IndyCars - Mid-Ohio: They're gettin' it done....TWICE!

[MarkyS]

+++

.
The IndyCar series wanted to return to one of their favorite venues, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. For safety’s sake, they had to put it off, but now it’s back on - and even better…they are doing it twice! - a double-header weekend, as they do …

The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio

.

.
.
.
The iconic road course is a fan favorite, so IndyCar decided to wait until the fans could actually attend, and they will be there, this weekend. Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course has been in existence near Lexington and Mansfield, Ohio since 1962, holding races in all kinds of disciplines, from SportsCars to TransAm cars to Motorcycles to NASCAR Xfinity cars to IndyCars. The rolling and hilly track boasts all sorts of corner types in its 13-turn, 2.258 mile circuit, including a carousel and a keyhole turn, as well as a series of esses.

.

.
.
Known as one of the best tracks for campers, Mid-Ohio pulls in big numbers in normal times and they hope to come close to or match the crowds that came to Road America earlier this year. Those who do come will not only be treated to two 75-lap IndyCar races - one on Saturday and one on Sunday - but they will also get no less than 3 USF2000 and 2 Indy Pro 2000 supporting races also on Saturday and Sunday.

.
.
Let’s look at those support races…

.
.
.
(continued…)

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
The two Road to Indy series we will follow this weekend…USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000.

Both series have raced at Mid-Ohio earlier this year in late July, three races each, so this is another shot at the track for all.

.
USF2000 - This is the bottom rung of the ladder system that is the Road to Indy - USF2000 is the entry point to young drivers who typically come out of karting or out of F1600 wingless formula cars. The Tatuus USF-17 is a carbon-fiber chassis with the latest in safety and performance features. The cars have wings and slicks - sometimes the first cars as such for many drivers - and a good deal of downforce and grip. They are powered by a 180 hp Elite Engines MZR 4-cylinder. Gearboxes are 6-speed sequential, with paddle-shifters on the steering wheel. Brakes are ZR24 4-piston monobloc calipers at all four wheels, by Performance Friction Brakes.

The fields are often quite large and quite eclectic, with talent coming from all over the globe. Recently, the Road to Indy nearly DOUBLED the prize for WINNING the title, with that scholarship applied to the following year, driving a season in the next step up, Indy Pro 2000.

.
Christian Rasmussen

.

The current points leader in USF2000 is Denmark’s Christian Rasmussen for Jay Howard Driver Development, with 6 WINS in the first 6 races of the season, but Christian did not win any of the last three races, held at the Indianapolis road course. Those were first-time WINNERS Eduardo Barrichello for Pabst Racing and Reece Gold for Cape Motorsports. While Christian still holds a formidable points lead, at 244, Gold is now 2nd at 194 and Eduardo 3rd at 187. Most importantly, the “great Dane” has been shown to be beatable, after all.

.

.
.
.
Indy Pro 2000 - The next step up the ladder is more than USF2000 …More of everything, including power and grip. The chassis is essentially the same as the Tatuus USF-17 but it has more wing, more tire and more brakes and it is pushed by more power. In this iteration it becomes the Tatuus PM-18. The engine is also an Elite Engines MZR 2.0 liter but it develops a snapping 275 hp and delightfully sounds a whole lot more powerful. The Sadev gearbox is a similar 6-speed sequential unit with paddle-shifters. The brakes are a similar PFB design 4-pot calipers but slightly bigger disks. The tires are substantially bigger, with the fronts of the PM-18 the same as the rears of the USF-17 and the rears of the PM-18 much bigger than that.

The fields are typically smaller in size than USF2000 but the level of talent across the board is much higher. Most of the drivers in this series have already cut their teeth for years in other junior formula series and have great racecraft in their back pocket. The competition level is therefore higher. Almost anyone in this field is capable of podiums and most are capable of WINS.

.
Sting Ray Robb

.
The current points leader in Indy Pro 2000 is veteran Sting Ray Robb for powerhouse team Juncos Racing. Sting Ray WON his first ever victory in IP12K competition at Mid-Ohio in July. Last weekend he took all three races at Indianapolis, for WINS 2,3 and 4 for the year. That launched him into the points lead, with 256, over Canadian rookie Devlin DeFrancesco for Andretti Steinbrenner, with 240. Devlin had his own first WIN at Gateway but was leading the points more on the strength of his 5 podiums. Third in the points with 207 is Sting Ray’s Russian teammate Artem Petrov, with 5 of his own podiums, including 2 WINS.

.
.
.
Friday will be for the Road to Indy exclusively, with practice for both series followed by qualifying for Race 1 and Race 2 for each. Let’s get this thing GOING!!!

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Friday at Mid-Ohio - The Road to Indy come out for practice and qualifying…

.
First guys out on track today for their one and only practice were the kids from USF2000 and the TOP FIVE in practice were, in order of speed, Christian Brooks for Exclusive Autosport, Cameron Shields for DEForce Racing, Michael d’Orlando for Cape Motorsports, Nolan Siegel for Jay Howard Driver Development and Reece Gold for Cape Motorsports, but when it came time to qualify for Race 1 of the weekend, a familiar name flew to the top.

.
Here is the way USF2000 will grid for Season Round 10, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

.
Row 1

Pole - Christian Rasmussen, Jay Howard Driver Development - time of 01:21.2822s for a speed of 100.007mph

.
P2 - Reece Gold, Cape Motorsports - time of 01:21.3190s for a speed of 99.962mph

.
Row 2

P3 - Michael d’Orlando [R], Cape Motorsports - time of 01:21.6729s for a speed of 99.529mph

.
P4 - Josh Green [R], Cape Motorsports - time of 01:21.6911s for a speed of 99.507mph

.
Row 3

P5 - Cameron Shields, DEForce Racing - time of 01:21.7642s for a speed of 99.418mph

.
P6 - Nolan Siegel, Jay Howard Driver Development - time of 01:21.7793s for a speed of 99.399mph

.
Row 4

P7 - Matthew Round-Garrido, Pabst Racing
P8 - Kyle Dupell, Cape Motorsports

Row 5

P9 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy, Pabst Racing
P10 - Jack William Miller, Miller Vinatieri Motorsports

Row 6

P11 - Kiko Porto [R], DEForce Racing
P12 - Wyatt Brichacek [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 7

P13 - Christian Brooks [R], Exclusive Autosport
P14 - Simon Sikes [R], Legacy Autosport

Row 8

P15 - Christian Bogle, Jay Howard Driver Development
P16 - Josh Sarchet [R], DEForce Racing

Row 9

P17 - Max Kaeser [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports
P18 - Prescott Campbell [R], Exclusive Autosport

Row 10

P19 - Josh Pierson [R], Exclusive Autosport
P20 - Michael Myers [R], Legacy Autosport

Row 11

P21 - Eduardo Barrichello [R], Pabst Racing

.
.
.
Notable:

• It’s no surprise that Rasmussen is on the pole. This is his 3rd Mid-Ohio pole in a row and sixth front row start here in a row. Christian owns the keys to Mid-Ohio. He’ll be hard to stop.

• It’s also no surprise that Cape Motorsports holds the next three positions, with Reece Gold on the front row. All three of these guys are having a terrific mid-season.

• It is a surprise to see Cameron Shields In P5. We know the Toowoomba, Australia native is a great talent, but he hasn’t been able to show it for a long time. He recently switched teams and is now driving for DEForce Racing and since that change he has blossomed to the Cam Shields who WON 18 races in Australia in 2018.

• On the final lap, the # 41 Miller Vinatieri Motorsports car of Max Kaeser ended up in the tires at Turn 6. The 17-year-old was able to get out of the car under his own power but the car was heavily damaged.

• Recent two-time race WINNER Eduardo Barrichello sat out most of the qually in the pits with a mechanical and was way off the pace for the two laps he ran.

.
On the pole, Christian Rasmussen

.
.
.
Next up, Indy Pro 2000 come out for practice and qualifying…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Friday at Mid-Ohio - Indy Pro 2000 comes out for practice and qualifying…

.
Following the kids from USF2000 the IP2K gang had their one and only practice of the weekend and the TOP FIVE in practice were, in order of speed, Manuel Sulaiman for DEForce Racing, Parker Thompson for DEForce Racing, Hunter McElrea for Pabst Racing, Danial Frost for Turn 3 Motorsports and Kory Enders for DEForce Racing. That’s three of four DEForce drivers leading the charge. Then, in qualifying, DEForce was evident in the TOP SIX again, but not on pole.
.
Here is the way Indy Pro 2000 will grid for Season Round 11, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

.

Row 1

Pole - Danial Frost, Turn 3 Motorsports - time of 01:16.214s for a speed of 106.658mph

.
P2 - Parker Thompson, DEForce Racing - time of 01:16.255s for a speed of 106.600mph

.
Row 2

P3 - Manuel Sulaiman [R], DEForce Racing - time of 01:16.269s for a speed of 106.580mph

.
P4 - Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Racing - time of 01:16.375s for a speed of 106.433mph

.
Row 3

P5 - Hunter McElrea [R], Pabst Racing - time of 01:16.466s for a speed of 106.306mph

.
P6 - Artem Petrov [R], Juncos Racing - time of 01:16.720s for a speed of 105.954mph

.
Row 4

P7 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner Racing
P8 - Kory Enders, DEForce Racing

Row 5

P9 - Moises de la Vara, DEForce Racing
P10 - Colin Kaminsky [R], Pabst Racing

Row 6

P11 - Antoine Comeau, Turn 3 Motorsport
P12 - Jacob Abel [R], Abel Motorsports

Row 7

P13 - Bob Kaminsky, Pabst Racing
P14 - Charles Finelli, FatBoy Racing!

.
.
.
Notable:

• Danial Frost takes pole from the DEForce guys by the slimmest of margins, as he was only 0.0415 seconds faster that Parker and 0.0557 seconds faster than Manuel. This is Danial’s FIRST pole of the season.

• This is also team leader Peter Dempsey’s first pole for Turn 3 Motorsports, which is showing none of the signs of trepidation of a rookie team.

• Points leader Sting Ray Robb and 3rd in the points Artem Petrov make P4 and P6, respectively - another good day for Juncos Racing. Sting Ray’s nearest adversary, Devlin DeFrancesco, is not too far away at P7.

• The top seven drivers were all within a half-second, while the top 11 were all within one second of Frost.

• With just over five minutes remaining in the session, Colin Kaminsky for Pabst Racing brought out a red flag by nosing his # 19 into the tire barriers at Turn 1. The AMR Safety Team was able to pull the car out and Colin was able to drive back to the pits with damage to the front wing.

.
Danial Frost - on the pole for Race 1

.
.
Next up, USF2000 go for qually in Race 2…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Friday afternoon at Mid-Ohio - USF2000 qualify for Race 2…

.
Following a break for lunch, the kids were out again to qualify for the 2nd of three races they will run this weekend and on the pole was the recent race WINNER in Indianapolis and 2nd in the points 16-year-old Reece Gold for Cape Motorsports.

.
Here is the way USF2000 will grid for Season Round 11, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

.
Row 1

Pole - Reece Gold, Cape Motorsports - time of 01:21.2342s for a speed of 100.066mph

.
P2 - Eduardo Barrichello [R], Pabst Racing - time of 01:21.5003s for a speed of 99.740mph

.
Row 2

P3 - Cameron Shields, DEForce Racing - time of 01:21.5212s for a speed of 99.714mph

.
P4 - Christian Brooks [R], Exclusive Autosport - time of 01:21.5681s for a speed of 99.657mph

.
Row 3

P5 - Nolan Siegel, Jay Howard Driver Development - time of 01:21.6625s for a speed of 99.541mph

.
P6 - Christian Rasmussen, Jay Howard Driver Development - time of 01:21.7103s for a speed of 99.483mph

.
Row 4

P7 - Josh Green [R], Cape Motorsports
P8 - Kiko Porto [R], DEForce Racing

Row 5

P9 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy, Pabst Racing
P10 - Matthew Round-Garrido, Pabst Racing

Row 6

P11 - Jack William Miller, Miller Vinatieri Motorsports
P12 - Kyle Dupell, Cape Motorsports

Row 7

P13 - Josh Pierson [R], Exclusive Autosport
P14 - Wyatt Brichacek [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 8

P15 - Michael d’Orlando [R], Cape Motorsports
P16 - Christian Bogle, Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 9

P17 - Simon Sikes [R], Legacy Autosport
P18 - Prescott Campbell [R], Exclusive Autosport

Row 10

P19 - Josh Sarchet [R], DEForce Racing
P20 - Michael Myers [R], Legacy Autosport

Row 11

P21 - Max Kaeser [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports

.
.
.
Notable:

• Reece Gold has started P2 in 6 of the last 8 USF2000 races, but this is his first pole.

• Eduardo Barrichello, WINNER of two races at Indianapolis, recovered from a mechanical issue in the first qualifying session and will start Race 2 from P2 - much more like what “Dudu” is capable of.

• This was another great showing by Cam Shields. Whatever the DEForce guys are giving him, it’s working.

• Christian Brooks was fastest in practice but then fell on his face in the Race 1 qually session. This is a lot more like what we expected from the Santa Clarita native.

• The top six drivers were within a half-second of Reece, with the top 14 covered by a second.

• Christian Rasmussen was beat out by his much younger teammate Nolan Siegel, but barely. Nolan is a sophomore who has improved greatly in his short career and no one works harder at improving. It’s paying off.

• The red flag came out for an incident involving Cape Motorsports’ Michael d’Orlando. His # 4 ended up in the tire barriers in Turn 6 with heavy damage. The 18-year-old was able to climb from his car under his own power and later cleared to drive, but they will scramble to get his wagon ready to run.

• After his Race 1 qually session shunt, Max Kaeser’s car was unable to make this session, and he put in no time.

.
Pole-sitter Reece Gold - first of many?

.
.
.
Next up is another qualifying session for Indy Pro 2000…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Friday afternoon at Mid-Ohio - Indy Pro 2000 closes the day…

.
…with their own 2nd qualifying session, this one for their Sunday race, and DEForce Racing’s Manuel Sulaiman grabbed pole for the 3rd time this season.

.
Here is the way Indy Pro 2000 will grid for Season Round 12, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

.
Row 1

Pole - Manuel Sulaiman [R], DEForce Racing - time of 1:16.063s for a speed of 106.869mph

.
P2 - Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Racing - time of 1:16.092s for a speed of 106.829mph

.
Row 2

P3 - Hunter McElrea [R], Pabst Racing - time of 1:16.311s for a speed of 106.522mph

.
P4 - Parker Thompson, DEForce Racing - time of 1:16.540s for a speed of 106.203mph

.
Row 3

P5 - Danial Frost, Turn 3 Motorsports - time of 1:16.715s for a speed of 105.961mph

.
P6 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner Racing - time of 1:16.774s for a speed of 105.879mph

.
Row 4

P7 - Colin Kaminsky [R], Pabst Racing
P8 - Moises de la Vara, DEForce Racing

Row 5

P9 - Kory Enders, DEForce Racing
P10 - Antoine Comeau, Turn 3 Motorsport

Row 6

P11 - Artem Petrov [R], Juncos Racing
P12 - Bob Kaminsky, Pabst Racing

Row 7

P13 - Jacob Abel [R], Abel Motorsports
P14 - Charles Finelli, FatBoy Racing!

.
.
.
Notable:

• Manuel beat out Sting Ray by a mere 0.0291 seconds. The pair traded the TOP SPOT twice during the session.

• The top nine times were within one second of Sulaiman’s pole-winning time.

• Eight minutes into the session, the red flag came out for Artem Petrov, who made contact with the barriers in Turn 10 and came to a stop on the edge of the track. The red flag penalty cost Artem his fastest lap, which explains his unusual P11.

• Jacob Abel for Abel Motorsports and Charles Finelli for Fatboy Racing! both had mechanicals during qualifying and will start together on the last row.

.
Manuel Sulaiman - pole!

.
.
.
This was the last on-track activity of the day. The first race of the day on Saturday will be USF2000 Race 1. The grid for that is in post # 3.

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Saturday morning at Mid-Ohio - USF2000 has another first-time race WINNER…

.
The series has produced the 3rd first time WINNER this year, as Michael d’Orlando for Cape Motorsports pulls in P1 in the first of three USF2000 races this weekend, from his P3 start. P2 went to teammate Reece Gold, who collected his own first WIN at the last event in Indianapolis. P3 went to Nolan Siegel for Jay Howard Driver Development.

.

.
.
.
The field, led by points-leader Christian Rasmussen for Jay Howard Driver Development, got through the first seven corners cleanly, but then a number of things happened quickly. First, Christian, trying to get heat in his tires, slid off course in Turn 11, ceding the lead to Micheal d’Or’ando, who had just passed Reece Gold from P3. Kyle Dupell for Cape Motorsports and Jack William Miller for Miller Vinatieri who started P8 and P10, made contact in Turn 8. Dupell ended up nosed into the tires, bringing out a full-course caution to get him back on track. Rasmussen was able to get back to the pits on his own to replace his front wing, but he was now P19 when he rejoined.

In that first lap Christian Brooks for Exclusive Autosport had moved from his P13 start to P6. The race restarted on Lap 4. By lap 8 Brooks was past Matt Round-Garrido for Pabst Racing and putting pressure on fellow rookie Josh Green for Cape Motorpsorts. He took P4 from him in Turn 4. Further back in the field, Cameron Shields for DEForce Racing was able to get past Round-Garrido for sixth. On lap 10 Dudu Barrichello for Pabst Racing, who started P21, had worked his way up to 12th spot, pressuring Wyatt Brichacek for JHDD for 11th. He was able to make that pass on Lap 11.

With 4 laps to go Christian Rasmussen set Fastest Lap in his effort to regain what he had lost. He was up to P15. With 3 laps to go Brooks was starting to pressure Siegel for the final spot on the podium. On thed same lap Prescott Campbell for Exclusive Autosport spun in Turn 5, ending up way into the China Beach sand trap. The green flag remained out and d’Orlando crossed the line 0.5 seconds ahead of Gold, as Kiko Porto for DEForce Racing stole Fastest Lap from Christian, denying him the one point.

.
.
.
Notable:

• The P2 is the 7th podium for the year for Reece Gold and his 4th straight podium at Mid-Ohio. With the mistake by points leader Christian Rasmussen, Gold is now only 33 points in arrears. That’s one race, if things fall right.

• Nolan Siegel’s P3 is the 2nd podium this season for the 16-year-old sophomore.

.
.
.
Your happy podium - That’s Reece Gold in P2 on the left, Michael d’Orlando in P1 in the middle and Nolan Siegel in P3 on the right:

.

.
.
.
Next, the IndyCars hold practice…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Saturday at Mid-Ohio - the IndyCars practice…

.
Following the USF2000 Race 1 the big cars came on track for their one and only practice before qualifying and racing, later today. After a number of disastrous weeks, Andretti Autosport put four of their cars in the TOP TEN, including the P1 spot

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

.
1 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:06.3034s for a speed of 122.600mph

.
2 - Will Power, Team Penske - time of 01:06.3952s for a speed of 122.431mph

.
3 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:06.4299s for a speed of 122.367mph

.
4 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:06.4407s for a speed of 122.347mph

.
5 - Santino Ferrucci, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser Sullivan - time of 01:06.5613s for a speed of 122.125mph

.
6 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
7 - Alex Palou [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ Team Goh
8 - Colton Herta, Andretti Harding Steinbrenner
9 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing
10 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta

11 - Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske
12 - Rinus VeeKay [R], Ed Carpenter Racing
13 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
14 - Felix Rosenqvist, Chip Ganassi Racing
15 - Max Chilton, Carlin
16 - Jack Harvey, Meyer Shank Racing
17 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan
18 - Zach Veach, Andretti Autosport
19 - Oliver Askew [R], Arrow McLaren SP
20 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing

21 - Charlie Kimball, AJ Foyt Enterprises
22 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP
23 - Dalton Kellett [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises

.
.
.
Notable:

• That was 7 Hondas in the TOP TEN

• Scott Dixon has 6 previous WINS here, including last year. Other past WINNERS in this field are Alexander Rossi, Graham Rahal, Josef Newgarden, Simon Pagenaud and Charlie Kimball, but all of them only have 1 WIN apiece. Dixon OWNS Mid-Ohio.

• Pato O’Ward lost the rear of his Chevrolet in Turn 11 and slammed his left rear into the tire wall. That killed his chance of getting much needed experience at this track in an IndyCar. This is his first race in the big cars, here.

• The top 17 drivers are covered by 1 second.

• Dale Coyne Racing is looking good with Santino Ferrucci in the TOP FIVE and Alex Palou the top rookie in P7.

.
Ryan Hunter-Reay

.
.
.
Next up is the Indy Pro 2000 Race 1, with the grid for this race in post # 4…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Saturday morning at Mid-Ohio - We have another first-time race WINNER…

.
…in the Road to Indy, as Mexican Manuel Sulaiman for DEForce Racing takes the P1 spot in the first of two Indy Pro 2000 races this weekend, after some terrible luck for his teammate. Coming in P2 was Singapore’s Danial Frost for Turn 3 Motorsports while P3 went to Hunter McElrea for Pabst Racing.

.

.
.
.
On the opening lap veteran Parker Thompson for DEForce Racing leapt from his P2 starting spot into the lead over Danial Frost in Turn 2 while Hunter McElrea went from a P5 start into P4 past points-leader Sting Ray Robb for Juncos Racing. Manuel Sulaiman held station in P3. Devlin DeFrancesco for Andretti Steinbrenner stole P6 from Artem Petrov for Juncos Racing. On lap 2 Artem made a stab to retake at the outside of DeFrancesco in the Keyhole but was unable to get the pass completed. However, DeFrancesco was given a penalty for blocking and told to give up the position. It didn’t matter, as on lap 10 Devlin’s car suffered a mechanical in the engine and he pulled off course in Turn 11, out of the race, and bringing out a caution.

The green flag came back out to start lap 8. Thompson got a significant jump on the field but Danial was quick to catch him. Further back in the field, Robb put pressure on McElrea, getting by the Pabst Racing rookie on Lap 9 to retake P4. Thompson’s lead to start lap 10 was less than half-a-second, with the top four covered by only 1.5 seconds. On lap 11, Sulaiman was able to go around the outside of Frost in Turn 4, grabbing the P2 spot. Then disaster for Thompson, as at the start of lap 12 his engine blew in Turn 1 and he had to pull off, out of contention and handing the lead to teammate Sulaiman, with Danial Frost now in P2 and Sting Ray Robb in P3.

The race had a final restart on lap 15 and for the next 6 laps all the leaders held station, nose to tail, but on the start of lap 21 Hunter once again took Sting Ray, this time for the P3 spot, in Turn 1. McElrea then went on to put in Fastest Lap on the final lap of the race.

.
.
.
Notable:

• Manuel is the 7th different WINNER this season, proving once again that the talent pool in this series is wide.

• With his closest competitor, Devlin DeFrancesco, having as DNF, Sting Ray Robb collected more points to lead the series.

.
.
.
Your happy podium - That’s Danial Frost in P2 on the ledft, Manuel Sulaiman in P1 in the middle and Hunter McElrea in P3 on the right:

.

.
.
.
Next up is USF2000 Race 2. The grid for that is in post # 5…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Saturday afternoon at Mid-Ohio - USF2000 holds their middle race…

.
…of the weekend and the WINNER was 2nd-in-points Reece Gold for Cape Motorsports from pole while P2 went to Dudu Barrichello for Pabst Racing. P3 went to an ever-emerging Cameron Shields for DEForce Racing.

.

.
.
.
The race started with points-leader Christian Rasmussen for Jay Howard Driver Development making a pass on teammate Nolan Siegel to go from P6 to P5. On the 2nd lap Rasmussen went after P4 starter Christian Brooks for Exclusive Autosport in Turn 4/5 at the Keyhole, with Brooks going off-course in defense, and catching a ton of air under his car. Rasmussen must have hit Brooks because his wheel was quickly losing air and he went off in Turn 5 with a puncture, out of the race, while Brooks fell to P7. The leaders held station in the starting order of Gold, Barrichello and Shields.

On lap 5 Brooks took Jack William Miller for Miller Vinatieri in Turn 4 for the P6 spot while Josh Green for Cape Motorsports passed Cam to take P3. One lap later Yuven Sundaramoorthy for Pabst Racing took over P9 from Christian Bogle for JHDD.

On lap 14 Kyle Dupell for Cape Motorsports Spun off in Turn 4, bringing out a caution when he got high-centered on the curbing, unable to move. On the restart on lap 18 Josh Green went off at China Beach while battling with Cam Shields who then re-inherited the P3 spot. Christian Brooks was able to get by Matt Round-Garrido for Pabst Racing to take over P4. For the remainder of the final two laps the leaders were virtually nose to tail but Gold was able to hang on, beating Barrichello to the line by 0.36 seconds.

.
.
.
Notable:

• Points have yet to be awarded but the DNF for Christian Rasmussen virtually erased whatever lead he had over Reece Gold. Christian came to Mid-Ohio with a remarkable 50 point lead…and it’s all gone in two bad races.

• Rasmussen did collect Fastest Lap, but Race 3 on Sunday will determine who is in the lead of the series, when that was considered a foregone conclusion only two days ago. Nevertheless, with his Fastest Lap in Race 2 Christian will get to start on pole for Race 3.

.
.
.
Your happy podium - That’s Eduardo Barrichello in P2 on the left, Reece Gold in P1 in the middle and Cameron Shields in P3 on the right:

.

.
.
.
Next, the IndyCars qualify for Race 1 of the weekend…

.
.
.
M

.
.
.

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Sasturday afternoon at Mid-Ohio - the IndyCars are qualified for Race 1…

.
The qualifying was simple: Half the cars went out and laid down their best laps. Then, the other half went out and did the same. The guy with the fastest lap of all is on pole and everyone else from his group line up in the odd numbered slots, in the order of speed. The 2nd fastest guy of all slots into the P2 spot and everyone from his group occupy the even numbered slots in the order of speed.

.
Here is the way the IndyCars will grid for Race 1, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

.
Row 1

Pole - Will Power, Team Penske - time of 01:06.3343s for a speed of 122.543mph

.
P2 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:06.7287s for a speed of 121.819mph

.
Row 2

P3 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske - time of 01:06.5508s for a speed of 122.144mph

.
P4 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing - time of 01:06.8761s for a speed of 121.550mph

.
Row 3

P5 - Jack Harvey, Meyer Shank Racing - time of 01:06.7690s for a speed of 121.745mph

.
P6 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:07.1856s for a speed of 120.99mph

.
Row 4

P7 - Felix Rosenqvist, Chip Ganassi Racing
P8 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Row 5

P9 - Rinus VeeKay [R], Ed Carpenter Racing
P10 - Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske

Row 6

P11 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta
P12 - Max Chilton, Carlin

Row 7

P13 - Colton Herta, Andretti Harding Steinbrenner
P14 - Santino Ferrucci, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser Sullivan

Row 8

P15 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP
P16 - Oliver Askew [R], Arrow McLaren SP

Row 9

P17 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing
P18 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Row 10

P19 - Zach Veach, Andretti Autosport
P20 - Alex Palou [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ Team Goh

Row 11

P21 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing
P22 - Charlie Kimball, AJ Foyt Enterprises

Row 12

P23 - Dalton Kellett [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises

.
.
.
Notable:

• This was Will Power’s 60th career pole in IndyCar

• Scott Dixon had no idea why his car wasn’t any good, compared to his practice pace, but it should be remembered that he has WON this race from dead last in the past.

Scott Dixon - not cooked yet

.
.
.
The race is schedule for broadcast on NBC-SN starting with pre-race coverage at 4:30 pm EASTERN time.

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Saturday afternoon at Mid-Ohio - Penske’s Pal Power Perfect from Pole to Post…

.
Forgive the alliteration, but today Team Penske’s Will Power had the perfect day that he so richly deserves, every now and then, and it’s been a LONG time since Will had one of those days. Of the three Team Penske drivers, only Power was without a WIN this season, though it wasn’t for lack of effort. Today, Will started the day with a great practice session (P2), followed by his SIXTIETH pole in qualifying, followed by a flawless race where the guy led every lap, except for in and out of the pits, and when it was done he crossed the line almost 8 seconds ahead of teammate Josef Newgarden who was also flawless, but just not as flawless as Power. P3 was Alexander Rossi for Andretti Autosport, who also had a relatively great day, considering his own hapless season to date.

.

.
.
.
Now, CLEARLY it was almost a forgone conclusion at the front - except for the late race threat of rain - but that is NOT to say there wasn’t a lot of great racing to watch…just not for the lead. In fact, the series kids made for a great race, as Rinus VeeKay for Ed Carpenter Racing, Pato O’Ward for Arrow McLaren SP, Colton Herta for Andretti Autosport, and even oldster Scott Dixon for Chip Ganassi Racing all thrilled us with impossible passes in impossible places, making the day well worth our attention.

Despite all his heroics - and he was often more heroic than Jason and the Argonauts - Scott Dixon was only able to go from his terrible P17 start to P10 at the end - mostly because the series super kids hounded him mercilessly, once he was among them. Respect, yes, but they gave him as good as they got in racing action…no quarter.

That was GREAT for Josef Newgarden, who was able to pass Ryan Hunter-Reay for Andretti Autosport at the start and never looked back, securing valuable points against the “Iceman”. Dixon will need to qualify much better on Sunday morning to put the fear of God back into the paddock. Today, he was great, but beatable.

.
.
.
Notable:

• Today not only produced Will Power’s 60th career pole, but the WIN was the 38th for the Aussie in IndyCar competition. It was also his first WIN at Mid-Ohio ever - one of the only IndyCar regular tracks that has previously eluded his talent. Will is super-stoked tonight, regardless of what tomorrow brings. It’s “Mission Accomplished.”

• The race was free of cautions and almost free of any mistakes by competitors.

• Graham Rahal hounded Alexander Rossi for several of the closing laps of the race, and it is clear that Rossi’s rear tires were ragged by the end, but Rahal could do no better than P4 against the cool Californian. The P4 helped to improve Rahal’s chances of getting into the TOP FIVE in series points by series end - his personal goal for 2020.

.
.
.
Your happy podium - That’s Josef Newgarden in P2 on the left, Will Power in P1 in the middle and Alexander Rossi in P3 on the right:

.

.
.
.
As Scarlett O’Hara wisely said, “Tomorrow is another day” and we will get first an Indy Pro 2000 race, followed by the Indycar qualifying for Race 2, followed by the final USF2000 race, followed by the 2nd round of IndyCars, to close the weekend. The grid for the first event - the IP2K race - is in post # 6.

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Saturday at Mid-Ohio - USF2000 is gridded for Race 3 of the weekend…

.
The grid for Season Round 12 of the USF2000 series was produced by the race results for Race 2, today. Sunday’s Race 3 of the weekend will be gridded based on lap times from Race 2 - That is to say, each driver’s best lap from Race 2 will place him on the Race 3 grid, based on speed.

That’s great for Christian Rasmussen for Jay Howard Driver Development, because even though he had a terrible Race 2 he also produced the race’s Fastest Lap, and that puts him on the pole for Race 3.

.
Here is the way USF2000 will grid for Season Round 12, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie; times are fastest lap of each driver from Race 2

.
Row 1

Pole - Christian Rasmussen, Jay Howard Driver Development - time of 01:21.5219s

.
P2 - Simon Sikes [R], Legacy Autosport - time of 01:21.9515s

.
Row 2

P3 - Eduardo Barrichello [R], Pabst Racing - time of 01:21.9786s

.
P4 - Josh Green [R], Cape Motorsports - time of 01:22.0365s

.
Row 3

P5 - Cameron Shields, DEForce Racing - time of 01:22.0485s

.
P6 - Reece Gold, Cape Motorsports - time of 01:22.0551s

.
Row 4

P7 - Michael d’Orlando [R], Cape Motorsports
P8 - Matthew Round-Garrido, Pabst Racing

Row 5

P9 - Jack William Miller, Miller Vinatieri Motorsports
P10 - Nolan Siegel, Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 6

P11 - Christian Brooks [R], Exclusive Autosport
P12 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy, Pabst Racing

Row 7

P13 - Kiko Porto [R], DEForce Racing
P14 - Kyle Dupell, Cape Motorsports

Row 8

P15 - Prescott Campbell [R], Exclusive Autosport
P16 - Christian Bogle, Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 9

P17 - Wyatt Brichacek [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
P18 - Josh Sarchet [R], DEForce Racing

Row 10

P19 - Michael Myers [R], Legacy Autosport
P20 - Josh Pierson [R], Exclusive Autosport

Row 11

P21 - Max Kaeser [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports

.
.
.
Notable:

• Christian came to Mid-Ohio with a 50 point lead in the championship over Reece Gold. Now, after two disastrous races, Rasmussen leads by only three points - 254 to 251. This pole will help him and hurt Reece, who WON Race 2, but not with anything better than the 6th fastest lap of the contest. The race will be HUGE in the title hunt.

• Rookie Simon Sikes is about to start his 3rd USF2000 race but his splendid Race 2 lap has put him right at the front of the action. Now, how will he perform under that pressure?

• Also new to the grid this weekend is Josh Sarchet for DEForce Racing. .Josh comes from F4 United States, where his best performance to date is a P3. No kid, Josh is 31 years old, but has multiple karting championships and F1600 WINS in his resume.

Josh Sarchet

.
.
.
Race 3 for USF2000 will follow the 2nd IndyCar qualifying session.

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Sunday morning at Mid-Ohio - The rains came hard and wrecked havoc…

.
…on the first contest of the day, as the Indy Pro 2000 gang tried to get their 2nd and last race of the weekend underway. The first lap was behind the pace car in single file and under yellow, as the rain had ceased falling hard but the track was still covered with multiple puddles. Kory Enders for DEForce Racing and both Antoine Comeau and Danial Frost for Turn 3 Motorsports had already gone off during the pre-race pace lap. Frost and Comeau were able to get back on track but Kory wasn’t and was already a lap down.

.

.

When the gang was unleashed with the green flag on lap 2 pole-sitter Manuel Sulaiman for DEForce Racing shot off the track at Turn 1 and skated across the gravel trap. Behind him going off were P3 starter Hunter McElrea and P4 starter Colin Kaminsky, both for Pabst Racing. Also off was Devlin DeFrancesco for Andretti Steinbrenner from his P6 start. All four would go a lap down.

.

.

The pace car picked up the field as the race was red-flagged to collect all the scattered cars. Then, it was determined that even with a race shortening, there would not be enough time to restart before the IndyCars needed the track for qualifying. So, the race will be run AFTER the IndyCar race, this afternoon.

.
.
This was the running order when the race was red-flagged. It has not yet been determined if this will be the order OR if they will just start the whole thing over again: Each car’s qualifying position is in ( )

.
1 - Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Racing (2)

.
2 - Parker Thompson, DEForce Racing (4)

.
3 - Artem Petrov, Juncos Racing (11)

.
4 - Jacob Abel [R], Abel Motorsports (13)

.
5 - Moises de la Vara, DEForce Racing (8)

.
6 - Danial Frost, Turn 3 Motorsports (5)

.
7 - Bob Kaminsky, Pabst Racing (12)
8 - Antoine Comeau, Turn 3 Motorsport (10)
9 - Charles Finelli, FatBoy Racing! (14)
10 - Colin Kaminsky [R], Pabst Racing (7)

One lap down

11 - Hunter McElrea [R], Pabst Racing (3)
12 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner Racing (6)
13 - Manuel Sulaiman [R], DEForce Racing (1)

Two laps down

14 - Kory Enders, DEForce Racing (9)

.
.
.
Next up should be IndyCar qualifying for Race 2…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Sunday morning at Mid-Ohio - The IndyCars are qualified for Race 2…

.
The IndyCars used the same format to qualify today as they did yesterday - Two groups of cars go out, one group at a time. Times are collected for the entire group and the fastest guy from both groups is on pole, with everyone in his group lining up in the odd-numbered slots, based on their times. The fastest guy from the other group starts P2 with everyone from his group occupying the even numbered slots, based on their times. Simple.

The track was still very wet from this morning’s rains when Group One went out on rain tires to qualify. Making an incredible run on the treacherous track was Santino Ferrucci for Dale Coyne Racing, some 3 seconds faster than anyone else in the group, but Group Two had a much easier time of it, due to the track drying just from use as well as sunlight, and pole was taken by Colton Herta for Andretti Steinbrenner, who nipped Santino’s great lap.

.
Here is the way the IndyCars will grid for Race 2, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

.
Row 1

Pole - Colton Herta, Andretti Harding Steinbrenner - time of 01:26.2788s for a speed of 94.215mph

.
P2 - Santino Ferrucci, Dale Coyne Racing w/ Vasser Sullivan - time of 01:27.4688s for a speed of 92.934mph

.
Row 2

P3 - Scott Dixon, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:27.0991s for a speed of 93.328mph

.
P4 - Alex Palou [R], Dale Coyne Racing w/ Team Goh - time of 01:30.7107s for a speed of 89.612mph

.
Row 3

P5 - Felix Rosenqvist, Chip Ganassi Racing - time of 01:27.1414s for a speed of 93.283mph

.
P6 - Simon Pagenaud, Team Penske - time of 01:31.7359s for a speed of 88.611mph

.
Row 4

P7 - Marco Andretti, Andretti Herta
P8 - Ryan Hunter-Reay, Andretti Autosport

Row 5

P9 - Josef Newgarden, Team Penske
P10 - Alexander Rossi, Andretti Autosport

Row 6

P11 - Rinus VeeKay [R], Ed Carpenter Racing
P12 - Graham Rahal, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Row 7

P13 - Zach Veach, Andretti Autosport
P14 - Oliver Askew [R], Arrow McLaren SP

Row 8

P15 - Marcus Ericsson, Chip Ganassi Racing
P16 - Conor Daly, Ed Carpenter Racing

Row 9

P17 - Will Power, Team Penske
P18 - Max Chilton, Carlin

Row 10

P19 - Jack Harvey, Meyer Shank Racing
P20 - Dalton Kellett [R], AJ Foyt Enterprises

Row 11

P21 - Pato O’Ward, Arrow McLaren SP
P22 - Takuma Sato, Rahal Letterman Lanigan

Row 12

P23 - Charlie Kimball, AJ Foyt Enterprises

.
.
.
Notable:

• When Ferrucci first went out he looked manic, trying to go too fast for the terrible conditions, but it became evident that he was trying to put heat in his tires. Once he really cranked it up, he was amazing, nearly losing it more than once, but ultimately magic.

• The best of the rest for Group One was Santino’s rookie teammate Alex Palou, shining his rookie apple along the way and giving Dale Coyne bragging rights.

• Both Colton and Scott Dixon were able to eclipse Santino’s time, but they were facing far less trouble from the track by the time Group Two went out.

• Marco Andretti was the only guy to try to make his runs on slicks and he was very fast, matching Santino, but he was only 4th fastest in Group Two. Still, he looked every bit as brave and talented as Ferrucci.

• Going off and bringing out red flags were Jack Harvey, Pato O’Ward, Charlie Kimball and Will Power. All lost any further attempts to qualify and will start from the rear, as a result. Only Jack sustained damage, spinning and backing into a wall hard. The crew will scramble to have him ready by race time.

.
On the pole - Colton Herta

.
.
.
The race is scheduled for broadcast on NBC, starting with pre-race at 1:00 pm EASTERN time. Next up is USF2000 Race 3. The grid for this race is in post # 13…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Sunday morning at Mid-Ohio - USF2000 close out their weekend with a great one…

.
…as the kids ran Season Round 12 under less than ideal conditions. The track was nearly dry from this morning’s rains but inches off the track it was treacherous and one wheel off could put you in the weeds.

Finally salvaging his bad weekend was points-leader Christian Rasmussen for Jay Howard Driver Development with a P1, but HARD fought all the way. Making life tough for the Dane was P2 finisher Michael d’Orlando for Cape Motorsports while keeping him honest in the points chase was P3 finisher Reece Gold, also for Cape Motorsports.

.

.
.
.
The first two laps of the race were under yellow and in single file, due to the still-bad track conditions. When the cars were turned loose on lap 3 P2 starter Simon Sikes for Legacy Autosport immediately passed pole-sitter Rasmussen for the top spot in Turn 2, while Reece Gold jumped past both Josh Green for Cape Motorsports and Cameron Shields for DEForce Racing to take P3 from his P6 start. Following him through to P4 was Michael d’orlando. Eduardo Barrichello for Pabst Racing went the other way, and dropped from P3 to P8. On lap 4 d’Orlando popped past Gold to take over P3.

Lap 5 saw Matt Round-Garrido for Pabst Racing go around Cameron Shields to take P6 while Christian Brooks for Exclusive Autosport grab P9 from Jack William Miller for Miller Vinatieri. On lap 6 Rasmussen finally got past Sikes to take over P1 in Turn 3. At almost the same moment Reece Gold passed d’Orlando to slip into P3, again. Then, Josh Sarchet for DEForce Racing went off track, bringing out a full-course caution. On the Lap 8 restart d’Orlando reclaimed P3 from Gold. One lap later he was past Simon Sikes to take P2 and set Fastest Lap in the process.

On lap 10 d’Orlando kept the charge going and passed Rasmussen for the top spot in Turn 4. Cam Shields also passed Matt Round-Garrido for P5. Rasmussen started the trek back to the top by putting in Fastest Lap on lap 15. He made use of that speed one lap later by re-passing d’Orlando in the Carousel, as the Cape Motorsports driver put a wheel wrong, opening the door. On lap 17 Reece took the P3 spot from Simon. On lap 18 MIchael put in the Fastest Lap trying to reclaim P1 but on lap 20 - the final lap - Christian reciprocated and put in the ultimate Fastest Lap of the race, garnering an extra series point and defending his lead to the end.

A thrilling race, start to finish!

.
.
.
Notable:

• Reading the race description it is clear - this one was a WAR all the way through, with passing all through the field, not just at the front. Rasmussen well earned the WIN but the whole podium was afire.

• Simon Sikes has to be stoked to have a P4 in his first race weekend with USF2000. He is also the current points leader in FRP F1600 and will also finish out that non-conflicting series - hopefully as the title holder.

• This was Reece Gold’s 9th podium in the last ten races.
  .
  .
  .

Your happy podium - That’s Michael d’Orlando in P2 on the left, Christian Rasmussen in P1 in the middle and Reece Gold in P3 on the right:

.

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

1. Christian Rasmussen, 287

2. Reece Gold, 273

3. Eduardo Barrichello, 237

4. Michael d’Orlando, 214

5. Christian Brooks, 201

.
.
.
Next up for the series will be Rounds 13, 14 and 15 at New Jersey Motorsports Park, near Millville, New Jersey, October 9-11 in another stand-alone event with Indy Pro 2000

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Sunday afternoon at Mid-Ohio - The track belongs to Michael Andretti today…

.
…as his boys swept the podium in Race 2 of the double-header weekend. Pole-sitter Colton Herta ran the whole race in the lead, except for pit stops, while teammates Alexander Rossi and Ryan Hunter-Reay came home P2 and P3 respectively.

.

.
.
.
The race started with Colton in P1 and Santino Ferrucci for Dale Coyne in P2. The two were virtually aside each other as they entered Turn 4 at the start, with Santino clinging to the outside. Herta was a nose ahead at that point and gave Ferrucci no room, pushing him completely off the track. Santino ran through the grass and rejoined on the way to Turn 6, but he collided with teammate Alex Palou who then hit Felix Rosenqvist for Chip Ganassi, putting both cars out of the race and bringing out a caution. Ferrucci was assessed a penalty and sent to the rear. He would claw back to a P14 finish.

A result of the shunt was that P3 starter Scott Dixon for Chip Ganassi went to P2 while Rossi moved all the way from P10 to P3 and Ryan moved from P8 to P4. Dixon later made an uncharacteristic error on lap 22, spinning out of Turn 1 while on Push-to-Pass. The Kiwi escaped without hitting anything but dropped 15 spots to the rear of the field. That set the podium for the three Andretti drivers who were unable to dislodge each other and were only challenged by Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s Graham Rahal for much of the race. Rahal posted his 2nd P4 of the weekend from a P12 start.

.
.
.
Notable:

• Dixon was able to recover a lot of what he lost on his spin and ended the day in P10, only two spots adrift of points rival Josef Newgarden for Team Penske.

• Third in the points Pato O’Ward for Arrow McLaren SP started the day from P21 but was able to get to P9, one step ahead of Dixon, by the end - biggest mover of the race. His heroics kept him 3rd in the points.

• Will Power for Team Penske started all the way back in P17 but finished in P7, helping to keep him TOP FIVE in points.

• Today’s 1-2-3 finish is the first for Andretti Autosport in 15 years since a 1-2-3-4 finish in 2005 at St. Petersburg, Florida.

.
.
.
Your happy all-Andretti podium - That’s Alexander Rossi in P2 on the left, Colton Herta In P1 in the middle and Ryan Hunter-Reay in P3 on the right:

.

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

1- Scott Dixon, 456

2 - Josef Newgarden, 384

3 - Pato O’Ward, 338

4 - Colton Herta, 327

5 - Will Power, 306

.
.
.
When Race Highlights are available for both races, we will bring them here. Next up for the IndyCars is a scheduled double Header at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course, as they do the IndyCar Harvest GP, October 2-3.

.
.
.
Next, the last of the two Indy Pro 2000 races, this one red-flagged earlier today to be run now, instead. (see post # 14)

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Sunday afternoon at Mid-Ohio - Indy Pro 2000 concludes their 2nd race…

.
…of the weekend, as the race was red-flagged earlier today (see post # 14). When the race finally concluded Sting Ray Robb for Juncos Racing collected his 5th WIN of his great season. P2 went to Parker Thompson for DEForce Racing - some recovery from his heartbreaking engine failure while leading yesterday in Race 1. P3 went to Jacob Abel for Abel Motorsports.

.

.
.
.
All cars were gridded as they ended this morning, but all were put on the same lap, with 1 lap credited to each. The re-starting order for Indy Pro 2000 Race 2 was:

1 - Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Racing
2 -Parker Thompson, DEForce Racing
3 - Artem Petrov, Juncos Racing
4 - Jacob Abel [R], Abel Motorsports
5 - Moisés de la Vara, DEForce Racing
6 - Danial Frost, Turn 3 Motorsports
7 - Bob Kaminsky, Pabst Racing
8 - Antoine Comeau, Turn 3 Motorsports
9 - Charles Finelli, Fatboy Racing!
10 - Colin Kaminsky [R], Pabst Racing
11 - Manuel Sulaiman, [R], DEForce Racing
12 - Hunter McElrea [R], Pabst Racing
13 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner

Kory Enders for DEForce Racing did not grid for the restart.

.
The first lap of the 22-lap event was this morning and the 2nd lap (first of the restart), was under yellow, with the grid in single file. On lap 3 the green flag fell and Robb got a good jump away cleanly. Jacob Abel got around Artem Petrov for Juncos Racing for the P3 spot, and the podium was effectively set already. Lap 5 saw Colin Kaminsky for Pabst Racing set Fastest Lap as he passed Charles Finelli for FatBoy Racing! Colin’s father Bob Kaminsky for Pabst Racing dropped from his P7 start to P11. On lap 6 Hunter McElrea for Pabst Racing reset Fastest Lap on his way to P9 past Manuel Sulaiman for DEForce Racing, but then Hunter spun in Turn 1 at the start of lap 7. He recovered but was back in P11 again.

For the next three laps, Thompson was putting constant pressure on Robb, but when they started Lap 8, the lead had grown to 0.8 seconds. Abel was 1.4 seconds behind Thompson, and was being pressured by Artem Petrov and Danial Frost for Turn 3 Motorsports. On lap 9, original pole-sitter Manuel Sulaiman for DEForce got around Turn 3’s Antoine Comeau for eighth. At the start of lap 10, Colin Kaminsky was able to get the sixth spot from Moises de la Vera for DEForce.

In his effort to catch and pass Sting Ray, Parker set a new Fastest Lap on lap 14. For several laps Robb and Thompson were nose to tail. As the leaders crossed the line to start lap 18, Robb had caught up to Bob Kaminsky and Charles Finelli who were fighting for 12th. Finelli almost spun right in front of the leaders in Turn 5, but they were able to get cleanly by them. On lap 19 Robb set his own Fastest Lap trying to keep Parker behind him. His lead grew from only 0.4 seconds to 1.2 seconds in the penultimate lap and he crossed the finish line 1 second to the good. Parker was more than 7 seconds ahead of Jacob.

.
.
.
Notable:

• After getting his first series WIN earlier in the year, Robb has been on a roll. He took over the lead in points at Indianapolis, with his clean sweep of the three races there, and now leads the series by 49 points, and it is unusual for anyone in IP2K to dominate.

• Robb’s nearest rival, Devlin DeFrancesco for Andretti Steinbrenner, came home in 10th while Robb’s teammate Artem Petrov came in P4.

• This was Jacob Abel’s first-ever Road to Indy podium.

.
.
.
Your happy podium - That’s Parker Thompson in P2 on the left, Sting Ray Robb in P1 in the middle and Jacob Abel in P3 on the right:

.

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

1 - Sting Ray Robb, 306

2 - Devlin DeFrancesco, 257

3 - Artem Petrov, 243

4 - Danial Frost, 242

5 - Hunter McElrea, 219

.
.
.
Next up for the series will be Rounds 13, 14 and 15 at New Jersey Motorsports Park, near Millville, New Jersey, October 9-11 in another stand-alone event with USF2000.

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
IndyCar has released Race Highlights from Saturday’s Race 1…

.
.
.

2020 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Race 1 Highlights

.
.
.
It was a good one!

.
.
.
When Race 2 Highlights are out, we will bring them.

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
As promised, highlights from Race 2 at Mid-Ohio…

.
.
.

2020 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Race 2 Highlights

.
.
.
On to the Harvest GP at Indianapolis!

.
.
.
M