Road America-June 2014 (Round 5 & 6)

Round 5

Rounds 5 and 6 of the Hoosier Tire US Formula 1000 Championship East took place during the June Sprints at Road America this past weekend.  After splitting the VIR wins with Jason Bell, Glenn Cooper was still in the points lead but now had Bell hot on his tail.  This weekend would be key to Cooper's championship hopes.  Unfortunately, several drivers experienced car trouble in both the morning practice and the only qualifier, including Bell and Cooper.  Bell blew a head gasket while Cooper broke a spark plug.  However, Jeremy Hill had a strong car and battled with Alex Mayer for the pole.  The two swapped fast lap throughout qualifying but Hill had the last word, grabbing the pole at the end of the session with a lap of 2:07.552, just eclipsing Mayer's fast lap by 0.25 seconds.  Cooper's engine problems left him in an uncharacteristic 5th place starting spot.   

 

Final Qualifying grid for Round 5

 

1.	Jeremy Hill	2:07.552
2.	Alex Mayer	2:07.802
3.	Charles Livingston	2:08.836
4.	Tyler Thielmann	2:10.145
5.	Glenn Cooper	2:11.185
6.	Steve Hamilton	2:13.142
7.	Jason Bell	2:14.584
8.	Mike Beauchamp	2:18.924
9.	Dore Chaponick	no time

 

At the green, Hill led the way, while Cooper made a great start to close up on Mayer in 2nd.  The top three cars were in a tight battle but as Mayer and Cooper diced with each other, Hill pulled out a small gap.  Tyler Thielmann and Charles Livingston were not far behind, hoping for a mistake at the front to be able to move up.  On lap 6, Livingston put two wheels off in turn 6 resulting in a broken header.  The failure ended his day and promoted Mike Beauchamp to 5th place.  As the leaders encountered lap traffic, Hill was forced to check up on the second to last lap and it was enough for Mayer to pass into the lead.  Hill stuck with him, applying pressure and finally taking over the lead for good on the last lap.  Hill took the checkered flag, followed by Mayer and Cooper, all within one second of each other.  Thielmann had pulled away from Beauchamp and claimed 4th.  Chaponick was chasing down Beauchamp for 5th but ran out of time, settling for 6th.  Both Bell and Steve Hamilton had car trouble in the early laps and retired

Round 5 Race results:

1.	Jeremy Hill
2.	Alex Mayer
3.	Glenn Cooper
4.	Tyler Thielmann
5.	Mike Beauchamp
6.	Dore Chaponick
7.	Charles Livingston
8.	Jason Bell
9.	Steve Hamilton

 

 

Prize Fund for Round 5
1st Place	Jeremy Hill	2 Hoosier 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
5th Place	Mike Beauchamp	$15 Sprocket Specialists Certificate
Pole	Jason Slahor	(2:07.552) 1 Hoosier Tire
Fastest Lap	Jeremy Hill	(2:09.526) - 50% off Sprocket Specialists
Sunoco Hard Charger Award	Mike Beauchamp	$150.00 cash (moved up 3 positions)
Random Drawing	Jason Bell	1 Hoosier Tire
Random Drawing	Tyler Thielmann	1 Hoosier Tire
Random Drawing	Glenn Cooper	1 Free Sprocket from Sprocket Specialists

Once again, the grid for round 6 was set using the fastest lap between qualifying and race 1.  Most race lap times were slower but Cooper, Beauchamp, and Chaponick each shook off their problems in qualifying and improved during the race, moving up the grid for round 6.

Final grid for Round 6

1.	Jeremy Hill	2:07.552
2.	Alex Mayer	2:07.802
3.	Charles Livingston	2:08.836
4.	Glenn Cooper	2:09.894
5.	Tyler Thielmann	2:10.145
6.	Dore Chaponick	2:11.833
7.	Mike Beauchamp	2:12.591
8.	Steve Hamilton	2:13.142
9.	Jason Bell	2:14.584

 

The start of round 6 was a wild one and Mayer jumped out to the lead and Hill got shuffled back to 5th.  Cooper drafted a P1 car and slid into the 2nd spot.  There was contact throughout the field as the cars entered turn 1 but everyone made it through and the race was on.  Within the first lap, Hill caught back up to Cooper and Mayer and on lap 5, Cooper slid wide in turn 3, giving the second spot to Hill.  Livingston and Thielmann gave chase on fourth and fifth, while Beauchamp was not too far behind in sixth.  On lap 5, Cooper's oil pressure had dropped to an unsafe level and he chose to park it instead of risking further engine damage.  Now the Livingston/Thielmann battle was for a podium spot.  The two ran nose-to-tail for most of the race but with only two laps to go, Thielmann's fuel pump quit and he coasted to a stop in turn 8.  The order was Mayer, Hill, Livingston, Beauchamp, Bell, Hamilton, and Chaponick.  At the front, Hill and Mayer battled wheel-to-wheel.  On lap 8, Hill got a run out of turn 14 and passed Mayer as they cross the start/finish line.  Two laps later they encountered a lapped car and they both were forced to put two wheels off to get around and Mayer took the lead.  Hill picked up grass in his radiator and his car began overheating.  On the final lap, he got a run on Mayer out of turn 14 and was about to pass when the engine finally let go.  Mayer cruised to the win and Hill was able to coast across the line to take second.  Livingston had an easy run to the third step on the podium.


Round 6 Race results:

 

1.	Jeremy Hill
2.	Alex Mayer
3.	Glenn Cooper
4.	Mike Beauchamp
5.	Jason Bell
6.	Steve Hamilton
7.	Dore Chaponick
8.	Tyler Thielmann
9.	Glenn Cooper

Prize Fund for Round 6
1st Place	Alex Mayer	2 Hoosier Tires,   1 pair Hyperco Springs
2nd Place	Jeremy Hill	1 Hoosier Tire, $50 Hyperco Certificate
3rd Place	Charles Livingston	$25 Hyperco Certificate, $25 Sprocket Specialists Certificate
5th Place	Jason Bell	$15 Sprocket Specialists Certificate
Pole	Jeremy Hill	(2:07.552) 1 Hoosier Tire
Fastest Lap	Alex Mayer	(2:08.154) - 50% off Sprocket Specialists
Sunoco Hard Charger Award	Mike Beauchamp	$150.00 cash (moved up 3 positions)
Random Drawing	Dore Chaponick	1 Hoosier Tire
Random Drawing	Mike Beauchamp	1 Hoosier Tire
Random Drawing	Tyler Thielmann	1 Free Sprocket from Sprocket Specialists