 8 d’Orlando set Fastest Lap. For the next several laps there was no passing but on lap 17 Frazer squeezed down the inside of Sikes at Turn 7 in a classic over-under maneuver. Sikes didn’t want to relinquish, but it cost him as he ended up also falling behind Michael d’Orlando and Bijoy Garg, settling in finally in P5.

On lap 20 Myles came home 1.76 seconds ahead of Billy who was a half a second ahead of Michael.

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Notable:

• Myles may yet fall off the map due to having no budget but this WIN puts him in the points lead, following his Race 2 WIN at St. Pete, last month. He is on the front row next to pole-sitter Christian Weir for Race 2 on Sunday. The question is will he over-push, trying to WIN again tomorrow, and bust up his car, as he did in Race 1 at St. Pete?

• This is Myles’ 3rd Road to Indy WIN, as he took a great rain race at New Jersey in 2021.

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Myles talks about his WIN:

USF2000 Series

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When Myles said he had support from his family, he wasn’t kidding!

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Your happy podium - That’s Billy Frazer in P2 on the left, Myles Rowe in P1 in the middle and Michael d’Orlando in P3 on the right:

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The next outing for USF2000 is Race 2 on Sunday morning, first thing. Next, the IndyCar hold their P-3 practice…

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