Pacific Raceways - April 2014 (Round 3 and 4 East)
 Rounds 3 of the Hoosier Tire US Formula 1000 Championship West took place at Pacific Raceways in Kent, Washington yesterday. Series point leader JR Osborne came into the weekend with two race wins and a plan for two more. Contact during the Friday test day set that plan back a bit and caused an uncharacteristic struggle in the first qualifier.
Round #3 featured the first standing in the Hoosier Tire US Formula 1000 Championship and the first 10 minutes of Q1 were set aside for the drivers to familiarize themselves with the procedure and practice a few starts. After the uneventful qualifying, it was Larry Vollum that took advantage of Osborne’s problem by scoring pole position with a lap of 1:18.606. John LaBrie was the only other driver to break into the teens and joined Vollum on the front row. Gary Hickman experienced engine trouble in the practice session and was unable to record a time in Q1.
Final Qualifying grid for Round 3
| Larry Vollum |
1:18.606 |
| John LaBrie |
1:19.747 |
| Randy Cook |
1:20.801 |
| Nicolas Ortiz |
1:20.903 |
| Ross Wolf |
1:27.384 |
| JR Osborne |
1:28.939 |
| Gary Hickman |
no time |
When the green flag flew, all drivers got away cleanly and Osborne took full advantage of the standing start by launching to the lead on the first lap. Vollum had a slow start and dropped to 3rd, giving up second to Randy Cook. Osborne kept the lead for the first 8 laps while Vollum hounded Cook. On lap 6, Vollum made his move around Cook for second but two laps later, Osborne’s engine expired and Vollum took over the lead. By the halfway point, it was Vollum, Cook, and LaBrie. Those three held the top 3 for the remainder of the race and crossed the line in that order, followed by Nicolas Ortiz and Ross Wolf. Gary Hickman’s engine troubles continued and he parked on lap 12, being scored in sixth.
Round 3 Race results:
| 1 |
Larry Vollum |
| 2 |
Randy Cook |
| 3 |
John LaBrie |
| 4 |
Nicolas Ortiz |
| 5 |
Ross Wolf |
| 6 |
Gary Hickman |
| 7 |
JR Osborne |
| Prize Fund for Round 3 |
| 1st Place |
Larry Vollum |
2 Hooser Tires,
1 Pair Hyperco Springs |
| 2nd Place |
Randy Cook |
1 Hoosier Tire,
$50 Hyperco Certificate |
| 3rd Place |
John LaBrie |
$25 Hyperco Certificate,
$25 Sprocket Specialists Certificate
|
| 5th Place |
Ross Wolf |
$15 Sprocket Specialsts Certificate |
| Pole |
Larry Vollum
(1:18.606) |
1 Hoosier Tire |
| Fastest Lap |
Larry Vollum
(1:18.727) |
50% off Sprocket Specialists |
| Random Drawing #1 |
JR Osborne |
1 Hoosier Tire |
| Random Drawing #2 |
Nicolas Ortiz |
1 Hoosier Tire |
| Random Drawing #3 |
Ross Wolf |
1 Free Sprocket from Sprocket Specialists |
| Sunoco Hard Charger |
Randy Cook |
$150 Cash payout (moved up 4 positions) |
 Like the previous rounds, the grid for round 4 was set using the fastest lap between qualifying and race 1. Vollum improved his best time in Q2 to a track record lap of 1:17.571 and retained the pole position for round 4. Most drivers went faster during the first race which shuffled the grid. The biggest mover was Nicolas Ortiz who was able to join Vollum on the front row.
Final grid for Round 4
| 1 |
Larry Vollum |
1:17.571 |
| 2 |
Nicolas Ortiz |
1:19.621 |
| 3 |
John LaBrie |
1:19.747 |
| 4 |
JR Osborne |
1:19.780 |
| 5 |
Randy Cook |
1:19.882 |
| 6 |
Gary Hickman |
1:22.899 |
| 7 |
Ross Wolf |
1:26.830 |
Round 4 turned out to be a very different race but with similar results. The engine problems experienced by both Hickman and Osborne were terminal and they were forced to sit out. Ortiz had a damaged axle driveline from Q2 which was not repairable, also keeping him out of the race. Rain earlier in the day made for a slick track and a treacherous race to come. With last minute tire choice decisions from drivers, many went out on dry tires, with rain to follow during their race. Vollum led from the start, followed by LaBrie, who was being chased by Cook. However, after only three green flag laps, a P1 car in another class slid off the track and brought out a full course caution. The cars circulated behind the pace car for five laps while crews removed the damaged cars and the race finally went green on lap 8. Because it was a timed race, there were only two laps remaining. Cook made the most of it, passing LaBrie on the last lap. He didn’t have time to challenge Vollum for the win and settled for 2nd ahead of LaBrie. Wolf ran an uneventful race and came home 4th.
Round 4 Race results:
| 1 |
Larry Vollum |
| 2 |
Randy Cook |
| 3 |
John LaBrie |
| 4 |
Ross Wolf |
| dnf |
Nicolas Ortiz |
| dnf |
JR Osborne |
| dnf |
Gary Hickman |
| Prize Fund for Round 4 |
| 1st Place |
Larry Vollum |
2 Hooser Tires,
1 Pair Hyperco Springs |
| 2nd Place |
Randy Cook |
1 Hoosier Tire,
$50 Hyperco Certificate |
| 3rd Place |
John LaBrie |
$25 Hyperco Certificate,
$25 Sprocket Specialists Certificate |
| 5th Place |
----- |
$15 Sprocket Specialsts Certificate |
| Pole |
Larry Vollum
(1:17.571) |
1 Hoosier Tire |
| Fastest Lap |
Larry Vollum
(1:32.008) |
50% off Sprocket Specialists |
| Random Drawing #1 |
John LaBrie |
1 Hoosier Tire |
| Random Drawing #2 |
Ross Wolf |
1 Hoosier Tire |
| Random Drawing #3 |
Ross Wolf |
1 Free Sprocket from Sprocket Specialists |
| Sunoco Hard Charger |
Randy Cook |
$150 Cash payout (moved up 3 positions) |
Replay XD Video From Pacific:
The US Formula 1000 Championship Youtube channel is full of in-car video from last weekend, featuring several views of the standing start!
The main channel can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/user/USFormula1000
Championship Points
JR Osborne’s championship bid took a hit this weekend, with both Larry Vollum and Randy Cook overtaking him in the points standing. Vollum now leads with 94 points and Cook is 10 points back. John LaBrie jumps to fourth, bumping Gary Hickman to fifth.
Next Up
The Hoosier Tire US Formula 1000 Championship East resumes action at the historic June Sprints at Road America. Rounds 4 and 5 take place in just three weeks on June 14th and 15th.
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