PORTLAND, Ore. – Nikita Johnson, from Gulfport, Fla., scored a fine victory for VRD Racing in this evening’s first leg of the Continental Tire Grand Prix of Portland doubleheader season finale. Some distance behind, a measured drive to sixth position was enough for Turn 3 Motorsport rookie Lochie Hughes to secure the USF Pro 2000 Presented by Continental Tire championship.
Hughes, from the Gold Coast of Queensland, Australia also claimed a scholarship valued at $681,500 to advance to INDY NXT, the final stepping stone to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, in 2025.
Last year’s USF2000 champion Simon Sikes, from Augusta, Ga., charged hard in the closing stages to finish hot on Johnson’s tail and clinch a coveted second Team Championship in as many years for Pabst Racing. Frankie Mossman, from Newport Beach, Calif., completed the podium for Jay Howard Driver Development.
Results
Johnson earned his fifth Continental Tire Pole Award of the year during qualifying this morning in dry conditions, although the track was completely different for the start of the race following an earlier rain shower. Nevertheless, Johnson was able to maintain his advantage under braking for the tight Festival Curves chicane, pursued by Sikes who displaced a sensibly conservative Hughes from second position. Behind them several cars came together in the tricky conditions to ensure an immediate full-course caution.
Johnson carried on from where he left at the restart, with four laps in the books, although he was unable to shake off Mossman, who had vaulted from ninth on the grid to fourth at the initial start and then made up two more positions immediately after the restart.
The two leaders immediately stretched away from Sikes in third, who in turn comfortably outpaced BN Racing teammates Ricardo Escotto, from Mexico City, and Alessandro De Tullio, from Miami, Fla.
Track conditions gradually improved as the race progressed, and Johnson eventually managed to eke out some breathing space over Mossman, who continued to run well in second. At two-thirds distance, 20 laps, the gap between the two leaders had grown to 2.6 seconds.
The man to watch at this stage was Sikes, whose car came alive as the track continued to dry. After falling as far as 8.6 seconds behind Mossman with 12 laps completed, suddenly the gap began to diminish rapidly. Within the space of just 10 laps, Sikes had reeled in Mossman, whom he dispatched with ease into Turn Six.
Sikes continued his forward charge, but the clock proved to be Johnson’s savior, as the 40-minute time limit expired after only 27 of the 30 laps had been completed and Johnson took the checkered flag a scant 0.6690 second to the good.
Mossman followed them home in third, while Escotto took fourth and the Tilton Hard Charger Award after starting way back in 15th.
The other man to make an impression in the closing stages was Sikes’ Pabst Racing teammate Glenn van Berlo. After being involved in a skirmish on the opening lap, the Dutch rookie charged through the field to finish fifth, well clear of Hughes, who, assured of the championship title, stormed past De Tullio for fifth on the final lap.
Dan Mitchell took his seventh PFC Award of the year as the winning car owner.
The final race of the season will see the green flag at 3:10 p.m. tomorrow.
Provisional championship points after 17 of 18 rounds:
1. Lochie Hughes, 369
2. Jace Denmark, 326
3. Nikita Johnson, 323
4. Simon Sikes, 250
5. Liam Sceats, 247
6. Christian Brooks, 232
7. Danny Dyszelski, 217
8. Ricardo Escotto, 210
9. Frankie Mossman, 207
10. Mac Clark, 187
Lochie Hughes (#44 The McGinley Group/Private Wealth Planning/Grip Auto Timepieces-Turn 3 Motorsport Tatuus IP-22): “It feels amazing. I mean it hasn't fully sunk in yet. It wasn't the ideal race with the conditions, but I just had to bring it home. I wanted to make sure I got this done today, so I can enjoy tomorrow. It's all thanks to the team to Pete and Mandy (Dempsey) to everyone who's been on my car this year, to Matt, Neil and Dave, and everyone who's helped out this year. And, of course, my family who made it all happen. I wouldn't be here without them. It's tough not getting a lot of support from back home in Australia so to win this championship and have the prize money to move on to INDY NXT next year is amazing.”
Nikita Johnson (#17 409A Direct/AnyDesk/Labrador Primary Care-VRD Racing Tatuus IP-22): “We had a very fast race car. I pushed a lot in the very beginning, tried to get a big gap. Frankie was right there behind me. I think both of us, we burned off our tires a little bit, and Simon was saving big time, so he came pretty strong at the end. We also had a problem with the (steering) wheel. I knocked it out of alignment, so every time I turned left, it was not even straight. It was going right-hand down, so it was a bit hard to drive, but we got it done.”
Simon Sikes (#18 USF Pro Championships/Mockett/Bell Racing/Sabelt-Pabst Racing Tatuus IP-22): “I was just making sure the rear tires would stay under me. And then about halfway through the race, it was time to really get on the button. We had so much pace. I can't thank the team enough, because that car was lightning quick. We were just about a lap short from getting the win, but congrats to Nikita. It was a good race. And a massive congrats to Lochie for wrapping up the championship. Just happy to have a strong run like that to close out the season. One more race tomorrow. We'll see if I can go get a win in that one.”
Frankie Mossman (#6 Shop GLD/Offset Sport/Stilo/Simpson-Jay Howard Driver Development Tatuus IP-22): “I was really happy from the beginning. We avoided all the chaos at the start. I'm really excited that we were able to survive that. The team worked really hard, so it means a lot. They brought me a good car. It's my fourth time in the wet driving a formula car ever and you know, I feel like we put the pressure on and showed that we just keep improving every race. It just continues to show the work that the team's putting in.”
