LIVE BLOG: Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio

FRIDAY

6:12 PM ET — I was hoping to get the Mid-Ohio Spectator Seating Guide done tonight, but I have some questions I need to ask and everyone who can answer them is gone, so I’ll have to do it later. Apologies for not being able to be prompt with it.

The weather here has been extremely odd over the last couple of hours. There was a lightning storm that appeared to be heading right for us, but then the wind was shifting in all directions and it eventually ended up missing us to the north. There was an advisory that there might be flooding in the area, but that appears to no longer be a concern — at least for now. So, at least the bizarreness worked in our favor.

There was a bit of spitting through the last little while in the USF2000 race, and it caught both Austin Cindric and Andrew List out. Adrian Starrantino and Keyvan Andres Soori were also involved in a first-lap incident. After a dramatic race with plenty of position shifting, the win went to RC Enerson who was joined by Florian Latorre and Peter Portante on the podium.

Earlier this afternoon, Curt Cavin broke the news on Twitter that a date of June 5-7, 2015 has evidently been approved for the Honda Indy Toronto next year as it shifts to accommodate the Pan Am Games that are happening in the city next July. It’s important to note that this is only meant to be for one year and that the date is meant to move back to mid-July for 2016 and beyond. That said, from a local perspective that date couldn’t possibly be worse. The Formula 1 race in Montreal traditionally falls on that weekend (though, to be pedantic, that schedule hasn’t technically been released yet), and everyone — everyone — who enjoys racing leaves town that weekend to attend. Plus, we’re not sure where that leaves the Texas Motor Speedway race, and it doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense to force another venue to give up its date and confuse two markets instead of one. There must be more to this story than has come out at this stage. It’s bound to be a point of discussion throughout the weekend.

With that, I’ll put a cap on a relatively quiet day here at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and head out to try and get my campfire started. Wish us luck that it stays dry here at the track and conditions are good for another great day of on-track activity tomorrow!

*

3:57 PM ET — Continuing on catching up from the day’s events, here’s the status of the Mazda Road to Indy series as they get set up for their weekend of racing.

Indy Lights had only one session today, a 40-minute practice that ran just after 1 PM. Matthew Brabham had a spin early and made rear contact with the wall that the team is still working on fixing. His Andretti Autosport teammate Zach Veach was fastest in that session followed by SPM’s Jack Harvey and Luiz Razia. Championship points leader Gabby Chaves of Belardi Auto Racing was fourth. Their next session is qualifying tomorrow morning at 9:00 to prepare for their first race of the weekend at 3:25 PM.

Pro Mazda had a morning practice session and an afternoon qualifying session. Team Pelfrey’s Nicolas Costa will start on pole for race 1 of the weekend, set to go off at 5:35 PM tomorrow. Kyle Kaiser of Juncos Racing will start alongside him on the front row with teammate Jose Gutierrez and Andretti Autosport’s Garett Grist lining up behind. The championship contenders are lining up further back: points leader, Juncos Racing’s Spencer Pigot, and second-in-points Scott Hargrove of Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing will share row 4 on tomorrow’s grid.

USF2000 has also had a practice session and a qualifying session today, and they’re currently preparing for their first race of the weekend, which will take place at 4:00 PM today (i.e., right now). Points leader Florian Latorre of Cape will lead that one off the line with RC Enerson of Team E Racing alongside and ArmsUp Motorsports teammates Peter Portante and Aaron Telitz behind them in the second row.

For the full time sheets, notes, and results from today’s Verizon IndyCar Series sessions, visit our Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Event Summary.

*

NEXT PAGE: More updates from trackside at the 2014 Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course