The USF Pro Championships presented by Continental Tire ventured north of the border this past weekend for the only international race of the season. Competing on the streets of Downtown Toronto alongside the Radical Cup North America and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, championship contenders Jay Howard Driver Development (JHDD) scored a win, a podium, and a pole position from their six-car lineup.
USF2000
Carnage struck the team in race one with Evagoras Papasavvas, Liam McNeilly, and Michael Costello all taking on damage from contact during the first wheel-to-wheel action of the weekend. It was G3 Arygros who led the team, crossing the finish line in ninth. Unfortunately, extensive damage from a crash in qualifying two on the #7 car left Jace Bacon out of the first USF2000 race of the weekend.
In his USF2000 debut weekend, McNeilly put it on pole just ahead of Papasavvas for race two. Papasavvas returned the favor, dominating race two from the front early on, with McNeilly following in second. Leading the entire race, Papasavvas made his way to victory lane to take the top step of the podium followed by McNeilly in his #9 JHDD machine. Michael Costello rounded out the top-ten at the finish line in tenth, while G3 Argyros and Jace Bacon were forced to retire. The entry for Argyros suffered a punctured radiator and was forced to retire while Bacon was plagued with contact.
USF Pro 2000
The team’s sole USF Pro 2000 entry Frankie Mossman scored a pair of top-ten results on the Toronto streets, claiming eighth in race one from a 13th place starting position. Race two saw the #6 driver go from 11th to sixth to close out the weekend, gaining multiple position on the final circuit due to a three-car incident.
“The cars have been really fast all year. Nice for the boys to showcase it here in Toronto with the 1-2 finish,” explains Team Owner Jay Howard. “We are proud of the pole position and podium results from Liam and Evagoras this weekend. The win from Evagoras will help his championship efforts going into the final event of the season in Portland.”
JHDD will venture to Road America for the next USF Junior-only race August 9-11. USF Pro 2000 and USF 2000 will pick back up alongside USF Juniors at Portland International Raceway for their finale event of the season from August 23-25.
Stay connected with the latest updates on Jay Howard’s Driver Development program. Follow them on social media by searching ‘Jay Howard Driver Development’, contact Jay Howard via e-mail at Jay@JayHoward.com.