PORTLAND, Ore. – Michael Costello, from Naples, Fla., made light of extremely treacherous conditions this afternoon to claim a well deserved maiden USF2000 Presented by Continental Tire victory for Jay Howard Driver Development in the first of three races that will comprise the Continental Tire Grand Prix of Portland.
Behind, Pabst Racing’s Max Garcia, from Coconut Grove, Fla., took one step closer to the championship title by producing a fine drive after an early mistake to finish second ahead of first-time podium finisher and teammate Hudson Schwartz, from Arlington Va. The pair of podium finishes ensured a second successive Team Championship for Pabst Racing.
Garcia made certain he would start from the best possible starting position by posting the fastest lap during qualifying earlier in the day and snagging his series leading seventh Continental Tire Pole Award of the year. Just! In fact, the top eight drivers in qualifying were blanketed by less than two tenths of a second, which boded well for an exciting race later in the afternoon.
But a heavy rain shower just as the cars left the pre-grid threw everyone for a loop. The entire field switched to wet-weather tires in time for the start, whereupon VRD Racing’s Thomas Schrage, from Bethel, Ohio, made the best getaway to lead into the first corner...only to leave his braking a touch late and slide well past the apex. Extraordinarily, the top three made the same mistake, with Garcia and Schrage’s teammate, Max Taylor, from Hoboken, NJ., also taking to the escape road. The errors resulted in all three being required to serve a drive-through penalty for short-cutting the course.
Schwartz, who started eighth, was the primary beneficiary. A good start saw him make up several positions on the opening lap, which soon became the lead when the others made the turn onto pit road to serve their penalties.
Schwartz quickly established a margin of over three seconds over Costello, only to make a mistake on the exit of Turn 10 on the ninth lap which saw him slide wide and onto the grass. Schwartz fell all the way to ninth before he was able to rejoin.
Costello gratefully took over the lead, pulling out a commanding advantage of over 11 seconds after 14 laps until it was instantly nullified by a full-course caution after the rain returned with a vengeance and left the 1.964-mile circuit completely awash.
The race was restarted with less than six minutes remaining, after which Costello maintained his dominance and sped home just over three seconds clear of the field. Teammate Evagoras Papasavvas, from Loveland, Ohio, took the flag in second, but later fell back to sixth with the addition of a 10-second penalty after he inadvertently tipped Garcia’s title-contending teammate Sam Corry, from Cornelius, N.C., into a spin at Turn Two with three laps remaining.
Garcia marched through the field to second after his early transgression, while Schwartz recovered to take third.
DEForce Racing’s Brady Golan, from Austin, Texas, picked up his third Tilton Hard Charger Award of the season after rising from 16th on the grid to ninth.
Jay Howard claimed another PFC Award as the winning car owner.
Two more races will wrap up the USF2000 season tomorrow. The green flags are set for 10:20 a.m. and 6:05 p.m., with Garcia now holding a commanding 47-point advantage in the quest for a scholarship valued at $458,400 to make the step up to USF Pro 2000 next season. A total of 66 points remain on the table.
Provisional championship points after 16 of 18 races:
1. Max Garcia, 373
2. Sam Corry, 326
3. Max Taylor, 309
4. Evagoras Papasavvas, 303
5. Joey Brienza, 237
6. Elliot Cox, 228
7. Hudson Schwartz, 214
8. Nicolas Giaffone, 210
9. Michael Costello, 196
10. Quinn Armstrong, 159
Michael Costello (#8 ProGuard Warranty-Jay Howard Driver Development Tatuus USF-22): “You know, just a mix of emotions out there in very, very hard conditions. I just kept pushing through and I took advantage of everything that I possibly could have. We came out on top so it's all that matters today. Thanks to the team and everyone supporting me.”
Max Garcia (#24 Advance Auto Parts-Pabst Racing Tatuus USF-22): “After going straight at Turn One, having the drive through, it was really tough. The yellow really saved us and I am just really happy to come back after what happened. And, you know, that's kind of what we do here at Pabst but I am looking to just sail away in one of these sometime soon. Awesome.”
Hudson Schwartz (#22 Lucas Oil School of Racing/Axios-Pabst Racing Tatuus USF-22): Starting eighth, I was just trying to figure out how to get to the front and I did get there. I was first by Lap 1 and then from there I was just trying to put my head down and, unfortunately after I think five or six laps, I made a mistake and went off so from there I think I was down to ninth. I didn't let that get into my head. I put my head down and I made it all the way back up. Then there was a safety car. From there I knew that there was good momentum to get myself back forward and it just was one by one by one and really feeling out the grip, because it was super tricky conditions changing every lap. I think I even had a 360 there at one point so it was just a really fun race.”