Road to Indy at Mid-Ohio last week

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LEXINGTON — Mid-Ohio Sports Car course had plenty of racing last week, as two Road To Indy series raced at the Morrow County road course on Wednesday and Thursday.

Both the Indy Pro 2000 series and Cooper Tires USF 2000 series competed three times over those two days. The first of those races took place during Wednesday, while both groups then took the track for a pair of Thursday competitions.

In Wednesday’s Indy Pro 2000 series race, the checkered flag went to Braden Eves, an Ohio driver from Gahanna. Danial Frost placed second, while Parker Thompson finished in third place.

Thursday’s first race went to Artem Petrov. Devlin DeFrancesco finished second and Sting Ray Robb claimed third in the event. Later in the afternoon, when the drivers took the track again, the race was won by Robb. Hunter McElrea claimed second place and DeFrancesco ran third.

All three races were 25-lap events and had a definite effect on the series standings. Currently DeFrancesco holds a 107-106 lead over Robb in the battle for the championship. Frost (101), Petrov (100) and Eves (04) round out the top five.

The USF 2000 races all lasted for 20 laps. In Wednesday’s event, Christian Rasmussen finished in first place, while Eduardo Barrichello ran second and Reece Gold took third place.

Rasmussen made it two in a row in the first Thursday race, while Gold moved up a spot into second place. Nolan Siegel moved up into the podium by claiming third. In the day’s second race, Rasmussen complied a clean sweep of the week’s activities. Michael d’Orlando ran second and Reece Gold took third place.

Rasmussen holds a commanding lead in the points race, as he was 163, while second place d’Orlando has 97. Barrichello is third with 90, Gold holds fourth place with 85 and Josh Green is fifth with 78.

Fans with season tickets were allowed entry into this Road to Indy event. Unfortunately for local race fans, it will be a longer wait than expected to see them again. The Road to Indy groups were expected to support the main IndyCar series this weekend for a few days full of racing action.

However, on Saturday, it was announced that IndyCar and Mid-Ohio had agreed to postpone the IndyCar weekend until a date to be determined later in the year.

In a press release sent out by Mid-Ohio, it said:

“IndyCar and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course have agreed to postpone The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio scheduled for Aug. 7-9 until a date to be determined in September or October. This decision was made through communication with local health officials given the current environment.

“Our team continues to work with all of our partners and our local government to identify a date later this year when we can host The Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. More information will be forthcoming as it becomes available. Visit midohio.com for ongoing updates.

“We appreciate the patience and understanding of our fans as we navigate this postponement.”

Christian Rasmussen had a big week at Mid-Ohio, winning all three USF 2000 races held over Wednesday and Thursday.
https://www.galioninquirer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2020/08/web1_rasmussen.jpgChristian Rasmussen had a big week at Mid-Ohio, winning all three USF 2000 races held over Wednesday and Thursday. Rob Hamilton | Morrow County Sentinel

Artem Petrov picked up an Indy Pro 2000 win at Mid-Ohio on Thursday.
https://www.galioninquirer.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/38/2020/08/web1_petrov.jpgArtem Petrov picked up an Indy Pro 2000 win at Mid-Ohio on Thursday. Rob Hamilton | Morrow County Sentinel
This week’s IndyCar event postponed

 

By Rob Hamilton

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Rob Hamilton can be reached at 419-946-3010, ext. 1807. Connect with him on Twitter at @SportsMCS

 

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