Platinum
In two practice sessions, the name of Jon Field (ONE Motorsports) was at the top of the time charts as he handily had the speed to fight for the Platinum class pole position come Saturday afternoon. The Field name continued at the top of the charts in qualifying. However, Clint Field (ONE Motorsports) stole the pole position from Jon Field on the penultimate lap to earn the preferred inside front-row starting position for race one. Jon Field was able hang on to the second position ahead of Chip Romer (ONE Motorsports) in third. It was Gregg Gorski (EVR Motorsports) who was the best of the rest in the fourth position, turning his fastest lap on lap six. Wayne Williams (ESSES Racing) continued his trend in the top-five, earning the fifth position for the start of race one.
Starting from the pole position, Clint Field led the 30-car-strong Radical Cup field into turn one, but Jon Field was the first to the chequered flag. Earning yet another race win in 2024, Jon Field continues to eat into his son’s points lead. Clint Field was able to take his pole position performance to the second step on the podium as the Fields were joined by Louis Schriber in third, who also earned the Sunoco Hard Charger of the race award. EVR Motorsports driver Gregg Gorski pushed Schriber to the end, finishing just 0.381 shy of the podium but ahead of Chip Romer in the fifth position.
It was the Field show again in race two as the top two positions from race one remained unchanged, with Jon Field leading Clint Field to the chequered flag. However, only after strong challenges from the likes of Chip Romer and Louis Schriber it was Gregg Gorski who this time clinched the final step of the podium. Louis Schriber had to settle for fourth, while Wayne Williams rounded out the top-five in the 27-lap affair.
For the first time all weekend long, it wasn’t a driver with the last name of Field at the top of the results sheets as Romer found his time to shine in race three. Starting on the outside of the row, Romer was able to move his way to the point and take his first Platinum class win of the season. Gregg Gorski, who finished on the podium in race two on Saturday, improved his result Sunday, climbing to P2 as he was able to sneak by Schriber late in the race. Schriber made it three podium results in three races this weekend, finishing third. Race one and two winner Jon Field finished just two seconds shy of the podium in the fourth position, as he recovered from a disastrous first half of the race. Wayne Williams added another top-five finish to his resume in fifth. Clint Field had a strange mishap that took him out of contention as a pocketknife was found lodged in his radiator during the race, forcing him to retire.
PRO 1500
Nicholas d’Orlando (GRP) followed a similar path as Field as he led both practice sessions, heading into the only qualifying session to set the grid for race one on the weekend, but it was his Graham Rahal Performance teammate who found his way to the top of the charts. Jordan Missig (GRP) put in a monstrous lap that not only earned him the Pro 1500 pole position but also was the third-fastest lap overall beating out many of the Platinum competitors. d’Orlando made it a GRP one – two with the second-fastest lap of the session, with Evan Slater (EVR Motorsports) in third. Austin Riley (Racing with Autism) had one of his strongest qualifying performances of the year slotted into P4 on the results sheet, just ahead of Matt Romer (ONE Motorsports).
Looking to find his way to the top of the podium, Jordan Missig led the Pro 1500 drivers into the opening lap of race one. However, Evan Slater earned his first career victory in the Radical Cup and for EVR Motorsports, topping the charts in the Pro 1500 class. 2024 race winner Nicholas d’Orlando was back on the podium with an effort that put him second, as an altercation in traffic led to early race leader Missig being relegated to third. With Chip Romer earning a top-five in the Platinum class, son Matt Romer did the same in Pro 1500, finishing fourth, just ahead of Spencer Schmidt.
Race two saw another strong performance from Jordan Missig, however again lady luck wasn’t on his side. While leading the race, the Graham Rahal Performance driver suffered a puncture, dropping him out of contention. Teammate Nick d’Orlando also had a dose of bad luck. He too had looked strong for the win, before tumbling back through the pack, however in a stunning recovery he clawed his way back to fifth to capitalize on Missig’s misfortune to retake the lead in the Pro 1500 title.
However, the hero was again Evan Slater. He also showed fierce pace, mixing it up with the Platinum class drivers along the way to his second win of the weekend. Matt Romer had his best result of the season with second, while Spencer Schmidt, son of McLaren SP’s Sam Schmidt, took his first pro podium with third. Group-A’s Jack Yang finished fourth.
It was the Slater and EVR Motorsports show in Pro 1500. The young driver managed to earn three wins in three races and the first three wins for his new EVR Motorsports program. However as in race one and two, the win didn’t come easy. The Graham Rahal Performance duo of Nick d’Orlando and Jordan Missig kept him honest, with d’Orlando finishing just 0.1s behind Slater, and Missig just two seconds behind that.
Missig led early and while others elected to pit early, Missig stayed on track, which turned out to be the wrong strategy. d’Orlando showed great pace and chased down Slater, but the EVR Motorsports drivers made his Pro 1500 machine as wide as possible to keep the GRP driver behind him. Eventually d’Orlando found his way past, but Slater repaid the favour in the last corner on the last lap to take the win. Matt Romer, another driver who capitalized in the pit stop cycle, continued to show his pace as did Spencer Schmidt who rounded out the top-five on the results sheet. Jack Yang was the Gold class winner.
PRO 1340
It was a familiar name at the top of the charts in practice one with Chris McMurry (Crown with Apex) leading the way, but Mike Anzaldi (RYNO Racing with Team Stradale) would claim that honour in practice two. After a Road America crash destroyed his Pro 1500 machine, Anzaldi had no interest in sitting on the side lines as the team prepped his 1340 for the California sun. McMurry remained true to his form in qualifying, securing another pole position, with Blake McGovern (Crown with Apex) in the second position, Anzaldi was able to keep his name near the top of the charts, qualifying third in class, just ahead of the second McGovern, Keith McGovern (Crown with Apex). Evan Wolf (Crown with Apex) rounded out the top-five.
Multi-time winner Chris McMurry was back in a familiar position as he led the Pro 1340 field to the green flag in his quest for another race win… and win he did. Taking the victory in the Pro 1340 class, McMurry lapped the rest of the drivers in class as the Crown with Apex driver left the rest of the field to battle for second.
Behind McMurry, Blake McGovern finished second while GRP driver Suellio Almeida gained five positions to take the final podium step in a strong recovery from a mechanical gremlin which prevented him from competing any laps in practice or qualifying. RYNO Racing with Team Stradale’s Benjamin Blander finished fourth, while Evan Wolf rounded out the top five after an off with 15 minutes remaining in the race. Mike Anzaldi received contact from behind on the start of the final lap, causing him to spin and fall to sixth as several other drivers had to take evasive action to avoid him.
With Chris McMurry taking a pair of wins on Saturday, he could only muster a P3 result on Sunday’s podium, which opened the door for some of his rivals. After McMurry led early, Blake McGovern was able to break through with the race three win as he took the lead on the pit stop exchange. Graham Rahal Performance driver Suellio Almeida charged his way forward after an epic battle with McMurry. With McMurry defending hard, the duo almost came together on several occasions with Almeida finally making the move stick as he found his way back to the podium, scoring the second step just ahead of McMurry in third. Pro 1500 driver turned Pro 1340 competitor this weekend due to car damage at Road America, Mike Anzaldi earned a top-five finish in fourth, with Evan Wolf closing his weekend in the fifth position.
Next up for Radical Cup North America will be a trip north of the border as they take on the Streets of Toronto alongside the NTT IndyCar Series over the weekend of 19 – 21 July.