Watkins Glen - July 2014 (Round 7 and 8 East)
Watkins Glen Recap
The Hoosier Tire US Formula 1000 Championship East traveled to Watkins Glen International for rounds 7 and 8. Alex Mayer entered the weekend with a 7 point lead over Glenn Cooper and a full 27 point lead over Jason Bell. Jeremy Hill was still playing catch-up after missing the Road Atlanta rounds and was back in 5th place. Qualifying took place on July 4th and conditions were near ideal and both Jeremy Hill and Alex Mayer were below the qualifying track record. At the end of the day, Hill was on pole with a lap of 1:46.786. Due to a timing and scoring problem, Glenn Cooper's times were not logged and he was forced to start at the back of the field. Dore Chaponick crashed hard toward the end of Q2. After x-rays on his ankle he was cleared to race while the crew worked on repairs.
Final Qualifying grid for Round 7
| 1 |
Jeremy Hill |
1:46.786 |
| 2 |
Alex Mayer |
1:47.814 |
| 3 |
Jason Slahor |
1:50.180 |
| 4 |
Dore Chaponick |
1:52.997 |
| 5 |
Jason Bell |
1:53.142 |
| 6 |
Alastair McEwan |
1:57.536 |
| 7 |
Kevin Boeckle |
2:00.496 |
| 8 |
Anthony Autiello |
2:01.865 |
| 9 |
Douglas Hertz |
2:03.311 |
| 10 |
Glenn Cooper |
4:30.733 |
At the start, Mayer got a great jump and lead the field into turn 1. His lead only lasted half a lap when Hill made a pass in the Bus Stop. From there Hill never looked back, leading the rest of the race. Meanwhile, Cooper launched from 8th on the grid to 3rd on the first lap but his charge was cut short on the lap 2 when the full course caution came out for a stranded sports racer. This bunched up the field and at the restart both Cooper and Mayer pressured Hill but were unable to get around him and they settled back into the same order for the remainder of the race. Up front, Hill took the easy win and set a new race record of 1:47.569.
Full results for round 7 at Watkins Glen International:
| 1 |
Jeremy Hill |
| 2 |
Alex Mayer |
| 3 |
Glenn Cooper |
| 4 |
Jason Bell |
| 5 |
Alastair McEwan |
| 6 |
Douglas Hertz |
| 7 |
Kevin Boeckle |
| 8 |
Jason Slahor |
| DNS |
Dore Chaponick |
| DNS |
Anthony Autiello |
| Prize Fund for Round 7 |
| 1st Place |
Jeremy Hill |
4 Hooser Tires,
1 Pair Hyperco Springs |
| 2nd Place |
Alex Mayer |
2 Hoosier Tire,
$50 Hyperco Certificate |
| 3rd Place |
Glenn Cooper |
1 Hoosier Tire,
$25 Hyperco Certificate,
$25 Sprocket Specialists Certificate
|
| 5th Place |
Alastair McEwan |
$15 Sprocket Specialsts Certificate |
| Pole |
Jeremy Hill
(1:46.786) |
1 Hoosier Tire |
| Fastest Lap |
Larry Vollum
(1:47.569) |
50% off Sprocket Specialists |
| Random Drawing #1 |
Doug Hertz |
1 Hoosier Tire |
| Random Drawing #2 |
Alastair McEwan |
1 Hoosier Tire |
| Random Drawing #3 |
Jeremy Hill |
1 Free Sprocket from Sprocket Specialists |
| Sunoco Hard Charger |
Glenn Cooper |
$150 Cash payout (moved up 4 positions) |
As usual, the grid for round 8 was set using the fastest lap between qualifying and round 7. Several drivers went faster in the race so the grid was shuffled a bit behind Hill and Mayer.
Final grid for Round 8
| 1 |
Jeremy Hill |
1:46.786 |
| 2 |
Alex Mayer |
1:47.814 |
| 3 |
Douglas Hertz |
1:49.367 |
| 4 |
Jason Slahor |
1:49.440 |
| 5 |
Glenn Cooper |
1:49.912 |
| 6 |
Jason Bell |
1:51.185 |
| 7 |
Dore Chaponick |
1:52.997 |
| 8 |
Alastair McEwan |
1:55.396 |
| 9 |
Kevin Boeckle |
1:59.352 |
| 10 |
Anthony Autiello |
2:01.865 |
When the green flew for round 8, Cooper blasted from 5th to 1st while Mayer also got around Hill and settled into second. Almost as soon as the race started it went full course caution when Bell blew an engine entering the Bus Stop. While track crews cleaned up the running order was Cooper, Mayer, Hill. At the restart Mayer took a look to the inside of Cooper in turn 1 but couldn't pull it off. This allowed Hill to close on both of them and by the time they completed the lap Hill had regained the lead. Behind them Chaponick had gotten around Hertz for 4th. With 8 laps to go, Anthony Autiello and Kevin Boeckle got together in T1 and brought out the 2nd full course caution. This allowed Cooper and Mayer to close up on Hill in anticipation of the restart but Mayer was forced onto pit lane with a faulty left front upright. The crew attempted to fix it and get him back out but the problem was terminal and Mayer's day was done. This promoted Chaponick to 3rd at the restart. Hill once again took off from the rest of the field while Cooper built a gap back to Chaponick, who was being pressured by Hertz. A lap later Chaponick's car shut off, leaving him stranded on course. Officials decided to end the race 2 laps early and Hill cruised to another victory. Cooper came home second and Hertz took the 3rd step on the podium.
Full results for round 8 at Watkins Glen International:
| 1 |
Jeremy Hill |
| 2 |
Glenn Cooper |
| 3 |
Douglas Hertz |
| 4 |
Alastair McEwan |
| 5 |
Dore Chaponick |
| 6 |
Alex Mayer |
| 7 |
Kevin Boeckle |
| 8 |
Anthony Autiello |
| DNF |
Jason Bell |
| DNS |
Jason Slahor |
| Prize Fund for Round 8 |
| 1st Place |
Jeremy Hill |
2 Hooser Tires,
1 Pair Hyperco Springs |
| 2nd Place |
Glenn Coope |
1 Hoosier Tire,
$50 Hyperco Certificate |
| 3rd Place |
Doug Hertz |
$25 Hyperco Certificate,
$25 Sprocket Specialists Certificate |
| 5th Place |
Dore Chaponick |
$15 Sprocket Specialsts Certificate |
| Pole |
Jeremy Hill
(1:46.786) |
1 Hoosier Tire |
| Fastest Lap |
Jeremy Hill
(1:49.062) |
50% off Sprocket Specialists |
| Random Drawing #1 |
Doug Hertz |
1 Hoosier Tire |
| Random Drawing #2 |
Alex Mayer |
1 Hoosier Tire |
| Random Drawing #3 |
Jason Bell |
1 Free Sprocket from Sprocket Specialists |
| Sunoco Hard Charger |
Alastair McEwan |
$150 Cash payout (moved up 4 positions) |
Replay XD Video From Road America:
Once again, we have a ton of video courtesy of Replay XD. Stay tuned to the US Formula 1000 Youtube Channel In the meantime, watch Glenn Cooper go from 8th to 3rd in one lap during round 7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuvh2Z9frBo
Championship Points
Mayer retains his lead but Cooper has reduced the deficit to only three points. With Hill's sweep of the weekend he scored as many points as possible and jumps to 3rd in the standing, 14 points back from Cooper.
Next Up
The Hoosier Tire US Formula 1000 Championship East makes its first visit to Mid Ohio in Lexington, Ohio where round 9 and 10 will decide the Championship.
www.usf1000.com
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