Chastain Motorsports Sweeps Thompson
Noblesville, IN – Evan Mehan and Sam Chastain split a pair of victories, and gave Chastain Motorsports a full sweep of two F1600 Formula F Championship Series races at Thompson Speedway. Both took their first wins in F1600 competition, and Chastain Motorsports made it three on the season in 12 attempts.
Mehan rocketed to the top of the time sheets in Friday’s practice sessions on Thompson’s brand new road course, running the fastest lap in the afternoon session ahead of teammate Chastain.
Saturday morning had Mehan’s No. 29 picking up the pace even more as the driver took the pole during qualifying and took over the F1600 track record in the debut pro weekend on the new track.
The aspiring driver, part of Jay Howard’s Motorsports Academy, led every lap a few hours later, in one of the most dominating drives of the 2014 F1600 season. Mehan even set fastest lap during the race, clocking in at 1:10.527 in his wire-to-wire performance.
“It feels pretty good to win,” said Mehan in victory circle. “The car was fast and super consistent; I need to thank the team and my coach, Jay Howard.”
Teammate Chastain ran second early in the race before finishing fourth.
On Sunday, the two drivers underlined the consistency of the team’s two Mygale/Hondas, as Mehan took pole again by .002 seconds over Chastain. In fact, the field was so close at Thompson just nine tenths separated the first 13 cars on the grid.
Race two saw Mehan and Chastain running a strategic race at the front of the field – trading the lead back and forth while trying to break out from the competitive F1600 grid. The No. 27 and No. 29 entries were locked in a trio of cars, with Steve Bamford also in the lead group. A late race incident in turn one sidelined Mehan after contact with Bamford.
The hiccup slowed Chastain, allowing another group of cars to close in on the No. 27. Chastain would count down the final eight laps toward his inaugural victory in the F1600 Series, running a low line into turn one to protect the lead in a critical part of the track.
Added Chastain: “It was a tough race. We played it smart and ran our race and tried not to let people by.”
The smart driving gave the team two wins in two days, and three in 12 races as Brandon Newey triumphed earlier in the year in a blue No. 29 at VIR.
Rounds 13 and 14, the season finale of the F1600 Series, takes place at Watkins Glen International, October 10-12.