Competing at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for Rounds 11 through 13 of the 18-race USF2000 Presented by Cooper Tires series, Jay Howard Driver Development (JHDD) competitor Al Morey continued to find the pace to run inside the top 10. Finishing four of the five official sessions in 10th or better, Morey continued to add to his 2023 point total and gain experience in his rookie season.
In a jam-packed triple-header race weekend, qualifying and the first wheel-to-wheel action took place Friday with Races Two and Three of the weekend on Saturday. With qualifying setting the grid for Race One, the fastest lap from Race One set the grid for Race Two and for Race Three unless the second fastest lap from qualifying was quicker than either of those.
On a weekend that had threatening weather throughout, Morey had a very competitive qualifying session clocking the eighth fastest time, less than a tenth of a second away from the top five. Lining up on the outside of Row Four for Race One, the goal was to maintain his positioning inside the top 10 and move forward if possible. In a race that featured a lot of green flag laps, it was another experience and a knowledge-building affair that saw Morey net another top-10 result, this time in ninth after some intense battles on track.
Morey added, “I’m very happy after our first race here. Coming home in ninth means my goal of finishing in the top 10 has been fulfilled. I’ll look forward to continuing that streak throughout the weekend. A huge congratulations to Evagoras Papasavvas for his incredible performance in this race and for the race win. He’s worked hard for that and I’m happy to see it pay off.”
While the position result in Race One was good, the speed saw Morey in P17 for the start of Race Two as he was unable to complete a second flying lap in qualifying. In a race that featured multiple collisions including one driver upside down, Morey rocketed his way up to 10th on a track deemed almost impossible to overtake on. A collision with another driver dropped him to 16th.
“While Race Two certainly had its ups and downs, starting P17 here and going to P10 was no easy task. It’s just very frustrating having all of that hard work taken away from me because of another driver’s impatience and inability to pass. However, I am happy that my teammate Lochie Hughes is okay after ending up upside down,” expressed Morey.
Lining up for Race Three again in 17th, it was a spirited drive forward as Morey managed to stay out of trouble and once again find the pace to be inside the top 10. On Lap 1, a four-car pileup had Morey testing his off-road skills in the gravel and grass to avoid the incident, dropping him to last. Morey was able to keep his head down and drive from last to 10th. Gaining several positions throughout the 20-lap affair, Morey earned his second top-10 result of the weekend and ended the weekend with momentum on his side.
Morey added, “We will now shift our focus to Toronto. It will be my first race on the streets of Toronto and my second-ever street race. I know the JHDD guys were quick there last year, so I am looking forward to it for sure.”
Taking place over the July 14-16 weekend, Al Morey and the rest of his Jay Howard Driver Development program will compete on the streets of Toronto for Rounds 14 and 15.