Michael Costello impresses at Road America
CARMEL, Ind. – The weather and track conditions changed throughout the weekend at Road America as Jay Howard Driver Development (JHDD) brought six drivers to Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. While drivers showed speed throughout the weekend, it was Michael Costello who closed the weekend on the podium as all drivers gained additional experience as they shift their focus to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in July.
Friday would open with practice for all USF Pro Championships drivers before USF Pro 2000 competitors would have a pair of qualifying sessions, and USF2000 would set the grid for race one. Frankie Mossman flew the JHDD flag in the Pro 2000 class earning a P3 starting position for race one based on his first qualifying performance, while race two qualifying would see him slot into the seventh position.
On the USF2000 side of the program, JHDD put a pair of drivers inside the top-five, with Michael Costello having a solid performance in qualifying for race one earning a front-row starting spot, while G3 Argyros would start directly behind in fourth. Championship hopeful Evagoras Papasavvas was ninth, while Lucas Oil race winner Tanner DeFabis and open-wheel returnee Jace Bacon would look to move forward from deeper in the field.
Saturday provided the backdrop for a pair of USF Pro 2000 races in between a deluge of rain that shuffled the schedule around to accommodate tv broadcast times for the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. When USF Pro 2000 was able to get racing, Mossman carried the flag for the team and secured a podium result in the first wheel-to-wheel race of the weekend with a second-place result after leading the race early on. Looking to do one better in race two, Mossman had issues on track and was classified 19th.
With two Pro 2000 races on the day, there was only one USF2000, and it was a challenging one for the JHDD quintet. Costello earned the team's best result in class, finishing eighth, just one position ahead of G3 Argyros in ninth. Jace Bacon had a spirited drive forward moving from 21st on the grid to finish 14th as Tanner DeFabis finished 17th. Evagoras Papasavvas’ championship hopes took a hit as he finished at the tail of the field and was classified in the 21st position.
Sunday saw a pair of wheel-to-wheel races, but it was a short one for Mossman as contact from behind by another competitor forced him to the sidelines and out of the race. In USF2000, Michael Costello led the race early and found his way to the podium result leading all of the rookies in the race while Evagoras Papasavvas rebounded from a DNF on Saturday, to finish fifth on Sunday. G3 Argyros put a trio of JHDD drivers in the top ten in P8 in only his second USF2000 event as Tanner DeFabis and Jace Bacon were classified 15th and 18th respectively.
There is no rest for JHDD as they will drop off their USF2000 and USF Pro 2000 machinery and pick up USF Juniors equipment to head to the fast VIRginia International Raceway this weekend. With six drivers set and ready, JHDD will see G3 Argyros, Hudson Potter, Michael Boyiadzis, Ayden Ingratta, Timothy Carel, and Liam McNeilly battle for race wins and podium results as the USF Juniors Presented by Continental Tire campaign kicks back up.