The VP Racing Grand Prix of Indianapolis for USF Pro 2000 Presented by Continental Tire concluded today with a pair of action-packed 25-lap races with New Zealander Jacob Douglas and Israeli Ariel Elkin sharing the spoils of victory on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix road course.
After being robbed of a potential maiden victory yesterday by an electrical malfunction, Douglas fought back magnificently this morning to score a convincing win for Pabst Racing. Several hours later, in front of a huge crowd basking in perfect weather conditions immediately prior to the Sonsio Grand Prix NTT INDYCAR SERIES headline event, Elkin fought off allcomers to score his second win of the weekend for locally based TJ Speed Motorsports.
“Great race,” commented Douglas. “Started in P2, lost a couple places on the start, made our way back forward, and then managed to capitalize on some battles in front of us. It feels great to get the win after some unlucky problems yesterday that was out of myself and the team’s control. So, it feels like a bit of redemption.”
Mac Clark (Exclusive Autosport), from Milton, Ont., Canada, and series point leader Max Garcia (Pabst Racing), from Coconut Grove, Fla., rounded out the podium on Saturday morning, while Turn 3 Motorsport’s Cooper Becklin, from Portland, Ore., and Michael Costello (Pabst Racing), from Naples, Fla., did so in the afternoon.
The opening race of the day at 9:30 a.m. EDT saw Elkin once again claiming the Continental Tire Pole Award by virtue of each driver’s second-fastest lap from the solitary qualifying session on Friday morning. Douglas lined up second, anxious to make up for his bitter disappointment on Friday.
For the second day running, Douglas had a run on Elkin on the long drag race to the first corner. And once again Elkin was able to cling onto his advantage as Douglas fell to fourth behind a fast-moving Clark, who made a storming start from sixth on the grid, and VRD Racing’s Max Taylor, from Hoboken, N.J.
Elkin maintained his lead through a couple of early full-course cautions. Then, following what proved to be the final restart with 10 laps complete, he came under increasing pressure from, firstly, Douglas, who vaulted from fourth to second at the restart, and then Taylor, who took advantage of a slip by the New Zealander in Turn One on the 14th lap.
Taylor drafted alongside Elkin on several occasions as they raced toward Turn One, but each time Elkin held him at bay… until Lap 21, when they tangled at the exit and both lost a lot of ground.
Douglas gratefully picked up the pieces, sneaking through into the lead as the erstwhile leaders fumbled through the grassy runoff area. Clark found himself in second place for the second straight day. Once more he put the race leader under pressure, but Douglas was up to the task and held on for an accomplished and overdue victory.
Garcia finished third ahead of Jace Denmark, from nearby Brownsburg, Ind., who earned his best result of the season to date after starting 10th. TJ Speed Motorsports teammate Elkin recovered to finish fifth ahead of Nicholas Monteiro, from Miami, Fla., who again drove a strong race for Turn 3 Motorsport. Monteiro secured another Tilton Hard Charger Award after having started 16th.
Elkin once again took the Continental Tire Pole Award for the final race with Douglas once again alongside on the front row. Taylor and Garcia lined up alongside each other one row farther back.
After all four preceding USF Pro Championships races this weekend had managed to make it relatively cleanly through Turn One, unfortunately this time there was calamity. Elkin narrowly maintained his lead on the long run to Turn One, while behind him, title protagonist Alessandro de Tullio (Turn 3 Motorsport), from Miami, Fla., made a spectacular getaway to rise as high as second place on the outside line, only to be collected by a massive chain reaction crash that seemed to be precipitated by a coming together between Taylor and Douglas. Cue a full-course caution.
Taylor, de Tullio and an innocent Brady Golan (Turn 3 Motorsport), from Austin, Texas, were all eliminated on the spot, while Douglas only managed to continue after a lengthy pit stop for repairs. Remarkably, Douglas emerged to post the fastest lap of the race while being classified an unrepresentative 17th. Clark also fell to the back of the field after a pit stop to replace his front wing.
The eventual restart brought a hectic battle for the lead before Garcia and New Zealander Sebastian Manson (TJ Speed Motorsports) collided at Turn Four on Lap 11, which allowed Elkin to escape out front.
The Israeli reeled off the laps to score another fine win, while Becklin emerged in second place to secure by far his most impressive result to date. Becklin, who started 11th, coolly held off a strong challenge from Costello, who was another to be greatly inconvenienced by the fracas in Turn One. Costello, too, rose impressively through the field and narrowly remained ahead of a charging Garcia, who had earlier been obliged to give up a position to Monteiro for blocking.
Clark’s eventful weekend finished with a fifth-place finish after a fine recovery drive as Monteiro earned a clean sweep of the Tilton Hard Charger Awards after fighting his way from 16th to sixth. Again.
The day’s pair of PFC Awards were claimed by Augie Pabst and Tim Neff as the winning car owners.
The only oval race of the season is next on the docket for the USF Pro 2000 contenders with a visit to Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park for the traditional Friday evening event on May 23.
Provisional championship points after eight of 18 rounds:
1/ Max Garcia, 202
2/ Alessandro de Tullio, 145
3/ Ariel Elkin, 143
4/ Mac Clark, 140
5/ Jacob Douglas, 123
6/ Max Taylor, 121
7/ Michael Costello, 108
8/ Jace Denmark, 103
9/ Nicholas Monteiro, 90
10/ Cooper Becklin, 88
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