Mid-Ohio - August 2014 (Round 9 and 10 East)
Mayer Wins the Battle, Hill Wins the War
The Hoosier Tire US Formula 1000 Championship East held the final two rounds at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, where the 2014 Champion would be decided. At the beginning of the weekend Alex Mayer had a narrow 3 point lead over Glenn Cooper, who was 14 points ahead of Jeremy Hill. However, the Champion would be determined by each driver's best 8 finishes, which meant that Hill had a very good chance of winning if he placed well.
Hill set the tone early by taking early by grabbing the pole with a lap of 1:22.579. Doug Hertz blew an engine near the end of qualifying and Mayer spun in his oil and was stranded on course but was still able qualify on the outside of the front row while Cooper qualified 3rd.
Final Qualifying grid for Round 9
| 1 |
Jeremy Hill |
1:22.579 |
| 2 |
Alex Mayer |
1:24.144 |
| 3 |
Glenn Cooper |
1:24.858 |
| 4 |
Nicho Vardis |
1:25:305 |
| 5 |
Dore Chaponick Jr |
1:26.004 |
| 6 |
Doug Hertz |
1:33.104 |
| 7 |
Jason Bell |
1:42.531 |
At the start, Hill held the lead but was being hounded by Mayer and Cooper for the first several laps. On the second lap, Nicho Vardis spun in turn 1, bringing out a local yellow. This prevented Mayer from making a run on Hill. Once the track was cleared Hill started to build a gap to Mayer and took the flag-to-flag victory. Cooper faded toward the end of the race but still came home in 3rd
Full results for round 9 at Mid-Ohio:
| 1 |
Jeremy Hill |
| 2 |
Alex Mayer |
| 3 |
Glenn Cooper |
| 7 |
Jason Bell |
| dnf |
Dore Chaponick Jr |
| dnf |
Nicho Vardis |
| dns |
Doug Hertz |
| Prize Fund for Round 9 |
| 1st Place |
Jeremy Hill |
2 Hooser Tires,
1 Pair Hyperco Springs |
| 2nd Place |
Alex Mayer |
1 Hoosier Tire,
$50 Hyperco Certificate |
| 3rd Place |
Glenn Cooper |
$25 Hyperco Certificate,
$25 Sprocket Specialists Certificate
|
| Pole |
Jeremy Hill
(1:22.579) |
1 Hoosier Tire |
| Fastest Lap |
Jeremy Hill
(1:23.587) |
50% off Sprocket Specialists |
| Random Drawing #1 |
Doug Hertz |
1 Hoosier Tire |
| Random Drawing #2 |
Glenn Cooper |
1 Hoosier Tire |
| Random Drawing #3 |
Jeremy Hill |
1 Free Sprocket from Sprocket Specialists |
| Sunoco Hard Charger |
Jason Bell |
$150 Cash payout (moved up 3 positions) |
The final race of the season didn't go quite the way Hill had hoped. At the green flag, he was swarmed by Cooper and Mayer and fell back to 3rd. As the field entered turn 1, Mayer turned in and Hill's right front wing contacted Mayer's left rear tire, damaging the wing and Hill's chance at a fourth consecutive win. Mayer held the lead for the next two laps until Cooper made his move, taking over the top spot. Mayer stuck with him and kept the pressure on until lap 10 when he retook the lead. Mayer immediately started building a lead as Cooper was now under pressure from Jason Bell who had moved up from his 5th starting spot. Mayer drove to the easy win while Cooper and Bell battled behind him. Bell was glued to Cooper's wing for the remainder of the race but was unable to find a way around and had to settle for 3rd. Meanwhile Hill was off the pace due to his damaged wing and dropped to 5th in the final results.
Round 10 Race Results
| 1 |
Alex Mayer |
| 2 |
Glenn Cooper |
| 3 |
Jason Bell |
| 4 |
Nicho Vardis |
| 5 |
Jeremy Hill |
| dnf |
Dore Chaponick |
| dns |
Doug Hertz |
| Prize Fund for Round 10 |
| 1st Place |
Alex Mayer |
2 Hooser Tires,
1 Pair Hyperco Springs |
| 2nd Place |
Glenn Cooper |
1 Hoosier Tire,
$50 Hyperco Certificate |
| 3rd Place |
Jason Bell |
$25 Hyperco Certificate,
$25 Sprocket Specialists Certificate |
| 5th Place |
Jeremy Hill |
$15 Sprocket Specialsts Certificate |
| Pole |
Jeremy Hill
(1:21.647) |
1 Hoosier Tire |
| Fastest Lap |
Alex Mayer
(1:24.273) |
50% off Sprocket Specialists |
| Random Drawing #1 |
Jeremy Hill |
1 Hoosier Tire |
| Random Drawing #2 |
Dore Chaponick |
1 Hoosier Tire |
| Random Drawing #3 |
Alex Mayer |
1 Free Sprocket from Sprocket Specialists |
| Sunoco Hard Charger |
Jason Bell |
$150 Cash payout (moved up 2 positions) |
Championship Final
Although Jeremy Hill skipped the first two rounds at Road Atlanta, he won four races from the pole, more than anyone else. He ended the day with a total of 189 points while Cooper finished with 178 points after adding their respective top 8 finishes. Mayer ended the season only two points behind Cooper with 176.
Final East points:
| 1 |
Jeremy Hill |
189 |
| 2 |
Glenn Cooper |
178 |
| 3 |
Alex Mayer |
176 |
| 4 |
Jason Bell |
151 |
| 5 |
Dore Chaponick |
111 |
| 6 |
Doug Hertz |
62 |
| 7 |
Alastair McEwan |
49 |
| 8 |
Richard Franklin |
48 |
| 9 |
Charles Livingston |
45 |
| 10 |
Jason Slahor |
36 |
| 11 |
Mike Beauchamp |
35 |
| 12 |
Tyler Thielmann |
30 |
| 13 |
Michael Crowe |
28 |
| 14 |
Tim Pierce |
27 |
| 15 |
Steve Hamilton |
15 |
Prize Fund
For his efforts, Hill takes home a majority of the cash purse:
| Jeremy Hill |
$3,000 |
| Glenn Cooper |
$2,000 |
| Alex Mayer |
$1,000 |
| Jason Bell |
$750 |
| Dore Chaponick |
$500 |
Replay XD Video From round 9:
Thanks to Replay XD, we have a brief highlight video from round 9: http://youtu.be/GDA3SkSUTFI
Round 10 was even more exciting so stay tuned for the highlight video!
Next Up
Another $3,000 is up for grabs to the nationwide Hoosier Tire US Formula 1000 Champion when all the drivers convene at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the SCCA National Championship Runoffs. Points are double for the big finale so there are several drivers that have the opportunity to take home the big prize!
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