Photo: Gavin Baker Photography
Pabst Racing’s Sam Corry and Velocity Racing Development’s Max Taylor won USF2000’s two races at Road America.
There was plenty of drama before race one began on Saturday, with Jay Howard Driver Development’s Michael Costello and G3 Argyros getting two-place grid penalties so they started fourth and sixth, then a very wet track meaning that there was a 28-minute delay to the race starting after the paddock had got ready.
Lap one ran behind the pace car, but it was not completed before race-ending red flags waved. There was enough time in the event schedule to have another go at starting the race at the end of the day on a dry track, which USF2000 managed to do with a shortened nine-lap race distance.
Pabst’s Max Garcia had pole, with Taylor, Exclusive Autosport’s Joey Brienza, Costello, Corry, Argyros and Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development’s Elliot Cox filling the top seven places for the rolling start.
Taylor tried getting alongside Garcia at turns one and five on lap one, but after that fell to fourth behind Costello and Brienza. A caution period was then called as an incident at turn three eliminated DEForce Racing’s Quinn Armstrong and Maxwell Jamieson while JHDD’s Evagoras Papasavvas also retired.
Costello tried taking the lead at turn one on the lap four restart but went off when his rear-right wheel made contact with Garcia’s front-left and he got beached in the gravel. Garcia then pulled away, and Corry took second from Brienza before a caution period was called.
However once Costello’s car got moving again he rejoined the race on the lead lap. The next restart was on lap six and Corry passed Garcia before they reached turn one. JHDD’s Tanner DeFabis spun off at turn one, causing another caution period depite also being able to get going again.
Cox went from eighth to fourth before the race was neutralised, and on the lap eight restart there was side-by-side action throughout the field and some agressive defending from Corry. Brienza got into second then tried to take first at turn five, as Cox passed Garcia for third.
Corry won by 0.8723 seconds over Brienza, with Taylor third and Cox losing out to Garcia after a fight that included contact. Costello remarkably recovered to eighth.
Race two on Sunday was also shortened to nine laps due to its place in the schedule, and poleman Taylor led throughout. Garcia challenged him at several corners on lap one, then Costello passed Garcia on lap two and did not attempt passing Taylor until lap seven when he went to the outside at Canada Corner and ended up going onto the grass at the exit.
Taylor’s lead grew from 0.7s to 3.4s as a result, then a spin at turn one for DC Autosport’s Carson Etter led to the last one-and-a-half laps running behind the pace car. On lap five Garcia fell from third to sixth, with Brienza taking the final podium spot and Corry reclaiming fourth from Papasavvas on lap eight.
Results round-up
Race 1 (9 laps)
1 Sam Corry Pabst Racing 31m08.6579s
2 Joey Brienza Exclusive Autosport +0.8723s
3 Max Taylor Velocity Racing Development +2.5379s
4 Max Garcia Pabst Racing +2.6075s
5 Elliot Cox SFHRD +3.1132s
6 Ayrton Houk DC Autosport +5.5761s
7 Hudson Schwartz Pabst Racing +5.9010s
8 Michael Costello JHDD +7.3774s
9 G3 Argyros JHDD +7.4397s
10 Lucas Fecury DEForce Racing +7.8432s
Fastest lap: Corry, 2m10.8739s
Race 2 (9 laps)
1 Taylor 21m17.8567s
2 Costello +0.5553s
3 Brienza +1.1385s
4 Corry +2.8705s
5 Evagoras Papasavvas JHDD +3.0190s
6 Garcia +3.4037s
7 Nicolas Giaffone DEForce Racing +4.4589s
8 Argyros +5.1332s
9 Schwartz +7.3992s
10 Houk +9.0346s
FL: Taylor, 2m10.1850s
Championship standings
1 Garcia 241 2 Corry 205 3 Papasavvas 195 4 Taylor 179 5 Brienza 160 6 Cox 146 7 Schwartz 121 8 Costello 118 9 Giaffone 113 10 Houk 113