Simon Sikes – Syndication Server

Johnson and Sikes share USF Pro 2000 honors at Indy GP

VRD Racing’s Nikita Johnson and Pabst Racing’s Simon Sikes both stood on the top step of the podium in the final two rounds of the VP Racing Grand Prix of Indianapolis tripleheader. This was the fifth win of the season for Johnson, of Gulfport, Fla., who also stood atop the podium Friday at the Indianapolis Grand Prix road course. For Sikes, from Augusta, Ga., the victory marked the reigning USF2000 champion’s first since graduating to USF Pro 2000.

This morning’s podium was a deja vu of Friday’s with New Zealand’s Liam Sceats (TJ Speed Motorsports) finishing second ahead of Australian Lochie Hughes (Turn 3 Motorsport).

Johnson stretched his already considerable USF Pro 2000 Presented by Continental Tire points lead by chasing Sikes home in second place in the final race of the weekend as Hughes once again took third.

Johnson had continued his recent dominance Saturday morning with another emphatic victory. Once again he started at the front, courtesy of his second fastest lap during the lone qualifying session on Friday which secured another Continental Tire Pole Award, although it was outside front row qualifier Sceats who stole a march at the start by snatching the lead at the first turn. It didn’t last for long.

Sceats immediately came under pressure from Johnson, who drafted alongside the New Zealander on the long front straightaway leading into Turn 1. Sceats did his best to defend, holding a tight inside line, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Johnson from executing a textbook “over-under” maneuver by tucking back to the right as Sceats ran a little deep into the braking zone and then slicing past cleanly before they reached Turn 2.

Job done. Johnson then put his head down and rapidly extended his lead. The 15-year-old never relaxed his pace, even posting a new fastest lap of the race just two laps before the finish to ensure himself of the maximum 33-point score.

Sceats maintained second position for the remainder of the all-green 25-lap race, despite intense pressure throughout from Hughes, who finished third for the second straight race.

Fourth place was taken by local resident Jace Denmark (Pabst Racing), who provided one of the drives of the race by rising from 13th on the grid to claim the Tilton Hard Charger Award.

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Starting positions for the final race were set according to either each driver’s second fastest lap in qualifying or their best lap time set during race two this morning, whichever was faster. Johnson duly claimed a sweep of the Continental Tire Pole Awards, thanks to his time from Friday, while Sikes finally gained a glimmer of light after a disappointing couple of days when his best lap from earlier today proved good enough to secure an outside front row starting position.

Hughes started fourth but lost no time in making his presence felt as he grasped the lead on the opening lap. Johnson, though, fought back immediately, taking the lead on the second lap, while Sikes followed through into second next time around.

The two leaders traded fastest laps as they inched away from Hughes in third until, as the 25-lap race neared its halfway mark, Johnson managed to eke out his advantage to over a second.

Shortly afterward, however, in stark contrast to the previous two races, Johnson abruptly lost some pace, which allowed Sikes to close in once more.

On lap 19, Sikes drew alongside Johnson as they sped toward Turn 1, then grasped the lead with a move around the outside.

Once in front, Sikes was never able to extend much of a lead, but there was no way back for Johnson, who had to be content with second. Hughes also finished hot on Johnson’s tail.

The scrap for fourth place was all about TJ Speed Motorsports, with Hunter Yeany, from Virginia Beach, Va., slipping past Sceats to claim the position with four laps remaining.

Mexico’s Ricardo Escotto pocketed the Tilton Hard Charger Award after rising from 14th on the grid to ninth, as VRD’s Dan Mitchell of VRD and Augie Pabst shared the PFC Awards as the winning car owners.

A brace of official tests at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, in Lexington, Ohio, and Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wis., are up next for the USF Pro 2000 regulars, followed by a return to the Indianapolis area for the only oval race of the season, the Continental Tire Freedom 90 at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park on May 23-24.

RACE TWO RESULTS
RACE THREE RESULTS

Simon Sikes: Climbing the ladder

Now that the 2023 USF2000 Presented by Cooper Tires season has officially wrapped up, it is time to analyze and digest an amazing year. 2023 began with many questions for me. Without a budget to begin the year, it almost felt as though the season was over before it even began. My only concrete plan was to work as a pit reporter, cameraman and announcer for Kart Chaser, a company my good friend Xander Clements started several years ago providing live stream coverage of premiere karting events across the United States. My own racing was a big question mark and a heavy “to be determined.”

I had tested several times over the winter with the massively successful Pabst Racing organization, a heavy-hitting team in the USF Pro Championships. In prior years, I had competed sporadically in USF2000, only managing partial seasons due to budgetary restrictions. With my sights set on a complete season of USF2000, I was determined to drive at as many events as possible. This, however, was shortsighted and poorly thought out. I scraped together enough budget to make it to one event, the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, but it took a massive effort and many people to just make it to one race. The thought of pulling together an entire season was overwhelming. This was further amplified by the events that were to follow.

With a rocket start to winter testing, I was ready to hit the streets of St. Pete and go racing for a chance to save my career. Rapidly, the situation took a turn for the worse. Before we ever took the green flag for a race, I found myself sidelined and worriedly assessing the possibilities of my future. My worst nightmare had unfolded in the midst of qualifying. I lost the car through a quick section at the start of a lap. In any other case at most other tracks, it would have been a minor trip through the grass before resuming my pursuit of a fast lap. However, this track runs through downtown St. Pete and is surrounded by concrete. A minor loss of control saw my car bounce off both walls and destroy almost everything but the tub of the Tatuus chassis. In an instant, any hope I had of racing for the full season had been replaced by the thought of the financial burden of the wreck.

So many people came together and sacrificed to give me a chance, and I had thrown it away before it even began.

After being cleared from the medical center and returning to the Pabst Racing tents, I found a mass scramble from everyone on the team to put the No. 22 car back together. It was simply overwhelming. Without missing a beat, everyone picked up their tools and had the car back together before the night was over. To keep racing was a miracle, and we made the most of it. Finishing off the first weekend with an 11-spot improvement to fourth place and a pole position and second-place finish in race two was a sign of good things to come.

Funding, however, was still the primary obstacle. I had a massive group of friends and family supporting me, but it was still the most stressful experience of my life. We found just enough funding to compete at Sebring and the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway before the money was extinguished in its entirety. By this point, I found myself locked head-to-head in a championship battle as we approached the halfway point of the season. Despite the good results and the ongoing points battle, the money still wasn’t there to finish out the season.

Along came Doug Mockett, a long-time supporter of the Team USA Scholarship and a man to whom I can attribute any future success in the sport. When all seemed lost, Doug and his company helped pick up the pieces to give me a chance at my first full season in USF2000. His amazing support came with impeccable timing, turning what would be another uncompleted season into a flourishing season-long championship hunt.

I can not possibly thank Doug enough, as this would have been a very different story had he not taken a leap of faith to support our effort. With his name in large font on the side of the car, we pressed forward confidently into the latter stages of the season. Experiencing success and standing on the podium at every single track we raced at, Pabst Racing and I found ourselves with a substantial lead in the championship heading into the last weekend of competition in Portland. With points calculations flying through my mind, there was one job to be done: finish the races and win Pabst Racing their first ever driver’s championship.

We knew what had to be done and, with a third-place finish in race one at Portland, we had achieved what just a few short months earlier had seemed impossible – a driver without significant backing and a team far too deserving of a championship finally paired together for a fairytale season that neither I nor the team will ever forget. It did not feel real, and it certainly took its time to sink in. It was not until the banquet on Monday evening that I finally felt the pressure come off and a massive wave of relief take over. At the end of it all was a trophy that read “2023 USF2000 CHAMPION” and a massive check from Andersen Promotions to move forward into next year. I’ve never felt this kind of support in my life — the messages, the phone calls, the hugs, and the tears. It was almost too real. I still do not think I fully understand the weight of what Pabst Racing and I accomplished in 2023.

At the end of it all, I was just the driver. Behind the scenes was where the work was done. From Augie Pabst and Burke Harrison, my engineer, to the entirety of the Pabst Racing team, it really and truly had been a massive team effort. Off the track, an overwhelming number of people came together to lift this effort into reality. I can not thank Doug Mockett enough for his continued support, although many others help make this possible, too. My entire family, who have supported me unconditionally in my pursuit of this career, gave what they could to be a part of this dream. Big Check Race Fans, Kristi Peacock of Coastal Properties Group, and Comprent also showed their support and graciously came on board. I am grateful to everyone who has been a part of this year. Next year we will take on new challenges in the USF Pro 2000 category. For now, I can rest easy knowing that we are the 2023 USF2000 Champions!

-Simon

USF2000 champ Sikes signs off in style with Portland win

Simon Sikes capped an almost perfect weekend for Pabst Racing at Portland International Raceway by recording his sixth win of the season in Sunday evening’s season finale. Sikes, from Augusta, Ga., on Friday clinched the USF2000 Presented by Cooper Tires championship crown, as well as a Discount Tire Driver Advancement Scholarship valued at $433,200 to ensure graduation to the next step on the open-wheel ladder, USF Pro 2000, in 2024. A one-two finish yesterday also secured a fifth teams’ championship since 2017 for Augie Pabst’s eponymous organization based in Oconomowoc, Wis.

Jacob Douglas couldn’t quite complete a weekend sweep of the Discount Tire Grand Prix of Portland, but still finished comfortably clear of VRD Racing’s Sam Corry, a winner earlier this year at Indianapolis, who earned a long overdue podium result in third.

Pabst Racing once again led the field to the green today with Douglas having secured his third straight Cooper Tires Pole Award ahead of Sikes and 14-year-old Max Garcia. But it was Sikes who won the start, slicing confidently around the outside line in Turn 1 at the notorious Festival Curves chicane before assuming the inside line, and the lead, in Turn 2. The two Pabst cars were once again clearly the class of the field as they immediately romped away from their pursuers.

Douglas dropped back a little during the middle stages of the 25-lap, all-green race before closing in again during the final stages. Sikes, though, was unmoved as he took the checkered flag 0.6653s ahead of his teammate and earned an eighth PFC Award of the year for Augie Pabst as the winning team owner.

“It was a great race. First of all, congrats to Jacob. He got the first two (wins) and we had a great race,” said Sikes. “I think we disappeared from everyone, but he kept the pressure on all race and didn’t make it easy at all. What a way to cap off the season with Pabst Racing — another one-two and I can’t tell you how much that means to us, the team and everybody here. On the championship weekend, it just means so much more. A big thanks to all my supporters. I couldn’t have done it without them. It was a whole group effort and I think we showed our strength this weekend.”

Corry executed a bold move at the first corner to vault from eighth on the grid to third. He maintained that position until the finish despite the best efforts of Thomas Schrage, who bounced back strongly from disappointing results on Friday and Saturday. Schrage, who had been fastest of all during the Thursday test day, had been obliged to switch to Exclusive Autosport’s backup car following difficulties in each of the first few races, but he adapted quickly and pressured Corry all the way to the checkered flag. Corry’s drive earned him the Tilton Hard Charger Award.

After losing a couple of positions during the first few laps, Garcia chased Schrage gamely despite intense pressure from Jay Howard Driver Development’s Evagoras Papasavvas.

Nikita Johnson also impressed once again for VRD Racing. Moments after briefly celebrating victory in the preceding USF Pro 2000 race, Johnson, 15, strapped himself aboard VRD Racing’s No. 17 USF2000 Tatuus and lined up sixth on the grid. Johnson found himself odd man out at the Festival Curves, forced into the escape road as teammate Corry scythed through from behind, whereupon Johnson charged from the back of the pack to seventh at the finish, only a couple of seconds behind Papasavvas.

The USF Pro Championships season will be formally wrapped up tomorrow evening at the traditional Championship Celebration in Portland. The focus then will switch toward the 2024 season, starting with the annual two-day USF Pro Fall Combine Test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on October 21-22.

RESULTS

Provisional final championship points:
1. Simon Sikes, 447
2. Nikita Johnson, 344
3. Lochie Hughes, 335
4. Evagoras Papasavvas, 323
5. Mac Clark, 318
6. Jacob Douglas, 249
7. Sam Corry, 222
8. Jorge Garciarce, 212
9. Max Garcia, 207
10. Chase Gardner, 193

Meet 2023 USF2000 champion Simon Sikes

New USF2000 presented by Cooper Tires champion Simon Sikes joins RACER’s Marshall Pruett moments after clinching the title with Pabst Racing and shares his incredible story that will include a move to USF Pro 2000 thanks to the big advancement prize …

Or click HERE to watch on YouTube.

Douglas takes first USF2000 win as Sikes clinches title

Jacob Douglas enjoyed a banner Friday at Portland International Raceway. So did Simon Sikes and team owner Augie Pabst. New Zealand’s Douglas (pictured above) first claimed his first-ever pole position, then later in the afternoon executed a perfect …

Jacob Douglas enjoyed a banner Friday at Portland International Raceway. So did Simon Sikes and team owner Augie Pabst. New Zealand’s Douglas (pictured above) first claimed his first-ever pole position, then later in the afternoon executed a perfect opening leg of the Discount Tire Grand Prix of Portland tripleheader by racing to an accomplished victory.

Jay Howard Driver Development’s Evagoras Papasavvas kept Douglas on his toes by finishing just over a half-second behind in second place. Close behind, Sikes cruised home in third to secure the USF2000 Presented by Cooper Tires championship and a Discount Tire Driver Advancement Scholarship valued at $433,200 to guarantee graduation next year into USF Pro 2000, the next step on the USF Pro Championships ladder.

All of the leaders made it through the Festival Curves chicane on the opening lap relatively cleanly, although those in the midfield weren’t so fortunate. Cue a brief full-course caution.

Douglas remained undaunted at the front and kept a slender advantage throughout the 25-lap race. For most of the way it was Sikes who remained in his mirrors, but following a second, short full-course for some debris on the track — actually the headrest which had become dislodged and then fallen off Thomas Schrage’s Exclusive Autosport car — Papasavvas took over in second from Sikes and kept the pressure on Douglas until the checkered flag.

“I led every lap and Pabst gave me an amazing car,” said Douglas. “Massive thanks to them and congrats to Simon on the championship.”

Georgia’s Sikes chased hard in third before easing off on the final lap, secure in the knowledge that he had the championship crown firmly in his grasp.

“I don’t even know what I am feeling. It has been a rollercoaster throughout the year,” said Sikes. “It has been tough and it had its ups and downs. I mean, St. Petersburg couldn’t have started off worse, and it was a mountain to climb just to get here. To finally get this for Augie and the whole Pabst team – the first drivers’ championship for Pabst Racing — I am so happy to do it for the whole team including Burke Harrison, my engineer, and Bob Perona, my awesome driver coach, and everyone that made this possible. It means the world to me and I can’t thank everyone enough. The team has been phenomenal, the car is the fastest it has been all year and I just can’t thank Doug Mockett and everyone who supports me enough.”

USF2000 champion Simon Sikes and team owner Augie Pabst. Gavin Baker Photography

Nikita Johnson forged his way from seventh on the grid to fourth for VRD Racing, well clear of Sikes’ only remaining championship rival, Lochie Hughes (Jay Howard Driver Development), who fought back from 14th to fifth after being involved in an incident at the first restart.

Hughes’ teammate Al Morey drove a sensible race to rise from 15th on the grid to seventh ahead of Canadian Mac Clark (DEForce Racing), who ran as high as fourth but lacked pace following an early skirmish and Gordon Scully (VRD Racing).

Hot on all their heels was Elliot Cox, who drove very impressively from 19th and last on the grid to 10th following a huge effort to repair a badly broken Tatuus USF-22 by his Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development team following a crash in morning practice. Cox and his team were deserving recipients of the Tilton Hard Charger Award.

In addition to picking up another PFC Award as the winning car owner, Augie Pabst also celebrated both a long overdue first drivers’ championship for Sikes and the fact that Pabst Racing took over the lead of the teams’ championship from Jay Howard Driver Development. Pabst Racing now holds a slender eight-point lead heading into the final two races of the season. Round 17 will see the green flag Saturday at 2:15pm PT, followed by the season finale on Sunday at 4:20pm.

RESULTS

Provisional championship points after 16 of 18 races:
1. Simon Sikes, 390
2. Lochie Hughes, 316
3. Nikita Johnson, 308
4. Evagoras Papasavvas, 291
5. Mac Clark, 287
6. Sam Corry, 196
7. Chase Gardner, 193
8. Jacob Douglas, 190
9. Jorge Garciarce, 190
10. Max Garcia, 187

Sikes, Hughes share USF2000 wins on turbulent day at Road America

USF2000 Presented by Cooper Tires title rivals Lochie Hughes (Jay Howard Driver Development), from Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, and Simon Sikes (Pabst Racing), from Augusta, Ga., shared the victory spoils in Saturday’s Discount Tire Grand Prix …

Hughes encountered a problem with his car in the opening race and later was assessed a 5s penalty for blocking, which dropped him from 10th to 12th, while Sikes placed 10th in race two following some on-track skirmishes. Consequently, Hughes’ slender points lead has diminished by one, from four points to three, heading into the second half of the season.

Jacob Douglas (Pabst Racing), from Christchurch, New Zealand, scored a career-best second-place finish Saturday morning ahead of VRD Racing’s Nikita Johnson, from Gulfport, Fla. After starting from pole position in race two, Mac Clark, from Milton, Ont., Canada, finished second ahead of 14-year-old Max Garcia (Pabst Racing), from Coconut Grove, Fla.

Hughes began the weekend in emphatic style during qualifying on Friday by securing his second Cooper Tires Pole Award of the season, and his first since the opening round on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., in early March. The Australian teenager took full advantage of the pristine new track surface on the challenging 4.014-mile circuit by posting a new lap record of 2m07.8964s, an average speed of 112.985mph. His time comfortably eclipsed the old standard of 2m09.2583s set by Rasmus Lindh in 2018.

A clean start saw Hughes maintain his advantage for the first half-lap ahead of Sikes and the rest of the closely matched pack. Unfortunately, Hughes then made a mistake under pressure at Turn 6 and ran wide, which immediately cost him a couple of positions to Sikes and Clark.

An incident at Turn 1 on the second lap ensured a full-course caution with Sikes at the head of the field, where he was to remain for the remainder of the 12-lap race. Sikes had to withstand challenges at no fewer than three restarts following a series of minor incidents before racing clear to score his third win of the season and briefly retake the championship points lead.

Hughes regained one of his lost places by slicing past Clark at Turn 5 at the first restart, only to slide wide again at Turn 6 and lose several positions after his rear wing collapsed. Hughes stopped to have the wing reattached and did well to climb back to 10th at the finish prior to the penalty.

Clark fell out of contention after being one among three drivers who attempted to run side-by-side through Turn 5 following one of the restarts. He, too, resumed at the back but did gain the consolation of a new lap record, 2m09.1655s, on the final lap.

“It was a fun race,” Sikes said. “Starting second, I was able to get the lead on the first lap into Turn 6 and from there, it was just about trying to hold on to that position. We had several restarts, all of which were all about heavy defending and trying to maintain that lead. Once we got down to the last restart, it was a fun cruise to the end and I was appreciating the awesome Wisconsin scenery. I am so thankful to win at home for Pabst and the first weekend racing with Mockett on the car.”

All of the drama allowed New Zealander Jacob Douglas, who celebrated his 18th birthday earlier in the week, to emerge in a clear second place in his first outing for the locally based Pabst Racing team.

Nikita Johnson (VRD Racing), from Gulfport, Fla., impressively overcame some problems in qualifying by rising from 12th on the grid to complete the podium in third. Johnson’s fine drive earned him the Tilton Hard Charger Award.

Chase Gardner (Exclusive Autosport), from Prosper, Texas, and Elliot Cox (Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development), from Indianapolis, Ind., also took advantage of the incident-packed race to round out the top five after starting deep in the pack.

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Race two winner Lochie Hughes Gavin Baker Photography

The action continued later in the afternoon with Clark, last year’s USF Juniors Presented by Cooper Tires champion, on pole position after claiming the Cooper Tires Pole Award, his second of the year, during a second dedicated qualifying session on Friday.

Clark held onto his advantage through a couple of early full-course cautions, but there was no holding back Hughes, who made up for his earlier disappointment by drafting past into the lead at the beginning of lap eight. Clark never gave up the chase but had to settle for second ahead of young Garcia, who atoned for an error in race one by snaring his first podium result.

This time it was Pabst teammate Sikes’ turn to have difficulties. After running third in the early stages, Sikes was involved in a couple of skirmishes before finally taking the checkered flag a disappointed 10th.

“It was a pretty good race,” Hughes quipped afterward. “I was able to jump up to second at the start before the safety cars. I got a great restart and just sent it around the outside of Mac. I wasn’t sure how much grip there would be with the resurface but I thought stuff it, go for it. I was in the lead and then another safety car again, but I got a good restart and managed to hold the lead. Then it was just about trying to break the tow which I couldn’t really do so Mac was always right there. It was critical to make no mistakes and just hold the gap I had and win the race and that’s what I did.”

Jorge Garciarce (DEForce Racing), from Guadalajara, Mexico, took a career-best fourth ahead of Johnson.

USF Junior regular Jack Jeffers, from San Antonio, Texas, capped an exploratory USF2000 outing with Exclusive Autosport by claiming the Tilton Hard Charger Award after finishing 12th and making up nine positions during the 12-lap race.

For the third time this season the PFC Awards for the winning car owners were split by Augie Pabst and Jay Howard.

Next on the agenda for the USF2000 competitors is a triple-header event, once again held in conjunction with the NTT IndyCar Series, at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, in two weeks’ time on June 30-July 1.

RACE ONE RESULTS

RACE TWO RESULTS

Sikes, Hughes share Saturday USF2000 spoils at Indianapolis

The final two rounds of the Discount Tire Grand Prix of Indianapolis saw the top three drivers in the USF2000 Presented by Cooper Tires point standings share dual podium honors with Simon Sikes of Pabst Racing taking the win in race two and Lochie …

Nikita Johnson of VRD Racing capped off two podium finishes of third with a second-place drive in the final 15-lap event.

The first of Saturday’s pair of races saw Johnson, from Gulfport, Fla., once again starting at the front of the field having earned his second successive Cooper Tires Pole Award. But the young Floridian found himself under attack the moment the green flag fell.

Remarkably, having lined up sixth on the grid, it was one of Johnson’s VRD Racing teammates, Danny Dyszelski, from Belmont, N.C., who drove around the outside of everyone at Turn 1 to emerge in the lead from Sikes, who started second, and Johnson.

The more experienced Sikes soon dispatched Dyszelski to assume the top position, which he was able to hold for the remainder of the 15-lap race to clinch his second victory of the season.

Sikes, from Atlanta, Ga., fought off his pursuers following a couple of full-course caution periods, then put his head down and set the fastest laps of the race as he edged clear of the battle for second between championship rival Hughes and Johnson.

Hughes, from Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia, who started second, drove well to regain ground after being elbowed out on the opening lap and falling to seventh. The Australian narrowly held off Johnson at the checkered flag.

Mac Clark (DEForce Racing), from Milton, Ont., Canada finished fourth ahead of Friday winner Sam Corry (VRD Racing), from Cornelius, N.C., then New Zealander Jacob Douglas (Exclusive Autosport) and local resident Elliot Cox (Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development), who claimed the Tilton Hard Charger Award after fighting his way to climbing from 18th on the starting grid to seventh.

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The third race of an eventful Discount Tire Grand Prix of Indianapolis had Sikes claiming another successive Cooper Tires Pole Award by virtue of setting the fastest lap of the weekend during the earlier encounter. A four-wide battle heading into Turn 1 saw Sikes on the bottom and shuffled back to sixth as Evagoras Papasavvas of Jay Howard Driver Development, who started third, become the star of the opening lap as he moved into the lead.

The caution flags flew before the end of the first tour due to contact between two drivers and when the race resumed on lap four, Hughes took full command followed by Johnson in second, Papasavvas and Sikes.

Sikes continued to use his experience to advantage and when the yellow came out three laps later for an incident involving local driver Elliot Cox of Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development and Friday’s race winner Sam Corry of VRD Racing, he had advanced to second behind Hughes with Johnson in third and Papasavvas fourth.

After repairs to the tire wall following the incident, the scene was set for a three-lap shootout. Impressively, 14-year-old Max Garcia of Coconut Grove, Fla., found himself in the mix. The Pabst Racing driver slotted into third from eighth at the restart with Johnson settling in to second while Sikes was displaced to fourth.

Hughes comfortably maintained the point to continue his streak of winning one race in every event held to date this season.

“I am super happy to win race three,” Hughes said. “I mean, what a place to win. I can’t thank the team enough. It has been a tough weekend finishing second every single race so far. To finally come out on top is just such a relief and I can’t thank the team enough. It is cool to win for my mom on Mother’s Day as well so hi to them back home.”

Sikes, while not a winner this time around, was still positive.

“We started on pole, which is obviously where you always want to start but it quickly went downhill from there,” he said. “I had a bit of a rough start and got into the grass on the exit of Turn 2 and unfortunately fell back to sixth place. We went under the safety car pretty quickly and then I had an awesome restart and was able to get all the way back up into second before another yellow. I got the worse at the restart and knocked back a few spots but was able to have a great battle with my teammate Max Garcia for the final spot on the podium on the last lap. I am really happy for Pabst Racing to put another one on the podium.”

Garcia ended the day fourth with Ethan Ho of Los Angeles, Calif., showing impressive form for DC Autosport to round out the top five.

Zack Ping from Buford, Ga., picked up the final Tilton Hard Charger Award of the weekend for VRD Racing with a gain of eight positions to finish 11th.

Augie Pabst and Jay Howard took home the PFC Awards as the winning car owners.

The USF2000 teams and drivers will remain in the Indianapolis area for their next round on Friday night, May 26, their only chance of the season to compete on an oval track at Lucas Oil Raceway Park.

RACE TWO RESULTS

RACE THREE RESULTS