Sullivan, Aiken, and Beswick win F1600 while Novosielski and Colasacco on Top in F2000 at NJMP
With only one event weekend remaining on the 2023 Formula Race Promotions calendar, teams, and competitors will now shift their focus to Summit Point Raceway over the August 18 – 20 weekend. Completing the penultimate event this past weekend at New Jersey Motorsports Park, Jack Sullivan, Porter Aiken, and Eddie Beswick earned race wins in F1600 while Joe Colasacco and Ken Bouquillon battled it out in the Masters class. JT Novosielski scored a near-perfect weekend in F2000 only to be overtaken by Joe Colasacco with less than ten minutes remaining in race two. All championship battles will conclude at the final event in West Virginia in a few weeks' time.
“I can’t believe that the 2023 season is almost over,” explained Bob Wright. “We have had some incredible battles all season long including this weekend. This is the first time we’ve used the chicane at Thunderbolt, so there will be automatic track records posted. Who will earn the class titles and victories at the final race of 2023? Only time will tell!”
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F1600 Championship
Qualifying
F1600
1. Ayrton Houk – 1:26.459
2. Sebastian Mateo Naranjo – 1:26.642
3. Jack Sullivan – 1:26.670
4. Porter Aiken – 1:26.886
5. Eddie Beswick – 1:27.160
F1600 Masters
1. Ken Bouquillon – 1:27.337
2. Joe Colasacco – 1:27.403
3. Steve Oseth – 1:28.987
4. Mike Scanlan – 1:29.075
5. Bob Reid – 1:30.184
Race #1
Starting third on the grid for the first wheel-to-wheel action of the weekend, Jack Sullivan was the first to the finish line in the 12-lap, time limited race as he bested the second-place finisher by a mere .296 when the checkered flag flew. Despite not having the fastest race lap, Sullivan was able to push his #19 to the front of the field and earn another FRP F1600 victory. While Aiken finished less than three-tenths of a second behind, he was just over four-tenths of a second ahead of 2023 race winner and race one pole position winner Ayrton Houk. Qualifying second earlier in the day Sebastian Mateo Naranjo was able to maintain his presence in the top five finishing fourth in race one while Connor Willis, a new name to the top five, finished fifth just ahead of Eddie Beswick. The top F1600 Masters driver was Joe Colasacco as he narrowly beat Ken Bouquillon for the top step of the podium with Steve Oseth, Mike Scanlan, and Gary Gecelter finishing third through fifth respectively.
Race #2
Returning to the track Sunday morning for the second race of the weekend, it was Porter Aiken who found his way to the winners' circle adding to his 2023-win total. With only the sixth fastest lap of the race, Aiken was able to methodically work his way to the point and hold his competitors at bay to cross the line .811 ahead of his closest rival. Eddie Beswick was the best of the rest earning the second step in a photo finish as he finished a scant .014 ahead of the #02 Rice Race entry of Ayrton Houk. With the top five separated by only 1.6 seconds, Jack Sullivan converted his Saturday win into another top-five result Sunday in P4 ahead of Sebastian Mateo Naranjo. In the F1600 Masters class, Ken Bouquillon found his way to the point as he earned his first win of the weekend after finishing second the day prior. Joe Colasacco, Saturday’s race winner crossed the line in second in class as Steve Oseth joined the top two on the podium. Dave Petzko held Bob Reid at bay over the sixteen-lap race to earn himself a fourth-place result as Reid rounded out the top five.
Race #3
With two different winners in the two F1600 races of the weekend, Eddie Beswick made it three for three in race three as he was the third different driver to rise to the top and take the checkered flag showing the true competitiveness of the F1600 program, often requiring photo finish verification. Beswick scored the win over, Ayrton Houk, by .516 as Houk was just .002 ahead of third-place finisher Jack Sullivan. Jason Pribyl finished within seven-tenths of a second of the leader but in P4 as the front four drivers in a tight pack opened a large gap to the rest of the field. Leading the second group on track and finishing in the fifth position was Sebastian Mateo Naranjo. Joe Colasacco, finishing seventh overall returned back to the top step of the F1600 Masters podium as he dominated the class with Steve Oseth crossing the stipe second for his best result of the weekend as Mike Scanlan joined the top two on the podium in third. Gary Gecelter was the best of the rest in the fourth position as he managed to keep Dave Petzko behind him who finished fifth.
F2000 Championship
Race #1 Qualifying
F2000
1. JT Novosielski – 1:22.108
2. Joe Colasacco – 1:22.112
3. George Feghali – 1:22.456
4. Matthew McDonough – 1:22.584
5. Theo Peppes – 1:22.740
Race #1
Looking to continue his presence at the front, JT Novosielski was able to convert his pole position into a race-one win by the slimmest of margins in F2000. Joe Colasacco, doing double duty in both F2000 and F1600 scored the fastest race lap and pushed Novosielski to the end to finish just .316 behind the race winner and stand on the podium in the second position. Gabriele Jasper, who qualified outside the top five, had a spirited drive to the third and final step of the podium as he finished just over half a second ahead of the fifth-place qualifier, Theo Peppes in fourth while John Dole rounded out the top five on the results sheet.
Race #2
Squirting to the lead from his pole position starting spot, it looked as if was going to be another flag-to-flag victory for Novosielski in race two on Sunday afternoon. However, with six laps remaining, Joe Colasacco made a successful bid for the lead taking the point and the very next lap, went half a second faster than his rival. Stretching the lead over the remaining nine minutes, Colasacco split the wins with Novosielski on the weekend as he romped to 6.739 second victory while scoring the fastest lap of the race. Novosielski crossed the line second with Matthew McDonough, Robert Wright, and John Dole having a great battle and finishing third through fifth respectively.
It is a short break for FRP teams and competitors as they will be back on track in just a few short weeks at Summit Point Raceway Park over the August 18 – 20 weekend. Registration is open HERE. Be sure to stay tuned to the Formula Race Promotions social media pages and website for additional information.
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