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Antinucci is Master of Mid-Ohio |
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Alex Lloyd started on the pole again for the fourth time. This time on the 2.258 mile Mid-Ohio road course. For the first 10 or so laps it looked like this would be his race. However, Richard Antinucci, driving for his uncle’s Cheever Racing in a number 51 car, had an agenda of his own. Having qualified 4th he worked his way up to 2nd and on lap 16 of the 40 made his move on Lloyd and then dominated the rest of the race.
Antinucci, whose hometown is Rome, Italy, where his uncle Eddie grew up, showed what he had learned from European Formula 3 racing and claimed his first Pro Series win. He drove a flawless race and just kept getting faster as the laps progressed. He turned in the quickest lap of the race on the next to last lap, 110.898 mph.
Lloyd, who also sat on the pole at Nashville last weekend but ended up finishing 11th there while Robbie Pecorari won that race, finished a far away 22nd at Mid-Ohio when his gearbox blew up on lap 24.
Wade Cunningham, who had qualified 6th for Mid-Ohio, methodically worked his way up to 2nd for his 5th podium finish this season. He just didn’t have the speed, though, to do anything but watch Antinucci from behind. Cunningham, the 2005 Pro Series champion, finished 4th at Nashville, behind Pecorari, Logan Gomez and Jaime Camara on the concrete oval.
Back at Mid-Ohio, South Africa’s Stephen Simpson, who had started 2nd on the grid, finished 3rd, his best starting position and finish of the year.
While Alex Lloyd’s points lead shrunk, his run for the championship still looks pretty safe. Hikeki Mutoh turned in his ninth top 5 finish with a 5th place finish, but is still 111 points behind Alex. Cunningham is 3rd, 166 points back from Alex.
Bobby Wilson lies 4th in the championship points after his 15th place at Nashville and 6th at Mid-Ohio. Jaime Camara is 5th in the points following his podium 3rd at Nashville and 8th at Mid-Ohio.
After Alex Lloyd’s domination of the first five races of the season we have seen five other winners. Still, with his 7 wins and no one else having more that one, Alex is still the dominant driver for the season. He also has 4 poles. Cunningham has 2 poles and five other drivers have started once from the pole.
The Indy Pro Series now takes a three-week break before racing at Kentucky on August 10. Two weeks after that is the double header at the Infineon road course, August 25, 26. The final race is Chicago on September 13.
With 50 points for winning a race down to 7 points for finishing 23rd, Alex Lloyd is still not the mathematical champion yet. It still ain’t over till it’s over.
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