Dixon takes pole in action packed qualifying one at Mid-Ohio!

Sunny skies continued to bless the Mid-Ohio track for the F2000 Championship series competitors. The ambient temperature coming in around 82 degrees during this session, the conditions are ideal for the first round of qualifying.

From the drop of the green flag it was Dixon in his Citation setting the pace. However, it wasn’t long until other started applying pressure. Reece Everard in a Van Diemen upped his time to leap frog Dixon, but they both improved their times. Just two tenths of a second between the two. Steve Jenks was nearby and not but a lap later took over the top spot. Less than two tenths of second separate first through fifth.

Lap times continued to improve and the battle for the top spot raged on. Dixon retook the pole spot at the ten minute mark, only to have John LaRue jump steal it away just thirty second later. Jenks holding third, Brandon Newey in fourth, and Reece Everard in fifth. The next time by, just a minute later, Dixon is back on top, Jenks to second, and Larue in third.

Less than a minute later, Newey is in the top stop. Andrew Dobbie in the Rice Race Prep Citation now making an appearance, he finds himself in fourth, a little less than four tenths of a second away from pole. Dixon heads to the pits, seventeen minutes remain in the session. LaRue continues to hammer on, he’s back at the point. The first four separated by under two tenths and the next three drivers not much further behind.

LaRue reports to the pits for some tweaks, tire pressures being checked. Dixon returns to the action. Fifteen minutes remain in the session. Dixon gets up to speed, the brief stop in the pits pays off, he bests LaRue. Dixon doubles down, shedding yet more time and distancing himself from those behind. The gap is now half a second. Jenks is in second, LaRue in third. Brandon Newey is in fourth but continues improving.

The clock still ticking, only eight minutes remain. LaRue has now taken the second spot and is ever so slightly chipping away at Dixon’s pace. Second through fifth are covered by .04 of a second, Dixon remains a full half second out front. The track appears to be improving, all of the top six have bettered their times.

With four minutes to go, the laps times are falling so fast it’s hard to report on them. Dixon holds pole less than a tenth better than LaRue. Newey is in third just a tenth adrift of pole, and Dobbie holds fifth with Jenks in fifth. Harry Voigt is in sixth, just six tenths away from the top spot.

With one minute left Dixon improved as did Andrew Dobbie. They held the top two spots respectively. Dobbie less than a tenth behind, LaRue just a tenth back, and Newey under two tenths behind. As the checker flag flew to end the session, Jenks managed to wedge himself into fourth moving Newey to fifth. Four tenths of a second cover the top five, it’s a tight field that will surely set the stage for a massive battle in race one.