FORTVILLE, Ind. – It was a trip to Toronto, Ontario for the penultimate weekend in the USF2000 Presented by Cooper Tires program as Al Morey made his first start on the Streets of Toronto. Showing speed in qualifying to score a pair of top-10 results in sixth and eighth, Morey closed his weekend with a ninth-place result in race two and will now shift his focus to the final event weekend of 2023 at the Portland International Raceway.
A pair of solid qualifying results highlighted Friday afternoon and Saturday morning as Morey had two of his best qualifying sessions of the season. Friday afternoon saw an impressive drive to an outside row four starting spot for race one as he improved on that Saturday morning to clock the sixth fastest lap of the session.
With the skies opening on Saturday afternoon, Morey, and the rest of the USF2000 drivers, mounted the wet-weather Cooper Tires on for the first wheel-to-wheel action of the weekend. Battling hard in a race that had several caution periods, Morey lost four positions in his first USF2000 wet weather race as he finished the day 12th. Racing hard inside the top 10, a cut tire late in the affair relegated the USF2000 rookie down the running order after a solid drive in the confines of the barrier-lined circuit.
“We had a pair of great qualifying sessions, but the first race did not go as planned,” expressed Morey. “The goal was to gain experience, and we accomplished that goal but will be pushing hard for a better result tomorrow.”
Returning to the track Sunday morning, damp conditions greeted teams and competitors as Morey was set to start his final on-track session of the weekend from the outside of row three. As quickly as the race started it was halted for an incident on the opening lap. Taking evasive action to avoid contact and a loss of momentum due to slick conditions, Morey was then spun after another driver made contact with him into turn three. Consequently, he fell down the running order and was forced to restart his drive forward from 14th.
When the green flag flew, the young rookie was able to move his way forward. Driving his way into the top-ten, Morey fell back to 11th with four laps remaining as the caution flag flew again for more contact by a fellow competitor. Restarting in 11th in a one-lap shootout to the checkered, Morey was able to overtake two more cars to cross the line in ninth, adding another top-10 finish to his results resume.
Morey added, “A decent weekend and more experienced gained in Toronto. We had great pace. I’d say qualifying was my biggest takeaway, starting sixth on a street course is a big accomplishment for me. I'm really hoping to replicate that pace in Portland. I can’t believe that my first full season in USF2000 is almost complete but looking forward to the next event, and another new venue for me in Portland.”
Next up for Al Morey and the Jay Howard Driver Development program will be a trip to the West Coast for the final event of the 2023 season. With a triple-header event at the Portland International Raceway, Morey will look to finish his season strong over the August 31/September 3 weekend.