LEXINGTON, Ohio – VRD Racing this morning concluded the USF Pro Patriot 250 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio in style as Canadian Edward Kennedy led Dutch teammate Dean Hoogendoorn to a magnificent sweep of the top two steps of the USF Juniors Presented by Continental Tire podium. The pair of youngsters, born just four days apart in May 2012, took the checkered flag under caution following an action-packed 20-lap race.
Fellow rookie Bex Cranston, from Greenwich, Conn., who has familial roots in Ohio, earned a career-best third-place finish for Exclusive Autosport.
Points leader Karol Pasiewicz, once again started from pole position for Olivia Racing after having recorded the best of each driver’s second-fastest laps during the solitary qualifying session on Friday. The former karting champion from Lodz, Poland, thus earned his fifth straight Continental Tire Pole Award.
Friday race winner Kennedy started alongside Pasiewicz on what was a “green” race track following a heavy thunderstorm the previous evening which not only washed away all the rubber that had been laid previously, it also caused significant damage to several teams’ paddock awnings.
Pasiewicz held off a determined challenge from Kennedy on the opening lap, although it wasn’t long before Kennedy, too, came under pressure as Max Cuthbert, from Essex, England, stormed from sixth on the grid.
Cuthbert clearly had the fastest car in the early stages, and he executed a fine move around the outside of Kennedy in Turn Four on the sixth lap before completing the pass in Turn Five. Cuthbert next set his sights on the race leader. He was reducing the deficit until trying to carry a little too much speed through Turn One a couple of laps later caught him out and he slid off into the wet grass.
Pasiewicz continued to lead after a brief full-course caution, but then he, too, made a mistake and performed a quick 360-degree spin in Turn One on Lap 12. The error gifted a grateful Kennedy the lead, which he maintained until the finish.
Shortly before Pasiewicz’s error, Cranston, who had started eighth, continued his march toward the front by slipping past both Olivier Mrak (Zanella Racing), from Ottawa, Canada, and Casper Nissen (JHDD powered by ECR), from Toftlund, Denmark, in quick succession. Cranston also ousted Hoogendoorn to move into second.
Hoogendoorn returned the favor with another fine outside-line move in Turn Four at the end of the longest straightaway on Lap 16, and this time he was able to make the position stick as another couple of incidents ensured that the race would finish under yellow.
The first clash, in Turn Five, ended with Canadian Cole Medeiros spinning his Exclusive Autosport car after being edged onto the grass at the exit of Turn Four as he attempted to pass Nissen. Pasiewicz, who had rejoined in seventh after his slip, narrowly avoided Medeiros as the Canadian spun across the road directly in front of him.
Then, as the green flags flew from the restart, Zanella Racing teammates Victor Couto, from Boca Raton, Fla., and Mrak came together in Turn 13. Both speared off into the gravel to ensure the race would finish under yellow.
Mexican rookie Elias Vignola completed his best weekend for DEForce Racing by finishing fifth after Nissen was later assessed a penalty for blocking which relegated him to ninth in the final results.
For the second straight day, JHDD powered by ECR’s JW Main, from Tulsa, Okla., earned the Tilton Hard Charger Award after working his way from 17th on the grid to sixth.
The PFC Award once again was claimed by Dan Mitchell as the winning car owner.
The USF Juniors field now heads directly to Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn., for a series test on Tuesday, July 7, in advance of another pair of races, this time in conjunction with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, later in the week on July 10/11.
Provisional championship points after 11 of 16 races:
1. Karol Pasiewicz, 232
2. Max Mokarem, 181
3. Ivan Machado Perez, 167
4. Olivier Mrak, 167
5. Cole Medeiros, 155
6. Victor Couto, 149
7. Bex Cranston, 145
8. Vilho Aatola, 132
9. Casper Nissen, 130
10. Leonardo Serravalle, 124
Edward Kennedy (#30 VRD Racing Tatuus JR-23): “I knew I didn't have the pace in the beginning, so I just had to defend a bit for second. I knew at some point in the race there was going to be a safety car and there was. After Karol spun, I inherited P1. I had a lot of pace towards the end. We were really, really fast and I would like to thank VRD.”
Dean Hoogendoorn (#12 Williams F1 Team Driver Academy-VRD Racing Tatuus JR-23): “Obviously, starting P7 is not the easiest race you will get but I'm really happy with the result again as we have a VRD one-two. To all the boys in the team, a really great job. We found really great pace, especially in the middle of the race. We started chipping away those positions and moving to the front. We had two safety cars in the end, so that was really tricky but I stayed behind Eddie and everything went as planned. I'm really, really happy.”
Bex Cranston (#90 IES/Miller Motorcars/King & Spalding-Exclusive Autosport Tatuus JR-23): “I was starting eighth after the penalty yesterday, but I was just trying to keep chipping them off, one by one, and a couple of restarts helped me out. I want to thank all the boys at Exclusive Autosport and all of our partners for all they do for us, so a big thank you.”