The Road to Indy - New Jersey: Three claps of a Thunderbolt

[MarkyS]

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This weekend the drivers of the Road to Indy will have three chances to WIN races in a stand-alone triple-header event as they do…

The Cooper Tires GP at New Jersey Motorsports Park

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During WW II Millville Army Air Field in Millville, New Jersey was created in 1942 as a gunnery school for fighter pilots training in the new Republic P-47 Thunderbolt fighter. After the war the base became Millville Municipal Airport. It later became the home to wonderful New Jersey Motorsports Park, which boasts TWO road courses as well as a world class karting track on over 300 acres. The road courses are named “Thunderbolt” and “Lightning,” after the Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter. This weekend, Indy Pro 2000 and USF2000 will each hold three races on 2.25-mile, 12-turn “Thunderbolt.”

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The great Republic P-47 Thunderbolt…

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…and the track named for it.

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The schedule calls for three series tests of at least 40 minutes each for both series on Friday. The tests are necessary because this will mark each series’ first visit to NJMP since 2010, so no one driving has experience, here. Saturday will be filled by a single official practice for each, followed by qualifying for each and then Race 1 for each. Sunday is reserved for more qualifying and both Race 2 and Race 3 for each series. SIX races for the faithful!

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New to the USF2000 grid this weekend is Kent Vaccaro who will step into the # 41 Tatuus USF17 for Miller Vinatieri Motorsports that was previously driven by Max Kaeser. He will team with Jack William Miller who has had a great sophomore season for the team, with 4 TOP FIVES, including a P3 podium.

Kent comes to us from F4 United States and Formula Regional Americas with a best result of 1 podium, with 1 pole and two Fastest Laps. He is scheduled to do both NJMP and the season finale at St. Petersburg.

Said the Purdue University student, “I went to the Lucas Oil Raceway to watch the oval race in August and then to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway event in September and was really impressed. The level of competition and professionalism is second to none and I am looking forward to experiencing it as a driver, rather than a spectator. A huge thank you to Jack Miller and Miller Vinatieri Motorsports for the opportunity and to my partners for their continued support.”

Kent Vaccaro

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Let’s take a look at the two series that will be racing, this weekend…

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(continued)

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M

[MarkyS]

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The Road to Indy ladder system builds talent for the IndyCar series by nurturing and training drivers through three increasingly difficult and capable series. They are USF2000, Indy Pro 2000 and Indy Lights. Due to COVID-19 Indy Lights did not run this year but the other two have had a full season., which has two events left to do. (The Lights will be back in 2021).

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USF2000 - This is the bottom rung of the ladder - 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. The draw is the annual scholarship for WINNING the title. Recently, the Road to Indy nearly DOUBLED the prize for that scholarship, applied to the following year driving a season in the next step up, Indy Pro 2000.

The current points leader in USF2000 is Denmark’s sophomore wunderkind Christian Rasmussen, driving for Jay Howard Driver Development. Christian WON the first 6 races of the season and looked completely unstoppable. But his fortunes sagged in the mid-season and his competitors excelled. Now, Rasmussen still leads, but by only 14 points over fellow sophomore Reece Gold for Cape Motorsports and 40 points over Eduardo Barrichello for Pabst Racing. Gold especially has looked fantastic over the last ten races, with 9 podiums with two WINS.

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Christian Rasmussen - no sure thing, anymore

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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 in “IP2K” 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. They too are battling for a huge scholarship prize applied to a following year of Indy Lights.

The current points leader is veteran Sting Ray Robb for IP2K powerhouse team Juncos Racing. For several races the leader was rookie Devlin DeFrancesco for Andrertti Steinbrenner, but mid-season Sting Ray exploded, WINNING his first series race after years of podiums without a WIN. Once he broke down that door he was off, and he now has 7 podiums this year that include 5 WINS. Devlin is now a full 49 points behind.
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Sting Ray Robb - is he too far gone to catch?

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Both series will be testing all day on Friday. Let’s HOP TO IT!!

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M

[MarkyS]

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Friday at New Jersey - The day of testing…

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Both USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000 spent the entire day testing their cars on the unfamiliar Thunderbolt road course, with three tests of at least 40 minutes each spread out over the day. We have combined all three tests for each series to give you a quick look at the TOP contenders for the weekend at this moment, starting with the kids from USF2000.

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Here was the order of speed for USF2000, all three tests COMBINED, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie; fastest session for each driver is in ( )

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1 - Eduardo Barrichello [R], Pabst Racing - time of 01:17.3883s for a speed of 99.550mph (3)

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2 - Christian Rasmussen, Jay Howard Driver Development - time of 01:17.6842s for a speed of 99.171mph (1)

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3 - Nolan Siegel, Jay Howard Driver Development - time of 01:17.8618s for a speed of 98.945mph (3)

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4 - Christian Brooks [R], Exclusive Autosport - time of 01:17.8687s for a speed of 98.936mph (2)

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5 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy, Pabst Racing - time of 01:17.8747s for a speed of 98.928mph (1)

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6 - Reece Gold, Cape Motorsports (3)
7 - Jack William Miller, Miller Vinatieri Motorsports (1)
8 - Cameron Shields, DEForce Racing (1)
9 - Prescott Campbell [R], Exclusive Autosport (2)
10 - Josh Pierson [R], Exclusive Autosport (2)

11 - Michael D’Orlando [R], Cape Motorsports (3)
12 - Josh Green [R], Cape Motorsports (1)
13 - Matthew Round-Garrido, Pabst Racing (2)
14 - Wyatt Brichacek [R], Jay Howard Driver Development (3)
15 - Kyle Dupell, Cape Motorsports (1)
16 - Nico Christodoulou [R], DEForce Racing (3)
17 - Christian Bogle, Jay Howard Driver Development (2)
18 - Kent Vaccaro [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports (3)

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Notable:

• No one session was substantially better than others and each driver seemed to have their own best session spread pretty evenly among sessions.

• Points leader Christian Rasmussen came out of the gate strong by TOPPING the T-1 session while Eduardo was P10, but then “Dudu” came on stronger and TOPPED both T-2 and T-3. He was REALLY fast in T3, by almost 0.4 seconds over Rasmussen in P2.

• Rasmussen’s closest points rival Reece Gold took his time to warm up. He was P15, P15 and finally P4 in the T-3 session. He now seems to have the measure of the track.

• Young Nolan Siegel for Jay Howard Driver Development is thrilling us with his speed. He was P4 in T-1, slipped to P12 in T-2 and back up to P3 in T-3. The sophomore will turn 16 years old in early November. He spends a good amount of time in simulators and credits that to his quickness, on both familiar tracks and on new ones.

• We’re not at all surprised by the TOP TEN here. All those young lions should be in that group, but we are a bit surprised to not see Michael D’Orlando also in that group. He should be closer to TOP FIVE instead of P11.

Michael D’Orlando

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Dudu Barrichello - TOPS for the day

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Next, let’s look at Indy Pro 2000.…(continued)…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Friday at New Jersey - The day of testing…(part 2)…

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Indy Pro 2000 was a little different than USF2000, as it is obvious that the field got better with each stab at the track, with only Manuel Sulaiman having his best lap in T-1 and a few other in T-2. Most did their best work at the end of the day.

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Here was the order of speed for Indy Pro 2000, all three tests COMBINED, with times for the TOP FIVE: [R] denotes rookie; fastest session for each driver is in ( )

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1 - Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Racing - time of 01:12.2447s for a speed of 106.638mph (3)

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2 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner Racing - time of 01:12.5282s for a speed of 106.221mph (3)

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3 - Parker Thompson, DEForce Racing - time of 01:12.6398s for a speed of 106.058mph (2)

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4 - Manuel Sulaiman [R], DEForce Racing - time of 01:12.9274s for a speed of 105.639mph (1)

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5 - Artem Petrov [R], Juncos Racing - time of 01:12.9625s for a speed of 105.588mph (2)

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6 - Colin Kaminsky [R], Pabst Racing (3)
7 - Hunter McElrea [R], Pabst Racing (3)
8 - Kory Enders, DEForce Racing (2)
9 - Danial Frost, Turn 3 Motorsports (3)
10 - Antoine Comeau, Turn 3 Motorsport (3)

11 - Jacob Abel [R], Abel Motorsports (3)
12 - Charles Finelli, FatBoy Racing! (3)

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Notable:

• Points leader Sting Ray Robb struggled in T-1 with a P8 when his engine went off-song. The team spent the T-2 session installing a new engine and then he TOPPED the day in T-3. He was 0.28 seconds faster than nearest points rival Devlin DeFrancesco, P2 in the session.

• Devlin did better with each session, posting P4, P3 and finally P2. He’s NOT giving this up without a big fight.

• Manuel Sulaiman TOPPED the T-1 session and that was his best effort on the day. It was the slowest session, but Manny was still fast enough in it to be P4 on the day. It was Parker Thompson who TOPPED T-2, while Artem Petrov put in P2s in both T-1 and T-2.

• The TOP FIVE here are probably the five fastest in the series at the moment, although Danial Frost should also be included in this group of drivers all capable of WINS. Frost struggled today, however, with a best of P5 in the T-1 session.

Danial Frost - Should be better

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Sting Ray Robb - P1, with only one good shot at it

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Both series will put in an official practice session on Saturday morning. Then, qualifying for Race 1 begins for both. Finally, both will hold Race 1 of the weekend in the afternoon. USF2000 will be the early birds, first out.

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M

[MarkyS]

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Saturday morning at New Jersey - USF2000 come out for practice…

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Weather is gorgeous for the one and only practice session before attempting to qualify for Race 1 later today. Temps are in the high 60s and the sky is clear, with a 5-mile wind - almost ideal conditions.

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

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1 - Christian Brooks [R], Exclusive Autosport - time of 01:17.949s for a speed of 98.834mph

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2 - Eduardo Barrichello [R], Pabst Racing - time of 01:17.955s for a speed of 98.826mph

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3 - Reece Gold, Cape Motorsports - time of 01:18.269s for a speed of 98.430mph

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4 - Cameron Shields, DEForce Racing - time of 01:18.271s for a speed of 98.427mph

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5 - Matthew Round-Garrido, Pabst Racing - time of 01:18.284s for a speed of 98.411mph

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6 - Michael D’Orlando [R], Cape Motorsports
7 - Nolan Siegel, Jay Howard Driver Development
8 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy, Pabst Racing
9 - Josh Green [R], Cape Motorsports
10 - Christian Rasmussen, Jay Howard Driver Development

11 - Christian Bogle, Jay Howard Driver Development
12 - Jack William Miller, Miller Vinatieri Motorsports
13 - Prescott Campbell [R], Exclusive Autosport
14 - Nico Christodoulou [R], DEForce Racing
15 - Josh Pierson [R], Exclusive Autosport
16 - Kyle Dupell, Cape Motorsports
17 - Wyatt Brichacek [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
18 - Kent Vaccaro [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports

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Notable:

• Christian Brooks is a top flight performer but needs more consistency to be a title contender. Brooks, from Santa Clarita, California, has the typical multiple karting championship background, but uniquely also has multiple Global Rally Cross Lites titles, too.

• Both Cam Shields and Matt Round-Garrido are former Road to Indy Shootout participants, which means they hold other championship titles in junior formula racing. For both it was in F1600 in Australia and in Ireland, respectively.

• Teammates Reece Gold and Micheal D’Orlando are both nearer what we expect from them, but points-leader Christian Rasmussen fell on his face a bit. We expect he will qualify better.

• Rookie Kent Vaccaro for MIller Vinatieri Motorsports put in no time, but we don’t know why not.

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Christian Brooks - multi-dimensional champion.

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Next, Indy Pro 2000 practice…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Saturday morning at New Jersey - Indy Pro 2000 come out for practice…

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Following the kids from USF2000 the middle series on the ladder took to the track for their own practice session.

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

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1 - Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Racing - time of 01:13.102s for a speed of 105.386mph

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2 - Manuel Sulaiman [R], DEForce Racing - time of 01:13.109s for a speed of 105.377mph

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3 - Colin Kaminsky [R], Pabst Racing - time of 01:13.411s for a speed of 104.943mph

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4 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner Racing - time of 01:13.568s for a speed of 104.720mph

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5 - Artem Petrov [R], Juncos Racing - time of 01:13.578s for a speed of 104.705mph.

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6 - Hunter McElrea [R], Pabst Racing
7 - Parker Thompson, DEForce Racing
8 - Kory Enders, DEForce Racing
9 - Antoine Comeau, Turn 3 Motorsport
10 - Danial Frost, Turn 3 Motorsports

11 - Jacob Abel [R], Abel Motorsports
12 - Charles Finelli, FatBoy Racing!

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Notable:

• Sting Ray topped the charts again, but this time by the slimmest of margins, as Manuel Sulaiman was only 0.007 seconds back. Qualifying should be exciting.

• Danial Frost is still mired in the tail and was even eclipsed by his less-experienced teammate Antoine Comeau. This is a mystery.

• The first 9 cars are all covered by less than a second. This is a great group of talents.

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Sting Ray Robb - still on top, but barely

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Next up will be qualifying by USF2000 for Race 1…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Saturday afternoon at New Jersey - USF2000 are qualified…

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…for Race 1, with Dudu Barrichello getting his 3rd pole of the season for the “Speed Boys” at Pabst Racing.

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Here is the way USF2000 will grid for Season Round 13, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Eduardo Barrichello [R], Pabst Racing - time of 01:17.149s for a speed of 99.859mph

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P2 - Christian Rasmussen, Jay Howard Driver Development - time of 01:17.199s for a speed of 99.794mph

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Row 2

P3 - Christian Brooks [R], Exclusive Autosport - time of 01:17.372s for a speed of 99.571mph

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P4 - Reece Gold, Cape Motorsports - time of 01:17.436s for a speed of 99.488mph

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Row 3

P5 - Prescott Campbell [R], Exclusive Autosport - time of 01:17.542s for a speed of 99.353mph

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P6 - Cameron Shields, DEForce Racing - time of 01:17.640s for a speed of 99.227mph

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Row 4

P7 - Michael D’Orlando [R], Cape Motorsports
P8 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy, Pabst Racing

Row 5

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

Row 6

P11 - Matthew Round-Garrido, Pabst Racing
P12 - Josh Green [R], Cape Motorsports

Row 7

P13 - Josh Pierson [R], Exclusive Autosport
P14 - Kyle Dupell, Cape Motorsports

Row 8

P15 - Nico Christodoulou [R], DEForce Racing
P16 - Christian Bogle, Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 9

P17 - Wyatt Brichacek [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
P18 - Kent Vaccaro [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports

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Notable:

• Sophomore Edurado Barrichello picked up his first two poles this year at Mid-Ohio Race 1 and Indy Grand Prix Race 3. His two WINS were also at the Indy Grand Prix - Races 1 & 2.

• Christian Rasmussen is only 0.05 seconds off Dudu and Reece Gold will be right behind Christian at the drop of the green flag. These three guys are the title contenders and here they all are in the front two rows.

• This is a fast bunch. The first 12 cars are all within a second of each other. The competition level is very high.

• The outlier here is Prescott Campbell - a talented driver but not typically in the TOP SIX on race day.

• We’re hearing that Kent Vaccaro’s debut weekend has been spoiled by a bad engine and he turned in no time again in qualifying. It remains to be seen if the Miller Vinatieri team can get him in the races, this weekend.

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On the pole, “Speed Boy” Dudu Barrichello

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Race 1 for USF2000 will be at 3:00pm EASTERN time today. Next up, Indy Pro 2000 qualify for Race 1…

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M

[MarkyS]

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Saturday midday at New Jersey - Indy Pro 2000 qualify for Race 1…

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…and on the pole is the one guy with a legitimate shot at the title, other than Sting Ray Robb. Devlin DeFrancesco has to do everything right for a few races and he started that process with a pole, but Sting Ray isn’t making it easy for him, with a P2 start.

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Here is the way Indy Pro 2000 will grid for Season Round 13, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner Racing - time of 01:12.7889s for a speed of 105.840mph

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P2 - Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Racing - time of 01:12.7976s for a speed of 105.828mph

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Row 2

P3 - Manuel Sulaiman [R], DEForce Racing - time of 01:12.9178s for a speed of 105.653mph

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P4 - Artem Petrov [R], Juncos Racing - time of 01:12.9517s for a speed of 105.604mph

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Row 3

P5 - Parker Thompson, DEForce Racing - time of 01:13.1067s for a speed of 105.380mph

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P6 - Colin Kaminsky [R], Pabst Racing - time of 01:13.3934s for a speed of 104.969mph

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Row 4

P7 - Danial Frost, Turn 3 Motorsports
P8 - Hunter McElrea [R], Pabst Racing

Row 5

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

Row 6

P11 - Jacob Abel [R], Abel Motorsports
P12 - Charles Finelli, FatBoy Racing!

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Notable:

• Devlin has the most to gain by a very quick start to the race while Sting Ray has the most to lose if he has a bad start. He will thus have to tip-toe in comparison. Advantage DeFrancesco.

• The TOP TEN cars are all covered by less than a second. This group will race hard.

• With two laps to go in qualifying Charles Finelli for FatBoy Racing! spun and got high-centered, bringing out a red flag and ending the session a bit early. That did not allow Sting Ray one more chance top knock Devlin off the top.

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Devlin DeFrancesco

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Race 1 will happen soon after the kids from USF2000 race. Next up, that USF2000 race. The grid for that is in post # 7.

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M

[MarkyS]

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Saturday afternoon at New Jersey - USF2000 hold Race 1 of the weekend…

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…and the WINNER, taking his 3rd WIN of the season, was Eduardo Barrichello for Pabst Racing. The sophomore scored maximum points, winning from the pole, leading every lap, and turning the Fastest Lap in his effort to close the points gap to series leader Christian Rasmussen. Christian held Eduardo’s gains to a minimum by coming in P2 for Jay Howard Driver Development. It was Cape Motorsports’ Michael d’Orlando who pulled in the third spot on the podium from a P7 start.

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Dudu Barrichello for the WIN

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As the field leapt off on the first lap Reece Gold for Cape Motorsports got the jump on Christian Brooks for Exclusive Autosport and took over P3, while d’Orlando took P6 from Cameron Shields for DEForce Racing. Also advancing was Matt Round-Garrido for Pabst who passed JHDD’s Nolan Siegel and Jack William Miller for Miller Vinatieri and slotted in P9. Just after starting Lap 3, d’Orlando made an inside pass in Turn 1 to grab the fifth spot from Prescott Campbell for Exclusive Autosport. On lap 5 Brooks retook the P3 spot from Reece Gold. On Lap 8, d’Orlando made an outside pass on Gold in Turn 4 to move up to P4, while Jack William Miller passed Matt Round-Garrido for the P9 spot.

At that point in the race it was obvious that Gold was in trouble, as he was holding up a line of cars and began to fall to them, one at a time in each lap. He would eventually fall all the way to P15 at the finish. At the same time P3 Christian Brooks was getting ever closer to P2 Rasmussen. On lap 14 Brooks made an error and lost a few seconds but he regained the distance and with 3 laps to go he was again only 1 second off, but getting pressure from behind - d’Orlando was also on the charge and less than a second back.

On the Penultimate lap Barrichello was safe in the lead but Brooks made a stab at Rasmussen, making an outside pass attempt into Turn 1. Rasmussen came out the other side of the corner first as Brooks found himself in the grass, dropping down to the fourth place. On the final lap d’Orlando pulled out off of Rasmussen’s tail and the two held a drag race to the finish line. The Dane crossed a half a car length ahead.

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Notable:

• While the race helped Barrichello close in on Rasmussen Reece Gold lost ground, but he is still 2nd in the points - just farther back from Christian.

• This is Michael d’Orlando’s 5th podium this year, including his WIN at Mid-Ohio Race 1. He is 4th in the points.

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

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The weekend still has two races to go for the series on Sunday and it looks like rain may have a place in them. Next, Indy Pro 2000 come out for Race 1. The grid for this is in post # 8.

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M

[MarkyS]

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Saturday afternoon at New Jersey - Indy Pro 2000 hold their first of three races…

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…and taking the WIN from pole was Canadian Devlin DeFrancesco for Andretti Steinbrenner, who also took maximum points by leading every lap and taking Fastest Lap. He’ll need the points because points-leader Sting Ray Robb for Juncos Racing pulled in P2, while P3 was Manuel Sulaiman for DEForce Racing.

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At the start Devlin got a good jump and led the field into Turn 1. Pabst Racing rookie Colin Kaminsky, who started P6, went through the grass on the outside of the track and dropped to P10. P3 starter Sulaiman quickly put pressure on Robb in P2, but the championship leader shut the door, holding onto the second spot. Parker Thompson for DEForce was able to take P4 from Artem Petrov for Juncos and Hunter McElrea for Pabst took P7 from Danial Frost for Turn 3 Motorsports.

By lap 4 Devlin had posted Fastest Lap and by lap 5 he was 1.2 seconds up on Sting Ray. By lap 12 he was 1.7 seconds up when Danial Frost pulled off course near the pit lane exit with a mechanical. He was out of the way enough to only cause a local yellow and was pulled into the pit lane for service. By lap 19 the gap upfront between DeFrancesco and Robb had grown to 3.4 seconds but Sulaiman began a charge towards Robb while Thompson was getting pressure from Petrov for the P4 spot.

Eventually, the gap back to Sulaiman stabilized at about 1.2 seconds for several laps, while Thompson held about 0.7 seconds over Artem. Devlin was long gone, some 5 seconds plus over Sting Ray, as they finished the race.

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Notable:

• While Dev did everything right, Robb’s substantial lead in the points means all he has to do is keep putting in podiums to the end of the season and he will be champion. Devlin needs to be great and needs Robb to stumble badly to have a chance at the title.

• Danial Frost’s mechanical may be the cause of his lack of speed, all weekend thus far. Something has been off song and it may have been holding him back. Whatever it was finally took him out. Perhaps the next two races will actually be better.

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Your happy podium - That’s Sting Ray Robb in P2 on the left, Devlin DeFrancesco in P1 in the middle and Manuel Sulaiman in P3 on the right:

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That’s it for Day 1 of racing. Sunday will have a qualifying and two races for each series, with rain predicted to make a difference sometime during the day.

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M

[MarkyS]

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Sunday morning at New Jersey - USF2000 qualify for Race 2…

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The 2nd race of the weekend for the series required a 2nd qualifying session and the gang came out for that bright and early. This would be the last on-track qualifying for the series, as Race 3 will be gridded based on the fastest Race 2 laps of each driver. The weather was 66 degrees, track dry but the air heavy with humidity, and no wind.

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Here is the way USF2000 will grid for Season Round 14, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Christian Rasmussen, Jay Howard Driver Development - time of 01:17.533s for a speed of 99.365mph

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P2 - Cameron Shields, DEForce Racing - time of 01:17.734s for a speed of 99.107mph

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Row 2

P3 - Eduardo Barrichello [R], Pabst Racing - time of 01:17.737s for a speed of 99.103mph

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P4 - Michael D’Orlando [R], Cape Motorsports - time of 01:17.899s for a speed of 98.898mph

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Row 3

P5 - Reece Gold, Cape Motorsports - time of 01:18.081s for a speed of 98.667mph

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P6 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy, Pabst Racing - time of 01:18.152s for a speed of 98.578mph

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Row 4

P7 - Josh Green [R], Cape Motorsports
P8 - Matthew Round-Garrido, Pabst Racing

Row 5

P9 - Jack William Miller, Miller Vinatieri Motorsports
P10 - Josh Pierson [R], Exclusive Autosport

Row 6

P11 - Wyatt Brichacek [R], Jay Howard Driver Development
P12 - Prescott Campbell [R], Exclusive Autosport

Row 7

P13 - Christian Brooks [R], Exclusive Autosport
P14 - Christian Bogle, Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 8

P15 - Nolan Siegel, Jay Howard Driver Development
P16 - Nico Christodoulou [R], DEForce Racing

Row 9

P17 - Kent Vaccaro [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports
P18 - Kyle Dupell, Cape Motorsports

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Notable:

• With 4 and a half minutes remaining in the session Jack William Miller and Kyle Dupell came together near Turn 5, with heavy damage to Dupell’s car, bringing out a red flag to remove him and clean the track. The session ended under that red flag and many cars had no opportunity to mount their flyer laps.

• Especially hit hard by the red flag were the squad from Exclusive Autosport. Prescott Campbell and Christian Brooks have been fast all weekend but they are mired in 12th and 13th, respectively. Others may have mounted a challenge to Rasmussen’s pole speed, but we will never know.

• This is Christian’s 8th pole of the season.

• Title contender Dudu Barrichello missed being on the front row by 0.003 seconds. Instead, he will start right behind Rasmussen, making it a bit harder to beat the Dane on the start.

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Christian Rasmussen

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The race is scheduled to start at Noon. Rains are expected for later in the day but Race 2 should be dry. Next up, Indy Pro 2000 hold their own Race 2 qualifying…

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M

[MarkyS]

+++

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Sunday morning at New Jersey - Indy Pro 2000 hold their 2nd qualifying session…

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…to grid Race 2 of the weekend. This is the last qualifier of the day, as just as with USF2000, Race 3 for IP2K will be gridded based on the fastest lap of each driver from Race 2. Weather for this session was perfect with 72 degrees, partly cloudy and no wind, but high humidity.

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Here is the way Indy Pro 2000 will grid for Season Round 14, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Racing - time of 01:12.396s for a speed of 106.414mph

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P2 - Parker Thompson, DEForce Racing - time of 01:12.710s for a speed of 105.414mph

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Row 2

P3 - Artem Petrov [R], Juncos Racing - time of 01:12.734s for a speed of 105.920mph

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P4 - Manuel Sulaiman [R], DEForce Racing - time of 01:12.774s for a speed of 105.862mph

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Row 3

P5 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner Racing - time of 01:12.886s for a speed of 105.699mph

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P6 - Hunter McElrea [R], Pabst Racing - time of 01:13.238s for a speed of 105.191mph

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Row 4

P7 - Colin Kaminsky [R], Pabst Racing
P8 - Danial Frost, Turn 3 Motorsports

Row 5

P9 - Kory Enders, DEForce Racing
P10 - Jacob Abel [R], Abel Motorsports

Row 6

P11 - Antoine Comeau, Turn 3 Motorsport
P12 - Charles Finelli, FatBoy Racing!

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Notable:

• Sting Ray put in his pole-setter near the end of the session and he was the only guy to break into the 01:12s and the 106 miles per hour on speed. This was a statement about his title lead and why he has it.

• This was Sting Ray’s 5th career pole and 3rd for the season.

• All the TOP SIX are regular visitors to that group but title-contender Devlin DeFrancesco did himself no favor by being on Row 3 instead of Row 1. His task will now be much harder. He can get Fastest Lap in Race 2 and that will put him on pole for Race 3.

• Charles Finelli put in no time for the session, but probably opted to save his race tires, knowing he was likely to be last, anyway.

Charles Finelli

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Sting Ray Robb - on pole

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The race is scheduled for a 2:00pm start. That should make it clear of the predicted late afternoon rains, but it depends on how fast the system moves in. Next up, USF2000 holds Race 2 of the weekend. The grid for that is in post # 11…

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M

[MarkyS]

+++

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Sunday morning at New Jersey - USF2000 hold Race 2 of the weekend…

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…and almost predictably the WINNER was Christian Rasmussen for Jay Howard Driver Development in another almost perfect drive from pole, as the Dane only failed to collect Fastest Lap. P2 went to Cameron Shields for DEForce Racing in his best finish yet this season, eclipsing his P3 at Mid-Ohio. P3 was Eduardo Barrichello for Pabst Racing, following his WIN yesterday.

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At the start Rasmussen took off with P2 starter Cam Shields in pursuit, followed by P3 starter Dudu Barrichello, followed by P4 starter Michael d’Orlando for Cape Motorsports. While the gap between them vacillated at times, the running order never changed and this group of four left the rest of the pack behind, with Rasmussen setting an early Fastest Lap. On lap 1 Jack William Miller for Miller Vinatieri passed Matt Round-Garrido for Pabst Racing, taking over P7 while Christian Brooks for Exclusive Autosport, caught out by the red flag during qualifying, made a heroic start to go from P13 to P10. Nolan Siegel for JHDD suffered a drive-through penalty on the 1st lap, putting him in the rear of the field.

On lap 2 Brooks passed Josh Green for Cape Motorsports to take P9 while Yuven Sundaramoorthy for Pabst Racing took P6 away from Reece Gold for Cape Motorsports. For several laps the field circulated nose to tail in several spots but unchanging in order. On lap 12 Brooks made a feint to try to get by Matt Round-Garrido for the 8th spot, but Matt blocked him down the back straight.

The Jay Howard team made a decision to pull Nolan Siegel in on lap 13 to get a fresh set of tires, to attempt to take Fastest Lap and thus start Race 3 on the pole. The gambit worked and Siegel earned his first pole on lap 14. Nolan immediately pitted again and stopped to save the tires, ending the race in P18. Matt Round-Garrido was then called in for a drive-through for his block of Christian Brooks. Once he was at the tail end Pabst decided to try for the pole for Race 3 and pulled the Englishman in for new tires. He was unable to get better than 8th quick, however.

Brooks made a final pass in the race on lap 16, taking P7 from Jack William Miller. Rasmussen WON by a 0.8 second margin over Shields, who was 0.7 seconds ahead of Barrichello.

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Notable:

• Nolan’s best previous start was P3 at Mid-Ohio. While he was on fresh tires to get pole, Christian Rasmussen was also on fresh tires on his Fastest Lap - lap 1 of the race - so, Siegel well earned his pole. He was the only car to break into the 01:17s for the race.

• Christian Brooks made the most passes in the race, going from his P13 start all the way to P7 at the end.

Christian Brooks

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Your happy podium - That’s Cameron Shields in P2 on the left, Christian Rasmussen in P1 in the middle and Dudu Barichello in P3 on the right:

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The USF2000 gang will hold Race 3 at 3:45 this afternoon, and the area may be raining by that time. Next up, Indy Pro 2000 hold their 2nd race of the weekend. The grid for that race is in post # 12…

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M

[MarkyS]

+++

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Sunday afternoon at New Jersey - Indy Pro 2000 hold Race 2…

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…and taking almost maximum points was pole-sitter Sting Ray Robb for Juncos Racing, while P2 went to Parker Thompson for DEFOrce Racing and P3 went to Robb’s Russian teammate Artem Petrov.

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The most action on track happened in the first corner of the first lap, as P5 starter Devlin DeFrancesco for Andretti Steinbrenner got into the back of P4 starter Manuel Sulaiman for DEForce racing in Turn 1. The contact damaged both cars and they both pitted immediately as Robb, Thompson and Petrov motored off in their starting order. With Sulaiman and DeFrancesco out, Hunter McElrea for Pabst took over P4 while Danial Frost for Turn 3 Motorsports took over P5.

Devlin had front wing damage and was quickly repaired and sent out, but he was then assessed a drive-thru for the shunt. Manuel had suspension damage and needed several laps to repair, but repair they did. By lap 3 Robb had completely checked out and set Fastest Lap, trying to ensure a pole position for Race 3. With no hope of mounting a race challenge, Devlin’s team decided to go for Race 3 pole by sending him out on the best tires they had, to try to steal Fastest Lap for Race 2. Manuel Sulaiman opted for the same strategy. Then, Kory Enders for DEForce and Colin Kaminsky for Pabst both also decided to give up on Race 2 and go for pole in Race 3. It all paid off.

Robb held on to Fastest Lap for most of the race, but eventually he succumbed to Colin Kaminsky who posted a lighting-fast flyer in lap 22 of the 25-lap race to take pole for Race 3. All the others who went in for tires were rewarded with better Race 3 starts than they would have on old rubber. Robb crossed the finish line 8 seconds ahead of Thompson who was 1 second ahead of Petrov. For their P2 and P3 Thompson and Petrov will have to start Race 3 from P8 and P7 - a trade-off.

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Notable:

• This is Sting Ray’s 6th WIN of 2020 and 5th WIN in the last 7 races. If he can finish Race 3 today 5 points to the better of Devlin DeFrancesco, he will clinch the title this afternoon.

• Devlin hurt himself immeasurably with his lap 1 error but saved himself a bit by securing a P3 start in Race 3 - very close to Robb starting in P2 and able to press him from the start.

• Making Race 3 even more exciting may be the rain expected to move into the area right before racetime,

• Rookie Colin Kaminsky gave up on P6 in Race 2 to go for the pole. It was a good bargain. Colin earned 3 poles in last season’s USF2000 series but this is his first pole in Indy Pro 2000, and it may lead to his maiden WIN in the series, as Kaminsky is always fast.

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

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Next up for the day is the final USF2000 race of the weekend, with the grid in the following post…

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M

[MarkyS]

+++

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Sunday afternoon at New Jersey - The field is set for the final USF2000 race…

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…of the weekend. The grid was set by taking the fastest lap of each driver during Race 2, with everyone lined up in the order of speed.

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Here was the order of speed for USF2000 Race 2, and the grid for Season Round 15, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Nolan Siegel, Jay Howard Driver Development - time of 01:17.750s

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P2 - Christian Rasmussen, Jay Howard Driver Development - time of 01:18.075s

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Row 2

P3 - Cameron Shields, DEForce Racing - time of 01:18.087s

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P4 - Eduardo Barrichello [R], Pabst Racing - time of 01:18.114s

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Row 3

P5 - Christian Brooks [R], Exclusive Autosport - time of 01:18.191s

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P6 - Michael D’Orlando [R], Cape Motorsports - time of 01:18.204s

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Row 4

P7 - Reece Gold, Cape Motorsports
P8 - Matthew Round-Garrido, Pabst Racing

Row 5

P9 - Nico Christodoulou [R], DEForce Racing
P10 - Josh Green [R], Cape Motorsports

Row 6

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

Row 7

P13 - Yuven Sundaramoorthy, Pabst Racing
P14 - Prescott Campbell [R], Exclusive Autosport

Row 8

P15 - Josh Pierson [R], Exclusive Autosport
P16 - Wyatt Brichacek [R], Jay Howard Driver Development

Row 9

P17 - Christian Bogle, Jay Howard Driver Development
P18 - Kent Vaccaro [R], Miller Vinatieri Motorsports

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Notable:

• Nolan suffered a drive-thru penalty during Race 2 which effectively ended his race. The team thus decided to bring him in and put a fresh set of Coopers on his car and send him out to try to put in the Fastest Lap of the race, and that is exactly what he did. He was the only guy to break into the 01:17s.

• The same thing happened with Matt Round-Garrido. He had a drive thru and so later came in for a fresh set of tires. He just wasn’t substantially faster on them.

• Nolan’s teammate, points-leader Christian Rasmussen, will want to take the lead of the race, right away, but Nolan will want to try to get his first series WIN. It should be interesting to see what will happen.

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Nolan Siegel - 15-year-old on the pole

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The race is scheduled to start at 3:45pm and may have rain by that time.

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M

[Smyrna]

It’s good to see you back MarkyS. Been missin u round these parts.

[MarkyS]

+++

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Sunday afternoon at New Jersey - The grid is set for the final Indy Pro 2000 race…

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…which may decide the championship, even before we go to St. Petersburg for the series finale. This grid was set during Race 2, as the fastest lap of each driver in Race 2 was used to set the grid for this final race. Many cars in Race 2 opted to go into the pits for fresher tires in order to make a better run for this pole and it paid off for Colin Kaminsky, who gave up P6 in Race 2 to get new Coopers.

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Here was the order of speed for Indy Pro 2000 Race 2, and the grid for Season Round 15, with times for the TOP SIX: [R] denotes rookie

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Row 1

Pole - Colin Kaminsky [R], Pabst Racing - time of 01:12.834s

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P2 - Sting Ray Robb, Juncos Racing - time of 01:13.241s

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Row 2

P3 - Devlin DeFrancesco [R], Andretti Steinbrenner Racing - time of 01:13.445s
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P4 - Manuel Sulaiman [R], DEForce Racing - time of 01:13.536s

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Row 3

P5 - Hunter McElrea [R], Pabst Racing - time of 01:13.908s

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P6 - Artem Petrov [R], Juncos Racing - time of 01:13.9828

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Row 4

P7 - Parker Thompson, DEForce Racing
P8 - Danial Frost, Turn 3 Motorsports

Row 5

P9 - Jacob Abel [R], Abel Motorsports
P10 - Antoine Comeau, Turn 3 Motorsport

Row 6

P11 - Kory Enders, DEForce Racing
P12 - Charles Finelli, FatBoy Racing!

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Notable:

• OF the TOP FIVE Sting Ray and Hunter stayed in position in Race 2, rather than come in for fresh tires, but then Sting Ray was leading the race to the WIN, so yeah, of course.

• Also staying in their positions in Race 2 were P2 and P3 finishers Parker Thompson and Artem Petrov, so they paid a price for that in this race…but they’ll take it.

• Charles Finelli didn’t run in Race 2 and we don’t know if he will run in Race 3. Charles is a gentleman driver who races purely for the fun of it, and if he’s not having any fun he doesn’t race.

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on pole, Colin Kaminsky

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This race will be the final race of the weekend and is scheduled for a 5:00pm start, rain or shine. Next up, the final USF2000 race of the weekend. The grid for this race is in post # 15…

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M

[MarkyS]

+++

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Sunday afternoon at New Jersey - USF2000 closes out the weekend in the wet…

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…and also crowns a Champion! It wasn’t expected until one of the two double-header races at the season finale at St. Petersburg, but everything fell just right this afternoon to give Denmark’s Christian Rasmussen the WIN of Race 3 and the 2020 Championship of USF2000. This also allowed Jay Howard Driver Development to bring in the driver’s title and break the 9-year run of Cape Motorsports. Coming in P2 in the race was Josh Green for Cape Motorsports, the 3rd podium of the season for the rookie and Team USA Scholarship WINNER. Rookie Prescott Campbell took P3 for Exclusive Autosport. This is the first series podium for the 2019 Lucas Oil Formula series Champion.

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The race started with rain sprinkles in the air but the cars were all on slicks. On the pole was young Nolan Siegel for JHDD, thanks to an incredible lap he put in during Race 2. On the first lap Siegel got away clean on the slippery track but behind him Eduardo Barrichello for Pabst Racing dropped from P4 to P6 while Michael d’Orlando for Cape Motorsports went from P6 to P4. Title contender Reece Gold for Cape Motorsports dropped from P7 all the way to P12. On the 2nd lap Cameron Shields for DEForce passed P2-starter Christian Rasmussen. On lap 3 Jack William Miller for Miller Vinatieri and Nico Christodoulou for DEForce found each other and spun off. Both recovered and fell to the tail.

Lap 4 - All hell breaks loose as the rain began to fall in earnest. The first to find it was leader Siegel who ran into a wall of water in Turn 4 and immediately went off, followed by Michael d’Orlando and Matt Round-Garrido for Pabst Racing. As Nolan shot across the track he flew into Christian Brooks for Exclusive Autosport and punted him off, too. A full-course caution quickly turned into a red flag stopping the race and sending the survivors to the pits for rain tires. The TOP SIX order in the pits was Cameron Shields, Christian Rasmussen, Dudu Barrichello for Pabst, Prescott Campbell, Josh Green, and Kyle Dupell for Cape Motorsports. Brooks was down but not out while Nolan was gone for good.

On the lap 6 restart all contenders were on rain tires. Immediately d’Orlando passed Matt Round-Garrido for P14 while Yuven Sundaramoorthy for Pabst passed Christian Bogle for JHDD and slipped into P9. Jack Miller went to P11 past Josh Pierson for Exclusive Autosport. On lap 8 Rasmussen made his move and took over P1 from Cam Shields while Josh Green passed Prescott Campbell for P4. Lap 11 saw Green sneak by Shields and Barrichello for P2. Barrichello fell all the way to P6 while Campbell stayed in P5. A lap later Prescott moved into P3 past Shields. and the podium was set.

A battle then developed for P5 as first Kyle Dupell took it from Barrichello. A lap later Dudu took it back, but on Lap 14 Kyle once again took P5. Christian Brooks had also been on the move and jumped into P8 from P10. On lap 15 he was into P7 past Wyatt Brichacek for JHDD as Kyle Dupell moved into P4 over Cam Shields. Wyatt then spun off but rejoined. On lap 17 Brooks was into P6. On lap 19 he was in P5.

The race ended on lap 20 with Rasmussen a full 8.3 seconds ahead of Josh, who was 2.2 seconds ahead of Prescott.

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Notable:

• Rasmussen was aided in his title fight when fellow contenders Dudu Barrichello and Reece Gold had comparatively worse races, with a P7 and a P9, losing points needed to keep in the hunt.

• Christian now has 9 WINS on the season to add to his 3 WINS from 2019 and he has two more chances left in the season. If he wins one more he ties Chris Simmons for the all-time WINS in USF2000 with 13. He COULD pass Simmons with two WINS.

• Both Prescott Campbell and Christian Brook thrived in the wet, with Brooks especially efficient. During the race he went from the last car running back up to his P5 starting position. One wonders what he could have done if not punted off course early. Maybe his Rally work helped, but he was magic in the rain.

• Prescott went from a P14 start to his P3 and set Fastest Lap while doing it - another remarkable run in the wet.

Prescott Campbell (left) and Christian Brooks - Rainmen

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Your happy podium - That’s Josh Green in P2 on the left, 2020 Champion Christian Rasmussen in P1 in the middle and Prescott Campbell in P3 on the right:

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Next up, Indy Pro 2000 hold their final race of the weekend. The grid for that is in post # 17…

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M

[MarkyS]

+++

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Sunday afternoon in New Jersey - Indy Pro 2000 runs a rain race…

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…and crowns another Road to Indy Champion, as Sting Ray Robb grabs the title for Juncos Racing with his P3 finish. The race WINNER was Manuel Sulaiman for DEForce Racing while P2 was Colin Kaminsky for Pabst Racing.

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Manuel Sulaiman takes his 2nd WIN of the year…

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…and Sting Ray Robb takes a title!

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As the race started in the rain pole sitter Colin Kaminsky got away fast and clean but Sting Ray Robb in P2 spun his tires and dropped back into P5. Devlin DeFrancesco for Andretti Steinbrenner went to P2, Manuel Sulaiman went to P3 and Hunter McElrea for Pabst Racing went to P4. On lap 2 Artem Petrov for Juncos Racing started a swift march forward from P6, first past Robb into P5. On lap 3 he was past Hunter into P4.

Then on lap 6 Manuel Sulaiman made a try for Devlin DeFrancesco in Turn 4. At the same time Artem pulled inside and past Manuel and then janked to the left and began passing Devlin as Manuel fell back out of the action. At that moment Devlin pulled hard into Artem - probably not aware he was there - and the two cars spun off at Turn 6, out of action. Immediately a full course caution was called to clean up the cars.

On the lap 6 restart Colin again got away as Manuel passed Hunter for the P2 spot and Kory Enders for DEForce passed Jacob Abel for Abel Motorsports to take over P7. Manuel then went after Kaminsky. On lap 12 Manuel finally got past Colin after several missed attempts, going around the outside on Turn 1 and setting Fastest Lap in the process. He then motored off, leaving a huge rooster-tail in the rain. Lap 20 saw Parker Thompson for DEForce pass Danial Frost for Turn 3 Motorsport to take over P5. On lap 22 both Sting Ray and Parker passed a sliding Hunter McElrea to take over P3 and P4, respectively, and the podium was set.

Manuel WON over Colin by 10.75 seconds, while Colin beat Sting Ray to the line by 1.69 seconds.

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Notable:

• When Artem and Devlin went off, taking each other out, they also aided Sting Ray in getting the title today, as they were his remaining title rivals. The P3 was more than enough for Robb to be unassailable, with two races left to go. In fact, he could have settle for a P6, but Robb went after the podium. A racer!

• Robb now has 10 podiums on this season with 6 WINS among them. He still has two more chances to enhance that remarkable score. He’s been after this day for almost four years.

• Robb joins Conor Daly, Spencer Pigot, Victor Franzoni and Rinus VeeKay as Indy Pro 2000 Champions for Juncos Racing - a hell of a group to be in.

• Parker Thompson’s P4 is the 10th TOP FIVE result for the Canadian this year.

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Your happy podium - That’s Colin Kaminsky in P2 on the left, Manuel Sulaiman in P1 in the middle and 2020 Champion Sting Ray Robb in P3 on the right:

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That’s it from New Jersey Motorsports Park - perfect hosts to the Road to Indy, this weekend. The next time Indy Pro 2000 and USF2000 will race is the double-header at St. Pete, in support of the IndyCar finale, at the end of the month.

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M

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