Indianapolis, Ind. – The Turn 3 Motorsport driver trio had a standout weekend at Lucas Oil Raceway showcasing speed and capability on the .686-mile oval. After a series of rain delays, the Cooper Tires Freedom 75 and Freedom 90 took place Saturday morning instead of their traditional time slot on Friday evening with green-to-green racing in both events.
Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship // #33 Josh Green // #34 Dylan Christie
USF2000 drivers Josh Green and Dylan Christie were strong out of the gate; in Test Session 1, Green set the fastest time by his fifth lap while Christie followed closely setting the third fastest time early on and ending that session with the third and tenth fastest times, respectively. Test Session 2 once again saw Green and Christie soar to the top of the charts, this time with Green taking P1 with a lap time of 22.5605 and Christie just .1015 seconds off of that in P3.
The tricky qualifying format didn’t pan out quite as well as testing did for the USF2000 duo. After each car had rolled out for single-car qualifying with the two-lap average setting their starting position, Green was placed P10 for the start of the race with Christie placed in P13.
With the inclement weather cancelling Friday’s sessions, the USF2000 race took place under sunny skies on Saturday morning. Knowing they had the pace for the front of the field, Green and Christie crossed the starting line on a mission to improve their positions.
By Lap 3, Green was up to P8 and began chasing down P7. The 18-year-old quickly caught up to the #24 car of Josh Pierson, going wheel-to-wheel for several laps and not surrendering until he took over P7. From there, Green stuck with the close-knit pack in front of him and pushed until the end of the fully green flag race to bring home a seventh place finish.
“It was a strong weekend for us at Lucas Oil Raceway,” said Green. “We had a great car straight out of the gate and had an unfortunate qualifying that set us back in the race. My teammate and I both moved forward significantly at a circuit that is extremely difficult to overtake on. We raced well, but it was qualifying that set us back this weekend, something that will not happen again. We’re going to keep fighting until the end! On to Road America next which is an extremely strong circuit for Turn 3 Motorsport and me.”
Christie had a great start to the 75-lap contest and was up to P11 by the end of Lap 3. The rookie soon found himself tucked into a pack of cars all vying for a top-ten and set to work to get to the front of the group. The 17-year-old calculated his moves, slotting into the inside line and overtaking cars until he was ahead of the bunch in P10. From there, Christie pulled away and put in some of his fastest lap times, ending the race as the second highest rookie finisher in tenth place.
“I am really happy with how the race went considering I have never raced on an oval before,” said Christie. “I messed up the two lap qualifying, which I wasn’t used to and had never done before, but my race pace was really good. We had a great start and made up a lot of spots. Considering it is the hardest track of the year to pass on, I was happy to have made my way into the top ten. Thanks to the team for getting the car dialed in.”
Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires // #3 James Roe
Indy Pro 2000 rookie James Roe adapted to oval racing like a duck to water during the course of the weekend. In Test Session 1, Roe put in the fourth fastest time overall just .1679 seconds from the top time, even after missing half of the session due to a technical issue. Test Session 2 once again saw Roe P4 for the majority of the time with him ending up P5 in the final minutes.
The single-car qualifying format meant Roe would be the first car out to set his starting position for the race. The Irishman rose to the challenge and secured a two-lap average time that left him in the pole position for the majority of the session. The 22-year-old was eventually bumped down to P5 for the start of the Freedom 90, his best qualifying effort this season.
With intermittent rain on Friday night, the Freedom 90 attempted a start but only got five laps of racing under a yellow flag before being postponed to Saturday morning. Once the race resumed, Roe defended his starting position and began chasing down P4. Roe’s #3 Topcon/Trintech car was quick throughout the race and challenging for a podium finish, but with just a few laps to go, Roe made slight contact with a lapped car that checked up while he was overtaking. Roe was then forced into the pits for a new nose, and although the crew got him back out on track for the final laps, he was ultimately scored P11 for the Freedom 90.
“This was our best weekend of the year from a pure pace point of view,” said Roe. “We were in the top group of every session and the fastest car on track for the majority of the race. We qualified very well, ending up inside the third row for the start of the race. It was unfortunate the way the race panned out. I was in P5 with 20 laps to go, and as I was lapping a car, the driver checked up and my front wing touched his left rear resulting in damage, so we had to pit. It was possibly the most physical race I’ve done mentally and physically. However, for my first ever oval, it’s safe to say we were a threat for podium positions.”
“Overall, we showed our team’s strengths on our first oval event across both the USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000 series,” said Team Owner Peter Dempsey. “On the USF2000 side, we didn’t have the best qualifying unfortunately, but both Dylan and Josh raced the best they could on the most difficult track to pass on this season. They both moved forward three spots each and brought the cars home.”
“On the Indy Pro 2000 side, it was the first oval event for James, and he adapted to the style of driving extremely quickly,” continued Dempsey. “He did a great job from the start of the weekend, even though we fought through some issues at the beginning. In the race, the car was capable of a podium finish, but unfortunately we lost the wing when he had contact with a lapped car and had to pit. I know he will be able to show his full speed for the longevity of the race at the next oval event at Gateway in August. Now we focus forward to the next round at Road America in a few weeks.”
Up next for the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires is the fan favorite event at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin June 17-20.