Rookies earn first wins in races at Indianapolis

By Mazda Road to Indy | Published: May 10, 2014

Will Owen

For the second consecutive day, a rookie driver claimed his first victory in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda.

In Race 2 on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, 19-year-old Adrian Starrantino of JAY Motorsports overtook Victor Franzoni on Lap 11 and held off Florian Latorre to claim the victory. Clarke Toppe of JDC MotorSports placed third.

“I can’t even explain the feeling," Starrantino said. "We had a pretty rough weekend at Barber and it was looking rough here. I stayed up late last night just figuring out how to make the car work. We had some contact (in Race 1) and came in and put on slick tires to try to get track position for today and it worked. I am so happy for the team and everyone.

"My team was on the radio ‘four to go, three to go, two to go’ and there is nothing like the last lap. I think we put on a great show. I was feeling the pressure the last couple of corners but we got it done. I can’t explain the feeling of crossing the bricks and being the first one to the checkered flags. It was beautiful.” 

Henrik Furuseth (JAY Motorsports), whose pole-winning lap was disallowed following post-qualifying technical inspection, earned the Tilton Hard Charger Award. Additional awards included the RePlay XD Move of the Race to Franzoni for his move from fourth to first at the start; the PFC Award and customized Race Energy charger – the official battery of the ladder series – to the winning team of JAY Motorsports; and the Staubli Award to Starrantino.

In Race 1 on a rain-soaked track, Will Owen of Castle Rock, Colo., earned his first victory in a Pabst Racing car. Jake Eidson led the most laps on his way to a second-place finish for Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing, while another rookie, Aaron Telitz, completed the podium for ArmsUp Motorsports.

Colton Herta claimed the Tilton Hard Charger Award for a gain of 17 positions. Additional awards included the RePlay XD Move of the Race to Owen for his pass for the lead on the outside of Turn 14 as they were completing Lap 14 as well as the Staubli Award; and the PFC Award and customized Race Energy charger – the official battery of the ladder series – which went to the winning team of Pabst Racing.