The first of three races that will comprise the PFC Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio saw Exclusive Autosport’s Jack Jeffers, from San Antonio, Texas, finish second ahead of his main championship rival – and polesitter – Thomas Schrage (VRD Racing), from Bethel, Ohio.

Points leader Schrage languished fourth on the timing charts heading into the final few minutes of the crucial lone qualifying session this morning. But he sprung into life when it mattered, finally finding enough space for a few clear laps and scooping his first Continental Tire Pole Award of the season in the waning moments.

After the first attempt at a start was waved off because the field was too spread out, Schrage narrowly held his lead for the first few laps, although it was already apparent that he didn’t have the same pace advantage as he had during qualifying. Jeffers finally took advantage by making a late lunge for the inside under braking for Turn Four, at the end of the main straightaway, with three laps in the books.

The maneuver sent Schrage onto the grass at the exit of the corner and allowed a close following Gafrarar to slip through into second.

But a couple of laps later, after Ryan Giannetta’s VRD Racing Tatuus ground to a halt on the track and resulted in the Honda Civic Type-R Pace Car being deployed, the race stewards found the time to review the earlier incident between Jeffers and Schrage. They determined that Jeffers’ move was overly aggressive and ordered him to fall in line behind Schrage.

The problem for Jeffers by that time, of course, was that Gafrarar, too, had overtaken the polesitter. So at the restart it was Gafrarar leading the field with Jeffers and Schrage in his wake.

Jeffers looked to have a faster car at this juncture in the 20-lap race, with a dozen laps still remaining. He quickly overtook Schrage, once again under braking for Turn Four, and proceeded to pile the pressure on Gafrarar, but the rookie held his ground, then reeled off a series of quick laps to extend his margin in the closing stages and earn a fine victory.

Jeffers had to make do with second, while Schrage’s car became more to his liking in the closing stages and he was able to maintain his points lead in third ahead of teammate Teddy Musella, from Orlando, Fla.

Brazilian Lucas Fecury equaled his career-best finish for Exclusive Autosport in fifth, followed by the youngest driver in the field, 15-year-old Christian Cameron. The youngster from Sonoma, Calif., qualified a fine fourth for VRD Racing but had to fight his way back toward the front after slipping to eighth in the early laps.

Fellow rookie Eddie Beswick, from Sydney, Australia, earned his third Tilton Hard Charger Award of the season for Synergy Motorsport after rising from 13th on the grid to 10th.

The PFC Award as the winning car owner was claimed for the first time this season by Pabst Racing’s Augie Pabst.

The tripleheader event will continue tomorrow with the green flag for Race Two set for 4:20 p.m. EDT, followed by the finale at 8:20 a.m. on Sunday, immediately prior to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES’ final warmup.

Provisional championship points after 11 of 18 races:

1. Thomas Schrage, 251

2. Jack Jeffers, 226

3. Teddy Musella, 212

4. G3 Argyros, 188

5. Caleb Gafrarar, 170

6. Liam McNeilly, 163

7. Evan Cooley, 163

8. Anthony Martella, 143

9. Sebastian Garzon, 124

10. Christian Cameron, 118.

Caleb Gafrarar (#24 Circle K/Bell/Racing Electronics/Molecule-Pabst Racing Tatuus USF-22): “This is awesome. I can't thank the guys enough for giving me the race car to do it. Right when that yellow came out, I was like, I think the car is coming in right now. And when I got to start in the front for the restart, I was like, alright, I think we can get away. The car got faster and faster as well. I just started pushing a little bit more; keep it fast, but not over do it. Let's just keep it going for the weekend.”

Jack Jeffers (#92 Corpay Cross Border Solutions-Exclusive Autosport Tatuus USF-22): “Mixed emotions here. You know, I feel I made a fair move for the lead, and they penalized me for it. So, I had to drop back to third and then got back around Thomas for second. I was a little bit faster, but this track, you know, once we all even out and we all have the same pace, it's tough to pass. So, second to Caleb. He's one of my really good friends off track, so I'm happy for him. Happy that he got his maiden win, but, honestly, I feel like that one was ours and I feel like it got it taken away from us. But it's already in the past, so it's time to look forward and move on to tomorrow.”

Thomas Schrage (#2 TireDiscounters/Doug Mockett & Company/Airport Electric Service/Boys & Girls Clubs-VRD Racing Tatuus USF-22): “I would say I gave it away a little too easy today. I don't think we had the fastest car, and I kinda knew that from the start. I know that we're starting up front for all three races, so I didn't really force anything. I tried to just keep clear of the trouble and just drive my own race. Hopefully, we come back tomorrow and we can get a win. I'd call it another subpar day, but it's a podium finish so we'll take it.”