Photo: Gavin Baker Photography
Max Garcia became USF2000 champion by winning race two of the weekend at Portland, while G3 Argyros was victorious for the first time in the season finale.
Drivers’ second-best qualifying laptimes set race two’s grid, with a 1m12.7643s from Thomas Schrage putting the Velocity Racing Development driver on pole by 0.029 seconds over Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development’s Elliot Cox and 0.0918s over DEForce Racing’s Nicolas Giaffone. Pabst Racing team-mates (and title rivals) Garcia and Sam Corry were fourth and fifth.
The first attempt at a rolling start was called off, so racing began on lap two. Everyone navigated turn one safely, and later in the lap Cox slipstreamed past Schrage into the lead. Garcia took third, then passed Schrage at turn two on lap three.
Corry demoted Giaffone to fifth on lap four, and through the next two laps Garcia was pressuring Cox. On lap nine there was drama as Pabst’s Hudson Schwartz, who was in sixth, stopped briefly at turn four and a caution period was required.
Racing resumed on lap 11 and Garcia tried going around the outside of Cox at turn one. Cox locked up, but remarkably none of the top eight changed positions.
VRD’s Max Taylor and Jay Howard Driver Development’s Evagoras Papasavvs passed Giaffone on lap 12. Cox had a one-second lead by lap 17 as Schrage attacked Garcia, and Corry’s title hopes were hurt as Taylor and Papasavvas overtook him in successive laps.
Garcia was back on Cox’s tail by lap 20, and at turn one on lap 23 went around his outside for the lead. Cox could not get back past, and victory for Garcia – while Corry finished sixth – meant the title was won.
By setting the fastest lap en route to third, Schrage earned race three pole ahead of Taylor, Garcia, Papasavvas, Cox and Corry. Argyros was 14th on the grid.
Cox and Garcia made it into second and third on lap one, then Cox took the lead on lap four. Garcia followed him past Schrage a lap later, and on lap six Argyros got into the top 10.
Schrage lost out to Taylor on lap seven, then to Papasavvas on lap 12. In the interim, Garcia was ramping up pressure on Cox and on lap 13 they clahed. A caution period followed, with Taylor now leading and Argyros up to eighth.
On the restart, Taylor and Papasavvas collided, Schrage jumped over the turn one kerbs, Exclusive Autosport’s Joey Brienza spun and several others skipped the first two corners, requiring the pace car to immediately return.
For the next restart on lap 19, after corner-cutting penalties had been served, Argyros led Schrage, Giaffone and DEForce’s Lucas Fecury. This time Papasavvas and team-mate Michael Costello crashed out, so another caution period was needed.
When racing next resumed, Fecury cut turn one and copped a five-second penalty. Garcia (who had served a penalty) got into third, then overtook Giaffone at turn one next time by. He got super close to passing Argyros multiple times but the leader held on until full course yellow flags waved on the last lap due to DEForce’s Brady Golan hitting out Schwartz.
Results round-up
Race 2 (25 laps)
1 Max Garcia Pabst Racing 31m54.5496s
2 Elliot Cox SFHRD +0.6250s
3 Thomas Schrage Velocity Racing Development +0.9709s
4 Max Taylor Velocity Racing Development +1.3387s
5 Evagoras Papasavvas JHDD +2.8809s
6 Sam Corry Pabst Racing +3.2534s
7 Michael Costello JHDD +7.3221s
8 Nicolas Giaffone DEForce Racing +8.1713s
9 Quinn Armstrong DEForce Racing +9.4396s
10 Joey Brienza Exclusive Autosport +11.6215s
Pole: Schrage, 1m12.7643s
Fastest lap: Schrage, 1m12.1181s
Race 3 (25 laps)
1 G3 Argyros JHDD 37m17.9844s
2 Garcia +3.0568s
3 Giaffone +4.3945s
4 Schrage +6.1186s
5 Brienza +6.8043s
6 Taylor +7.3369s
7 Corry +7.8320s
8 Armstrong +7.9193s
9 Lucas Fecury DEForce Racing +10.4832s
10 Carson Etter DC Autosport +25.6479s
FL: Costello, 1m12.8761s
Championship standings
1 Garcia 428 2 Cory 355 3 Taylor 343 4 Papasavvas 326 5 Brienza 265 6 Cox 264 7 Giaffone 245 8 Hudson Schwartz 218 9 Costello 218 10 Armstrong 184