IndyCars - Indianapolis: Twisting left and right inside the great oval

[MarkyS]

+++

The IndyCars come back to their spiritual home this weekend, not to do the counter-clockwise Indy 500, yet, but rather to turn both right and left on the road course inside the great oval in order to do…

The GMR Grand Prix at Indianapolis

.
.

.
.
The Grand Prix at Indianapolis is supposed to be a tune-up to get locals to the track and get excited about the Indy 500, later in the month, but it has become one of the better road course races on the schedule, due in part to the excellent passing opportunities the layout affords, but also due to drivers simply going all out to claim a WIN at Indy.

.
The layout has been massaged a bit since it was configured to host the Formula One US Grand Prix, and if anything, it has been improved. The 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course incorporates portions of Turns 1 and 2 and the front straight of the IMS oval, but it also has another long straight in the middle of the infield heading to Turn 7. Cars run in a clockwise direction up the long front straight and enter the pit lane near the South end of the oval, with service on the right side of the cars. The same track now also hosts NASCAR’s Brickyard Cup and Xfinity races, later in the year.

.

.
.
There will be many fans in attendance this weekend and they will be treated to a lot of great formula car racing, with no less than 9 races, thanks to the three Road to Indy series joining in, in support. They include:

• USF2000 - 3 races, with 1 on Friday and 2 on Saturday
• Indy Pro 2000 - 3 races, with 1 race on Friday and 2 races on Saturday
• Indy Lights - 2 races, 1 each on Friday and Saturday

And, of course, the IndyCars will race on Saturday afternoon. Weather is expected to be hot and clear on Thursday and Friday but there is a chance of rain on Saturday. No problem. The IndyCars have raced in the rain on the Road Course before and the races were thrilling.

.
Let’s take a look at all that Road to Indy support racing…(continued…)

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Support racing…

.
The Road to Indy is the ladder system that trains drivers to be ready to drive IndyCars. It is made up of four series in ever-increasing complexity and difficulty - USF Juniors, USF2000, Indy Pro 2000 and Indy Lights. Only the Juniors will not be at Indianapolis, this weekend:

.
USF2000 - The step on the ladder just above USF Juniors is a bit more complex and is populated with drivers who usually have open-wheel racing experience - even at this lower level. USF2000 uses the all-carbon Tatuus USF-22 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 just learning. After the first 4 rounds at St. Pete and Barber, the current points leaders are Myles Rowe for Pabst Racing and Michael d’Orlando for Cape Motorsports - Tied. Myles, a sophomore, has 2 WINS so far this year while Michael is working on his 47th start and has two podiums, so far this year.

.
Myles Rowe…

.
…and Michael d’Orlando

.
.
.
Indy Pro 2000 - This is the middle rung of the ladder. “IP2K” uses the IP-22 car from Tatuus, based on the USF-22, but with much bigger tires, much more wing, and a much more powerful engine. The Elite Engines 2.0 liter now puts out 275 hp. The brakes are bias driver-adjustable, just like in the USF-17. Transmissions are similar 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 handling more power and grip and all with great racecraft. The level of competition across the board is much more even, though the fields are smaller than USF2000. After the first 4 rounds at St. Pete and Barber, the current points leader in IP2K is Nolan Siegel for DEForce Racing, the youngest driver in the series at 17 and a rookie. Nolan has WON twice, so far.

.
Nolan Siegel

.
.
.
Indy Lights - The car is the Dallara IL-15 and is substantially bigger and better than the IP-22. 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 IP-22, 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 1 race at Barber and leading the points at the moment is Sweden’s Linus Lundqvist for HMD Motorsports - the WINNER at Barber in a great rain race.

.
Linus Lundqvist

.
.
.
Thursday will be a day of testing and practice for USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000. Let’s get this GOING!!

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Thursday at Indianapolis - USF2000 holds testing and practice…

.
Before we detail the USF2000 testing and practice, we need to introduce four new pilots to the series, this weekend:

.
Joey Brienza was already announced pre-season as a driver but this will be his first race weekend in the series, driving for Exclusive Autosport. Joey drove very well for EA in the FRP F1600 series in 2021, collecting 3 WINS and 9 podiums on his way to 3rd in the title hunt. The 17-year-old from Colorado is good enough to quickly work his way into the TOP TEN, if he can stay in the car. (He is scheduled for only four events, so far).

.
Joey Brienza

.
.
Alex Quinn is a Brit with a lot of open wheel experience, including BRDC F3 and Formula Renault Eurocup, where he was the top performing rookie. The 21-year-old has enough good racecraft to enter Indy Pro 2000, so we expect him to take to USF2000 quickly. He debuts this weekend driving for Velocity Racing Development.

.
Alex Quinn

.
.
Chase Gardner is a 16-year-old from Sherman, Texas with an extensive and successful karting background but little in the way of formula car experience. He drove for superteam Crosslink in F4 United States in 2021 but will drive for DEForce Racing in the step-up to USF2000.

.
Chase Gardner

.

.
Frankie Mossman hails from La Verne, California and is already well-known in karting as a TOP performer in international rankings, with multiple WINS and titles, here and abroad. Since 2021 Mossman has been dipping his toe into formula cars, starting with the Lucas Oil School and now with a few race events for Jay Howard Driver Development in USF2000, starting this weekend. He is also scheduled to drive the oval at Lucas Oil Raceway, later this month.

.
Frankie Mossman

.
.
.
Now, let’s see what happened today…

.
.
.
(continued…)

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Thursday at Indianapolis - USF2000 holds testing and practice…(part 2)…

.
The series held two test sessions, followed by the one scheduled weekend practice session. Really, the only difference between a race-weekend test and a practice is who pays for the track time. Otherwise, it’s all practice for the races ahead. We have COMBINED all three sessions to give you the TOP performers on the entire day.

.
Here was the order of speed for USF2000, all three sessions COMBINED, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie; the driver’s best session is in ( ).

.
1 - Myles Rowe, Pabst Racing - time of 1:26.0911s for a speed of 101.990mph (2)

.
2 - Jace Denmark, Pabst Racing - time of 1:26.1521s for a speed of 101.917mph (2)

.
3 - Simon Sikes, Legacy Autosport - time of 1:26.1587s for a speed of 101.910mph (1)

.
4 - Jagger Jones [R], Cape Motorsports - time of 1:26.2364s for a speed of 101.818mph (2)

.
5 - Michael D’Orlando, Cape Motorsports - time of 1:26.4112s for a speed of 101.612mph (2)

.
6 - Thomas Nepveu, DEForce Racing (2)
7 - Billy Frazer, Exclusive Autosport (2)
8 - Spike Kohlbecker, Turn 3 Motorsports (2)
9 - Trey Burke, Joe Dooling Autosports (2)
10 - Christian Weir, Turn 3 Motorsports (1)

11 - Alex Quinn [R], Velocity Racing Development (3)
12 - Chase Gardner [R], DEForce Racing (1)
13 - Viktor Andersson [R], Velocity Racing Development (2)
14 - Jackson Lee, Cape Motorsports (1)
15 - Jacob Douglas [R], Exclusive Autosport (2)
16 - Dylan Christie, DEForce Racing (1)
17 - Bijoy Garg, DEForce Racing (1)
18 - Joey Brienza [R], Exclusive Autosport (2)
19 - Nicky Hays [R], Cape Motorsports (2)
20 - Jorge Garciarce [R], Jay Howard Driver Development (2)

21 - Danny Dyszelski [R], Jay Howard Driver Development (1)
22 - Frankie Mossman [R], Jay Howard Driver Development (1)
23 - Yeoroo Lee [R], Jay Howard Driver Development (1)

.
.
.
Notable:

• Myles Rowe is on life support, budget-wise, and only has the funds to do these three races, at the moment, but his continued excellence in the car makes him his own best physician.

• There are really no surprises in the TOP FIVE and the only surprise in the TOP TEN on speed is Trey Burke. Burke has been slowly getting better with each session since the season started, coached at Joe Dooling Racing by Road to Indy ace Sage Karam.

• Newbie Alex Quinn for Velocity Racing Development was P22 in session 1 and P21 in session 2, but it was all deceptive, as he was learning the car. Session 3 was the slowest session for everyone but Alex nevertheless was the fastest driver in it, topping the session!

• We saw a big improvement also for Viktor Andersson for Velocity Racing Development. Viktor is never in the TOP TEN but was P9, P9 and P5 on the day and was 13th overall on speed. Perhaps having Alex Quinn to bounce off of was a help for Viktor.

• Conversely, Bijoy Garg has been faster than this all season, so we are a bit disappointed and mystified by this fall-off.

.
Viktor Andersson (left), Trey Burke and Bijoy Garg (right)

.
Myles Rowe

.
.
.
On Friday morning USF2000 will be first guys on track, qualifying for their weekend. Next, the testing and practice sessions for Indy Pro 2000…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Thursday at Indianapolis - Indy Pro 2000 holds testing and practice…

.
Just like the kids in USF2000, the IP2K gang had two tests, followed by a practice, and just like USF2000, the tests were exploratory, while the practice was the last chance to get a race set-up before qualifying on Friday. We have COMBINED all three sessions to give you the overall speedsters on the day.

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

.
1 - Reece Gold, Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 1:22.0781s for a speed of 106.976mph (2)

.
2 - Jack William Miller, Miller Vinatieri Motorsports - time of 1:22.2420s for a speed of 106.763mph (2)

.
3 - Louis Foster [R], Exclusive Autosport - time of 1:22.2943s for a speed of 106.695mph (2)

.
4 - Josh Green [R], Turn 3 Motorsports - time of 1:22.2952s for a speed of 106.694mph (1)

.
5 - Kiko Porto [R], DEForce Racing - time of 1:22.3710s for a speed of 106.596mph (1)

.
6 - Nolan Siegel [R], DEForce Racing
7 - Enaam Ahmed, Juncos Hollinger Racing
8 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy [R], Pabst Racing
9 - Wyatt Brichacek, Jay Howard Driver Development
10 - Braden Eves, Jay Howard Driver Development

11 - Jonathan Browne [R], Turn 3 Motorsports
12 - Salvador de Alba [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
13 - Colin Kaminsky, Pabst Racing
14 - Jordan Missig [R], Pabst Racing
15 - Lindsay Brewer [R], Exclusive Autosport
16 - Charles Finelli, FatBoy Racing!

.
.
.
Notable:

• Despite his 1 WIN and being perhaps the fastest guy on the track, Reece Gold is only 4th in the points, due to three bad results on the year. He needs more WINS and podiums to be where he should be. He was the fastest guy in TWO of the three sessions, today.

• Jack William Miller is a reliable TOP TEN performer, but this is a cut above. He was no worse than 5th fastest all day long and was P2 in session 2.

• This is much more like the Yuven Sundaramoorthy we are used to seeing. Perhaps he is finally getting the gist of the PM-18.

• Wyatt Brichacek was very fast in pre-season testing, but his M.O. is and has been to slow down in actual competition. This TOP TEN is what he is capable of. Now, can he translate that to a good race performance?

• This is social media star Lindsay Brewer’s first appearance on the season. She’s jumped into a pool of sharks. Sink or swim? Her session times were all only 1.23 seconds off Reece Gold’s P1. We are impressed.

.
Wyatt Brichacek (left), Lindsay Brewer and Yuven Sundaramoorthy

.
Reece Gold - speed demon

.
.
.
IP2K will hold their qually session in the morning, right after USF2000 qualifies.

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

.
.
.M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Thursday at Indianapolis - Ryan Phinny comes back to Indy Lights, this weekend…

.
When Indy Lights driver Antonio Serravalle made the change this month to driving for HMD Motorsports instead of Abel Motorsports, that left a chassis unused at Abel. Apparently, former Lights driver Ryan Phinny will be taking the car out for both races at IMS, this weekend.

.
Ryan Phinny

.
.
.
The 32-year-old has 5 Lights races in his resume - 1 in 2011 and 4 in 2014 - with a best finish of a P6, but it’s been 8 years since he drove anything remotely like that. He has never driven the current chassis / engine package, the IL-15. He has done some GT racing and spent a season in Formula BMW, way back.

Said Ryan, “I’d really like to thank John Brunner, Bill Abel, and the entire Abel Motorsports team for the call to drive and for the all the partners that came on board to make this happen.

“This car is sponsored entirely by Tennessee-based businesses, and I feel so fortunate to represent them and the state I now call home.

“Right now, my focus is going to be getting back up to speed and learning these new Indy Lights cars.

“It’s already been a great transition to Abel Motorsports, including working again with a few familiar faces from my previous time in Indy Lights. Ultimately the goal is to add more events to my calendar, and a good result this weekend would go a long way into building this program up.”

.
.
We don’t exactly know what Ryan is attempting or even thinking. Maybe seeing Matthew Brabham returning to form after his own departure for years has Ryan thinking he can do it too, but Phinny was never anything like the talent of Matty Brabham. Still, it’s better to have the 2nd Abel squad busy than not, so we wish Ryan the best.

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Friday morning at Indianapolis - USF2000 holds qualifying…

.
The first out on the track today were the kids from USF2000 to qualify for Race 1 of their weekend. The session will also help to set Race 2, as the 2nd-fastest qually lap of each driver, OR their best Race 1 lap - whichever is faster - will set Race 2.

.
Here is the way USF2000 will grid for Season Round 5, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

.
Row 1

Pole - Jagger Jones [R], Cape Motorsports - time of 1:25.4254s for a speed of 102.784mph

.
P2 - Alex Quinn [R], Velocity Racing Development - time of 1:25.4910s for a speed of 102.706mph

Row 2

P3 - Thomas Nepveu, DEForce Racing - time of 1:25.5169s for a speed of 102.674mph

.
P4 - Jace Denmark, Pabst Racing - time of 1:25.5500s for a speed of 102.635mph

.
Row 3

P5 - Michael D’Orlando, Cape Motorsports - time of 1:25.5500s for a speed of 102.467 mph

.
P6 - Bijoy Garg, DEForce Racing - time of 1:25.8164s for a speed of 102.316mph

.
Row 4

P7 - Myles Rowe, Pabst Racing
P8 - Simon Sikes, Legacy Autosport

Row 5

P9 - Joey Brienza [R], Exclusive Autosport
P10 - Billy Frazer, Exclusive Autosport

Row 6

P11 - Chase Gardner [R], DEForce Racing
P12 - Jackson Lee, Cape Motorsports

Row 7

P13 - Spike Kohlbecker, Turn 3 Motorsports
P14 - Christian Weir, Turn 3 Motorsports

Row 8

P15 - Dylan Christie, DEForce Racing
P16 - Trey Burke, Joe Dooling Autosports

Row 9

P17 - Viktor Andersson [R], Velocity Racing Development
P18 - Nicky Hays [R], Cape Motorsports

Row 10

P19 - Jacob Douglas [R], Exclusive Autosport
P20 - Danny Dyszelski [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 11

P21 - Frankie Mossman [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
P22 - Yeoroo Lee [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 12

P23 - Jorge Garciarce [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

.
.
.
Notable:

• Jones, the son of racer JP Jones and the grandson of Parnelli Jones, gets his first USF2000 pole in his 5th career start. He is coming off his first series WIN at Barber, too. It’s truly in the genes.

• We said Alex Quinn might be good enough for Indy Pro 2000 and he’s proving us right. His experience in Europe makes it relatively easy to excel on a new track and on the Cooper tires - also new to him. Newbies Joey Brienza and Chase Gardner also impressed. USF2000 attracts talented kids.

• Everyone went faster than their best practice laps, with the TOP TEN all dipping into the 1:25s on time for the first time this weekend.

• Jorge Garciarce had a mechanical near Turn 7 and brought out a session red flag. He was only able to do 3 laps prior.

.
Jorge Garciarce - no joy

.
.
.
USF2000 will hold Race 1 mid-morning today, following Indy Lights practice. Next up, Indy Pro 2000 go qualifying…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Friday morning at Indianapolis - Indy Pro 2000 holds qualifying…

.
…and a surprise on pole, as rookie Jonathan Browne takes the cake in the final lap. Just like in USF2000, this session will have implications for all three IP2K races scheduled this weekend.

.
Here is the way Indy Pro 2000 will grid for Season Round 5, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

.
Row 1

Pole - Jonathan Browne [R], Turn 3 Motorsports - time of 1:21.6771s for a speed of 107.501mph

.
P2 - Louis Foster [R], Exclusive Autosport - time of 1:21.6946s for a speed of 107.478mph

.
Row 2

P3 - Nolan Siegel [R], DEForce Racing - time of 1:21.7445s for a speed of 107.413mph

.
P4 - Jack William Miller, Miller Vinatieri Motorsports - time of 1:21.7837s for a speed of 107.361mph

.
Row 3

P5 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy [R], Pabst Racing - time of 1:21.7990s for a speed of 107.341mph

.
P6 - Reece Gold, Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 1:21.8401s for a speed of 107.287mph

.
Row 4

P7 - Kiko Porto [R], DEForce Racing
P8 - Colin Kaminsky, Pabst Racing

Row 5

P9 - Enaam Ahmed, Juncos Hollinger Racing
P10 - Braden Eves, Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 6

P11 - Jordan Missig [R], Pabst Racing
P12 - Salvador de Alba [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 7

P13 - Josh Green [R], Turn 3 Motorsports
P14 - Wyatt Brichacek, Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 8

P15 - Lindsay Brewer [R], Exclusive Autosport
P16 - Charles Finelli, FatBoy Racing!

.
.
.
Notable:

• Jonathan Brown takes his first series pole in his 5th start. The 22-year-old Irishman came to us with a great record in Formula Fords, including a WIN at the famed Festival. He also had many F3 British starts, so we knew he could wheel, but prior to this his best start was a P11 at Barber. Browne may be ready to show his stuff.

• Louis Foster, 2nd in the points, led the session right up to the last few seconds when Brown appeared out of nowhere and stole it.

• What a group! The TOP FOURTEEN drivers are covered by 0.73 seconds!

• Lindsay Brewer in her first series start is still impressing us, only 1.3 seconds off the pole on a new track to her and on unfamiliar tires.

Lindsay Brewer

.
.
.
Indy Pro 2000 will hold Race 1 following the P2 practice for the IndyCars, later this afternoon. Next up, the IndyCars do their first practice of the weekend…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Friday morning at Indianapolis - The IndyCars come out for their first practice…

.
…of the weekend and a rookie nearly steals the show.

.
Here was the order of speed for the IndyCars P1 session, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie

.
1 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 1:10.4555s for a speed of 124.623mph

.
2 - Callum Ilott [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 1:10.4593s for a speed of 124.617mph

.
3 - Will Power, Team Penske - time of 1:10.5277s for a speed of 124.496mph

.
4 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan - time of 1:10.6125s for a speed of 124.346mph

.
5 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP - time of 1**:10.7108s** for a speed of 124.173mph

.
6 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing
7 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing
8 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
9 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing
10 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport

11 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP
12 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport
13 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing
14 - Christian Lundegaard [R], Rahal Letterman Lanigan
15 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport
16 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
17 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske
18 - David Malukas [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports
19 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing
20 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner

21 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing
22 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing
23 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises
24 - Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing
25 - Juan Pablo Montoya, Arrow McLaren SP
26 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises
27 - Tatiana Calderon [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises

.
.
.
Notable:

• Former five-time race WINNER Will Power led most of the session, but then 3 minutes to the end Callum Ilott jumped to the top. A half second later, Helio Castroneves for Meyer Shank brought out a red flag with a spin. With 30 seconds left to run the field was sent out. Alex Palou came out on fresh tires and took the top spot after time had actually run out.

• Ilott was also impressive at Barber, so it looks like the 1-car Juncos Hollinger team has found something for the English lad.

• Struggling is 2021 race WINNER Rinus VeeKay, mired in the back.

.
Alex Palou

.
.
.
The IndyCars will hold another practice session in the early afternoon. Next up, the Indy Lights hold their practice session…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Friday morning at Indianapolis - The Indy Lights hold their one and only practice…

.
…of the weekend, before qalifying, later today.

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

.
1 - Matthew Brabham, Andretti Autosport - time of 1:16.5986s for a speed of 114.629mph

.
2 - Hunter McElrea [R], Andretti Autosport - time of 1:16.6220s for a speed of 114.594mph

.
3 - Benjamin Pedersen, GRG w/HMD Motorsports - time of 1:16.7088s for a speed of 114.464mph

.
4 - Danial Frost, HMD Motorsports - time of 1:16.7796s for a speed of 114.359mph

.
5 - Sting Ray Robb, Andretti Autosport - time of 1:16.8722s for a speed of 114.221mph

.
6 - Christian Rasmussen [R], Andretti Steinbrenner Racing
7 - Linus Lundqvist, HMD Motorsports
8 - Antonio Serravalle, HMD Motorsports
9 - Jacob Abel [R], Abel Motorsports
10 - Christian Bogle, HMD Motorsports

11 - Ernie Francis, Jr. [R], Force Indy
12 - James Roe [R], TJ Speed Motorsports
13 - Kyffin Simpson [R], TJ Speed Motorsports
14 - Ryan Phinny, Abel Motorsports

.
.
.
Notable:

• TOP performer changed many times during the session and Matty took the spot near the very end, on a fresh set of tires.

• The TOP SEVEN cars were within .036 seconds of each other and the TOP ELEVEN within a second.

• Antonio Serravalle got as high as P4 at one point, proving that his switch to a good team with good teammates was the smart move. He’s been looking much improved all weekend, so far.

Antonio Serravalle

.
Matthew Brabham

.
.
.
The Lights will qualify this afternoon, right after the IndyCar second practice. Next up, USF2000 holds Race 1 of the weekend. The grid for this is in post # 7…
.

.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Friday morning at Indianapolis - USF2000 holds a great one for their first effort…

.
…of the weekend, as newbie Alex Quinn goes from his P2 start to take his first WIN for Velocity Racing Development. P2 at the end was Billy Frazer for Exclusive Autosport in an impressive run from his P8 start while P3 went to pole-sitter Jagger Jones for Cape Motorsports.

.

.
.
.
As Jagger led the field up the main straight to start the race Nicky Hays for Cape Motorsports back in P18 lost his front wing in the crowd. The caution to retrieve it wasn’t thrown until the lap was almost over, so a lot happened in between, mostly in Turn 1. Myles Rowe for Pabst Racing went from P7 to P2, relegating Alex Quinn to P3. Simon Sikes for Legacy Autosport went from P8 to P4. Newbie Chase Gardner for DEForce Racing went from P11 to P7. Dropping from P3 to P8 was Thomas Nepveu for DEForce while teammate Bijoy Garg dropped from P6 to P11 and Jackson Lee for Cape Motorsports lost the most, going from P12 to P20.

On the lap 3 restart Myles took P1 from Jagger and Alex followed through into P2. Michael d’Orlando for Cape Motorsports took P4 from Simon Sikes. By this time Billy had gone from his P10 start to take over P7 from Thomas Nepveu. Chase Gardner lost all he had gained and then some, dropping to P19 with an off-track excursion. On lap 4 Quinn and Rowe battled for the lead in Turn 1, allowing Jagger to slip by both and take P1 again while Alex took the P2 spot. Then Billy went after Myles and took P3 away from him in Turn 3. At that moment d’Orlando also jumped Myles in Turn 4 and they both went off, bringing out another caution. Both would rejoin a lap down.

On the lap 10 restart Alex took over P1 from Jagger in Turn 1 while Christian Weir for Turn 3 Motorsports jumped into P4 past Nepveu. Trey Burke for Joe Dooling Racing battled Jorge Garciarce for Jay Howard Driver Development and Bijoy Garg for the P10 spot. Trey got the spot while Bijoy got pushed off in Turn 2, bringing out another caution. The race restarted on lap 13 with Alex getting away cleanly while Billy took P2 from Jagger in Turn 1. That set the podium and was the last pass of the race as Alex WON 2 laps later by 2.16 seconds over Billy who was 0nly 0.26 seconds over Jagger at the line.

A fantastic race with action everywhere!

.

Alex comments:

USF2000 Series

.
.
.
Notable:

• Alex drove a similar chassis in Europe but never this track before and never Cooper tires before. He’s shown us that he could easily be a title contender, had he not missed the first 4 races of the season. His points deficit is hard to overcome.

• Myles Rowe and Michael d’Orlando lost points with their P17 and P21 finishes. Jagger Jones is the temporary points leader, now.

.
.
.
Your happy podium - That’s Billy Frazer in P2 on the left, Alex Quinn in P1 in the middle and Jagger Jones in P3 on the right:

.
.
.
The next race for USF2000 will be first thing Saturday morning. Next, the IndyCars hold P2 practice in anticipation of qualifying, later today.

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Friday at Indianapolis - The IndyCars hold their P-2 practice session…

.
This was the last chance for teams to get their cars ready for qualifying and a lot of drivers showed improvement over their P-1 session times.

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

.
1 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP - time of 01:09.7839s for a speed of 125.823mph

.
2 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:09.8137s for a speed of 125.769mph

.
3 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:09.8423s for a speed of 125.718mph

.
4 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing - time of 01:09.9265s for a speed of 125.566mph

.
5 - Christian Lundegaard [R], Rahal Letterman Lanigan - time of 01:10.0002s for a speed of 125.434mph

.
6 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport
7 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing
8 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP
9 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing
10 - Will Power, Team Penske

11 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske
12 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
13 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing
14 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing
15 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
16 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
17 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport
18 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing
19 - Callum Ilott [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing
20 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing

21 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises
22 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner
23 - David Malukas [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports
24 - Juan Pablo Montoya, Arrow McLaren SP
25 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises
26 - Tatiana Calderon [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises
27 - Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing

.
.
.
Notable:

• The TOP 21 cars are all within less than a second of each other.

• Most improved are the cars from Ed Carpenter Racing with Rinus VeeKay in P4 and Conor Daly in P7. Also improved are Christian Lundgaard and Jack Harvey for Rahal Letterman Lanigan, but Graham Rahal seemed to suffer and lose position over the P-1 session.

• Callum Ilott also slipped a lot in position over the P-1 session. It’s not really that Callum slowed, but rather than everyone else got faster while he stayed about the same.

• Josef Newgarden got better over the P-1 session but so did everyone around him, so he remains the worst of the Penske boys.

.
Pato O’Ward - on rails at the moment

.
.
.
The IndyCars will next qualify for tomorrow’s race. That happens this afternoon, after the Indy Pro 2000 race. Next, the Indy Lights qualify…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Friday afternoon at Indianapolis - The Indy Lights qualify …

.
…for both races of the weekend, using this one session. The driver’s fastest lap will set the grid for Race 1 while their 2nd fastest lap or their fastest Race 1 lap - whichever is fastest - will set the grid for Race 2 on Sunday. In this case, we already know that Linus Lundqvist’s two top laps were the two fastest laps, so he poles both races!

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

.
Row 1

Pole - Linus Lundqvist, HMD Motorsports - time of - time of 1:16.3362s for a speed of 115.023mph

.
P2 - Hunter McElrea [R], Andretti Autosport - time of 1:16.3790s for a speed of 114.958mph

.
Row 2

P3 - Christian Rasmussen [R], Andretti Steinbrenner Racing - time of 1:16.5182s for a speed of 114.749mph

.
P4 - Danial Frost, HMD Motorsports - time of 1:16.5817s for a speed of 114.654mph

.
Row 3

P5 - Matthew Brabham, Andretti Autosport - time of 1:16.6099s for a speed of 114.612mph

.
P6 - Sting Ray Robb, Andretti Autosport - time of 1:16.6944s for a speed of 114.486mph

.
Row 4

P7 - Benjamin Pedersen, GRG w/HMD Motorsports
P8 - Antonio Serravalle, HMD Motorsports

Row 5

P9 - Jacob Abel [R], Abel Motorsports
P10 - Ernie Francis, Jr. [R], Force Indy

Row 6

P11 - Christian Bogle, HMD Motorsports
P12 - James Roe [R], TJ Speed Motorsports

Row 7

P13 - Kyffin Simpson [R], TJ Speed Motorsports
P14 - Ryan Phinny, Abel Motorsports

.
.
.
Notable:

• Though HMD Motorsports got the pole Andretti Autosport took 4 of the TOP SIX spots.

.
.
.
The Lights will race today after the IndyCars qualify. Next up, Indy Pro 2000 holds Race 1. The grid for this is in post # 8…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Friday afternoon at Indianapolis - Indy Pro 2000 holds Race 1…

.
…and it just may have been as exciting as the first USF2000 race, as Braden Eves for Jay Howard Driver Development goes from P10 to the WIN. P2 went to Salvador de Alba for JHDD from his P12 start while Yuven Sundaramoorthy gets a P3 for Pabst Racing from his P5 start.

.

.
.
.
As Jonathan Brown for Turn 3 Motorsports took off from pole he found P2 Louis Foster for Exclusive Autosport beside him as they went through Turns 1 and 2. At the exit of Turn 2 Browne nudged Foster over and that sent Louie spinning into the gravel at Turn 3, with Jack William Miller for Miller Vinatieri climbing over his back while Reece Gold for Juncos Hollinger went left into the gravel to avoid them, falling from P6 all the way to P14, though he stayed moving. A full-course caution was called to retrieve Foster and Miller. Before the caution was called Colin Kaminsky for Pabst went from P8 to P2, Braden went from P10 to P3, Salvador went from P12 to P5, and Enaam Ahmed for Juncos went from P9 to P6, among other movers. Points-leader Nolan Siegel for Pabst Racing only lost one spot, from P3 to P4.

On the lap 6 restart Braden passed Colin to take P2 while Josh Green for Turn 3 spun in Turn 1 and dropped from P9 to P14. On lap 7 Race Control gave P1 Jonathan Brown a drive-through penalty for the lap 1 incident, dropping him to P14. By lap 8 Reece Gold was already into P8 and passed Yuven to take over P7. On lap 11 Colin made his move in Turn 1 and took over the lead from Braden, but a lap later he overcooked it going into Turn 1 and had to take the escape road, falling to P6 as Braden regained the lead. At the same time Salvador was passing Nolan to take P2. Yuven retook P7 from Reece. On lap 14 Enaam jumped on Nolan for P3 and Kiko Porto for DEForce Racing followed through, dropping Siegel to P5 while Yuven passed Kaminsky for P6. Reece lost a spot to Jordan Missig for Pabst and ended up in P9.

Lap 15 saw teammates Nolan and Kiko battling for P4 and they touched going into Turn 8, both going off. Kiko rejoined in P8 but Nolan was damaged and motored to the pits for repairs, He would rejoin 3 laps down. By lap 19 Reece was back by Jordan for the P6 spot. A Lap later Enaam received a penalty for cutting the track, and gave up his P3 to Yuven. Within another lap Colin was also by the Pakistani for P4. Yuven then went hard after Salvador, closing the gap with each lap. Lindsay Brewer for Exclusive Autosport was now in P9 and turning faster race laps than everyone ahead of her, but she was also running out of time. On lap 23 Reece took another spot into P5 past Enaam in Turn 1. One lap later Kiko took P7 from Jordan and a lap after that Braden crossed the line a clear 5.5 seconds ahead of Sal who was only a scant 0.09 seconds ahead of Yuven at the line.

Fantastic action throughout the field in the entire race, this one never let up!

.
.
.

Notable:

• This was Braden Eves’ first WIN since Gateway in August of 2021, so he was due. When Nolan Siegel and Louis Foster were taken out of the race they were the points leaders. Now, Braden takes over the lead.

• This is the first podium for Salvador, who has principally been a stock car driver up to now.

• This is also the first podium of the year for rookie Yuven Sundaramoorthy who has many WINS and podiums from his USF2000 career

• Biggest mover was Reece Gold who went from P14 to P5 at the end, but we were also impressed by the late-race speed of rookie Lindsay Brewer. She can move and save tires at the same time. She only needs to qualify better.

.
Braden Eves on his WIN:

USF Pro 2000

.
.
.
Your happy podium - That’s Salvador de Alba in P2 on the left, Braden Eves in P1 in the middle and Yuven Sundaramoorthy in P3 on the right:

.

.
.
.
The next outing for IP2K will be on Saturday, in the morning, after the USF2000 race. Next up, the IndyCars qualify…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Friday at Indianapolis - The IndyCars are qualified!..

.
…and on the pole for the 64th time in his career is Will Power for Team Penske, stealing pole from Alex Palou for Chip Ganassi on the final lap, after the bell.

.
Here is the way the IndyCars will grid for Season Round 5, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

.
Row 1

Pole - Will Power, Team Penske - time of 01:09.7664s for a speed of 125.854mph

.
P2 - Alex Palou, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:09.8090s for a speed of 125.777mph

Row 2

P3 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske - time of 01:09.8343s for a speed of 125.732mph

.
P4 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing - time of 01:09.9063s for a speed of 125.602mph

.
Row 3

P5 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP - time of 01:10.0546s for a speed of 125.337mph

.
P6 - Felix Rosenqvist, Arrow McLaren SP - time of 01:10.0605s for a speed of 125.326mph

.
Row 4

P7 - Callum Ilott [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing
P8 - Christian Lundegaard [R], Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Row 5

P9 - Jack Harvey, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
P10 - Romain Grosjean, Andretti Autosport

Row 6

P11 - Scott McLaughlin, Team Penske
P12 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Row 7

P13 - Takuma Sato, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Rick Ware Racing
P14 - Colton Herta, Andretti Autosport

Row 8

P15 - Rinus VeeKay, Ed Carpenter Racing
P16 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport

Row 9

P17 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner
P18 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing

Row 10

P19 - Helio Castroneves, Meyer Shank Racing
P20 - Simon Pagenaud, Meyer Shank Racing

Row 11

P21 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing
P22 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises

Row 12

P23 - Juan Pablo Montoya, Arrow McLaren SP
P24 - David Malukas [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ HMD Motorsports

Row 13

P25 - Tatiana Calderon [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises
P26 - Dalton Kellett, AJ Foyt Enterprises

Row 14

P27 - Jimmie Johnson, Chip Ganassi Racing

.
.
.
Notable:

• Will has gotten four poles before on this track and WON all four races, plus an additional race, not from pole.

• While Ed Carpenter Racing was expected to get into the Fast 6, 2021 WINNER Rinus VeeKay failed to transfer out of Group 1 and Conor Daly unexpectedly carried the team colors into the Fast 6.

• Rahal Letterman Lanigan had all 3 cars transfer out of Group 1 but could get none into the Fast 6.

• Also surprising with failure to transfer out of Group 1 were Simon Pagenaud, Colton Herta, Alexander Rossi, Marcus Ericsson and Scott Dixon - all have done much better here, in the past.
  .
  .
  .
  The IndyCars will next be on track for the Warm-up on Sunday morning. Next up, the Indy Lights hold Race 1. The grid for this is in post # 13…
  .
  .
  .
  M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Friday afternoon at Indianapolis - The Indy Light hold Race 1 of the weekend…

.
…and a new, first-time WINNER in the series appears as Danial Frost for HMD Motorsports takes the WIN from his P4 start. P2 went to Andretti Autosport’s Hunter McElrea from P2 and P3 went to teammate Sting Ray Robb from a P6 start.

.

.
.
.
The race started under a yellow flag for a ragged start. Pole-sitter Linus Lundqvist for HMD jumped well on lap 2 to get slightly away as Andretti’s Christian Rasmussen passed teammate McElrea to take over P2 while GRG w/HMD driver Benjamin Pedersen was able to sneak past Andretti’s Matty Brabham to take P5. On lap 3 Rasmussen took over the lead from Linus in Turn 7. On lap 5 Linus tried to reclaim the lead in Turn 1 but as Christian and Linus entered Turn 2 side-by-side they collided and spun out, allowing McElrea to take the lead, followed by Frost, Pedersen Brabham, Robb and Antonio Serravalle for HMD. A full-course caution came out, even though both Rasmussen and Lundqvist were able to motor their stricken cars back to the pits. Because of the yellow they were able to replace broken wings and rejoin on the same lap, though in the rear.

The race restarted on lap 8 and one lap later Frost took P1 from Hunter in Turn 7. Rasmussen and Lundqvist began a slow march forward, passing first Ernie Francis for Force Indy, putting him in P12. Next, they ate Jacob Abel for Abel Motorsports and put him in P10 on lap 12 while Sting Ray passed Matty to take over P3. Matty then defended against Ben Pedersen as they approached Turn 1, spinning the Dane out. Ben would rejoin in P13. On lap 13 Antonio was able to pass Brabham for the P4 spot but on the next lap Brabham was ordered to fall back behind Pedersen for spinning him and ended up in P13, as a result.

By lap 16 Rasmussen and Lundqvist, still in tandem, passed Christian Bogle for HMD to drop him to P7. On lap 20 Rasmussen passed a stubborn Antonio and it took Linus another 4 laps to do the same, finally putting Antonio in P6. For the rest of the race the field was spread out enough to prevent any use of available Push-to-Pass and on lap 35 Danial took his WIN 1.545 seconds ahead of Hunter, who was 1.8 seconds better that Sting Ray.

.
.
.
Notable:

• With the WIN Danial took over 2nd place in the points behind Linus, still 6 points up. Dropping in standing was Brabham who fell to 5th.

• This is Sting Ray Robb’s 2nd podium in a row. He is now in 3rd place.

.
.
.
Your happy podium - That’s Hunter McElrea in P2 on the left, Danial Frost in P1 in the middle and Sting Ray Robb in P3 on the right.

.
.
.
The Lights will race again on Sunday, right before the big cars race. This was the last on-track activity of the day.

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
USF2000 has a starting line-up for Race 2…

.
Based on both qualifying laps and Race 1 laps, the series has produced the starting grid for Race 2.

Here is the way USF2000 will grid for Season Round 6: [R] denotes rookie:

.
Row 1

Pole - Jagger Jones [R], Cape Motorsports

.
P2 - Alex Quinn [R], Velocity Racing Development

.
Row 2

P3 - Michael D’Orlando, Cape Motorsports

.
P4 - Thomas Nepveu, DEForce Racing

.
Row 3

P5 - Jace Denmark, Pabst Racing

.
P6 - Bijoy Garg, DEForce Racing

.
Row 4

P7 - Myles Rowe, Pabst Racing
P8 - Simon Sikes, Legacy Autosport

Row 5

P9 - Joey Brienza [R], Exclusive Autosport
P10 - Billy Frazer, Exclusive Autosport

Row 6

P11 - Spike Kohlbecker, Turn 3 Motorsports
P12 - Christian Weir, Turn 3 Motorsports

Row 7

P13 - Dylan Christie, DEForce Racing
P14 - Nicky Hays [R], Cape Motorsports

Row 8

P15 - Viktor Andersson [R], Velocity Racing Development
P16 - Jackson Lee, Cape Motorsports

Row 9

P17 - Trey Burke, Joe Dooling Autosports
P18 - Jacob Douglas [R], Exclusive Autosport

Row 10

P19 - Chase Gardner [R], DEForce Racing
P20 - Danny Dyszelski [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 11

P21 - Frankie Mossman [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
P22 - Jorge Garciarce [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 12

P23 - Yeoroo Lee [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

.
.
.
This race is scheduled for first thing, Saturday morning.

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Friday evening at Indianapolis - A post-race penalty in Indy Pro 2000…

.
…has changed the finishing order and awarded the WIN to Salvador de Alba for Jay Howard Driver Development after teammate Braden Eves’ Tatuus IP-22 failed post-race tech. P2 was then awarded to Pabst Racing’s Yuven Sundaramoorthy and his teammate Colin Kaminsky took P3. This is Salvador’s first Road to Indy WIN in his rookie season.

.
Salvador de Alba

.
Colin Kaminsky P3

.
.
.
No word yet on exactly what was wrong with Braden’s car. We will report on it when they tell us. The loss of points takes Braden out of first place and returns Nolan Siegel to that spot, followed by Louis Foster, while Eves falls to 5th place.

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Indy Pro 2000 has a starting line-up for Race 2…

.
Based on both qualifying laps and Race 1 laps, the series has produced the starting grid for Race 2.

Here is the way Indy Pro 2000 will grid for Season Round 6: [R] denotes rookie:

.
Row 1

Pole - Jack William Miller, Miller Vinatieri Motorsports

.
P2 - Louis Foster [R], Exclusive Autosport

.
Row 2

P3 - Nolan Siegel [R], DEForce Racing

.
P4 - Reece Gold, Juncos Hollinger Racing

.
Row 3

P5 - Kiko Porto [R], DEForce Racing

.
P6 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy [R], Pabst Racing

.
Row 4

P7 - Braden Eves, Jay Howard Driver Development
P8 - Colin Kaminsky, Pabst Racing

Row 5

P9 - Enaam Ahmed, Juncos Hollinger Racing
P10 - Jonathan Browne [R], Turn 3 Motorsports

Row 6

P11 - Jordan Missig [R], Pabst Racing
P12 - Wyatt Brichacek, Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 7

P13 - Josh Green [R], Turn 3 Motorsports
P14 - Salvador de Alba [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 8

P15 - Lindsay Brewer [R], Exclusive Autosport
P16 - Charles Finelli, FatBoy Racing!

.
.
.
This race is scheduled to run right after USF2000 Race 2, in the early morning on Saturday.

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Saturday morning at Indianapolis - USF2000 holds Race 2 of the weekend…

.
…and we were treated to another great one, as newbie Alex Quinn for Velocity Racing Development takes his 2nd WIN in two races, from his P2 start. Coming in P2 was Billy Frazer for Exclusive Autosport from a P10 start while P3 went to Myles Rowe for Pabst Racing from his P7 start.

.

.

.
.
Jagger Jones for Cape Motorsports took the field down to Turn 1 from pole and in the turn P3 starter Michael d’Orlando for Cape Motorsports passed Alex for P2, Myles passed Bijoy Garg for DEForce to take P6 and Billy jumped from P10 past Simon Sikes for Legacy Autosport and Joey Brienza for Exclusive to take P8. On lap 2 Myles jumped past Thomas Nepveu for DEForce to grab P4 while Billy took P6 from Jace Denmark for Pabst Racing. Simon took over P8 from Bijoy. At the end of the lap Yeoroo Lee for Jay Howard spun in Turn 14 and brought out a caution to retrieve him.

On the lap 6 restart Michael jumped on Jagger in Turn 1 and took the lead. Thomas Nepveu made a feint at Myles and Alex but overcooked it and spun off, dropping from P5 to P22. Christian Weir for Turn 3 Motorsports passed Simon to take P8. On lap 8 something mechanical happened to Weir and he was in the pits. Spike Kohlbecker for Turn 3 Motorsports passed Simon to take over P8. On lap 11 Billy took Myles for P4 in Turn 1. The TOP FIVE were virtually nose to tail.

On lap 13 Jagger drafted Michael up the front straight but was unable to slow enough for Turn 1 and punted his teammate in the rear, spinning him. That allowed Alex to slip past both to take the lead, with Myles and Billy in tow. D’Orlando was able to rejoin in P7 but Jagger was wounded and made his way to the pits. On lap 14 Billy finally took Myles for P2. A lap later Alex scored his 2nd WIN of the weekend, some 3.4 seconds ahead of Billy who was only 0.30 seconds ahead of Myles at the line.

A thriller all the way!

.
.
.
Notable:

• While the race WIN was a bit of a gift to Quinn he did set himself up to take advantage of any mistake by Jagger Jones and/or Michael d’Orlando and that’s great racecraft.

• Billy Frazer has really turned it on, this season and the P2 from P10 after his P3 yesterday puts him in 1st place in the points while Myles Rowe settles back into 2nd place with yet another podium.

• Michael d’Orlando was able to salvage a P5 finish but there will be some harsh words in the Cape Motorsports trailer for the mistake by Jagger that cost the team two podiums and a possible WIN.

.
.
.
Your happy podium - That’s Billy Frazer in P2 on the left, Alex Quinn in P1 in the middle and Myles Rowe in P3 on the right:

.
.
.
The series will hold Race 3 later today, after the grid is set by the times from this race and the qually session. Next up, Indy Pro 2000 goes for Race 2. The grid for this is in post # 19…

.
.
.
M