Hunter McElrea – Indy Pro 2000
Hunter McElrea took home a hard-fought fifth place in the Freedom 90 at Lucas Oil Raceway early this morning.
Qualifying is everything at the short 1.1km oval, where overtaking is a challenging task.
Unfortunately, a set-up change between practice and qualifying did not pan out how McElrea and the Pabst Racing team had hoped, and the Kiwi started seventh.
Running in his starting position for most of the race’s first half, McElrea then executed two brilliant passes in three laps to clinch a top-five result.
He would chase down Brendon Eves for fourth, coming to with 0.7s of his rival before the chequered flag.
McElrea remains fifth in the Indy Pro 2000 standings after the weekend but is still realistically in the championship hunt if his fortunes change over the ten remaining races.
Christian Rasmussen won the 90-lap race and he moves into the championship lead.
Billy Frazer & Peter Vodanovich – USF2000
Billy Frazer and Peter Vodanovich both got their first experience racing on an oval, coming home 13th and 23rd, respectively.
Frazer qualified a notable 14th and held that position for most of the race. He was engaged in an exciting midfield battle largely made-up of rookies.
The Pukekohe teenager made up one place in the race and finished 13th, an outstanding result.
He also set a best lap that was only 0.3s slower than the race’s fastest lap.
Vodanovich did not have the day he desired as he crossed the line three laps down in 23rd.
Championship-wise, Frazer sits 11th and well within reach of a place in the top ten.
Meanwhile, Vodanovich remains 23rd out of the 28-car field.
The next round for both the Indy Pro 2000 and USF2000 categories will be at Road America on June 19-20.