Verhagen by .002 Seconds

August 6, 2016

Wampum, PA - K-Hill's Neil Verhagen won by .002 seconds in the first F1600 Formula F Championship Series race of the weekend at Pittsburgh in a drag race from turn 18 to the finish line alongside Kaylen Frederick. It was a race-long battle among six cars that came down to the wire in traditional Formula F style, and a big points day for Verhagen, who sits second in the standings.

"It was a great last lap with Kaylen. The whole race was great with Kaylen, he is good to race with. But I need to give it to K-Hill for giving me a great car this weekend and Tonis Kasemets and my mechanic Scott for putting it together. I saw the nosecone just the slightest bit in front of him and that is when I knew it was mine," said Verhagen.

Frederick put in his best performance yet for Team Pelfrey, with a run to second and a handful of laps in the lead.

"I thought I had him at the end but apparently not, just .002 seconds," said Frederick. "I was planning to pass him on the back straight but he moved over, so I went around the outside and it was just a drag race to the finish line."

In third place and just .127 seconds away from the victory in the all-green-flag-race was Team Pelfrey's Calvin Ming.

"It was a good race, I tried to stay up front and then in the end Neil and Kaylen finished first and second. It's another podium and a good race, thanks to Team Pelfrey," said Ming.

After a strong showing in Friday practice, K-Hill's Peter Portante finished fourth, working his way forward from a sixth place starting position, while Phillippe Denes completed the top five for Team Pelfrey. Portante, however, set the fastest lap which will give him pole for the second race of the weekend which is scheduled for Sunday morning.

Masters Class victor Steve Bamford ran as high as third early in the race, but fell back to sixth, where he finished.

"The car got hot so I tried to pull out and get some air, but I lost the draft and drove by myself for the rest of the race," said Bamford.

Thomas Schwietz and Rob Albani completed the Masters Class podium.

"It was a tough race with Tom and Mike (Scanalan)," said Albani. "We had a good race, changing positions every lap and I finished third."

Of note, Hans Ada and Dexter Czuba both had strong performances, finishing seventh and eighth, respectively.

Sunday continues from Pittsburgh International Race Complex with two F1600 races, rounds 14 and 15 of the season.

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