Eidson Victorious in Close Mid-Ohio Contest
Lexington, OH – Jake Eidson led the most laps and, most importantly, came out on top after a spectacular 18-lap shootout with two other cars at Mid-Ohio in round 10 of the 2013 F1600 Formula F Championship. Championship leader Eidson swept the weekend in the No. 10 Spectrum/Honda for Cape Motorsports, fighting off David Grant’s No. 0 Polestar Van Diemen/Ford and Adrian Starrantino’s No. 98 Mygale/Honda for Bryan Herta Autosport.
The three cars were never more than a car-length apart for the entire green-flag race, and represented three top teams, and three different chassis, along with both Series engine options. Grant’s weekend, his first ever in a Formula F car, marks the best performance by a Ford since 2011.
For Eidson, it was the sixth win of the season, putting him ever closer to the 2013 F1600 title with just two races to go at Summit Point at the end of August.
“I don’t even know where to start, the entire race was filled with action,” said Eidson. “From green to checkered David and Adrian were there the entire time. I was defending every lap into the keyhole. David is a great driver and we were racing cleanly … the team did an awesome job with the car set up this weekend. On the last lap David got a bit loose and I was able to get around him.”
Grant takes home his second podium of the weekend in F1600, also finishing on the F2000 podium on the same day, but bettering the result by one spot, and nearly winning the race.
“It was great racing with Jake. He is a great competitor and we were racing cleanly the entire time,” said Grant, the 2012 Atlantic title winner. “We were very close a whole lot and I can’t believe we made the entire race without touching. I need to thank Polestar for the great car. The Ford worked this weekend and the car is just amazing … the car, you basically look and it goes. It is probably the best handling car I’ve ever driven.”
Starrantino bounces back from a DNF on Saturday to finish third for Bryan Herta Autosport, and will need a dominating weekend and luck on his side to catch Eidson in the Championship fight at Summit Point.
While the top three cars separated themselves, an equally entertaining battle erupted for fourth place among five drivers, with Paul Alspach finishing there in the No. 66 for WISKO Racing.
Steve Bamford put in another solid drive to come home fifth and win the Masters Class, while Aaron Telitz followed, his race hampered by a missing nose on the No. 13 Mygale.
Ayla Agren and Jim Goughary followed in seventh and eighth, with Sam Chastain and Art Foster completing the top ten at Mid-Ohio.
The King of the Buckeyes Championship, awarded to the driver scoring the most points in the four Mid-Ohio races this season, went to Eidson. The prizes include a trophy, commemorative poster, gift cards, test day voucher, and various other items from series partners.
The 2013 F1600 Championship season comes to a close with two more races in just two weeks, at Summit Point, August 23-25.
Race Results
PosNo.NameLapsBest TmMake/ModelDiff 1 10 Jake Eidson 18 1:27.933 Spectrum Honda - 2 0 David Grant 18 1:27.760 Van Diemen Ford +0.161 3 98 Adrian Starrantino 18 1:27.968 Mygale Honda +0.663 4 66 Paul Alspach 18 1:28.309 Mygale Honda +10.021 5 07 Steve Bamford/M 18 1:28.199 Mygale Honda +10.141 6 13 Aaron Telitz 18 1:28.151 Mygale Honda +10.515 7 96 Ayla Agren 18 1:28.153 Mygale Honda +10.683 8 7 Jim Goughary/M 18 1:28.268 Van Diemen Honda +11.022 9 97 Sam Chastain 18 1:28.940 Mygale Honda +16.311 10 21 Art Foster/M 18 1:28.755 Spectrum Honda +17.113 11 31 Scott Rubenzer/M 18 1:29.395 Spectrum Honda +27.255 12 73 Bob Perona 18 1:29.334 Piper Ford +27.472 13 06 Austin McCusker 18 1:30.191 Van Diemen Honda +48.525 14 2 Mike Scanlan/M 18 1:30.908 Swift DB6 Honda +1:05.851 15 8 Jacob Carpenter 18 1:31.072 Van Diemen Ford +1:06.144