USF2000
Peter Vodanovich received the Tilton Hard Charger Award after charging from 24th to 15th in the second USF2000 race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Vodanovich (main image) bounced back after a difficult race one to tie with the best result of his short US career.
The IMS road course proved challenging to overtake on for most of the midfield. Yet Vodanovich was cunning in his push forward, executing some slick moves over the race.
He ended up one place ahead of fellow New Zealander Billy Frazer.
The Auckland teenager came home 12th in race one before maintaining his 16th-place start in race two.
A steady haul of points means Frazer now sits tenth in the driver’s standings and is the third-highest rookie.
Both races were won by American driver Yuven Sundaramoorthy, each with margins of over a second.
One final race early tomorrow morning will round out the weekend for the USF2000 field.
Frazer will start from 16th, while Vodanovich will need another strong recovery drive after being compelled to start 24th.
Indy Pro 2000
Hunter McElrea’s Indy Pro 2000 title ambitions suffered a minor hiccup when he was caught up in an incident in the sole race today.
McElrea and Wyatt Brichacek were unfortunately hindered in lap one contact, with both drivers forced to pit for repairs.
The unscheduled stop dropped McElrea towards the rear of the pack, and he finished one lap down in tenth position.
The silver lining for the Kiwi is that he still holds onto third in the championship. Though both drivers ahead of him, Christian Rasmussen and Braden Eves, finished 1-2 in today’s race.
McElrea did posted the second-fastest lap of the race, a promising omen heading into two more races tomorrow.
He will start the first of those two races from seventh.