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Saturday at Mid-Ohio - The Indy Lights hold Race 1 of the weekend…

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…and taking his 5th WIN in 2021 was Kyle Kirkwood for Andretti Autosport from pole. P2 went to teammate Danial Frost from his P3 start while P3 went to P2 starter David Malukas for HMD Motorsports.

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KirkwoodWIN

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On the opening lap Kirkwood got away cleanly with David Malukas in tow. On the run up towards the Keyhole Sting Ray Robb for Juncos Racing put a wheel off course and dropped from P7 to P10, while teammate Toby Sowery improved from P9 to P7, Rob Megennis for Andretti Autosport took P8 and Alex Peroni for Carlin took P9. On lap 3 David set Fastest Lap as he chased down Kirkwood. On lap 5 Christian Bogle for Carlin got around Sting Ray to take P10 while up front Kirkwood reset Fastest Lap.

On lap 6 Malukas again took Fastest Lap but by lap 9 Kirkwood set what was the ultimate Fastest Lap and the series point that goes with it. On lap 17 Malukas charged Kirkwood going into Turn 9 but slipped off the track at speed. He was able to gather it up and keep it off the wall, rejoining down the track, but by then Danial Frost had passed him for the P2 spot. On lap 26 Toby Sowery was able to pass Benjamin Pedersen for Global Racing Group w/ HMD Motorsports in Turn 4 and secured P6. This was the last pass of the race, as the field stretched out.

Kirkwood sailed to the WIN on lap 35 with an 8.374-second lead over Frost, who was 12 seconds ahead of David Malukas.

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Notable:

  • This is Kyle’s 26 WIN in his Road to Indy career - the most of any driver, ever. He earned maximum points - 30 for the WIN, and 1 each for Fastest Lap, pole and most laps led.

  • Going into the race Malukas held an 8-point lead over Kirkwood and Linus Lundqvist for GRG w/ HMD Motorsports. Kirkwood now leads the series by 2 points over David and 13 points over Lundqvist, who started and ended the day in P4. Race 2 will mean a lot, with the points this tight.

  • Danial Frost will start from pole on Sunday, with Kirkwood beside him and Lundqvist and Malukas in Row 2.

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Your happy podium - That’s Danial Frost in P2 on the left, Kyle Kirkwood in P1 in the middle and David Malukas in P3 on the right:

ILPodiumRace1.2

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The Indy Lights will hold Race 2 in the mid-morning on Sunday, right before the IndyCar race. This was the last on-track activity of the day. On Sunday, we will start the day with USF2000, Race 3…

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Sunday morning at Mid-Ohio - The grid for USF2000 Race 3…

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With a triple-header weekend, the Road to Indy uses either the the driver’s 2nd best qualifying lap or their fastest Race 2 lap to grid Race 3.

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Here is the way USF2000 will grid for Season Round 13: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Kiko Porto, DEForce Racing
KikoPortoDEForceRacing300-

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P2 - Michael d’Orlando, Cape Motorsports
MichaelD'Orlando150-2

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Row 2

P3 - Nolan Siegel, DEForce Racing
NolanSiegel150-7

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P4 - Simon Sikes, Legacy Autosport
SimonSikes150-4

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Row 3

P5 - Jackson Lee [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
JacksonLee150-1

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P6 - Peter Vodanovich [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
PeterVodanovich150-1

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Row 4

P7 - Thomas Nepveu [R], Cape Motorsports
P8 - Billy Frazer [R], Exclusive Autosport

Row 5

P9 - Jace Denmark [R], Pabst Racing
P10 - Matt Round-Garrido, Exclusive Autosport

Row 6

P11 - Josh Green, Turn 3 Motorsports
P12 - Spike Kohlbecker [R], Ignite Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports

Row 7

P13 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy, Pabst Racing
P14 - Dylan Christie [R], Turn 3 Motorsports

Row 8

P15 - Prescott Campbell, DEForce Racing
P16 - Christian Brooks, Exclusive Autosport

Row 9

P17 - Myles Rowe [R], Force Indy
P18 - Josh Pierson, Pabst Racing

Row 10

P19 - Erik Evans [R], Velocity Racing Development
P20 - Bijoy Garg, Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 11

P21 - Evan Stamer [R], Ignite Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports
P22 - Michael Myers, Michael Myers Racing

Row 12

P23 - Trey Burke [R], Joe Dooling Autosports
P24 - Kent Vaccaro [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports

Row 13

P25 - Christian Weir [R], Turn 3 Motorsports
P26 - Elysiah Navarro [R], DEForce Racing

Row 14

P27 - Chase Hyland [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
P28 - Nathan Byrd [R], Legacy Autosport

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Kiko Porto - on the pole
KikoPorto300-4

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Next up, the race for this grid…

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Sunday morning at Mid-Ohio - USF2000 closes out the weekend…

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…with a wild one, as Race 3 saw all sorts of passing, spinning and movement. At the end of it the WINNER was Michael d’Orlando for Cape Motorsports from his P2 start. P2 went to Simon Sikes for Legacy Autosport from a P4 start, while Yuven Sundaramoorthy for Pabst Racing was one of the biggest movers in the race, going from a P13 start to finish P3.

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Michael2ndWIN

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As Kiko Porto for DEForce led the field from pole up the long run to the Keyhole, Dylan Christie for Turn 3 Motorsports got punted from behind, spun, and collected Myles Rowe for Force Indy, as both went off and brought out the first Caution. In the scrum Nolan Siegel for DEForce dropped from P3 to P6, Jackson Lee for JHDD dropped from P5 to P9 and Evan Stamer for Ignite Autosport went off course in Turn 4, but Matt Round-Garrido for Exclusive Autosport moved up from P10 to P4 and Yuven moved from P13 to P11.

On the lap 4 restart d’Orlando pounced on Kiko and the two car ran beside each other for half a lap before Michael made the pass for the lead stick. On lap 5 Yuven was up to P9, past Christian Brooks for Exclusive Autosport, while Billy Frazer for Exclusive made contact with Nolan Siegel, sending him off course to get back on in P25. Frazer would pull a drive-through penaly. Trey Burke for Joe Dooling Autosports went off in Turn 4 trying to avoid Siegel and Frazer, bringing out another Caution.

On the lap 10 restart Simon passed Kiko for the P2 spot in Turn 1. On lap 11 Yuven was past Brooks for P7 but then Prescott Campbell for DEForce was off in Turn 4 and yet another Caution flew. On lap 14 the restart saw Matt Round-Garrido take P3 from Kiko while Yuven made P6 off Peter Vodanovich for JHDD. On lap 15 Jace Denmark for Pabst Racing passed Kiko for P4 and Yuven followed him through to P5. On Lap 19 Yuven went after Jace and passed him for P4, with Kiko and Christian Brooks following through. On the final lap Yuven nipped Matt Round-Garrido for the P3 spot, as d’Orlando took the checkers about 1 second ahead of Simon Sikes, who was about 2 seconds ahead of Yuven at the line.

A great race with tons of passing throughout the field.

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Notable:

  • With this 2nd WIN of the weekend Michael d’Orlando closes in on Kiko Porto for the points lead.

  • This is Simon Sikes’ 4th podium in the row. The Team USA Scholarship WINNER only needs a WIN to cement his place in the back half of the season.

  • A poor qualifying effort had Yuven Sundaramoorthy fighting for position all weekend. With a P10 in Race 1 and a P14 in Race 2, Yuven needed to have a great Race 3 and he did, helping him maintain 3rd in the series points. Yuven is a passing machine, but he shouldn’t need to pass this much.

  • Making as many passes in the race as Yuven was Christian Brooks for Exclusive Autosport, going from P16 to P6 at the end. Josh Pierson for Pabst Racing made 7 passes, from P18 to P11. Both are title contender who like Yuven, had bad quallifying that hurt them this weekend, but they did all they could on track to correct that.

  • Despite all the full-course cautions, only two cars did not finish the race. Most of the movement in it was made by aggresive passing. The kids love to race hard and they are a blast to watch.

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Your happy podium - That’s Simon Sikes in P2 on the left, Michael d’Orlando in P1 in the middle and Yuven Sundaramoorthy in P3 on the right.

USF2000Race3 Podium

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With these results, here are the TOP FIVE in points, leaving Mid-Ohio:

1 - Kiko Porto, 297
2 - Michael d’Orlando, 278
3 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy, 243
4 - Josh Pierson, 224
5 - Christian Brooks, 220

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Next up for USF2000 will be a 7 week rest, followed by another triple-header at New Jersey, August 27-29. Next, Indy Pro 2000 closes out their weekend with Race 2. The grid for that is in post # 11…

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Sunday morning at Mid-Ohio - Indy Pro 2000 closes the weekend with Race 2…

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…and WINNING from pole was Hunter McElrea for Pabst Racing. Artem Petrov for Exclusive Autosport took another P2 for the weekend from his P2 start, while Kyffin Simpson for Juncos racing pulled in P3 from a P5 start.

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HunterWINRace2

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As Hunter led the field away Kyffin Simpson got the jump on first teammate Reece Gold and then on points-leader Christian Rasmussen for Jay Howard Driver Development, and took P4 and P3 away from them, respectively. Braden Eves for Exclusive Autosport passed Manuel Sulaiman for Juncos Racing for the P7 spot. On lap 2 Reece was also past Rasmussen to take over P4 in Turn 4 while Manuel Sulaiman reclaimed P7 from Braden.

On lap 4 Jack William Miller for Miller Vinatieri relegated Braden to P9. One lap later Jacob Abel for Abel Motorsports set Fastest Lap from the P6 spot, trying to capture Rasmussen. By lap 6 the field had stretched out, with a series of Fastest Laps laid down to stretch and close positions. Kyffin had it in Lap 8, then Hunter claimed it in Lap 9. Jack took it in lap 12 and Hunter reclaimed it in lap15. Everyone was fast, but the only real battle developed between Reece, Raz and Jacob, all trying for P4.

On lap 22 Kyffin set the ultimate Fastest Lap. As the race winded down the front closed up quite a lot but Hunter still passed the checkered flag 0.74 seconds ahead of Artem who was 0.43 seconds ahead of Kyffin.

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Notable:

  • This was Hunter’s 4th podium and 2nd WIN of the 2021 season. It was Kyffin Simpson’s 3rd podium of the season and Artem Petrov’s 6th podium of the season, with a WIN at the Indianapolis GP.

  • After 7 season races, Pabst Racing lost Colin Kaminsky as a 2nd car to bounce data off and that makes Pabst effectively a one-car team in IP2K. That hurts McElrea’s efforts, so this is especially gratifying.

  • Despite the P5 finish, points-leader Christian Rasmussen wasn’t hurt too much, as closest points rival Braden Eves finished in P9, opening the gap between them in the title chase.

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Your happy podium - That’s Artem Petrov in P2 on the left, HunterMcElrea in P1 in the middle and Kyffin Simpson in P3 on the right:

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IP2KRace2Podium

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With these results, here are the TOP FIVE in points leaving Mid-Ohio:

1 - Christian Rasmussen, 306
2 - Braden Eves, 267
3 - Reece Gold, 254
4 - Artem Petrov, 250
5 - Hunter McElrea, 231

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Next up for Indy Pro 2000 will be a bit of a rest and then World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, August 19-21, in support of the IndyCars. Next, Indy Lights closes out the weekend with Race 2. The grid for that is in post # 13…

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Sunday morning at Mid-Ohio - The Indy Lights close their weekend with Race 2…

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…and Kyle Kirkwood for Andretti Autosport makes racing history, taking his 11th WIN in 11 starts at Mid-Ohio, this time from P2. Teammate Danial Frost took P2 from pole while David Malukas for HMD Motorsports comes in P3 from his P4 start.

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KyleWIN2

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Danial led the field for the first lap but on lap 2 Kyle used his Push-to-Pass to take P1 in Turn 4 while Benjamin Pedersen for Global Racing Group w/ HMD Motosports took P6 from Rob Megennis for Andretti Autosport. On lap 3 Kyle set the Fastest Lap in an effort to escape Danial’s own Push-to-Pass in retort. On lap 4 Toby Sowery for Juncos Racing was past Rob to take over P7 in Turn 4.

On lap 5 Danial set his own Fastest Lap trying to reclaim P1 but Kirkwood replied with another reset of Fastest Lap on lap 6. Ramping up the speeds even higher, Danial AGAIN set Fastest Lap in Lap 8. On lap 10 Christian Bogle for Carlin went off in Turn 1 and was unable to rejoin, setting off a Full-Course Caution. On the Lap 13 restart David Malukas took P3 from quasi-teammate Linus Lundqvist. Soon, Kirkwood had put a sufficient gap between himself and Frost to be safe from Push-to-Pass overtakes.

At that point in the race the field stretched out and circulated without anymore passes, though Malukas slowly closed on Frost. He ran out of laps to complete a pass, however. Kirkwood finished the race 4.11 seconds ahead of Danial who was 0.64 seconds ahead of David at the line.

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Notable:

  • 9 of Kirkwood’s 11 WINS at Mid-Ohio are from F4 United States, F3 Americas, USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000 - all series he was Champion in - and now, 2 more in Indy Lights. With this sweep weekend he takes over the lead in points and is now in line to become the first driver to be Champion in all five major Junior Formula series in North America, including all three Road to Indy series. The guy is a monster!

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Your happy podium - That’s Danial Frost on the left in P2, Kyle Kirkwood in P1 in the middle and David Malukas in P3 on the right.

ILRace2Podium

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With these results, here are the TOP FIVE in points leaving Mid-Ohio:

1 - Kyle Kirkwood, 290
2 - David Malukas, 279
3 - Linus Lundqvist, 265
4 - Danial Frost, 204
5 - Toby Sowery, 201

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The next outing for the Indy Lights will be at World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway, August 19-21, in support of the IndyCars. Until then, they take a much-needed break. Up next, the IndyCars race. The grid for that is in post # 16…

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Sunday at Mid-Ohio - The IndyCar race…

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What a fitting tribute to Roger Penske’s 50th anniversary of his team’s first WIN in motorsports it was today as Josef Newgarden for Team Penske finally breaks through for the first WIN in 2021, from pole. Coming in P2 from his P3 start was Chip Ganassi’s Marcus Ericsson while P3 went to Chip Ganassi’s Alex Palou, from P7.

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NewgyWIN

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The race started out wild, with two cautions very close together. The first involving Ryan Hunter-Reay and James Hinchcliffe for Andretti Autosport, Arrow McLaren SP’s Felix Rosenqvist and Dale Coyne’s Romain Grosjean. All would eventually rejoin the racing, though Ryan and Felix were two laps down.

For the second caution Scott Dixon for Chip Ganassi and Will Power for Team Penske battled for position with Power getting squeezed into a spin. He dramatically spun up his tires trying to get turned around, creating a cloud of smoke that Ed Jones could not see through and the Dale Coyne drive ran into Power, taking both cars out of the race.

For the rest of the race it was a matter of the ebb and flow of luck and strategies, with Newgarden’s closest race rival Colton Herta for Andretti getting the worst of the luck, with two bad pit stops in a row. All the while, Newgarden controlled the race and his gap back to any pursuer. He was only out of the lead in pit stop cycles and was usually about 6 seconds in front. Late in the race, Ericcson was clearly gaining on him, but the Swede ran out of time to make anything happen, and Newgy took the checkers with a 0.879-second gap.

Other drivers were heroic. In a place that in known to be difficult to pass in Pato O’Ward for Arrow McLaren went from P20 to P8, Santino Ferrucci for Rahal Letterman Lanigan went from P22 to P9, Takuma Sato, also for RLL, from P19 to P10 and Romain Grosjean went from P18 to P7 - and none got there by the trick of an ill-timed full-course caution.

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Notable:

  • Newgarden earned his 19th career victory on the same weekend that Team Penske is celebrating the 50th anniversary of its first IndyCar series WIN, by Mark Donohue on July 3, 1971 at Pocono Raceway.

  • Ericsson earned his seventh TOP TEN finish of the season and it jumped him 3 positions in the points battle.

  • Mr. Mid-Ohio, Scott Dixon, had an unremarkable day, starting 5th and finishing 4th. He said the car was loose all day long and he just got the best out of it he could. He maintains 3rd in the points.

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Here are the race highlights:

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Your happy podium - That’s Marcus Ericsson on the left in P2, Josef Newgarden in the middle in P1 and Alex Palou in P3 on the right:

IndyCar podium2

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With this result, here are the TOP FIVE in points, leaving Mid-Ohio:

1 - Alex Palou, 384
2 - Pato O’Ward, 345
3 - Scott Dixon, 328
4 - Josef Newgarden, 315
5 - Marcus Ericsson, 280

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The next IndyCar race is the inaugural Big Machine Music City Grand Prix on Sunday, August 8 on the streets of Nashville, Tennessee. Between now and then, broadcast partner NBC will be very busy with the Tokyo Summer Olympics.

Next up, the Stadium Super Trucks close out the Mid-Ohio race weekend with Race 2…

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Sunday afternoon - The Stadium Super Trucks close out the race weekend…

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…with their Race 2, which we have here. But first, here is the podium from Race 1, with Jerett Brooks in P2 on the left, Matthew Brabham in P1 in the middle and Aaron Bambach in P3 on the right:

SSTRace1Podium

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Here is the reverse grid for Race 2:

1 - Bill Hynes
2 - Max Gordon
3 - Jett Noland
4 - Robert Stout
5 - Aaron Bambach
6 - Robby Gordon
7 - Jerett Brooks
8 - Matthew Brabham
9 - Bo LeMastus

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…And here is Race 2:

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The next scheduled outing for the Stadium Super Trucks in the USA is still “TBA” but they are schedule to support the IndyCars at the season closer at Long Beach, in September. They head to Reid Park Street Circuit, Townsville, Queensland, Australia on July 9th to support the Supercars.

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.That’s it for the Mid-Ohio weekend. Happy 4th of July!!!

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