Kyle Kirkwood Tallies Tripleheader Sweep at Mid-Ohio

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor

LEXINGTON, Ohio — Kyle Kirkwood captured the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda crown with a Friday win at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. He celebrated a new series record with his eighth-consecutive win on Saturday.

On Sunday the Cape Motorsports star got out the broom for a weekend sweep.

Kirkwood surged ahead of polesitter James Raven in the first two turns and drove off from there to claim another dominant victory in Sunday’s Cooper Tires USF2000 Mid-Ohio Grand Prix Race 3, tallying his ninth-straight victory and 10th overall on the year. With only two races remaining, Kirkwood will have an opportunity to tie JR Hildebrand’s all-time record of 12 wins in a single USF2000 season at Portland International Raceway.

Raven followed in second to notch his career-best result for DEForce Racing. Rasmus Lindh followed in third to complete the podium, with Keith Donegan and Igor Fraga rounding out the top five. Lucas Kohl, Calvin Ming, Michael d’Orlando, Danial Frost and Yuven Sundaramoorthy made up the back half of the top 10.

The race saw just one stoppage for a full-course yellow on the opening lap for an off-course Darren Keane after contact. From there the race went green to the finish, with Kirkwood winning after just 29 minutes of racing.

Last up for the USF2000 field on the 2018 championship trail will be a doubleheader weekend in Portland from August 31 through September 2.

Cooper Tires USF2000 Mid-Ohio Grand Prix Race 3 Results

1. Kyle Kirkwood
2. James Raven
3. Rasmus Lindh
4. Keith Donegan
5. Igor Fraga
6. Lucas Kohl
7. Calvin Ming
8. Michael d’Orlando
9. Danial Frost
10. Yuven Sundaramoorthy
11. Jacob Abel
12. Colin Kaminsky
13. Kyle Dupell
14. Julian Van der Watt
15. David Osborne
16. Bruna Tomaselli
17. Darren Keane
18. Dakota Dickerson
19. Kaylen Frederick
20. Sabre Cook
21. Oscar DeLuzuriaga
22. Jose Sierra
23. Russell McDonough
24. Kory Enders