The Road to Indy - Mid-Ohio: It's time to crown champions!

[MarkyS]

+++

Last weekend, we crowned the IndyCar Champion at Long Beach. This weekend, we will crown the Champions for all three Road to Indy series - USF2000, Indy Pro 2000 and Indy Lights, as we do…

The Road to Indy Championship Finales at Mid-Ohio

.

.
.
.
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is the venue for the weekend and with its long and storied history, it’s a fitting place to crown a Champion. Mid-Ohio is one of the most technical tracks in the country, requiring precision and expertise, more than heroics to get the most out of it. The 2.258-mile, 15-turn natural-terrain road course has a little bit of everything – elevation changes, high-speed corners, flowing corners, tight corners and a carousel. It’s narrow, so it’s easy to get off the island and in the weeds.

.

.
Fans will get to see two races from each of the three series that make up the Road to Indy. The schedule calls for one race for each on Saturday afternoon and one race for each on Sunday afternoon. Up for grabs are not only the prestige of a title but also the thing that makes the Road to Indy so important in the world of junior formula racing - the scholarships.

The Champion of USF2000 will be awarded a scholarship worth $401,305 and will be guaranteed a full season of competition in Indy Pro 2000 in 2022. The Champion of Indy Pro 2000 will be awarded a scholarship with a value of $718,065 and will be guaranteed a full season of Indy Lights competition in 2022.

Lastly, the Champion of Indy Lights will be awarded a scholarship valued at $1,289,425 to be used for entry into at least three INDYCAR SERIES events for 2022, including the Indianapolis 500, and additionally, an IndyCar test at the conclusion of the season for each of the TOP THREE finishers in the title hunt.

This weekend will change lives in a BIG way.

.
.
.
Let’s take a look at these three series…

.
The Road to Indy is the ladder system that trains drivers to be ready to drive IndyCars. It is made up of three series, designed to be progessively more difficult to master - USF2000, Indy Pro 2000 and Indy Lights:
.
USF2000 is the bottom rung on the ladder - the starting point for most drivers. Most rookies here are coming from karting or from wingless formula cars like formula 1600s. This car will be the first one they drive to have wings and slick tires on it, as they begin to learn what aero downforce and mechanical grip mean to a race car. The carbon-composite / aluminum honeycomb Tatuus USF-17 has a 2.0 liter 4-cylinder engine with 175 hp built by Elite Engines and a Sadev SL75 six-speed sequential transmission with steering-wheel paddle shifters. Unlike other F4-spec race cars, it is built for the rigors of oval racing, with extra protection for the driver.

The drivers in USF2000 come from all over the world to compete and the level of talent can range from extremely high to hopelessly outclassed but willing to learn. The fields are always large.

After 16 rounds of racing the points leader is sophomore Kiko Porto for DEForce Racing, taking 8 podiums with 4 WINS and 6 poles. He has a substantial 49-point lead over Michael d’Orlando for Cape Motorsports, who has 3 WINS and 7 podiums in 2021, Two of Michael’s WINS were at Mid-Ohio, earlier in the season.

Kiko Porto in his Tatuus USF-17

.
.
.

continued…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Road to Indy series…(continued)…

.
Indy Pro 2000 is the middle rung of the ladder. The car is the Tatuus PM-18 which is essentially a stouter version of the USF-17. The chassis is the same, so teams who compete in USF2000 can easily convert their car to run in Indy Pro 2000 without a huge upcharge for a new car. The MZR-PM18A engine is also 2.0 liters but it puts out more power - 275 hp and almost 200 pounds of torque. The wings and the tires are all bigger, so the downforce, braking and grip is better.

The drivers in “IP2K” are usually experienced junior formula drivers from all over the world. As a result, the level of competition is very high, with many drivers capable of podiums and WINS. It is rare for a driver to run away with the title. The fields are smaller than USF2000 but the commitment is higher.

After 16 rounds the points-leader is rookie Christian Rasmussen for Jay Howard Driver Development. Christian was the 2020 USF2000 Champion. He is leading this year on the strength of 10 podiums, including 6 WINS. The 2019 USF2000 Champion Braden Eves for Exclusive Autosport is Christian’s closest pursuer, only 18 points behind, due to his 8 podiums with 3 WINS. In 7 previous outings at Mid-Ohio Braden has WON all 7 of them. He OWNS the track.

.
Christian Rasmussen in his Tatuus PM-18

.
.
.
Indy Lights is the top rung of the ladder and a fitting series to prepare to drive an IndyCar in battle. The car is the all-carbon composite Dallara IL-15. It has a 2.0 liter 4 cylinder engine, like the other 2 cars, but it is turbo-charged, like the big cars, and produces 450 hp with additional power available with Push-to-Pass, again, just like the big cars. It has more wing and tires than the other two cars and so more downforce, braking and grip. It also has much more downloadable information available for engineers to use, and as such is an important training tool for them, too.

The drivers come from all over the world to compete and are usually among the highest level of junior formula drivers anywhere. The value of Indy Lights is evident when looking at the roster in IndyCars, where so many of the drivers are former Lights pilots, including many former champions.

After 18 rounds the points leader is rookie Kyle Kirkwood for Andretti Autosport, on the strength of 9 WINS. Kyle aims to be the 3rd Andretti pilot in a row to take the title. He was the 2018 USF2000 Champ and the 2019 Indy Pro 2000 Champ. If he gets the Lights title he will be the only guy to win all three titles, and do it in three years of competition. (There was no 2020 Lights season due to COVID-19). The 22-year-old already has won more Road to Indy races than any other driver – a total of 30 in just 48 starts. That’s a WIN in almost 2 of every 3 races he has entered.

His competition for the crown is sophomore David Malukas for HMD Motorsports with 14 podiums and 7 WINS. Malukas is only 15 points in arrears, with 64 points up for grabs, this weekend.

.
Kyle Kirkwood in the Dallara IL-15

.
.
.
Friday will be a day of practice for the Indy Lights and Indy Pro 2000. Let’s make a Champion!!

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Friday at Mid-Ohio - the Indy Lights are the first guys to take to the track…

.
…for their one and only practice session before they qualify for Race 1 of the weekend, on Saturday. On top of the session was points-leader Kyle Kirkwood, with some different competition, nearby.

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

.
1 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], Andretti Autosport - time of 01:12.2884s for a speed of 112.450mph

.
2 - Sting Ray Robb [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 01:12.4807s for a speed of 112.151mph

.
3 - Rasmus Lindh [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 01:12.6006s for a speed of 111.966mph

.
4 - Benjamin Pedersen [R], GRG w/HMD Motorsports - time of 01:12.7907s for a speed of 111.674mph

.
5 - David Malukas, HMD Motorsports - time of 01:12.9037s for a speed of 111.501mph

.
6 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner Racing
7 - Robert Megennis, Andretti Autosport
8 - Danial Frost [R], Andretti Autosport
9 - Linus Lundqvist [R], GRG w/HMD Motorsports
10 - Christian Bogle [R], Carlin / Jay Howard Driver Development
11 - Manuel Sulaiman [R], HMD Motorsports
12 - Antonio Serravalle [R], Pserra Racing

.
.
.
Notable:

• We fully expected Kyle Kirkwood to lead the parade. The guy may as well build a house in the infield and charge rent for the place. This is his best track. But, we were fully unprepared to see the Juncos Hollinger duo of Sting Ray Robb and Rasmus Lindh in P2 and P3. No reflection on them - both superb drivers - but Juncos cars have been terminally slow this whole season. It’s as if someone looked inside the car and finally found a big, red button that says, “Go faster”.

• We’re also not surprised to see Benjamin Pederen as the top HMD Motorsports driver. Benjamin has found a 7th gear in the 2nd half of the season. He will be formidable if he stays in the Lights in 2022.

• Kyle’s title rival, David Malukas, at least made the TOP FIVE, but he was 0.7153 seconds off the Floridian’s time. He has done well at Mid-Ohio in the past, with several podiums, but this cannot give him much hope.

• Antonio Serravalle has been absent for a number of races, but wanted to get back into the last race weekend. He and the team have been hinting at good news for 2022.

.
Antonio Serravalle - back with us.

.
Kyle Kirkwood - expectations met, so far

.
.
.
The Lights will hold their qually sesson for Race 1 in the morning on Saturday, then hold the race in the afternoon. Next up, Indy Pro 2000 holds their practice…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Friday at Mid-Ohio - Indy Pro 2000 holds their practice session…

.
…and just like the other series, this was their one and only shot at getting their set-ups right before qualifying.

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

.
1 - Artem Petrov, Exclusive Autosport - time of 01:17.7372s for a speed of 104.568mph

.
2 - Reece Gold [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 01:17.7525s for a speed of 104.547mph

.
3 - Christian Rasmussen [R], Jay Howard Driver Development - time of 01:17.9417s for a speed of 104.293mph

.
4 - Hunter McElrea, Pabst Racing - time of 01:18.1307s for a speed of 104.041mph

.
5 - James Roe [R], Turn 3 Motorsport - time of 01:18.2068s for a speed of 103.940mph

.
6 - Jacob Abel, Abel Motorsports
7 - Jack William Miller [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports
8 - Enaam Ahmed [R],Juncos Hollinger Racing
9 - Braden Eves, Exclusive Autosport
10 - Christian Brooks [R], Exclusive Autosport
11 - Wyatt Brichacek [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
12 - Jordan Missig [R], Pabst Racing

.
.
.
Notable:

• Any of the TOP FOUR guys could have been on top. That’s how good they all are, and we can also say that James Roe has lately been TOP FIVE material, as well. The guy who is missing is Braden Eves, who should be in that top group.

• Enaam Ahmad started the season driving for RP Motorsport Racing but had to bow out due to finances. It’s great to see that IP2K powerhouse team Juncos Hollinger is giving the talented Brit a weekend of racing. We hope it turns into a full season in 2022.

• Two new faces are well worth watching. Christian Brooks has been a stellar USF2000 driver for this season but is moving up to IP2K for this weekend, and with the same team, Exclusive Autosport. A harbinger of his role in 2022? The other new guy is Jordan Missig. Jordan started in Radical Cup racing and moved into Formula Regional Americas, where he is currently 4th in the points, driving for Newman Wachs. During the year the 23-year-old also drove twice for Wayne Taylor Racing in the Pro/Am class of Lamborghini Super Trofeo - and WON both races!
  .

Left to right, Enaam Ahmad, Christian Brooks and Jordan Missig

.
Artem Petrov - HOT SHOE for the P-1 practice

.
.
.
The IP2K gang will qualify for their Race 1 on Saturday morning and then race in the afternoon. This was the last on-track activity of the day.

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Saturday morning at Mid-Ohio - USF2000 gets their practice in…

.
The youngest Road to Indy kids were first on track today to get in their one practice before qualifying later today for Race 1.

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

.
1 - Jace Denmark [R], Pabst Racing - time of 01:21.1154s for a speed of 100.213mph

.
2 - Josh Green, Turn 3 Motorsports - time of 01:21.1486s for a speed of 100.172mph

.
3 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy, Pabst Racing - time of 01:21.1777s for a speed of 100.136mph

.
4 - Michael d’Orlando, Cape Motorsports - time of 01:21.2097s for a speed of 100.096mph

.
5 - Josh Pierson, Pabst Racing - time of 01:21.2774s for a speed of 100.013mph

.
6 - Kiko Porto, DEForce Racing
7 - Nolan Siegel, DEForce Racing
8 - Spike Kohlbecker [R], Ignite Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports
9 - Myles Rowe [R], Force Indy
10 - Prescott Campbell, DEForce Racing

11 - Christian Weir [R], Turn 3 Motorsports
12 - Thomas Nepveu [R], Cape Motorsports
13 - Bijoy Garg, Jay Howard Driver Development
14 - Elysiah Navarro [R], DEForce Racing
15 - Evan Stamer [R], Ignite Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports
16 - Dylan Christie [R], Turn 3 Motorsports
17 - Jackson Lee [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
18 - Billy Frazer [R], Exclusive Autosport
19 - Trey Burke [R], Joe Dooling Autosports
20 - Andre Castro [R], Legacy Autosport

21 - Michael Myers, Michael Myers Racing
22 - Kent Vaccaro [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports

.
.
.
Notable:

• Any of the TOP TEN could have been TOP DAWG. This is a rum group of kids. The TOP FIVE were separated by a mere 0.16 seconds and the TOP TEN by only 0.63 seconds.

• Pabst Racing put all three drivers of their drivers in the TOP FIVE, including Jace. The team has well earnerd their nickname, “the Speed Boys”.

• Here this weekend is Andre Castro for Legacy Autosport. Andre has just been named to one of the two Team USA Scholarships for 2021, and will represent the United States in the 50th Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch and the Walter Hayes Trophy Formula Ford event at Silverstone, later this year.

• NOT here for Legacy Autosport is Simon Sikes who has run 10 races this season, with 4 podiums to show for it. Simon was one of the two Team USA Scholarship guys for 2020.

.
Team USA guys Andre Castro (left) and Simon Sikes

.
Jace Denmark - HOT SHOE in practice

.
.
.
USF2000 will qualify for their Race 1 just before Noon, today and then hold Race 1 later, this afternoon. Next, the Indy Lights qualify for Race 1…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Saturday morning at mid-Ohio - The Indy Lights are qualified for Race 1…

.
…and Race 1 is set up to be a mad scramble at the start, as the two title contenders are both on the front row.

.
Here is the way Indy Lights will grid for Season Round 19, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

.
Row 1

Pole - Kyle Kirkwood [R], Andretti Autosport - time of 01:11.2100s for a speed of 114.153mph

.
P2 - David Malukas, HMD Motorsports - time of 01:11.5255s for a speed of 113.649mph

.
Row 2

P3 - Danial Frost [R], Andretti Autosport - time of 01:11.6681s for a speed of 113.423mph

.
P4 - Robert Megennis, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:11.7619s for a speed of 113.275mph

.
Row 3

P5 - Benjamin Pedersen [R], GRG w/HMD Motorsports - time of 01:11.8753s for a speed of 113.096mph

.
P6 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner Racing - time of 01:11.8919s for a speed of 113.070mph

.
Row 4

P7 - Sting Ray Robb [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing
P8 - Manuel Sulaiman [R], HMD Motorsports

Row 5

P9 - Rasmus Lindh [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing
P10 - Linus Lundqvist [R], GRG w/HMD Motorsports

Row 6

P11 - Christian Bogle [R], Carlin / Jay Howard Driver Development
P12 - Antonio Serravalle [R], Pserra Racing

.
.
.
Notable:

• Kyle set the Fastest Lap early, by over 0.7 seconds, but late in the session David pulled out a flier, going from P7 to pole. Minutes later, Kirkwood responded with his own flier, which was 0.3 seconds better than David. That adds one more valuable point to his total. While Malukas is on the front row, he may need a desperation move to get past Kyle and it will then be hard to keep Kirkwood behind him.

• Sting Ray Robb had P3 sewn up but then spun out of Turn 1 on his last lap, bringing out a red flag and ending the session. He lost his fastest lap as a result, but expect the 2020 Indy Pro 2000 Champ to be fast in the race. The speed is in the car.

• Linus Lundqvist has never been happy at Mid-Ohio and his P10 here proves it. Even teammate Manuel Sulaiman in only his 5th Indy Lights race qually did better. Linus will be third in the title anyway, but we expect more of the Swede.

.
Struggling - Linus Lundqvist

.
.
.
This race will come off this afternoon. Next up, indy Pro 2000 qualifies for Race 1…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Saturday morning at Mid-Ohio - the Indy Pro 2000 gang qualify for Race 1…

.
…and it was the pride of St. Petersburg, Russia Artem Petrov for Exclusive Autosport that took his 2nd pole of his sophomore season.

.
Here is the way that Indy Pro 2000 will grid for Season Round 17, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

.
Row 1

Pole - Artem Petrov, Exclusive Autosport - time of 01:16.4411s for a speed of 106.341mph

.
P2 - Christian Rasmussen [R], Jay Howard Driver Development - time of 01:16.5952s for a speed of 106.127mph

.
Row 2

P3 - Braden Eves, Exclusive Autosport - time of 01:16.6473s for a speed of 106.055mph

.
P4 - Reece Gold [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 01:16.6977s for a speed of
105.985mph

.
Row 3

P5 - Christian Brooks [R], Exclusive Autosport - time of 01:16.8173s for a speed of 105.820mph

.
P6 - Jack William Miller [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports - 01:16.8861s for a speed of 105.725mph

.
Row 4

P7 - Jacob Abel, Abel Motorsports
P8 - Enaam Ahmad [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing

Row 5

P9 - Wyatt Brichacek [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
P10 - Hunter McElrea, Pabst Racing

Row 6

P11 - Jordan Missig [R], Pabst Racing
P12 - James Roe [R], Turn 3 Motorsport

.
.
.
Notable:

• Artem is currently 5th in the points and has shown flashes of brilliance all season long. All he needs is consistency to be a Champion.

• The title contenders are sitting P2 and P3 so we can expect fireworks for the lead or just the lead between them. Both Christian and Braden are good at Mid-Ohio, so anything is possible.

• Christian Brooks, stepping up from USF2000 for his first IP2K weekend, is looking like he should have been here, all along. The Santa Clarita, Cakifornia native has a background in Global Rally Cars, where he was a stand-out for three seasons.

• Ireland’s James Roe had a mechanical - probably a broken suspension - on his first lap, spinning the car in Turn 1 and bringing out a red flag. He was not able to get it back on track before the session ended and posted no time.

James Row - misfortune

.
.
.
Indy Pro 2000 Race 1 will come off right after Indy Lights holds their own Race 1, this afternoon. Next up, USF2000 qualifies for Race 1…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Midday at Mid-Ohio - USF2000 qualifies for Race 1 of the weekend…

.
…and a new qualifying track record is set by title contender Michael d’Orlando for Cape Motorsports.

.
Here is the way USF2000 will grid for Season Round 17, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

.
Row 1

Pole - Michael d’Orlando, Cape Motorsports - time of 01:20.1824s for a speed of 101.379mph

.

P2 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy, Pabst Racing - time of 01:20.2442s for a speed of 101.301mph

.
Row 2

P3 - Jace Denmark [R], Pabst Racing - time of 01:20.2845s for a speed of 101.250mph

.
P4 - Prescott Campbell, DEForce Racing - time of 01:20.3839s for a speed of 101.125mph

.
Row 3

P5 - Josh Green, Turn 3 Motorsports - time of 01:20.4775s for a speed of 101.007mph

.
P6 - Kiko Porto, DEForce Racing - time of 01:20.5068s for a speed of 100.970mph

.
Row 4

P7 - Nolan Siegel, DEForce Racing
P8 - Josh Pierson, Pabst Racing

Row 5

P9 - Thomas Nepveu [R], Cape Motorsports
P10 - Myles Rowe [R], Force Indy

Row 6

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

Row 7

P13 - Dylan Christie [R], Turn 3 Motorsports
P14 - Elysiah Navarro [R], DEForce Racing

Row 8

P15 - Evan Stamer [R], Ignite Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports
P16 - Bijoy Garg, Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 9

P17 - Andre Castro [R], Legacy Autosport
P18 - Jackson Lee [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 10

P19 - Billy Frazer [R], Exclusive Autosport
P20 - Kent Vaccaro [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports

Row 11

P21 - Trey Burke [R], Joe Dooling Autosports
P22 - Michael Myers, Michael Myers Racing

.
.
.
Notable:

• Michael d’Orlando did what he needed to, to try to catch title points-leader Kiko Porto. He earned the valuable single point for pole. The qualifying record has been held for almost a decade by Matthew Brabham and Michael took it away.

• Kiko only needs to finish in P4 to take the title in Race 1, but where he is at in P6 is a danger zone at Mid-Ohio, with a good probability of trouble at the start. It will be interesting.

• Yuven is currently 3rd in the points, and cannot improve, but he sure wants everyone to know he deserves the place he’s in. He was only 0.06 seconds away from Michael and also beat Matty Brabham’s track record.

.
.
.
USF2000 will hold this race late this afternoon, the last event of the day. Next up, Indy Lights holds Race 1. The grid for this is in post # 6 and the race can be seen on Youtube…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Saturday afternoon at Mid-Ohio - The title is almost done…

.
…as Kyle Kirkwood WINS Race 1 for Andretti Autosport, from pole. Taking P2 to keep his hopes as alive as much as possible was David Malukas for HMD Motorsports from his P2 start, while P3 went to Rob Megennis for Andretti Autosport from his P4 start.

.

.
.
.
The race started with David getting a great jump on the start. In fact, he may have jumped the green flag and so, even though he was slightly ahead at Turn 1 he backed it off enough to allow Kyle to take his proper P1 place heading up towards Turn 2, so as not to be penalized. There was a ton of passing on the backside of the track between turns 5 and 6 from the P3 position on back. Going from P7 to P4 was Sting Ray Robb for Juncos Hollinger while Linus Lundqvist for Global Racing Group w/ HMD Motorsports went from P10 to P6. Antonio Serravalle for Pserra Racing went from P12 to P10. Manuel Sulaiman for Juncos went from P8 to P7 and Rob Megennis moved into P3 from his P4 start. Falling was Danial Frost for Andretti Autosport from P3 to P5, Devlin DeFrancesco went from P6 to P8, Benjamin Pedersen for GRG w/HMD went from P5 to P9 and Christian Bogle for JHDD went from P11 to P12.

On lap 6 Danial recovered P4 from Sting Ray as Kyle began to slowly get away from David. As there is no IndyCar timing and scoring system in place, there will be no Push-to-Pass this weekend for the Lights, so incrementally, Kyle was able to get away. By the 6th lap Kyle was about 5 seconds ahead. On lap 12 Rasmus Lindh for Juncos passed Antonio Serravalle for the P10 spot. That was the last pass of the race and Kirkwood took the race on lap 30 with a 6.44 second gap to David.

.
.
.
Notable:

• This is Kyle’s 10th WIN of the season and ties Greg Moore’s single season WIN record. If Kyle WINS tomorrow he will be the new Indy Lights single season WIN record holder. Moore owns the Lights total WIN record, with 13 WINS, but he needed 2 seasons to get it and Kyle will not need 2 Lights seasons in his career.

• With the WIN, pole and most laps led Kirkwood now needs only 1 point to clinch the title. He could do it by getting pole for Sunday’s Race 2.

• This is Rob Megennis’ 3rd podium of the season.

.
.
.
Your happy podium - That’s David Malukas In P2 on the left, Kyle Kirkwood in P1 in the middle and Rob Megennis in P3 on the right:

.
.
.
The Lights will qualify for Race 2 on Sundaty morning and then race in the afternoon. There is a possibilty of rain for the race. Next up, Indy Pro 2000 holds Race 1. The grid for this is in post # 7 and the race can be seen on Youtube…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Saturday afternoon at Mid-Ohio - The Indy Pro 2000 Race 1 is settled…

.
…and the WINNER was points leader Christian Rasmussen for Jay Howard Driver Development from his P2 start. Coming in P2 was pole-sitter Artem Petrov for Exclusive Autosport while P3 went to 2nd-in-points Braden Eves for Exclusive Autosport.

.

.
.
.
The race started with just a few position changes in the mid-pack as Jacob Abel for Abel Motorsports went past Jack William Miller for Miller Vinatieri. Jack William ended up in the weeds and dropped all the way to the back of the field. Hunter McElrea for Pabst Racing made a good move and went from P10 to P7, past Wyatt Brichacek for JHDD and Enaam Ahmad for Juncos Hollinger.

The field stretched out and looked static but the big moment in the race happened on Lap 8 when Artem Petrov in P1 suddenly slowed enough for Christian Rasmussen to pass him for the lead going into Turn 1. Artem then recovered his speed and was as fast again as Rasmussen, but now in P2.

For the rest of the race the battle was between Reece Gold for Juncos Hollinger and Braden Eves for the P3 spot. Gold hounded Eves for most of the race but never found the spot to pass. Finally, on lap 24 James Roe for Turn 3 Motorsports spun going around the Keyhole at Turn 4 after contact with Jack William Miller and went into the gravel. He was unable to get out so the race went full-course caution, and ended that way, 1 lap later.

.
.
.
Notable:

• This is Christian’s 7th WIN of the season and all but clinches the title for him. He now has a 27-point lead on Braden Eves and all he has to do is start Race 2 and he is the series Champion for 2021, following his USF2000 title in 2020.

• No word yet on what slowed Artem on the front straight on lap 8. Possibly he missed a shift or possibly the engine coughed, but whatever it was he was able to get back to speed, so it was a gift to Rasmussen.

.
.
.
Your happy podium - That’s Artem Petrov in P2 on the left, Christian Rasmussen in P1 in the middle and Braden Eves in P3 on the right:

.
.
.
Indy Pro 2000 will qualify for Race 2 on Sunday morning and race in the afternoon. Rain may play a role in the race. Next up, USF2000 holds Race 1 of the weekend. The grid for this is in post # 8 and the race will be shown on Youtube.

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Saturday afternoon at Mid-Ohio - USF2000 crowns their Champion…

.
The WINNER of USF2000’s Race 1 was Yuven Sundaramoorthy for Pabst Racing from his P2 start, while pole-sitter Michael d’Orlando for Cape Motorsports came home P2. Kiko Porto for DEForce Racing took P3 from a P6 start and with it, the 2021 series Championship.

.
Race WINNER Yuven Sundaramoorthy

.
.
.
…and the 2021 USF2000 Champion, Kiko Porto

.
.
.
The race started with a full-course caution, as when the green flag fell Evan Stamer for Ignite Autosport climbed over the top of another car’s rear wheel and went airborne on the front straight. Evan was okay but the car never made a lap. Before the yellow flag flew, however, there was a lot of passing, including Yuven taking the lead from Michael. Prescott Campbell for DEForce moved past Jace Denmark for Pabst Racing to take over P3 while Kiko moved into P5 over Josh Green for Turn 3 Motorsports. Billy Frazer for Exclusive Autosport managed to go from P19 to P10 in the melee while Josh Pierson for Pabst Racing fell from P8 to P11.

The restart came on lap 3 and Billy was quickly up to P8 by passing Myles Rowe for Force Indy. Christian Weir for Turn 3 went to P11 past Josh Pierson while Andre Castro for Legacy Autosport slipped past Ely Navarro for DEForce into P15. At the front Yuven made a small gap sufficient to keep Michael at bay. On lap 5 Myles reclaimed the P8 spot from Billy, passing on the outside of Turn 6.

For several laps Prescott Campbell was after Jace Denmark for the P3 spot and it all came to a head on lap 12 as the two touched going hot into Turn 9, sending Prescott backwards off the track and damaging Jace, who rolled away from the scene. A full-course caution flew to retrieve the heavily-damaged car of Campbell while Denmark slowly motored to the pits, out of the action. This elevated Kiko to P3, assuring him of the title. The race restarted on lap 15 and onel lap later Thomas Nepvue for Cape Motorsports was passing Billy Frazer for P7. That was the last significant pass of the race. Yuven came home 0.7 seconds ahead of Michael who was 1.3 seconds ahead of Kiko.

.
.
.
Notable:

• The two cautions created a lot more opportunity for restart passing and there was a lot of passing in the race. There was also a lot of dangerous action around Kiko but he managed to stay uninvolved.

• This was Yuven’s 4th WIN of the season and was d’Orlando’s 5th straight finish in the TOP TWO.

• DEForce not only took Kiko to the driver’s title, but the team also WON the team’s title for 2021, with the help of the whole squad - Kiko Porto, Ely Navarro, Nolan Siegel and Prescott Campbell. This is their first Team title in the Road to Indy.

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

.
.
.
USF2000 will be the first guys on track Sunday morning to qualify for Race 2. They will later run Race 2 at 11:00am EASTERN time. This was the last on-track activity of the day.

.
.
.
M

.

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Sunday morning at Mid-Ohio - The rains came…

.
USF2000 attempted to do their qually session for Race 2 but the rains came in and despite everyone being on Cooper rain tires there were two separate incidents about 8 minutes in that brought out a red flag. It was determined that the series would not be able to get the guaranteed 20 minutes of qually time, so the grid for Race 2 will have to be set using the 2nd fastest lap of each driver from the Friday qually session.

.
Here is the way USF2000 will grid for Season Round 18, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

.
Row 1

Pole - Michael d’Orlando, Cape Motorsports - time of 01:20.3453s

.
P2 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy, Pabst Racing - time of 01:20.3726s

.
Row 2

P3 - Jace Denmark [R], Pabst Racing - time of 01:20.3822s

.
P4 - Nolan Siegel, DEForce Racing - time of 01:20.5217s

.
Row 3

P5 - Kiko Porto, DEForce Racing - time of 01:20.5413s

.
P6 - Josh Green, Turn 3 Motorsports - time of 01:20.5481s

.
Row 4

P7 - Josh Pierson, Pabst Racing
P8 - Spike Kohlbecker [R], Ignite Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports

Row 5

P9 - Prescott Campbell, DEForce Racing
P10 - Myles Rowe [R], Force Indy

Row 6

P11 - Thomas Nepveu [R], Cape Motorsports
P12 - Dylan Christie [R], Turn 3 Motorsports

Row 7

P13 - Christian Weir [R], Turn 3 Motorsports
P14 - Elysiah Navarro [R], DEForce Racing

Row 8

P15 - Evan Stamer [R], Ignite Autosport w/ Cape Motorsports
P16 - Bijoy Garg, Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 9

P17 - Jackson Lee [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
P18 - Billy Frazer [R], Exclusive Autosport

Row 10

P19 - Andre Castro [R], Legacy Autosport
P20 - Kent Vaccaro [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports

Row 11

P21 - Trey Burke [R], Joe Dooling Autosports
P22 - Michael Myers, Michael Myers Racing

.
.
.
Notable:

• Off in Turn 1 was Christian Weir for Turn 3 Motorsports. At the same time, Michael d’Orlando, Prescott Campbell and Josh Green all went off at Turn 4, with some damage. At that point race control red flagged the session and decided to use 2nd fastest lap from the Friday qually session.

Christian Weir (left) and Prescott Campbell

.
on pole, Michael d’Orlando

.
.
.
The race is scheduled for an 11:00am EASTERN time start. Rain may or may not be happening, but the track will likely still be wet enough to call it a rain race, with the cars starting on Cooper rain tires. The race can be seen on Youtube.

.
.
.
Next up, the Indy Lights will attempt to qualify for Race 2…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Sunday morning at Mid-Ohio - the Indy Lights qualify for Race 2…

.
Conditions on the track for Indy Lights qualifying were not much better than for USF2000, a half an hour before, as the track was spotted with rain and very wet, all around. The Lights did get in just enough running time to make it an official qually, but not without significan incidents.

.
Here is the way Indy Lights will grid for Season Round 20, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

.
Row 1

Pole - David Malukas, HMD Motorsports - time of 01:46.7873s for a speed of 76.121mph

.
P2 - Linus Lundqvist [R], GRG w/HMD Motorsports - time of 01:46.9953s for a speed of 75.973mph

.
Row 2

P3 - Benjamin Pedersen [R], GRG w/HMD Motorsports - time of 01:49.5369s for a speed of 74.211mph

.
P4 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner Racing - time of 01:50.6520s for a speed of 73.463mph

.
Row 3

P5 - Kyle Kirkwood [R], Andretti Autosport - time of 01:51.3490s for a speed of 73.003mph

.
P6 - Robert Megennis, Andretti Autosport - time of 01:53.2443s for a speed of 71.781mph

.
Row 4

P7 - Rasmus Lindh [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing
P8 - Sting Ray Robb [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing

Row 5

P9 - Danial Frost [R], Andretti Autosport
P10 - Manuel Sulaiman [R], HMD Motorsports

Row 6

P11 - Antonio Serravalle [R], Pserra Racing
P12 - Christian Bogle [R], Carlin / Jay Howard Driver Development

.
.
.
Notable:

• The first car off in the treacherous conditions was Benjamin Pedersen in Turns 4-5, followed by Christian Bogle in Turn 7, followed by Kyle Kirkwood in the Carousel. Finally near the end of qualifying Manuel Sualiman also went off. All brought out red flags, which invalidated their fastest laps. Nevertheless, Ben and Kyle were able to get in other quick laps sufficient not to start at the rear.

• Kirkwood was only able to get in a very late lap after getting a new nose. At the same time, David put in the pole lap. With his pole, Malukas can STILL win the title - If he WINS the race, leading the most laps, and Kyle finishes dead last.

• Kirkwood will likely NOT take any chances in the race, unless and until someone else goes out, finishing last, but Kyle cannot let everyone pass him, either. He has to finish better than last to collect his title. He has lost his chance of besting Greg Moore’s single season WIN record, but at least he tied it, at 10 WINS.

.
The late Greg Moore

.
David Malukas - there’s still a chance!

.
.
.
The Lights are scheduled to race at 12:00 Noon EASTERN time and can be seen on Youtube. Next up, Indy Pro 2000 qualify for Race 2…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Sunday morning at Mid-Ohio - Indy Pro 2000 qualifies for Race 2…

.
The rain was sprinkling and the track was very wet as the IP2K gang qualified, but they managed to get it in.

.
Here is the way Indy Pro 2000 will grid for Season Round 18, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

.
Row 1

Pole - Hunter McElrea, Pabst Racing - time of 01:45.1170s for a speed of 77.331mph

.
P2 - Enaam Ahmad [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing - time of 01:46.1569s for a speed of 76.573mph

.
Row 2

P3 - Artem Petrov, Exclusive Autosport - time of 01:46.3180s for a speed of 76.457mph

.
P4 - Christian Brooks [R], Exclusive Autosport - time of 01:46.5762s for a speed of 76.272mph

.
Row 3

P5 - Braden Eves, Exclusive Autosport - time of 01:48.0798s for a speed of 75.211mph

.
P6 - James Roe [R], Turn 3 Motorsport - time of 01:48.3317s for a speed of 75.036mph

.
Row 4

P7 - Reece Gold [R], Juncos Hollinger Racing
P8 - Wyatt Brichacek [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 5

P9 - Jordan Missig [R], Pabst Racing
P10 - Jacob Abel, Abel Motorsports

Row 6

P11 - Jack William Miller [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports
P12 - Christian Rasmussen [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

.
.
.
Notable:

• No one in IP2K went off, causing a red flag.

• Points-leader Christian Rasmussen elected NOT to qualify at all, as all he has to do is start Race 2 to be Champion, and it wasn’t worth risking the car in the conditions. Once the green flag falls, Christian will be free to race as hard as he wants, as he will already be the Champ.

• Exclusive Autosport put all three of their cars in the TOP FIVE, including Christian Brooks, having his first weekend of IP2k, and looking like he always should have been here.

• Enaam Ahmad is from England and is well used to the rain. He held pole until after the checkered flag fell, when Hunter finished his flier, and stole it away. This is Hunter’s 5th pole of the season.

.
On the pole, Hunter McElrea

.
.
.
The race will be the last event of the weekend, starting at 1:10pm EASTERN time, and on Youtube. Next up, USF2000 holds their Race 2. The grid for this is in post # 12…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Sunday morning at Mid-Ohio - USF2000 holds their final race of the season…

.
…and it was a wild one, as the rain made for spinning cars and lost parts all over the track. In the end surviving in P1 was Josh Green for Turn 3 Motorsports from his P6 start. Coming in P2 was Nolan Siegel for DEForce Racing from his P4 start, while teammate and 2021 Champ Kiko Porto took P3 from his P5 start.

.

.
.
.
Michael d’Orlando for Cape Motorsports led the field away from pole but it didn’t last long, as 4 cars were collected in Turn 1 on lap 1. They were Myles Rowe for Force Indy, Michael Myers for Michael Myers Racing, Jace Denmark and Josh Pierson, both for Pabst Racing. Rowe and Myers were out, while Pierson dropped to P19 and Denmark to P20. On the lap 5 restart run through Turn 1 Prescott Campbell for DEForce racing passed Yuven Sundaramoorthy for Pabst Racing to take P4. Josh Pierson took P18 from Trey Burke for Joe Dooling Racing, Thomas Nepvue for Cape Motorsports took P7 from Spike Kohlbecker for Ignite Autosport, and Ely Navarro for DEForce took P11 from Billy Frazer for Exclusive Autosport. Kent Vacarro for Miller Vinatieri went off in Turn 1, bringing out another FCC, while Jackson Lee for JHDD also went off avoiding a spinning Vacarro. They would drop to P18 and P19.

On the lap 8 restart Thomas Nepvue passed Kiko Porto for the P6 position while Prescott Campbell in P4 lost his front wing somehwere in the spray. He elected to stay on the track, without it. On lap 9 Yuven and Kiko were able to pass Prescott, dropping him to P6 while Ely passed Dylan Christie for Turn 3 Motorsports for P10. Bijoy Garg for JHDD took P12 from Billy Frazer and Josh Pierson took P14 from Evan Stamer for Ignite Autosport, with Andre Castro for Legacy Autosport following through.

On lap 10 Kiko took Yuven for P4, with Prescott following through, dropping Yuven to P6. Similarly, Christian Weir and Ely Navarro dropped Thomas Nepvue to P9. Josh Pierson took another spot, dropping Billy Frazer to P14. On lap 11 Spike Kohlbecker took Thomas Nepvue and Josh Pierson followed through to be in P10. Bijoy Garg went off at Turn 5 and brought out another FCC to get him out of the kitty litter. On the lap 13 restart Kiko got by d’Orlando to take over P3. Yuven tried to go inside Ely Navarro in the Keyhole but hit him instead and both cars went off. Christian Weir was also collected. The clean-up took too long and the race ended under the Full-Course Caution.

.
.
.
Notable:

• This is Josh Green’s FIRST Road to Indy WIN and 4th podium of the season. The former Team USA Scholarship WINNER is always a race threat so this was overdue. This is also the first WIN for Turn 3 Motorsport’s USF2000 squad and the 2nd WIN for team, in general, which is in its sophomore season of existence on the Road to Indy.

• This is Nolan Siegel’s 4th podium of the season. He too is always a race threat and already has his first Road to Indy WIN.

• This P3 just adds to Kiko Porto’s points total. He ends unofficially with 414 points to Michael d’Orlando’s 364 points. Michael finished this race in P4.

• The remarkable Josh Pierson went from P18 to P6 at the end. He is not quite 16 years old, yet.

.
Josh Pierson

.
.
.
Your happy podium - that’s Nolan Siegel in P2 on the left, Josh Green in P1 in the middle and 2021 Champ Kiko Porto on the right in P3:

.
.
.
Next up, the Indy Lights close out their season and crown a Champion. The grid for this race is in post # 13…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Sunday midday at Mid-Ohio - The Indy Lights season closes on a dramatic one…

.
Lots happened on the opening lap of the race that affected the championship prospects but in the end the race was an all-HMD sweep, as the WINNER was Linus Lundqvist for Global Racing Group w/HMD Motorsports from his P2 start. P2 went to David Malukas for HMD Motorsports from his pole position while P3 went to Benjamin Pedersen for GRG w/ HMD Motorsports from his P3 start. Finishing in P5 was Kyle Kirkwood for Andretti Autosport, and in the doing he became the 2021 Indy Lights Champion.

.
WINNER Linus Lundqvist for GRG w/ HMD Motorsports…

.
…and 2021 Champion Kyle Kirkwood for Andretti Autosport

.
.
.
The task for David Malukas to WIN the title was to WIN the race and lead the most laps doing it, while needing Kyle Kirkwood to finish in P12. With pole, it looked like he had an actual shot at it, but on the opening lap David slid off the track in Turn 1 as the rest of the field slipped by. He was able to climb back on, but not before slipping to P10. Antonio Serravalle for Pserra Racing also went off course and needed to be retrieved, sustaining some damage. Before the Full Course Caution to retrieve him flew, Sting Ray Robb for Juncos Hollinger had moved from P8 to P5 while Danial Frost for Andretti Autosport had moved from P9 to P7. Teammate Rob Megennis slipped from P6 to P8. On the restart Manuel Sulaiman for HMD Motorsports also went off but was able to rejoin a lap down. Kyle Kirkwood passed Andretti teammate Devlin DeFrancesco to take P3.

On lap 6 David took P8 from Andretti’s Rob Megennis. A lap later he was into P7 passed Danial Frost, while Megennis went off but got back on the track. Later in the lap Malukas battle with Rasmus Lindh for Juncos Hollinger for the P6 spot and the cars touched but survived. Malukas took the spot with Danial Frost following him through. On lap 10 Kirkwood slid after Turn 1 allowing Devlin, Sting Ray Robb for Juncos and David to slip by and dropping Kyle to P6 and having everyone wondering if he was in trouble. David then passed Devlin and was into P3, getting closer to his goal of a P1.

Antonio Serravalle was 6 laps back, struggling to keep his damaged car in the race, but on lap 13 he finally pulled into the pits to retire in P12. At that moment Kyle Kirkwood became the Champion, unable to do any worse than P11. On lap 16 Danial took P4 from Devlin as David set Fastest Lap. On lap 18 David passed Benjamin to take over P2 and looked up the road to see where Linus was. He was a full 18 seconds ahead. On lap 20 Devlin re-took P4 from Danial. On lap 21 Kyle took P5 from Danial, and that was the last pass of the race. David cut into Linus’ lead but the Swede still crossed the line a full 10.6 seconds ahead, dominating the race.

.
.
.
Notable:

• This was Linus’ 3rd WIN of the season and the first since mid May, when he WON at the Indy GP at IMS. The Swede was impressive in the wet, as was his teammate Benjamin Pedersen. Just as impressive was Malukas, going through the field to recover almost all he had lost on the first lap.

• The race exposed a weakness in Kirkwood, however, who looked a little shaky in the wet conditions, managing barely to end the race where he started and never looking as assured as the three HMD boys. After the race he said the car was terrible in the wet and he feared going off several times. Of 8 Road to Indy appearances at Mid-Ohio, this is the only one that Kyle didn’t WIN.

• This is the third Andretti Autosport Indy Lights driver’s title in a row, following Oliver Askew in 2018 and Pato O’Ward in 2019. (There was no Indy Lights in 2020). The numbers for the Team Championship are still bering totalled, so we don’t yet know of who got it.

• With this title Kirkwood becomes the first person to WIN all three Road to Indy Titles and the first to do it in just three years of competition. His total Lights points were 537 to David’s 524.

.
.
.
Your happy podium - That’s David Malukas in P2 on the left, Linus Lundqvist in P1 in the middle and Benjamin Pedersen in P3 on the right:

.
.
.
Next up, Indy Pro 2000 closes out the race weekend with their season finale. The grid for this is in post # 14…

.
.
.
M

[MarkyS]

+++

.
Sunday at Mid-Ohio - Indy Pro 2000 closes the weekend with a great barn-burner…

.
In the most exciting race of the weekend we got a first-time WINNER in Ireland’s James Roe, driving for Turn 3 Motorsports from his P6 start. P2 went to England’s Enaam Ahmed for Juncos Hollinger Racing from P2 while P3 went to Christian Rasmussen for Jay Howard Driver Development from his P11 start. In just starting the race, Rasmussen secured enough series point to be crowned the 2021 series Champion.

.

.
.
.
The racing line on the track was mostly dry but with several treacherous puddles when the race started with a single-file start behind pole sitter Hunter McElrea for Pabst Racing. At the jump P3-starter Artem Petrov for Exclusive Autosport was past Enaam Ahmed into P2. He then quickly dispatched Hunter heading down to Turn 4, but the track was still too wet off line and the speedy Russian slipped off and was beached in the kitty litter at China Beach between Turns 4 and 5. Following him in was Jordan Missig for Pabst who was attempting to race on slicks. Before the full course caution came out, Braden Eves for Exclusive Autosport was by Enaam and into P2. On the lap 4 restart Braden jumped into the lead past Hunter in Turn 4 while Christian Rasmussen jumped to P6 past Jack William Miller for Miller Vinatieri, Jacob Abel for Abel Motorsports and Wyatt Brichacek for JHDD. Reece Gold for Juncos fell from P6 to P10.

Lap 6 saw Jack William Miller go to P8 past Jacob Abel while Artem set Fastest Lap. On lap 8 Hunter fell from 2nd to P4, passed by Enaam and James Roe in Turn 4. On lap 9 Jordam Missig slid off course again in the Keyhole. That created a big gaggle of cars heading towards Turn 4, and before the caution flew, Enaam passed Braden for the lead and Christian Brooks for Exclusive Autosport and Christian Rasmussen passed Hunter, who dropped to P6. On the lap 12 restart James passed Braden for P2 in Turns 4/5 while Rasmussen took P4 from Brooks. On the next lap Roe again used Turns 4/5 to take the lead from Enaam while Artem got the P10 spot from Reece Gold. One lap later Artem moved into P9 past Jacob Abel as Jack William Miller took over P7 from Wyatt Brichacek.

On a lap 15 battle with JWM in Turn 1, Hunter slipped off the road and fell to P11. On lap 16 Braden fell from P3 to P6 in a battle with Christian Rasmussen, who took over P3. On lap 18 JWM passed Brooks for P4 while Artem took P7 from Braden. Then, a lap later Artem was by Wyatt for P6. Jacob Abel passed Braden for P8 and Reece Gold followed through, as Eves slipped into P10. On lap 20 Reece went off in Turn 1, bringing out another FCC. Jacob rolled the dice and elected to pit for slicks during the caution and got out on the lead lap, but far behind the pack as they went green on lap 22. JWM and Rasmussen battled for several corners over the P3 spot with Christian hanging onto it. Artem took over P5 from Brooks. On lap 23 Hunter got P8 from Braden. One lap later, Artem got P3 from Rasmussen while Brooks took on JWM and passed him for the P5 spot as Hunter followed through to P6.

On the final lap, lap 25, Ahmed attacked Roe for virtually the entire lap, trying to take the lead from him. Many times, they were side by side, but Ahmed was unable to make it stick and James came home 0.141 seconds ahead of Enaam. Rasmussen was able to retake P3 from Artem on the final corner, comng out of the Carousel, and crossed the line 1 second behind Ahmed and 0.02 seconds ahead of Petrov.

Easily, the best race of the weekend and one of the best all year. It was hard to know where to focus, there was so much action in this one!

.
.
.
Notable:

• This is the 2nd WIN for the Turn 3 Motorsports gang for the day and the 2nd WIN ever for their Indy Pro 2000 squad, with Danial Frost giving them a WIN in 2020. Team owner and ex Road to Indy driver Peter Dempsey congratulated fellow Irishman James Roe on the splendid show in bad conditions.

• We first became aware of James Roe back in the 2018 Road to Indy Shootout where he competed due to being the 2018 F2000 series Vice-Champion, driving then for Arms Up Motorsports.

• Christian Rasmussen is in line now to match Kyle Kirkwood’s now-completed feat of getting all three Road to Indy titles, but he cannot do it in three seasons, as it took him two seasons of USF2000 to get that title. Ras took away 445 points with Braden Eves ending the season with 407.

.
.
.
Your happy podium - That’s Enaam Ahmad in P2 on the left, James Roe in P1 in the middle and 2021 Champ Christian Rasmussen in P3 on the right:

.
.
.
THAT’S IT for 2021 in the Road to Indy. We will dive a little deeper into our new Champions and their immediate fates in the off-season thread. In the mean time, we can say it was one of the most competitive seasons of junior formula racing we have ever seen, with a lot of talent emerging.

Thanks to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for hosting these finales. Next up for the Road to Indy will be the Chris Griffis Memorial Tests at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the Road Course in late October, where we will begin to see who will go where in 2022.

.
.
.
M