Jenks Flag-to-Flag at Mid-Ohio
Lexington, OH – From pole, Steve Jenks controlled the pace and the race in round seven of the 2018 F2000 Championship Series season at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, prevailing to take his third win of the season on an extremely hot afternoon. Jenks evaded his pursuers, and beat out local expert John LaRue to the win, while Brandon Dixon completed the podium.
An ultra-tight morning qualifying session saw Jenks take pole by just .041 seconds in the Tumenas Motorsports No. 68, with the Masters Class driver extending his slim points lead with the race win.
“I thought qualifying would be important as it’s a tricky track to pass on,” Jenks noted. “The car was really dialed in, it was a lot of fun. I got a good start and I was able to get out front which helped. The team had the car set up perfectly. I touched the sway bar once during the day; the car was really good.”
LaRue came home second in his 2018 debut in F2000 competition, trading fast laps back and forth with Jenks in the closing stages of the all-green-flag 19-lap race.
“We lost some grip between the morning session and this one, but it was okay,” said LaRue, who spent the opening stages of the event fighting Tim Paul for second spot.
Said Dixon: “I didn’t get a very good start and got shuffled back a bit. Things kind of held steady there for a bit. John got past Tim, and he had an issue and pulled out of the way coming out of the Keyhole. That was about all I had. Being on the podium at Mid-Ohio is always a good thing.”
Behind the top three, Davis Durrett was fourth, followed by Reece Everard and Rob Allaer.
Of note, R-Sport pilot Paul ran as high as second in the early going, before a mid-race visit to pit road to address a misfiring engine sent him down the order. Peter Gonzalez was the only retirement of the race, with a mechanical issue ending his day.
F2000 Championship Series action continues from Mid-Ohio with Sunday morning qualifying and round eight of the 2018 season.