LEXINGTON, Ohio – Exclusive Autosport returned to the highly technical Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio this past weekend for Rounds 10 and 11 of the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. The team went into the weekend with confidence, coming off their recent win on the streets of Toronto.
Both Nikita Lastochkin and Danial Frost were focused on using the experience they have on the 2.258-mile track to tackle the doubleheader. Lastochkin drove with determination and in attack-mode all weekend, as the Russian-born, Los Angeles resident equaled his best finish of the season in fourth. Frost was taken out in an early-race incident in Race 1, and powered back from the tail of the field after a questionable penalty sent him to the back in Race 2. Danial made some incredible passes to finish a stunning sixth.
“Mid-Ohio was an interesting weekend,” admitted Michael Duncalfe, Team Principal.
“As a team, we topped the overall time sheets during the official test (two weeks ago), and we showed solid pace throughout the weekend. However, luck just did not seem to be on our side this weekend. Both Danial and Nikita worked incredibly hard on and off track and I believe both our drivers had the speed and potential to be on the podium for rounds 10 and 11, but I guess it was just not meant to be. Mirl Swan and the entire crew continue to impress, as the Exclusive Autosport cars are phenomenally prepped. Our sights are now focused on Gateway in a few week’s time.”
The event began first thing Friday morning with the one and only official 30-minute practice of the weekend, followed by Qualifying 1 later that afternoon. Both, Nikita and Danial got right to work, setting some fast laps, ultimately timing in sixth and ninth for Race 1.
Saturday’s Indy Pro 2000 action would kick-off with qualifying for Race 2 and both drivers improved their pace, Danial significantly, posting a time to put him on the outside of row one. Nikita would drop his time as well to give him the starting spot on the outside of row four.
The opening race of the weekend would begin late in the afternoon as the sun dropped behind the hills of Lexington. Both drivers moved up within the first three laps, but Frost was pinched by another driver during an overtaking attempt, sending him off the track and into the concrete wall, which caused extensive damage that prevented him to finish the race. Lastochkin fought hard all race long, maintaining hold of the lead pack. Late in the race, Nikita was able to make a pass on Sting Ray Robb to earn his second fourth place finish of the year.
The second race of the doubleheader weekend began the Road to Indy events on Sunday morning, and after the first attempt to start, the race needed to be waved off, race officials deemed that Frost was responsible for the aborted attempt and sent him the back. Believing firmly that this call was an error, the team attempted to protest the decision, but this effort was not heard. Due to the chaos at the start, Nikita was hit from behind by another car, bending the rear suspension, and puncturing his left rear tire, requiring a trip to the pit lane for repair.
Thankfully, his suspension was not bent enough to be undrivable and Nikita was able to catch the rear of the field for the restart and maintain the fight for a better finishing position. Starting from the tail of the field, the two EA drivers would not only battle other drivers in the series, but each other as well. When the dust settled in this highly competitive series, Frost made his way back to sixth, while Lastochkin recovered to finish seventh. Considering all the adversity at the beginning of the race, the team was happy with the results.
In the Indy Pro 2000 Presented by Cooper Tires championship standings, Lastochkin firms up his place in the sixth position, having closed the gap significantly to the fourth and fifth place drivers. After a tough weekend for Frost, he sits fourth place in the championship, but is now 59 points behind the leader.
The next stop for the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires will be the 1.25-mile oval in Madison, Illinois. World Wide Technology Raceway at Gateway will host Round 12 of the Indy Pro 2000 presented by Cooper Tires championship on Saturday, August 24.
Exclusive Autosport is pleased to be able to partner with great companies, such as AERO™ Advanced Paint Technology (www.rethinkpaint.com), which is used on all their race cars.
EXCLUSIVE AUTOSPORT – DRIVER RESULTS AND QUOTES
INDY PRO 2000 – ROUNDS 10/11 – JULY 26-28, 2019
HONDA INDY 200 AT MID-OHIO – LEXINGTON, OH
DANIAL FROST - #68
Qualifying 1: 6th – 1:16.541
Qualifying 2: 2nd – 1:15.516
Race 1: Start – 6th / Finish – 13th (Contact)
Race 2: Start – 2nd / Finish – 6th
Driver Quote: “It was a really difficult weekend for the team and me. We had the speed to challenge for wins but couldn’t deliver the results. From this, we can only look forward to Gateway and use this as a motivation to perform even better. I would like to thank the team for giving it all throughout the weekend and everyone who was there to support us.”
NIKITA LASTOCHKIN - #90
Qualifying 1: 9th – 1:17.225
Qualifying 2: 8th – 1:16.253
Race 1: Start – 9th / Finish – 4th
Race 2: Start – 8th / Finish – 7th
Driver Quote: “It was a bit of a roller coaster weekend, where we struggled in qualifying sessions to put the car higher up the grid. When it came down to the races, they were both been pretty wild, but the pace was a lot closer to the leader which I’m happy about. In Race 1, I was able to stay out of trouble, make some passes and came out with fourth place, which felt good. Race 2, because of the confusion on the front row, sent a wave of acceleration and braking through the field and the car behind me plowed in the back of me. It bent the suspension and punctured the rear tire. Thankfully, the Exclusive Autosport crew was ready for me in the pit lane and I was able to catch the field just before the restart. I had a lot of fun racing and I’m looking forward to Gateway now.”