Pabst Racing’s Sam Corry did exactly what he needed to do in Saturday afternoon’s opening leg of the USF2000 Continental Tire Grand Prix of Toronto. The 16-year-old from Cornelius, N.C., overtook his championship leading teammate and polesitter Max Garcia soon after a restart a little over midway through the 20-lap race and remained out front when a multi-car accident ensured that the race would finish under a full-course caution.
Corry’s third win of the season moved him back into second place in the USF2000 Presented by Continental Tire point standings, still 38 markers shy of Garcia but now three points ahead of VRD Racing’s Max Taylor, from Hoboken, N.J., who had been able to demote Garcia to third.
Garcia, 15, from Coconut Grove, Fla., laid down a quick lap in qualifying on Friday afternoon to clinch his series leading sixth Continental Tire Pole Award of the season and extend his championship lead by one more point. He duly led the field through Turn 1 on the opening lap but was unable to shake off Corry on the long Lake Shore Boulevard straightaway that leads to Turn 3. Corry braved it out around the outside line as Garcia defended the inside, which in turn gave Corry the preferred line – and the lead – as they entered Turn Five.
Fellow title contender Evagoras Papasavvas (Jay Howard Driver Development), from Loveland, Ohio, also was in the thick of the battle until unfortunately making contact with another car and losing his front wing. Taylor moved up to third as Papasavvas trundled into the pit lane for repairs.
The battle for the top spot intensified as Garcia returned the favor on Corry at Turn 5 on the very next lap. He then edged away to a slender advantage until the Pace Car was deployed after Jay Howard Driver Development’s Michael Costello, from Naples, Fla., ended his race having made contact with the wall in Turn 4.
Garcia continued to lead at the restart, but left his braking a fraction too late at Turn 1 which caused him to slide wide and open the door for Corry to slip through.
Behind, Exclusive Autosport’s Evan Cooley, from Frankfort, Ill., overtook Taylor for third in Turn 3, albeit only for a few corners before Taylor regained the advantage with a bold move under braking for Turn 8.
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Taylor continued his charge by diving to the inside of Garcia in Turn 1 on lap 14.
The decisive point in the race occurred later on that same lap in Turn 5, where impressive USF2000 debuts for USF Juniors title protagonist Liam McNeilly (Jay Howard Driver Development), from Brentwood, England, and Australian Eddie Beswick (Exclusive Autosport) came to an untimely conclusion following contact which was precipitated by an opportunistic move by fellow Aussie Quinn Armstrong (DEForce Racing).
A separate incident moments earlier in Turn 4 unfortunately left too much for the AMR IndyCar Safety Team to clean up in time to prevent the race from being completed under yellow-flag conditions, so Corry gratefully took the checkered flag to secure a seventh PFC Award for Augie Pabst as the winning team owner.
“The race was good today,” Corry said. “It was a long one for sure. The safety car really helped. We were chipping at it all the way through. I was catching the leader and the yellow flag came out which helped us. I got by on the restart and just checked out from there. Another yellow flag came out and it ended under yellow, which I don’t mind when you are leading. It was a really good day for the Pabst Racing guys and a great car from them, and I can’t thank them enough.”
Cooley finished a strong fourth ahead of Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development’s Elliot Cox, from Indianapolis, Ind., and DEForce Racing’s Nicolas Giaffone, from Sao Paulo, Brazil, who earned his first Tilton Hard Charger Award after climbing from 14th on the grid.
Race two of the weekend will see the green flag bright and early at 8:00 a.m. Sunday when McNeilly will have an opportunity for redemption after claiming pole position during a separate qualifying session held earlier this morning.