Elkin boosts USFP2000 title ambitions with assured Freedom 90 victory

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Ariel Elkin reduced Max Garcia’s USF Pro 2000 points lead by winning the Freedom 90 at Lucas Oil Raceway.

The 90-lapper, held on Friday night, is the season’s sole oval race and drivers warmed up for it with a daytime practice session.

Pabst Racing’s Garcia set a 19.8905s late on to pip TJ Speed’s Elkin by 0.0393 seconds, with Velocity Racing Development’s Max Taylor 0.048s and Turn 3 Motorsport’s Nicholas Monteiro 0.0676s off top spot.

In sixth was Exclusive Autosport’s Mac Clark, who had qualified on pole. After crashing in qualifying, Jay Howard Driver Development did a rebuild to ensure Tanner DeFabis could start the race.

DEForce Racing’s Jorge Garciarce went a lap down instantly, as he failed to get going when the pace car led the field into action.

Green flags waved on lap two, and Elkin picked the high line exiting turn one to get alongside Clark. He edged ahead through the last corner, briefly lost control of his car but avoided hitting both the wall and Clark to take the lead.

Clark had his own loose moment in his wake on lap four, but he remained within 1.3s of Elkin through the first 20 laps. By that point Elkin had already lapped series veteran Charles Finelli, who had started seventh but dropped to the back on lap one.

Elkin had a far easier time lapping cars than Clark, and by lap 37 had already put Pabst’s 10th-placed Jacob Douglas a lap down.

Soon there were drivers two laps back, and Elkin was over four seconds clear of Clark. On lap 48 a caution period was required as Exclusive’s Joey Brienza crashed into the barriers at turn four.

Racing resumed on lap 58 with three lapped cars between Elkin and Clark, who was quickly lost second to Turn 3’s Alessandro de Tullio.

Douglas then stubbornly kept his line ahead of Clark, and the laps wasted trying to lap him meant the top two built a big gap.

Elkin put 2.6s between himself and de Tullio, before the gap was whittled down to 1.2s in the final laps.

Garcia finished fourth, and for much of the race there was a train slightly further back consisting of Taylor, Monteiro, Turn 3’s Brady Golan, Douglas and Pabst’s Michael Costello.

Golan passed Costello on lap 11, and Douglas pulled off a great pass on him on lap 19. Costello reclaimed a spot on lap 28, and on lap 30 Golan went to the inside of Monteiro at turn one for sixth. Monteiro responded a lap later, and Golan got the move done again on lap 39.

They continued to battle until the caution period, and after that Golan swiftly cleared Taylor while Costello jumped ahead of Monteiro. Costello then overtook Taylor on lap 70, who was later lapped by Elkin, with Monteiro also getting by and they ran side-by-side late on until Monteiro got ahead for sixth on the penultimate lap.

DeFabis went on a charging drive to 10th, taking 32 laps to get into 11th then spending a long time trying to pass TJ Speed’s Jace Denmark.

Race results (90 laps)