Porto Clinches USF2000 Title, Kirkwood and Rasmussen Move One Step Closer

An exciting day of racing at Mid-Ohio produced one champion and all but sealed the other two, as Kiko Porto clinched the USF2000 title, while Christian Rasmussen and Kyle Kirkwood almost clinched their series titles. Porto finished P3 as Yuven Sundamoorthy picked up the win on fresh tires, passing by the polesitter Michael D’Orlando. Rasmussen and Kirkwood both won their races, Kirkwood from pole and Rasmussen after a pass on polesitter Artem Petrov.

Indy Lights took to the track first, as Kirkwood sat on pole after leading both sessions. At the green flag, Kirkwood took off, immediately establishing a gap to David Malukas. Unlike most Indy Lights races, the push to pass system was unavailable, so Malukas had no advantage on Kirkwood. The dirty air at Mid-Ohio combined with the narrow track and complex corners make this track very difficult to pass at for fast open wheel cars, and Malukas eventually had to fall back to conserve tires. Kirkwood took off from there, leading every lap and winning the race. Kirkwood gained full points from this race, by taking pole, the win, and leading all the laps, which means that he only needs 10 points from Sunday’s race. With a minimum of 9 points available, Kirkwood only needs 1 extra points, so either taking the pole or finishing 11th will win him the title.

Indy Pro 2000 took the track shortly after, with Artem Petrov starting from pole after leading both sessions. Petrov took off, leading the first part of the race until a mechanical issue slowed him momentarily, allowing Rasmussen to sneak into the lead. Rasmussen held the lead all the way to the end of the race, and was joined on the podium by Petrov and title rival Braden Eves in third. Reece Gold attempted to pass Eves throughout the race, but was unable to get a run on him. James Roe went off track at the end of the race, bringing out the full course yellow with two laps to go, ensuring a clean run to the end for Rasmussen. Rasmussen needs to start tomorrow’s race, and the minimum points scored will clinch it for him.

The USF2000 series took to the track last on the day, with Michael D’Orlando starting on pole for the race. Porto only needed to finish in the top five to claim the championship, and he was in position throughout the race, running fifth as Yuven Sundamoorthy led the race. As the race neared its conclusion, Jace Denmark attempted a move past Prescott Campbell, sending both spinning out and ending the race for Campbell. Denmark, who led Friday practice, ended up one lap down. Porto was promoted to third, putting him on the podium for his championship win. Josh Green finished fourth, as Myles Rowe completed a comeback drive to finish P5 after qualifying P10.