Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy

The weekend kicked off with two test sessions Friday followed by practice Saturday morning on the 2.25 mile, 12-turn road course located at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Reece Gold driving the No. 55 The Ticket Clinic car came out strong posting times inside the Top-5 throughout the sessions before qualifying. Kyffin Simpson driving the No. 21 Simpson Racing Products car worked through each session to improve in the very competitive field.

 

Gold carried his strong momentum into qualifying earning his fifth pole of the season during the first qualifying session Saturday afternoon. Simpson improved his times to qualify seventh.

Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy

The Indy Pro 2000 Championship returned to the track for the first race of the tripleheader event that late afternoon. Gold, who started from the pole, dominated the entire race, leading every lap, and would go on to record his first win in the Indy Pro 2000 Championship. Simpson finished the 25-lap race in 10^th.

 

Qualifying for the second race took place Sunday morning. Wet conditions plagued the field throughout the first part of the 30-minute session. As the track dried, drivers continued to improve their times. Simpson, who had struggled to make the Top-5, laid down a great lap to put him in the fourth starting position. Gold finished just behind in fifth.

 

The rain continued into the second race of the weekend Sunday afternoon. Simpson, who was supposed to start on the second row, spun during the recon lap, sending him to the back of the field before the race went green. Once the green flag waved, drivers looked to move forward, however, the conditions on track were not favorable for passing. Gold improved his position to finish fourth. Simpson settled for eighth.

 

The final race of the tripleheader at New Jersey Motorsports Park concluded the day, again under wet conditions. Trouble struck the Juncos Hollinger Racing line-up during the second lap with Gold going off the track and making contact with the wall, ending his day. Simpson was forced off track in a separate incident, however was able to recover and finish the day in sixth.

 

Juncos Hollinger Racing Team Owner Ricardo Juncos said, “We are thrilled to see Reece Gold finally on top of the podium for the first time in the Indy Pro 2000 Championship. When you see a driver work so hard for this moment, it is very special to us as a team to be a part of this milestone. Kyffin worked hard throughout each session to learn the track, even when faced with learning the track under wet conditions, and made some great improvements throughout the week. We will now turn our focus to the season finale in just over a month and look to finish the year with a great run!”

 

The Indy Pro 2000 Championship will return to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course October 1-2^nd for the season finale.