Indianapolis, Ind. – Team Pelfrey’s Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda team of Robert Megennis, Jordan Cane, and TJ Fischer competed at the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the first time in their young careers. The rookies first dose of the 14 turn, 2.439-mile road course came on Wednesday, competing in an open test day along with the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires series.
The early exposure to the high-speed circuit proved beneficial for the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda field, setting new track records and showcasing the most competitive racing the series has seen in 2016. For Megennis, Cane and Fischer, the Grand Prix of Indianapolis weekend was one to learn from.
In the Thursday morning qualifying session, Megennis piloted his No. 80 Palo Alto Networks-Team Pelfrey Mazda into the 14th spot on the grid while the 14-year-old Briton, Jordan Cane, qualified 12th which set them up to start on the inside of the 6h and 7th rows of the 26 car grid. For the 22-year-old Fischer, all of his recorded lap times from the 30-minute session were erased after not returning to the pits after the checkered flag was shown. Four other drivers suffered the same penalty, forcing them to start from the rear of the grid.
In Race One, the rookie trio focused forward and charged through the field on the opening laps. Fischer advanced six positions during the opening laps, eventually finishing in 9thafter passing a total of 16 cars in the 30-minute race. Meanwhile, Megennis and Cane took advantage of their inside grid positions, overtaking several cars going into the 90-degree right-hand first turn before battling with Dakota Dickerson, Ayla Agren, and Fischer throughout the race. Megennis, the 16-year-old New York, N.Y.-native managed to hold on for 8th place as tire wear became a factor on the greasy circuit, while Cane and his No. 81 #2bn1-Team Pelfrey Mazda managed to round out the top 10.
Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway recorded unseasonably low temperatures, hovering around 49 degrees with gusty winds out of the west for most of the afternoon. With track and tire temperatures playing a factor in the second race of the weekend, Fischer and his No. 82 Rathbun Associates-Team Pelfrey Mazda managed to overcome the conditions after starting 17th. The Vacaville, Calif.– native made up six positions before he even completed the first lap.
Megennis started 15th and managed to make up five positions through only seven laps of green flag racing and held on for a 10th place finish. As for the youngest competitor in the Cooper Tires USF2000 field, Jordan Cane made contact with Dakota Dickerson and Cameron Das in turn seven on the first lap. After repairing the damage on pit lane, Cane finished two laps down in 21st place. Despite only contesting the first green flag laps with 8 minutes remaining, Fischer gained two more positions on his way to his second straight top 10 finish, his fourth of the year, in 9th place.
The next race of the 2016 season will be the Carb Night Classic at Lucas Oil Raceway,May 27th. Qualifications begin at 4:00 p.m. EST, with the 75 lap race beginning at 6:10 p.m.