LEXINGTON, Ohio — Nikita Johnson thrust himself back into the USF Pro 2000 Presented by Continental Tire championship chase by scoring an emphatic double victory in Saturday’s Tatuus Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio. The 16-year-old led throughout Saturday morning’s 30-lap race but had to come from behind to complete the clean sweep later this afternoon for VRD Racing.
Jace Denmark also enjoyed a strong day for Pabst Racing with a pair of runner-up finishes as teammate Christian Brooks and Turn 3 Motorsport’s Danny Dyszelski shared the third-place honors.
After a challenging weekend last time out at Road America, early season points leader Johnson laid down a marker by breaking his tie with points leader Lochie Hughes (Turn 3 Motorsport) and snagging his fourth Continental Tire pole award of the season during the lone qualifying session on Friday.
Johnson continued his bounce back to prominence by leading throughout this morning’s 30-lap race. Denmark remained hot on his heels in the early stages, with teammate Brooks also in close contention.
After starting sixth, Hughes gained a position at the start on Exclusive Autosport’s Braden Eves, but also lost one to fast-starting Mac Clark (DEForce Racing), who muscled his way through in a bold three-wide maneuver in turn four. Hughes, though, was quickly into his stride, overtaking both Clark and Pabst Racing’s Simon Sikes on lap four to move into fourth position.
The five leaders – Johnson, Denmark, Brooks, Hughes and Sikes – remained in the same positions throughout the 30-lap race, but there was plenty of intrigue as the perfect racing conditions, with a clear blue sky and reduced humidity, allowed them to circulate faster than in qualifying and effectively set the starting grid for Race Two later in the day, which would be determined according to either each driver’s second-fastest lap in qualifying or their fastest lap in Race One.
Ultimately, it was Sikes who claimed that honor, narrowly ahead of Denmark, Hughes, Brooks and race winner Johnson. All five were bracketed by a little more than a tenth of a second, setting the stage for another intriguing contest later in the day.
For the second time in as many races, Nico Christodoulou earned the Tilton hard charger award, working his way from 18th on the grid following a major mechanical failure in qualifying to finishing in 10th.
Sikes took advantage of his second Continental Tire pole award of the season by leading away from the start in Race Two, but was unable to shake off Denmark, who remained seemingly glued to his rear wing as the two leaders edged away from Brooks and Johnson in third and fourth.
The latter pair exchanged places on lap four, shortly before the day’s first full-course caution due to a clash between Liam Sceats (TJ Speed Motorsports) and Frankie Mossman (Jay Howard Driver Development).
The complexion of the race totally changed soon after the restart when Sikes chose to negotiate the ultra-quick turn one in fifth gear, rather than shifting down to fourth, and was surprised when the car bogged down on the exit. Denmark and Johnson immediately drove around him, but it was Johnson who had the better momentum which carried him from third to the lead by the time the pair braked for turn two.
Worse was to come for Sikes at the end of the back straightaway when he tangled with Hughes as they sped toward the apex. The collision sent Sikes spearing onto the grass and left Hughes spinning into the path of Brooks, whose day ended on the spot. The other two continued, with Hughes managing to salvage valuable points in seventh position and Sikes just one place behind after another tangle with Ricardo Escotto (BN Racing).
The various incidents elevated the privately run Comet/NCMP Racing entry of Logan Adams into third place, which he maintained impressively until being passed by Dyszelski with eight laps remaining.
Adams held on for a fine, career-best fourth, well clear of Escotto, who had started 18th and staunchly resisted myriad attempts from a variety of rivals to find a way past. Fifth position was his reward, along with the Tilton hard charger award.
Johnson’s banner day bumped him back to second place in the point standings, just 26 markers shy of Hughes. Only four races remain in the chase for a scholarship valued at $681,500 to progress onto the next step of the ladder, INDY NXT, in 2025. Johnson also snagged two more PFC awards for VRD Racing team principal Dan Mitchell.