STEAM CORNERS, Ohio — The battle for the USF2000 Presented by Continental Tire championship could not be closer.
Exclusive Autosport’s Jack Jeffers claimed a hard-fought victory Sunday morning in the third and final race of the PFC Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio weekend, and is now tied on points with local driver Thomas Schrage, from Bethel, Ohio, who finished hot on his heels in second place for VRD Racing.
Jeffers currently holds the favor of a tie-break on the basis of one more race win – three to two – than Schrage.
Teddy Musella, from Orlando, Fla., also was in the fight for the victory at the end of a thrilling race which ended with the top five cars separated by a mere 1.4595 seconds after 20 laps around the undulating 2.258-mile, 13-turn road course.
For the third day running, Schrage, from Bethel, Ohio, lined up at the head of the field for the start having earned his third Continental Tire Pole Award of the season by virtue of posting the best of each driver’s second-fastest laps during the lone qualifying session on Friday.
He was hoping for rather better fortune than the past two days, and all seemed well as he maintained his advantage for the first two laps, albeit under intense pressure from Jeffers, who again had started second.
On Lap Three, Jeffers executed a brilliant pass for the lead under braking at the end of the long back straightaway, heading into Turn Four, and for a while he seemed to be in a class of his own.
Jeffers was simply imperious during the first 10 laps, quickly opening up a gap of six seconds to the pursuing pack, which was still led by Schrage.
But the complexion of the race changed completely when the Pace Car was scrambled following an incident in Turn Nine when Ryan Giannetta (VRD Racing), from Redondo Beach, Calif., lost control at the exit. Giannetta, unfortunately, was collected by Canadian Anthony Martella (Jay Howard Driver Development), who himself had made a mistake earlier while running 10th and was attempting to recover positions.
The restart came with seven laps remaining, and this time Jeffers was unable to shake off his pursuers. Schrage appeared to have marginally the faster car, but Jeffers was inch perfect and held on to score another fine victory, his third of the season.
Jeffers set his fastest lap of the race last time around, although his hopes of gaining an extra championship point were foiled by Exclusive Autosport teammate, Evan Cooley, who snagged the extra point on the final lap.
Musella was very much part of the lead battle in third, as were Brazilian Lucas Fecury, who drove by far his best race for Exclusive Autosport, and Friday race winner Caleb Gafrarar (Pabst Racing), from Charlotte, Calif., who had lost out to Fecury in Turn Four on Lap 14.
The DEForce Racing duo of Jeshua Alianell, from The Woodlands, Texas, and Sebastian Garzon, from Neiva, Colombia, were only a second further back in sixth and seventh, having exchanged positions on Lap Six, with Christian Cameron (VRD Racing), from Sonoma, Calif., G3 Argyros (Pabst Racing), from Newport Beach, Calif., and Cooley all snapping at their heels.
