Indianapolis, Ind. – Christian Rasmussen and Jay Howard Driver Development (JHDD) carried on from where they left off on the streets of St. Petersburg, winning two races of the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires triple header on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Rasmussen came out on top in the first race of the event after a tight battle with Braden Eves, before taking a lights-to-flag victory in Race Three on Saturday morning after an unfortunate second race for both Rasmussen and teammate Wyatt Brichacek.
The JHDD Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship squad had to manage an event full of ups-and-downs, but Jackson Lee put in a fine performance on Saturday morning to secure his first Road to Indy Top 10 finish, advancing nine positions along the way with a number of well executed moves.
“It’s nice to be back at the Speedway in May,” noted team owner and multiple Indy 500 entrant Jay Howard. “It was another tough weekend in USF2000 for the boys, but it was great for Jackson this morning to grab a top ten after what was a great drive. On the Indy Pro 2000 side, Rasmussen continues to show his class and we just need to keep this momentum going throughout the rest of the season, keeping it simple, avoiding the troughs. Now we quickly re-focus for the Lucas Oil oval test next week, where we will be working hard to ensure we have a strong showing at the race event later this month in both USF2000 and Indy Pro. As always, have to say a big thanks to all of the boys for their continued hard work. Looking forward to some oval action next up!”
#6 Bijoy Garg
Round 5 – P24; Round 6 – DNF; Round 7 - DNF
“It was a tough weekend here at Indy. Unfortunately, we struggled in qualifying which put us on the back foot for all of the races and it’s hard to recover from there. Anyway, it’s time to switch our focus back to the ovals and I’m looking forward to the Freedom 75 later in the month.”
#8 Jackson Lee
Round 5 – DNF; Round 6 – DNS; Round 7 – P10
“Super happy to end my weekend with a good result! While the first few days were tough, it is really good to get my first Road to Indy top 10 in front of my hometown crowd. It was also amazing racing across the yard of bricks. I’ve been coming to races at IMS for more than 10 years, so to be here as a driver was unforgettable! I have to also thank the entire Jay Howard team for all their work and dedication this weekend. Their hard work helped me turn a rough weekend into a good result!”
#9 Peter Vodanovich
Round 5 – P19; Round 6 – P15; Round 7 – P17
“It was cool to charge through the field in the 3 races after a frustrating qualifying. Happy with the improvements made across the weekend finishing up as one of the fastest on track. Super excited to get on the oval!”