Photo: Gavin Baker Photography
Velocity Racing Development’s Nikita Johnson took his fifth USF Pro 2000 pole of the season in qualifying at Mid-Ohio.
Johnson began Friday by topping practice, setting a 1m18.8218s to go fastest by 0.2013 seconds over Pabst Racing’s Christian Brooks who is also racing in Indy Nxt this weekend. His team-mate Jace Denmark was 0.078s behind him in third place, then just 0.0568s split TJ Speed’s Liam Sceats in fourth and Exclusive Autosport’s Braden Eves in seventh.
Eves, who is currently seventh in the standings and won the season’s only oval race at Indianapolis Raceway Park, is set to be making his final outing of the year this weekend due to budget constraints. He plans to return to the grid in 2025.
The 25-year-old debuted in 2020, winning from pole in just his third race but only lasting half the season and coming 11th in the standings. He got to do a full-time campaign in 2021, and won two of the first three races. One win and six other podiums followed in the remaining 15 races, and he was championship runner-up.
A team switch from Exclusive to Jay Howard Driver Development in 2022 did not take him to the title, instead resulting in him coming fifth in the standings. Eves then spent 2023 on the sidelines before a fourth crack at USFP2000 this year.
Qualifying was more closely contested than practice, and laptimes were only slightly faster. Johnson set a 1m18.5055s to take pole by 0.1236s, with Denmark his closest rival. Brooks was also within 0.2s of pole, and Simon Sikes made it three Pabst drivers in the top four.
Eves was fifth, 0.4851s off pole, and Turn 3 Motorsport’s Lochie Hughes was sixth. Only three other drivers were within a second of Johnson, including BN Racing’s Alessandro de Tullio who qualified ninth for his debut race.
Qualifying results
| Pos | Driver | Team | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikita Johnson | Velocity Racing Development | 1m18.5055s | 15 | |
| 2 | Jace Denmark | Pabst Racing | 1m18.6291s | +0.1236s | 15 |
| 3 | Christian Brooks | Pabst Racing | 1m18.6741s | +0.1686s | 13 |
| 4 | Simon Sikes | Pabst Racing | 1m18.8766s | +0.3711s | 15 |
| 5 | Braden Eves | Exclusive Autosport | 1m18.9906s | +0.4851s | 14 |
| 6 | Lochie Hughes | Turn 3 Motorsport | 1m19.0620s | +0.5565s | 15 |
| 7 | Frankie Mossman | JHDD | 1m19.3491s | +0.8436s | 15 |
| 8 | Mac Clark | DEForce Racing | 1m19.4101s | +0.9046s | 14 |
| 9 | Alessandro de Tullio | BN Racing | 1m19.4596s | +0.9541s | 15 |
| 10 | Ricardo Escotto | BN Racing | 1m19.5367s | +1.0312s | 14 |
| 11 | Nicholas Monteiro | DEForce Racing | 1m19.6028s | +1.0973s | 14 |
| 12 | Danny Dyszelski | Turn 3 Motorsport | 1m19.6109s | +1.1054s | 14 |
| 13 | Liam Sceats | TJ Speed | 1m19.6194s | +1.1139s | 13 |
| 14 | Jorge Garciarce | DEForce Racing | 1m19.6382s | +1.1327s | 14 |
| 15 | Tyke Durst | Turn 3 Motorsport | 1m19.7265s | +1.2210s | 14 |
| 16 | Ethan Ho | Turn 3 Motorsport | 1m19.7932s | +1.2877s | 14 |
| 17 | Nicolas Baptiste | BN Racing | 1m20.0753s | +1.5698s | 14 |
| 18 | Nico Christodoulou | Velocity Racing Development | 1m20.3889s | +1.8834s | 14 |
| 19 | Logan Adams | Comet/NCMP Racing | 1m20.4675s | +1.9620s | 14 |
| 20 | Cooper Becklin | TJ Speed | 1m21.1252s | +2.6197s | 14 |