VRD Racing’s Thomas Schrage, from Bethel, Ohio, finished second for the third race in a row as G3 Argyros, from Newport Beach, Calif., took third for Pabst Racing.

Rookie Teddy Musella, from Orlando, Fla., laid down some stunning laps during the lone qualifying session earlier this morning in chilly conditions to claim his first Continental Tire Pole Award in just his sixth start. Musella’s new mark of 1:24.3272 comfortably eclipsed Braden Eves’ long-standing lap record of 1:24.5396 set back in 2019, and was almost a half-second better than VRD Racing teammate Schrage. Jeffers shared row two of the grid with DEForce Racing’s Colombian Sebastian Garzon.

Musella and Schrage continued to run side by side as they led the 20-car field down the long main straightaway from the rolling start, but unfortunately for Musella, it all went wrong at Turn One as he left his braking just a tad too late and slid off into the damp grass. The entire field swept past before he was able to rejoin.

Schrage led the field along Hulman Drive for the first time, only to lock up his front brakes slightly as he slowed for Turn Seven, which forced him to run wide at the exit. Jeffers needing no second bidding as he romped through into the lead.

After a full-course caution due to an incident on the opening lap, Jeffers remained under pressure for several laps as the top two quickly pulled away from their pursuers. Another error by Schrage on lap 10 gifted Jeffers an extended advantage and left him under no real pressure in the closing stages.

Argyros worked his way neatly from eighth to fourth before the early caution, then vaulted to third, which he maintained until the finish.

Musella, meanwhile, posted a spectacular charge from the tail of the field, setting the fastest lap of the race before deposing Argyros’ teammate, Caleb Gafrarar, from Charlotte, N.C., for fourth place with a couple of laps remaining.

Simon Sikes, the 2023 USF2000 champion from Augusta, Ga., finished sixth after accepting a late opportunity to join Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development, just ahead of Garzon.

Ayrton Houk, from nearby McCordsville, Ind., rose from 13th on the grid to score another top-10 result for his family owned Benchmark Autosport team, while Australian Formula Ford champion Eddie Beswick picked up the Tilton Hard Charger Award for Synergy Motorsport after rising from 16th on the grid to ninth.

Jeffers’ fine drive not only earned a PFC Award for Michael Duncalfe and Joshua Cooley as the winning car owners, it also moved Exclusive Autosport into the lead of the coveted Teams Championship by just one point.

Conspicuous by his absence due to ongoing visa issues, Jay Howard Driver Development’s Liam McNeilly, from London, England, still holds the points lead heading into the seventh round of the USF2000 Presented by Continental Tire season which will see a green flag tomorrow, Saturday, May 10, at 10:30 a.m. EDT, immediately prior to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES’ race day warmup.

Provisional championship points after six of 18 races:

1. Liam McNeilly, 163

2. Jack Jeffers, 143

3. Thomas Schrage, 120

4. Evan Cooley, 95

5. G3 Argyros, 90

6. Teddy Musella, 86

7. Caleb Gafrarar, 81

8. Sebastian Garzon, 78

9. Jeshua Alianell, 61

10. Ayrton Houk, 61.

Jack Jeffers (#92 Corpay Cross Border Solutions-Exclusive Autosport Tatuus USF-22): “Really good race. I was able to get to the lead on the first lap, and then there was an early Safety Car. But I had a good restart and was able to just build the gap, lead every lap, put some fast laps down and focus on not making mistakes and just hitting my marks. I've known we've had a fast car all along, and it's about hitting my marks and bringing it home. There's really not a word to describe winning at this track, honestly, it's so surreal. It's a feeling that I can't describe, but it's a huge thanks to Exclusive Autosport. They've worked with me continuously so much over the past couple of years to continue to develop me. And it's nice to see our hard work finally pay off. I felt very fulfilled coming into the pit lane and being able to celebrate all the hard work we've done.”

Thomas Schrage (#2 Doug Mockett & Company/Airport Electric Service/Boys & Girls Clubs-VRD Racing Tatuus USF-22): “I was starting on the outside of the front row. It was Teddy's first pole and I wanted to make sure that I wasn't going to do anything over the top. He went off in Turn One, and I tried to hang on to the lead ahead of Jack for as long as I could. At the end of the day, I just wasn't too happy with how I drove. We'll go back at it tomorrow and try and win a race.”

G3 Argyros (#23 Positive Energy/Elephant Cooperation-Pabst Racing Tatuus USF-22): “The race was good. We had a rocky qualifying starting down in eighth. We had the pace through qualifying and then just didn't come with it at the very end. I'm happy that my race experience showed going eighth to fourth at the start and then just working my way up past Simon Sikes and Sebastian Garzon. We held the spot, had a lot of pace and I just can't thank Pabst enough for the great car they gave me all weekend.”