Please note: the second paragraph of the release has been revised to reflect no blame on Reece Gold in Saturday's opening lap incident.
Elkhart Lake, Wis. – Christian Rasmussen executed a number of brilliant overtakes in the second race of the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires event at Road America to win and protect his points lead.
Sunday’s win didn’t come easily after the JHDD Indy Pro 2000 team suffered a suboptimal start to the Road America weekend. With both cars starting outside the top five on Saturday, Christian Rasmussen was involved in an unfortunate racing incident at the exit of Turn 3 on the first lap which ultimately also collected JHDD teammate Wyatt Brichacek. Thankfully, both drivers were unharmed and Christian recovered superbly to win the next morning.
On the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship side, it was a challenging weekend. Bijoy Garg had the team’s best result on Sunday morning with a 12th place finish—fighting back to his starting spot after an early off-track moment. Peter Vodanovich quietly put in a solid weekend, moving up multiple spots from his starting position in both races. After a competitor spun Jackson Lee out of contention in Race 1, his exciting Sunday saw him move up and down the order twice, climbing as high as 11th before eventually finishing 18th.
“A bit of a roller coaster weekend here at Road America,” reflected team owner Jay Howard. “Saturday was a tough day for the team, especially with the accidents that took Rasmussen and Wyatt out of contention. Credit to the boys for getting the cars fixed for Sunday, and Rasmussen duly delivered with his fifth win of the season. In USF2000, Bijoy really showed some speed this weekend, and Jackson and Peter both were in the mix throughout both races. Have to say a big thanks to all the boys for all the hard work throughout the event. We go again at Mid-Ohio in a couple of weeks’ time.”
Both series return July 3-4 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with an Indy Pro 2000 double header and a USF2000 triple header.
WHAT THE USF2000 DRIVERS SAID:
#6 Bijoy Garg
Round 9 – P14; Round 10 – P12
“It felt like we had really good potential in practice and qualifying. We got a bit unlucky with traffic which hurt our results somewhat. Race 1, our start was really good, but I felt like our pace after the restart could have been better. The car felt a lot better for Race 2 and once again our start was really good—just got pushed a bit wide by someone which caused me to fall back a lot of places. Kind of frustrating because I knew we could have finished well inside the top 10, maybe in the top five. Despite that, still optimistic, still hopeful we can come back at Mid-Ohio.”
#8 Jackson Lee
Round 9 – P23; Round 10 – P18
“This past weekend was the most fun I’ve had so far this year! Road America is one of my favorite tracks! Pairing that with some of the best competition in the world makes for a great event. I had a very competitive weekend as I was able to make my way through the field. Unfortunately, I got caught up in some bad luck and made a mistake that kept me from getting the results I wanted. I keep building track time and continue to get better, and right now that’s all I want. Super excited for Mid-Ohio in a few weeks! Thanks to everyone within JHDD for their hard work and helping me drive the best possible car.”
#9 Peter Vodanovich
Round 9 – P16; Round 10 – P15
“Picked up a few spots at Road America moving from 21st to 14th in Race 1. Race 2, I had a puncture off the start from 21st but JHDD did a great job to get me out again on the lead lap to ultimately finish 15th. Really enjoy racing here, just need to focus on qualifying for Mid-Ohio. Big thanks to my sponsors and the JHDD team!”
WHAT THE INDY PRO 2000 DRIVERS SAID:
#1 Christian Rasmussen
Round 9 – P10 (DNF); Round 10 – P1
“Winner of Race 2 here at Road America. Great to be back here with all the fans. A great race from me after the disappointing race yesterday with the huge crash. But we managed to get everything turned around. The boys did a great job with the car and managed to get the race win here at Race 2.”
#5 Wyatt Brichacek
Round 9 – P12 (DNF); Round 10 – P9
“A few issues, we had a wreck in Race 1 and that set us back, but we came back in Race 2. The boys got everything back together, so that’s good - got it back on track in front of all the fans. Looking forward to the next one at Mid-Ohio.”
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About Jay Howard Driver Development
The Jay Howard Driver Development (JHDD) team was set up with a focus of providing the very best race team in the junior ranks of open-wheel racing. Fielding cars in the major American open-wheel development series, Jay is giving back to the sport he dearly loves, teaching his drivers the secrets of winning races, championships and being leaders. Having achieved much success in his career, passing this experience onto his drivers and watching them develop is a passion of Jay’s.
Jay has worked hard to put the best people around him and his program, from ex-F1/IndyCar engineers and mechanics, to the latest technology and software to separate JHDD from the rest. Jay has purposely left no stone unturned with his team’s preparation in order to best prepare his drivers both short term and long term. No matter what the drivers’ goals are, JHDD delivers.