Starrantino Wins Race, Eidson Clinches 2013 Title
Summit Point, WV – Adrian Starrantino took home 50 points in an outstanding photo finish at Summit Point to win the race, but it was Jake Eidson that clinched the 2013 F1600 Formula F Championship Series title with a careful third place drive. Starrantino spent the 20-lap race locked in a duel with Aaron Telitz, and managed to beat the 21-year-old to the line by millimeters as the two went side-by-side for most of the last lap.
For Eidson, it wasn’t another win, but a third place finish gave him the points gap he needed to clinch the 2013 title with one race left on Sunday at Summit Point for Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing in the No. 10 Spectrum/Honda. It’s a repeat Championship for the Capes, who had their No. 10 car drive to the title in 2012 as well.
Eidson commented: “The Championship feels good. I didn’t want to get involved there (with the leaders) and just stayed behind Adrian and Aaron. Every race this year the Capes have given me an awesome car, and we’ve hardly had any issues. It’s been a great season.”
Eidson completes the season in round 12 at Summit Point on Sunday, and then will fly straight to Florida for the Team USA Scholarship shootout competition, joining fellow Americans Starrantino and Telitz.
For the race winners, in a pair of Mygale/Hondas, it was a 20-lap fight to the finish in the all-green-flag event. Starrantino led most of the way, but Telitz, who started from pole, never found himself more than an inch or two from the No. 98’s gearbox.
As the last lap unfolded, Starrantino’s Bryan Herta Autosport entry would go side-by-side with Telitz’s WISKO Racing No. 13 for the opening corners, and then again coming onto the front straight. As Starrantino went low to defend, Telitz used the draft to get a run, pulling out. At the line, it was near dead even with officials giving the nod to Starrantino. It was the California-native’s fourth win of the 2013 season.
After getting shuffled back to sixth from the outside of the front row on the opening lap, Paul Alspach recovered to finish fourth in the second Mygale/Honda for the WISKO Racing camp.
Steve Bamford completed yet another Masters Class victory drive by finishing fifth overall in his Mygale/Honda, while Ayla Agren and Franklin Futrelle followed closely in positions six and seven. Futrelle could not match his practice-pacing form shown on Friday in the No. 9 Van Diemen/Honda.
Agren, meanwhile, will start from pole for the season finale, having set the fastest race lap at 1:14.629.
Futrelle’s Raceworks teammate Jim Goughary was eighth, with Art Foster and Sam Chastain completing the top ten on a beautiful day at Summit Point with temperatures in the high seventies.
The weekend continues with the season finale, round 12 of the 2013 F1600 Championship, scheduled for a 11:00am local time green flag on Sunday at Summit Point.
Race Results
PosNo.NameLapsBest TmMake/ModelDiff 1 98 Adrian Starrantino 20 1:14.868 Mygale Honda - 2 13 Aaron Telitz 20 1:14.867 Mygale Honda +0.000 3 10 Jake Eidson 20 1:15.067 Spectrum Honda +1.695 4 66 Paul Alspach 20 1:14.976 Mygale Honda +11.083 5 07 Steve Bamford/M 20 1:15.115 Mygale Honda +11.139 6 96 Ayla Agren 20 1:14.629 Mygale Honda +11.478 7 9 Franklin Futrelle 20 1:15.336 Van Diemen Honda +12.018 8 7 Jim Goughary/M 20 1:15.656 Van Diemen Honda +17.332 9 21 Art Foster/M 20 1:15.912 Spectrum Honda +27.519 10 97 Sam Chastain 20 1:15.685 Mygale Honda +28.117 11 55 Ray Phillips/M 20 1:16.951 Van Diemen Honda +52.101 12 42 Joe Parsons/M 20 1:15.909 Swift DB6 Ford +52.128 13 2 Mike Scanlan/M 20 1:17.205 Swift DB6 Honda +53.403 14 44 Ed Callo/M 19 1:20.040 Bowman Ford 1 Lap 15 5 Dan Oseth 13 1:17.437 Van Diemen Honda 7 Laps DNF 06 Austin McCusker 5 1:17.358 Van Diemen Honda -