Musella steals USF2000 championship runner-up spot via Portland win

Photo: Gavin Baker Photography

Teddy Musella won the final race of the USF2000 season at Portland to become championship runner-up by one point.

Drivers’ second-best laptimes from qualifying once again set the grid, putting champion Jack Jeffers (Exclusive Autosport) on pole ahead of Musella (Velocity Racing Development), Evan Cooley (Exclusive), Sebastian Garzon (DEForce Racing) and Thomas Schrage (VRD).

Schrage entered the race 19 points ahead of Musella, but contact at the opening corner earned him a drive-through penalty which was handed out on lap six. At that point he was third, having overtaken Cooley on lap two.

Jeffers had locked up into turn one and Musella had to fend off Cooley through turn four on lap one. After doing so, he began closing in on Jeffers and forced the leader to cover the inside line as lap six started after two tours in his mirrors.

Musella locked up and the pressure on Jeffers was eased as Schrage then homed in. But he served his penalty without delay, and spent lap seven in 16th place.

Garzon had fallen to sixth behind Pabst Racing’s Caleb Gafrarar on the opening lap and picked up front wing damage from contact with Schrage, but got back past Gafrarar on lap three. He had then squeezed past Cooley through the opening chicane on lap six, so inherited third once Schrage took his penalty.

He had no answer to the top two’s pace though, and soon Musella was on Jeffers’ rear again. The champion began lap 11 defending rigorously and remained ahead, then was looking more comfortable again until race control decided that Jeffers had blocked Musella earlier on and needed to let him past.

Musella took the lead on the inside into turn one on lap 15 of 25, and Jeffers tried coming back at him at turn four and then again at turn 10 where there was almost contact as he attempted to put his car on the inside.

Jeffers suffered the effect of dirty air thereon and finished 1.4586s behind Musella, as attention switched to Schrage. He had gaps of over 10s to make up on drivers towards the back, but in clean air he set the fastest lap and earned a crucial point.

After eventually making it to 13th past VRD’s Ryan Giannetta, he then hunted down Pabst’s G3 Argyros and got him into turn one on the penultimate lap. But he ran out of time to get 12th place, the position he needed to stay ahead of Musella in the standings.

Cooley got close to Garzon for third late on, and Jay Howard Driver Development’s Brad Majman charged up to fifth from 12th despite missing the race’s opening corners.

Race results (25 laps)