After completing nearly four months of rehab for injuries sustained during a practice incident in practice for the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires season opener in St. Petersburg, Fla., paralyzed racer Michael Johnson is ready to get back on the track and restart his racing career.
"After testing at Mid-Ohio in June, I feel more prepared to get back to racing at this track again," said Johnson, who will drive the No. 54 JDC Motorsports entry this weekend in a doubleheader at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. "Each time I get back in a car, the less and less my nerves are.
"The last session of the test showed that I was competitive, that I'm in the ballpark, and that I'm officially back."
The chase for the championship is down to four races and six drivers are separated by 46 points: Santi Urrutia, Weiron Tan, Neil Alberico, Timothé Buret, Pato O’Ward and Garett Grist.
Their quest is to win a MAZDASPEED scholarship worth $568,700 to assist in graduation to Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, the top level of the Mazda Road to Indy.
Only O’Ward of Team Pelfrey, the youngest driver in the field at 16, has yet to win a race, although perhaps that milestone is just around the corner given his recent string of three podium finishes in as many starts.
O’Ward’s teammate, Urrutia, holds a 27-point lead over Tan (Andretti Autosport) in the standings.
By the numbers:
Points: Urrutia (251), Tan (224), Alberico (218), Buret (210), O’Ward (203)
Race winners: 6
Wins: Tan (4), Alberico (3), Urrutia (2), Buret (1), Grist (1), Latorre (1)
Podium finishers: 11
Podiums: Urrutia (6), Tan (6), Buret (6), Alberico (5), O’Ward (3), Latorre (3), Owen (2), Grist (2), Gutierrez (1), Burkett (1), Kellett (1)
Poles: Tan (6), Alberico (2), Urrutia (1), Buret (1), Grist (1), Latorre (1)
France vs. America in USF2000 title chase
For the second time in as many years, the battle for the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda and a MAZDASPEED scholarship to assist in graduation to Pro Mazda has boiled down to a duel between a Frenchman and an American.
This weekend could prove pivotal to the outcome as the Allied Building Products USF2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio will be comprised of three races. As with Indy Lights and Pro Mazda, the 16-race season will conclude with two more races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif., on Sept. 11-13.
The European challenge is led by Nico Jamin, from Rouen, France, who is seeking to secure a fifth successive crown for Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing. Jamin, 19, has been a dominant force in qualifying, starting from pole in eighth of the past nine races, including seven in a row leading into this weekend. He has won five times and added three seconds and a pair of thirds during the 11 races.
His primary rival, representing Pabst Racing, is Jake Eidson, from Littleton, Colo., who won one of the races last year at Mid-Ohio and finished third in the championship. Eidson, 20, formerly a champion in both the Skip Barber Racing Series and the F1600 Championship Series, as well as a Team USA Scholarship winner, has four wins to his credit this year, plus two seconds and four thirds.
Jamin and Eidson are separated by just 17 points, with 66 points up for grabs. Another American, Jamin’s Cape Motorsports teammate, Aaron Telitz, 23, from Birchwood, Wis., lies a further 40 points adrift after accumulating one win, four seconds and two thirds.
Afterburner Autosport will return to the series with highly rated English teenager Sennan Fielding and Jack Mitchell, from Chicago, while Alex Mayer, from Lansdale, Pa., and Clint McMahon, from Covington, Ga., will make their USF2000 debuts with a new team, RJB Motorsports.
By the numbers:
Points: Jamin (292), Eidson (275), Telitz (235), Martin (205) Thompson (144)
Race winners: 4
Wins: Jamin (5), Eidson (4), Telitz (1), Franzoni (1)
Podium Finishers: 6
Podiums: Jamin (10), Eidson (10), Telitz (7), Martin (3), Franzoni (2), Gabin (1)
Poles: Jamin (8), Eidson (2), Telitz (1)