Pole sitter Rinus VeeKay went flag-to-flag to capture the opening race of the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires doubleheader at Portland International Raceway.
It marks the fourth win of the season for the 18-year-old Dutchman, who kept his No. 21 Juncos Racing Dallara IL-15 out front for all 35 laps to beat championship leader Oliver Askew (No. 28 Andretti Autosport) by 3.4990 seconds.
“I’m super happy with it,” VeeKay said. “It’s great to be back in victory lane. I want to thank the team for a great car, and thank Cooper Tires for staying in so long because (Portland) is tough on the tires – they keep going. I’m ready for tomorrow.”
The battle for third was where all the action was on track as Robert Megennis (No. 27 Andretti Autosport) was under threat for the position from Toby Sowery (No. 2 HMD Motorsports/Team Pelfrey) for the entirety of the final 10 laps. Despite his best efforts, Sowery saw every strong move countered with an equally brilliant defense, with Megennis keeping a stranglehold on the final podium spot.
The only incidents on the day came when Ryan Norman (No. 48 Andretti Autosport) spun off at Turn 4 on Lap 6 while trailing Lucas Kohl (No. 5 Belardi Auto Racing). Moments later, Kohl went off in Turn 9. Both drivers were able to continue on, with Norman finishing seventh, just ahead of Kohl.
VeeKay also scored the pole for the nightcap of the doubleheader weekend after a thrilling qualifying session with a flying lap 1 minute, 3.2629 seconds (111.762 mph), edging Askew by the narrowest of margins at 0.0001 of a second. As it stands, VeeKay trails Askew by 45 points (420-375) with three races remaining.
The green flag for the second race will drop at 9:35 a.m. PT on Sunday and will stream live at NBC Sports Gold.
Indy Pro 2000 starts wild, Kirkwood wins
Kyle Kirkwood escaped early chaos and pulled to victory in the opening race in Indy Pro 2000 presented by Cooper Tires.
The driver of the No. 28 RP Motorsport Racing Tatuus PM-18 pushed through a three-wide battle for the lead entering Turn 1 right at the drop of the green flag, which saw pole sitter Sting Ray Robb (No. 2 Juncos Racing) fall off the top spot after contact from behind by Artem Petrov (No. 5 RP Motorsport Racing).
The incident was enough to put a gap between Kirkwood and the field as he led all 30 laps claimed a remarkable seventh win - fifth consecutive – of the season by 12.3497 seconds over Daniel Frost (No. 68 Exclusive Autosport). The result also pushes Kirkwood to the championship lead, eight point lead (348-340) over rival Rasmus Lindh (No. 10 Juncos Racing).
Antonio Serravalle (No. 11 Pserra Racing/RP Motorsport USA) finished third, ahead of Parker Thompson (No. 8 Abel Motorsports) and Lindh.
Kirkwood captured the pole for the second race, which is set to stream live at 3:10 p.m. PT at racecontrol.indycar.com.
McElrea takes victory, tightens title battle in USF2000
The closest the field ever came to pole sitter Hunter McElrea was at the start of the first race for Indy Pro 2000.
Right from the opening lap, the driver of the No. 22 Pabst Racing Tatuus USF-17 comfortably drove away and carefully navigated the 12-turn, 1.964-mile road course to lead all 25 laps and score his third win of the season by 4.8713 seconds over runner-up Braden Eves (No. 8 Cape Motorsports).
With three races remaining on the season, Eves holds just a one-point edge over McElrea (285-284).
Christian Rasmussen (No. 6 Jay Howard Driver Development) climbed from fifth on the grid to capture third place, while Colin Kaminsky (No. 23 Pabst Racing) and Darren Keane (No. 2 Cape Motorsports) rounded out the rest of the top five.
Additionally, McElrea also won the pole for tomorrow’s second act of the weekend, which will stream live at racecontrol.indycar.com at 4:15 p.m. PT.