INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Lochie Hughes scored his fourth consecutive podium at the Freedom 90 race this past weekend on the .686-mile oval of Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park. The Australian driver also made huge gains in the USF Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Continental Tire standings, jumping up to second in the points, only one point back from the lead and 16 points ahead of third.
Inclement rainy weather on Friday night forced a delay of the traditional Carb Night Classic as the teams and fans waited for clear skies and a dry race track, and all race events ultimately ended up taking place on Saturday afternoon.
Hughes qualified fourth for the Freedom 90, and with eyes focused forward, he overtook third shortly after the green flag fell. From there, it was an endurance run to the end, and after 90 laps of some of the most physical racing of the season, Hughes brought the #44 The McGinley Group / Private Wealth Planning / Grip Auto Timepieces car home in a well-earned third place, also becoming the highest scoring rookie of the race.
“It was a great weekend at Indianapolis Raceway Park, said Hughes. "As the only oval race of the year—and with more points on offer—it was crucial to have a good weekend. The Turn 3 Motorsport cars rolled off the truck fast and were at the pointy end all weekend which made my job a lot easier. Finishing P3 was awesome, and it was my first podium on an oval. We also closed the championship gap down to one point, so it’s all to play for now.”
Danny Dyszelski started the week by taking the fastest time in the first pre-event test session and following that up with the third quickest time in single car qualifying. At the start of the race, the 16-year-old took the inside line and lost a little ground but soon after recovered the fifth place spot and settled in for 90 laps of racing.
As the race progressed, as did Dyszelski who soon made his way up to fourth in the field. The young American kept the #3 Vera Guitars / Formula Imports / Charlotte Mechanical car tight with the lead pack for the duration of the race, finishing five seconds ahead of the fifth place car and being one of only six cars to finish on the lead lap.
“It was a really good weekend at the oval of Indianapolis Raceway Park," said Dyszelski. "We had an amazing car throughout the whole week thanks to Turn 3 Motorsport. I’m happy to come away with another fourth place finish. I’m looking forward to going to Road America next, and I’m hoping to get some more podiums there.”
Ethan Ho’s first experience with oval racing came last week at Indianapolis Raceway Park, and he more than stepped up to the challenge; the 18-year-old was consistently top five in the pace all week and qualified the #68 Fubon Bank / Triple S / KRC / Molecule / JiuZhou car fifth with mere thousandths of a second separating the second through fifth qualifying times.
Come race time, Ho was keeping up with the lead pack and on track to earn a top five finish when he was squeezed into the wall and involved in a massive wreck that took out both him and the #17 car of Nikita Johnson. Disappointingly, a chance for a top race result was taken away from Ho once again, and the Taiwanese-American driver was scored P16 for the lone oval event of the season.
“Ending up in the wall was a very disappointing end to the month of May,” said Ho. “I feel that the team and I made some good improvements between Indy GP and IRP and were on pace to finish strong at the oval. We did everything in our power to do so, but events that were out of our control ruined the weekend. We need to push past the bad luck and turn the rest of the season around at Road America.”
Oval racing was also a first time experience for Tyke Durst whose mom used to race on the dirt ovals of Nebraska as a kid. The 20-year-old came prepared for the challenge and used pre-race testing to become acclimated to the track; unfortunately, Durst made contact with the wall during testing and as a result, did not get a chance to qualify the #33 FHI / Relay Payments / Drive Toward a Cure car for the Freedom 90.
Despite the setback, Durst was determined to make up for the lost qualifying run in the race. After starting at the back, the young American focused on both completing his first oval race and chipping away at positions to improve up the order of the field. Durst successfully completed both goals with strong driving and a solid run up to P13 in the Freedom 90.
“I definitely learned some important lessons and got experience at Indianapolis Raceway Park,” said Durst. “We were building good pace through the practice sessions before I learned about oversteer on an oval. After that, we just had to survive and finish the race. I’m looking forward to building more experience at Road America.”
“Overall, it was a successful weekend for the team,” said Team Owner Peter Dempsey. “Showing up to our first oval event with four rookie drivers was always going to have its challenges, so it really helped that we rolled out in a good spot with the cars to allow the drivers to build their confidence throughout the first test day.”
“Tyke (Durst) was unlucky with the setback of his crash, but he rebounded well in practice and the race to gain valuable experience for his first oval event,” continued Dempsey. “I was hugely impressed with the pace that Lochie (Hughes), Danny (Dyszelski), and Ethan (Ho) showed throughout the weekend. Having three cars consistently in the top five was awesome. Unfortunately, Ethan getting taken out in the race put a huge damper on his weekend, but overall for his first ever oval event, he was extremely impressive. Lochie and Danny both drove very controlled races, and I’m super proud of all the team’s effort to come home third and fourth only to be beaten by drivers that have more experience than ours. Roll on to Road America next!”
Now at the halfway point of the season, the USF Pro 2000 Championship and Turn 3 Motorsport turn their focus to the fan favorite Road America road course in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin for another triple header weekend June 6-9.