Junior Open Wheel Talent

Peter Dempsey (top) crosses the finish line 0.0026 seconds ahead of Gabby Chaves, Sage Karam, and Carlos Munoz in the 2013 Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
(photo: IndyCar.com)

Even Peter Dempsey was surprised at the finish of the Freedom 100.

Despite biding his time and running near the front for the entire Freedom 100, Peter Dempsey didn’t appear to be in contention for the race win as the white flag flew in Indianapolis. Carlos Munoz, Sage Karam, and Gabby Chaves came off Turn 4 three-wide, but it was Dempsey who used the tow to beat all three to the stripe. The margin?: 0.0026 seconds!

It was the closest finish in the 100-plus year history of Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

According to early reports, Dempsey’s spotter Stefan Wilson told Dempsey to go for it on the outside heading toward the finish line off of Turn 4 — creating a four-wide finish — but Dempsey never questioned the move. He was going for it.

The aggressive maneuver paid off, earning Dempsey his first career victory in Firestone Indy Lights.

“Beers are on me tonight,” Dempsey said in his post-race interview.

Watch the finish here:

Make the jump to see the full results.  [Continue Reading...]

If you haven’t already done so, make sure to check out Episode 1 of F1600 in Focus. The first episode captures some great onboard racing from the F1600 Formula F Championship Series (VIR), the Pacific Formula F1600 Championship (Thunderhill), and the SCCA Majors at Circuit of the Americas. Enjoy.

For up-to-date news and views on karting and junior formula racing follow @JOWT on Twitter or follow on Facebook.

Aaron Telitz carefully navigates his F1600 race car to victory at Road Atlanta.                   (photo: Phil Kane / Apex Motorsports Photography)

Ed. Note: As part of our ongoing pursuit to help support and promote today’s up-and-coming junior formula drivers we have offered F1600 Formula F Championship winner Aaron Telitz the opportunity to blog about his experience [including a pole position and race win] at Road Atlanta. Enjoy.

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After struggling with the setup at the F1600 season opener at VIR I came into Road Atlanta much more prepared for the technical side of racing. I called my engineer before we even got to the track to go over the baseline setup. I wanted to make sure I understood where we were starting off and to go over easy changes to help the balance of the car one way or another.

The biggest learning curve for me in making the transition from Skip Barber cars to an F1600 car has been understanding the dynamics of the car. In Skip Barber I just got into the car and drove as hard as I could, not worrying about the setup. That is not the case in F1600 or in any other race car I will drive in my career. I always tell people, “As a race car driver the easiest part of my job is driving the car,” and the further along I get in my career the more truth there is in that statement.

When the first practice session came around we hit the ground running and ended up P3 in a short session due to red flags. After making a few changes we improved our lap time and position on the time charts in the second session. We didn’t have much time between sessions so it was very important to give good concise feedback so my engineer and mechanic could get going on changes right away. After another small change we improved our lap time again for session three but were still P2 on the chart. We made one final change to the car, put new sticker Hoosier Tires on and went out for qualifying.

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Scott Hargrove looks through the corner on his way to victory on the streets of St. Petersburg. (photo: John R. Hendrick)

Scott Hargrove could feel the lactic acid building in his muscles. Despite the pain, he continued to pedal his bike and maintain a high cadence in order to stay on the wheel and in the draft of his older brother Robert — a UCI licensed cyclist who regularly achieves an epic suffer score on Strava.com.

With his legs and lungs working at maximum capacity and heart rate spiked, Hargrove continues to push and chase. He knows the effort will pay off. Fitness is key for a race car driver and Scott’s has never been better; thanks in part to his brother Robert, who after suffering a severe knee injury during a 2011 ski cross race with the British Columbia team (BCSC), turned to bikes as a way to rehab.

“He likes to push my limits,” Scott said, when asked about training with his brother Robert. “The only real chance I have to keep up with him is after he has already done double this distance of me earlier in the day. He’s an Iron Man in my eyes and has turned into a true athlete. That, for sure, drives me to follow in his foot steps.

“The motivation carries through into whatever I am doing,” Scott continued, “whether it be schoolwork, training, or racing.”

The morning after pursuing his brother 60 kilometers (nearly 40-miles) at a strenuous pace, Hargrove turns his focus to school work and stuffs his backpack full of books, his laptop, gym clothes, and lunch. After strapping the nearly 50-pound bundle to his back, he climbs onto his late-90s dark-blue Specialized carbon road bike, equipped with fenders and rides to class, 15 km one way.

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CALM BEFORE THE STORM: Drivers take the green flag on the opening lap of the 2013 Long Beach 100. (photo: Chris Jones / IndyCar.com)

A race isn’t won on the opening lap.

Yet mistakes happen and on Sunday three drivers emerged from broken race cars before reaching turn one. Lessons were learned. By lap 16, only five cars remained and the highly anticipated Long Beach 100 became a bit of a “snoozer.” Unfazed pole-sitter Carlos Munoz cruised to an easy victory — his second consecutive win while leading every lap — and took over the championship points lead.

In the opening lap of the race, Jack Hawkworth drifted a bit wide in the kink before heading into turn one, collecting Zach Veach who was attempting a pass along the outside wall. The contact immediately sent Hawksworth’s car veering hard to the right and directly into Peter Dempsey.

A few laps later Juan Pablo Garcia, running in second place, spun on the entry to turn one. Three drivers were able to clear him as they entered the blind corner. His teammate, Mikael Grenier, wasn’t so lucky. Both drivers saw their day come to a premature end.

Just past midway, Sage Karam dove to the inside of turn eight, passing Jorge Goncalvez for third. Gabby Chaves, who finished the race second, was able to stay relatively close to Munoz throughout the race but was never close enough to pose a serious threat.

The Firestone Indy Lights drivers return to action on May 18 for the Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Make the jump for full results.  [Continue Reading...]

STAR PERFORMANCE: Adrian Starrantino drove to victory in both F1600 Championship Series races this past weekend at Virginia International Raceway. (photo: F1600/Valet)

Ed. Note: After wrapping up a highly successful season in the Skip Barber Racing Series, junior formula racer Adrian Starrantino decided to graduate to the F1600 Formula F Championship Series with Bryan Herta Autosport for 2013. In a post exclusive to Junior Open-Wheel Talent, the 18-year-old standout writes about his opening weekend in the F1600 car at Virginia International Raceway. Enjoy.

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One word to describe the start of the season: “Awesome.”

In the off-season I made the decision to move to Indianapolis full-time to pin down my racing career. During this time I have been able to see how much work goes into the cars during the off-season.  I knew when signing with Bryan Herta Autosport for the 2013 Formula F1600 Championship there was going to be some big shoes to fill, and I was more than prepared to take on the challenge.

Knowing how the team had performed last year, I was feeling pretty confident rolling into VIR for the first round of the 2013 championship.  I was fortunate to develop a relationship with the crew during the off-season and we were already becoming a true team. The weekend started off with a test day on Thursday and the car was right on pace.

Finally Friday came along and it was time for the first official practice session of the season. Right off the bat we were running P1 and stayed there the entire day. After tediously debriefing with my engineer, Geoff, we had a plan of attack for the first day of racing.

Saturday came and the pressure suddenly became real. All of my preparation and training came down to this day.  I told myself that I would just treat the first qualifying session as another practice run.  Sure enough, the track went green and I was sitting in P1.  Getting pole position was very important for us in two ways; the first was that it gave us excellent track position to start off the race and secondly we were awarded three bonus points towards the championship standings.

With the first pole of the season in my hands, I still knew that the race was going to be tough.  As soon as the green dropped I led into turn one.  As the race unfolded I was finding the similar pattern of the “chess game.”  I knew the best way to win the race was to enter the final lap in second-place.  As the white flag came out I set up the pass and made it stick leading my opponent to the checkered by three-tenths of a second.

I remember being so thrilled as I crossed the line.  I threw my fist in the air and shouted to my team “That’s what I call a start to a season, great job guys!”  The podium ceremony felt so redeeming.

Adrian Starrantino (photo: F1600/Valet)

After the great win on Saturday, I was determined to repeat my success on Sunday as well.  I qualified in P2 right behind one of my teammates, Ayla Agren, which put us in a great position for the start of race number two of the season.

My team had told me that my main competitor from race one was starting in the back of the field for race two.  I automatically knew that my strategy was going to change.  I thought to myself that it’s all about pacing now.  Keep the tire life as long as possible.  As the green flag waved, I got a jump on Ayla.  As we exited turn one I saw nothing but chaos in my mirrors and almost instantly the full-course caution came out.

As the field prepared for the restart, I checked my mirrors and saw my strongest competitor from race one sitting in P3.  My strategy was going to change yet again and I needed a repeat from the day prior.  As the race led up to the last couple laps, Jake Eidson and I checked out from the field.  I knew that if I had him right in front of me going into the last lap that I would have the advantage.  As the white flag came out I can remember everything getting really quiet… the crew, my breathing patterns, everything.  As we exited Oak Tree corner heading onto the back straight I had Jake in perfect position to overtake.  Right near the end of the straight I popped and made the pass stick.  The emotion was higher than ever going into the last section of the track.  As we popped out of the final corner he was right behind me getting a tow, we crossed the line and I beat him to the stripe by the tiniest margin.  Taking the second consecutive win of the weekend was incredible.  I could not believe it.

Sweeping the weekend in such a manner gives us such momentum heading into round two at Road Atlanta.  With 10 more races to go, the team and I know where we stand and what we have to do to be in the fight for the 2013 Championship title.

For up-to-date news and views on karting and junior formula racing follow @JOWT on Twitter or follow on Facebook.

Jake Eidson wrapped up his third consecutive Skip Barber Racing Series Championship last weekend at Sebring International Raceway, concluding the season with 12 podiums and five-straight victories.

“I think most of it is just applying everything I’ve learned the year before and the year before and the year before,” Eidson said during his acceptance speech at the year-end banquet. “All that knowledge is priceless. The experience and all the help the Skip Barber guys have given is what makes this all possible.”

Aaron Telitz finished second in the championship, just 13 points shy of Eidson’s 338-point total. Skylar Robinson was third with 307, earning Rookie of the Year honors. Adrian Starrantino (300) was fourth with Jose Armida (295) rounding out the top-five in his first year of competition. Gus Doppes was the “Most Improved” driver of the season.

The top-five drivers in the championship qualified for the 2013 Skip Barber Race Series Championship Shootout, earning the chance to secure a $200,000 MAZDASPEED Driver Development scholarship for the 2014 USF2000 Series.

Ride with 17-year-old Jake Eidson below. Enjoy.

For up-to-date news and views on karting and junior formula racing follow @JOWT on Twitter or follow on Facebook.

Carlos Munoz dominated today’s 40-lap Indy Lights race at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama.
(photo: IndyCar.com)

Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing development driver Kyle O’Gara confirmed he will make his Indy Lights debut with SFHR and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports during the Freedom 100 in Indianapolis.

Open-wheel standout Jake Eidson made history this weekend by claiming his third-consecutive Skip Barber Racing Series title; winning the Winter Championship. Eidson will join Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing for a two-year development program running the F1600 Formula F Championship in 2013 and USF2000 in 2014. Make sure to read JOWT’s interview with Jake from last December.

Take a quick glance at the new Skip Barber Formula 2000 MZR car during a winter test at Road Atlanta.

Conor Daly will drive in the Indy 500 this year! Daly will pilot the No. 41 machine for A.J. Foyt Racing.

Indy Lights drivers just finished up their weekend at Barber Motorsports Park. Take a tour of the 17-turn, 2.38-mile road course with Peter Dempsey, courtesy of EFCN’s Track Walk. In the race, Carlos Munoz avoided a repeat of St. Pete; this time earning a wire-to-wire victory after dominating practice and qualifying. The margin of victory stood at 5.0684 seconds with Jack Hawksworth finishing runner-up and Gabby Chaves completing the podium. The real action was the battle for fourth between Sage Karam (who held the spot),Peter Dempsey (6th), Jorge Goncalvez (5th), and Juan Pablo Garcia (8th). Garcia, who ended up with a drive-through penalty resulting from contact with Karam, had a stellar race conserving his tires until the end of the 40-lap event. Check out the rest of the results and the full box score here.

For up-to-date news and views on karting and junior formula racing follow @JOWT on Twitter or follow on Facebook.

Take a ride with JDC Motorsports’ Lloyd Read in Pro Mazda practice on the streets of St. Petersburg.

For up-to-date news and views on karting and junior formula racing follow @JOWT on Twitter or follow on Facebook.

Matthew Brabham made it three-consecutive victories in Pro Mazda with a charge from eighth on the streets of St. Petersburg in Round 3 and an impressive run through the field from fifth in Round 4. (photo: ProMazda)

The entire Mazda Road to Indy field hit the streets of St. Petersburg this weekend exhibiting their skills in front of IndyCar team owners and fans. As usual, the show was good with drivers aggressively carving a path through the challenging 1.8-mile, 14-turn circuit.

USF2000

Canadian Scott Hargrove dominated the USF2000 field earning back-to-back victories in Rounds 3-4 for his third win of the season. He leaves St. Pete with a 43-point advantage in the championship standings. Wyatt Gooden produced two runner-up podium finishes and remains second in the overall standings. Stefan Rzadzinski was third in Round 3. Jesse Lazare completed the podium in Round 4 after finishing fourth in the weekend’s first race.

Make sure to read the full race report from Round 3 and Round 4 and view the full results from R3 and R4.

Pro Mazda

In Pro Mazda competition, it was Brabham who struck first in an impressive drive from eighth-place to victory after seeing his shift lever break off in his hand during qualifying. After 21-laps Brabham’s lead was just under 10 seconds when the checkered flag waved. Diego Ferreira, Shelby Blackstock, Spencer Pigot, and Nick Andries rounded out the top five in Race 1.

In Race 2 (Round 4), Brabham quickly moved up through the field from fifth before passing teammate Blackstock for the lead on Lap 9. Ferreira was third with Pigot and Kaiser completing the top-five.

Indy Lights

Indy Lights drivers found themselves chasing fellow competitor Jack Hawksworth. The “Hawk” took his first step toward capturing the Firehawk Trophy as he continues his ascent of the Mazda Road to Indy development ladder after winning the 2012 Pro Mazda Championship.

Early in the race Gabby Chaves led Carlos Munoz. With the lead on Lap 11, Chaves pinched Munoz to the inside of turn one. Fighting for the lead, Munoz drove too deep into the corner, locking his tires and sliding into Chaves, causing both drivers to spin. Following a drive-through penalty Munoz charged back into the top five only to face a mechanical DNF in the closing laps.

Veteran standout Peter Dempsey finished second with Sage Karam rounding out the podium.

For up-to-date news and views on karting and junior formula racing follow @JOWT on Twitter or follow on Facebook.