LEXINGTON, Ohio – Jack Jeffers, from San Antonio, Texas, drove a textbook race today at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for Exclusive Autosport. Jeffers’ second win of the USF2000 Presented by Continental Tire season moved him to within five points of Ohioan Thomas Schrage, who suffered a disappointing day after starting on pole position for VRD Racing.
Friday race winner Caleb Gafrarar, from Charlotte, N.C., finished hot on the tail of Jeffers for Pabst Racing, while VRD’s Teddy Musella, from Orlando, Fla., took third.
Schrage, from Bethel, Ohio, once again started at the front of the field after claiming his second Continental Tire Pole Award during qualifying on Friday, when he posted the best of each driver’s second-fastest laps.
A messy start to the race saw the Pace Car scrambled almost immediately due to a mid-pack coming-together between several cars just moments after the green flag flew. Unfortunately, both Ayrton Houk (Benchmark Autosport), from McCordsville, Ind., and Ryan Giannetta (VRD Racing), from Redondo Beach, Calif., were eliminated.
The restart proved disastrous for Schrage, who hesitated when the green flag flew and was immediately enveloped by the pack. Worse, contact a little later in the lap caused some front end damage which eventually forced him into the pits for repairs.
Jeffers needed no second bidding. He immediately swept into the lead, which he maintained after another brief full-course caution when VRD Racing’s Christian Cameron, from Sonoma, Calif., found himself shuffled into the gravel at the exit of Turn Two.
Musella and Gafrarar, who rebounded quickly from an early miscue, kept the pressure on Jeffers throughout the 20-lap race. Musella was the primary aggressor in the early stages, but a fired-up Gafrarar found a way past with four laps remaining and continued to challenge hard in the closing stages before finally being forced to settle for second.
Musella couldn’t quite match that pace in the waning laps but still held onto third ahead of the second Pabst Racing entry of G3 Argyros, from Newport Beach, Calif.
Brazilian Lucas Fecury and Exclusive Autosport teammate Evan Cooley, from Mokena, Ill., also were close behind at the checkered flag.
For the second day running, Australia’s Eddie Beswick secured the Tilton Hard Charger Award for Synergy Motorsport after keeping his nose clean and climbing from 15th on the grid to seventh.
Exclusive Autosport’s Michael Duncalfe and Joshua Cooley took the PFC Award as the winning car owners.
The PFC Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio tripleheader race weekend will conclude bright and early tomorrow, Sunday, July 6, at 8:20 a.m. EDT, immediately prior to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES’ final warmup.
Provisional championship points after 12 of 18 races:
1. Thomas Schrage, 262
2. Jack Jeffers, 257
3. Teddy Musella, 234
4. G3 Argyros, 207
5. Caleb Gafrarar, 195
6. Evan Cooley, 178
7. Liam McNeilly, 163
8. Anthony Martella, 152
9. Sebastian Garzon, 133
10. Lucas Fecury, 129.
Jack Jeffers (#92 Corpay Cross Border Solutions-Exclusive Autosport Tatuus USF-22): “It was a good race. We were able to get Schrage on the restart. I think we caught him sleeping a little bit, and we were able to capitalize on that. From there, it was about running my own race, getting a good restart and kinda managing it. I realized that Teddy and Caleb had a little bit more pace than me, but I didn't get worried. It was just about managing and holding my position. So I started backing up a little bit, trying to back Teddy into Caleb, hoping they could battle. At the end it was about managing Caleb. Honestly, I was just focusing on my [corner] exits, making sure I got good runs so he can't have a shot at me at the next corner. I feel I managed it well, and we were able to come in with the win.”
Caleb Gafrarar (#24 Circle K/Bell/Racing Electronics/Molecule-Pabst Racing Tatuus USF-22): “I thought my race was pretty solid. I fell back at the start when they went full-course yellow. Just some miscommunication, but no problem at all. Then we started coming back through. People were making mistakes in front of me and I just took advantage of it and worked my way back forward. I was right there with Jack at the end and I thought I might be able to get him. I tried to go for a Hail Mary at the last corner but couldn’t make it stick. So, settled for P2 and I’m happy with it. I can’t wait to see what we can do tomorrow.”
Teddy Musella (#25 Triarsi Competizione/Don’t Sleep Energy Drink-VRD Racing Tatuus USF-22): “It was very challenging. Jack had great pace and eventually I just made a bit of a mistake and Caleb got by. That dropped me to P3 and from there on I was just keeping the position. We had some good race pace so we should be good for tomorrow.”