Last to First for Verhagen at NJMP
Millville, NJ - Neil Verhagen charged to the front late in the race and stayed there to win in round 17 of the F1600 Formula F Championship Series on Sunday morning by .063 seconds in the No. 3 K-Hill Motorsports Mygale/Honda at NJMP's Thunderbolt road course. Teammate Peter Portante finished second while Saturday winner Calvin Ming was third for Team Pelfrey.
Verhagen's drive was notable as he started the race in last place and moved forward, eventually breaking away from the pack with teammate Portante. That lead did not last long, however, as Ming and Phillippe Denes, for Team Pelfrey, tracked down the K-Hill duo as the race drew to a conclusion.
But the K-Hill teammates worked together more, breaking away from the pack to win by a full second.
It's Verhagen's first win since Pittsburgh earlier in the month, and he maintains a slim Championship lead.
Portante improved from his Saturday result to finish second, and also set the fastest lap of the race, scoring him bonus points and pole for the final F1600 race of the weekend.
Ming, meanwhile, could not repeat his dynamic Saturday victory which saw him take the win by .001 seconds.
Phillippe Denes finished fourth, also running up front for Team Pelfrey in the 20-lap all-green-flag event.
Rounding out the top five for Team Pelfrey, Kaylen Frederick led laps early, but fell back to seventh and worked his way back to a solid top five finish in the No. 80.
Hans Ada finished sixth for K-Hill, while Will Harvey followed for Exclusive Autosport as those two drivers enjoyed a seemingly race-long duel for position.
It was another epic fight for the Masters Class win, which saw Mike Scanlan beat teammate Rob Albani to the finish line by just over a tenth of a second.