Chastain Enjoys One of Best Efforts Yet
Millville, NJ – Chastain Motorsports’ F2000 Championship Series program had a season-best finish at New Jersey Motorsports in round 11 of the 2015 F2000 season with Sam Chastain scoring a runner-up result at the 2.25-mile road course. The team’s F1600 Formula F Championship Series effort was anchored by Andy Lewis and Will Harvey, who had a sixth place run in the first race of the weekend in the No. 27 Mygale/Honda.
“Overall it was a good weekend,” said Chastain. “I struggled a little bit learning the track since I've never been there but we seemed to adapt well to the fast and physical track. We walked away with another podium finish and a top five on Sunday, so all in all, it was a solid weekend.”
In the first F2000 Series qualifying session, taking place on Saturday morning, Sam Chastain qualified third with a quick lap of 1:17.557, and was the first of the Van Diemen cars in the field. With the race starting a few hours later, the No. 30 driver was looking to bounce back after a string of DNFs since his last finish, which had been his best drive to date, a third place at Mid-Ohio.
He would not only finish, but better his Mid-Ohio result with a fast pace earning him a well-deserved second place, and the third fastest race lap, and fastest lap of the Van Diemens in the field. Chastain would hoist the second place trophy after an all-green flag 22-lap race in New Jersey.
Feeling confident a day later, the team made a number of drastic setup changes on the blue No. 30. An aggressive approach limited pace in qualifying, with Chastain slipping through the order to qualify ninth, but the driver responded in stride, staying out of incidents and passing cars in the race to finish fifth.
The team’s two-car F1600 Series squad saw its best result in race one of the weekend, with Will Harvey systematically moving from 11th on the grid to a sixth place finish. Sunday threw the team a curve ball, with both cars taken out of race two in the morning in an unfortunate first lap incident involving five competitors. The team would dig deep, getting both Mygale/Hondas ready for race three just a few hours later – with both cars finishing.
“This past weekend I grew as a driver. Although I didn't start practice with the pace of other weekends, I worked to be more prepared for the finish; the patience paid off on Saturday,” said Harvey. “I made a mistake on cold tires that ruined our results on Sunday, but I can't thank the team enough for getting the car running again, just in time to roll onto the track for race 3. It's frustrating to not have consistency to match the pace, but I'll be back at Pittsburgh in the Marlin Oil machine, better than ever."
After an exciting season of F2000 and F1600 races, there is only one event left for Chastain Motorsports, as F2000 and F1600 end their seasons at Pittsburgh International Race Complex, October 16-18.