AVONDALE La. — Florida-based Brazilian Joao Vergara narrowly headed VRD Racing teammate Oliver Wheldon in perfect weather conditions to win the opening race of the USF Juniors Presented by Continental Tire season at NOLA Motorsports Park.
Vergara took the lead from early pacesetter Leonardo Escorpioni (Zanella Racing) on the sixth lap and fought off a determined challenge from Wheldon, from St. Petersburg, Fla., to secure a well-deserved maiden USF Juniors victory.
Brazil’s Escorpioni rounded out the podium in third.
An impressive push on the final lap of the first qualifying session on Friday afternoon was enough for Wheldon to capture the first Continental Tire Pole Award of the new season, edging out Escorpioni by a 10th and a half.
The two front row qualifiers refused to cede any advantage as they rounded the first two corners in side-by-side formation before Escorpioni was able to inch ahead into Turn Three. The move cost top rookie Wheldon a little momentum which allowed Vergara, up from fourth on the grid, to slip into second place.
The top three immediately put some space between themselves and their pursuers, especially after third-fastest qualifier Liam Loiacono (Jay Howard Driver Development), from Queensland, Australia, slipped all the way back to ninth after the first lap of the 2.74-mile road course.
Escorpioni managed to put a little space between himself and Vergara in the opening stages, but his slender advantage didn’t last for long. By lap five, the top three were back together again, and at the end of the back straightaway, under braking for Turn Nine, they were almost three abreast before Vergara was able to slip through into the lead. Wheldon followed him through, but try as he might, there was no opportunity to find a way past Vergara, who held on to score a fine win.
Wheldon not only became the youngest ever USF Juniors podium finisher, at a tender 14 years and 24 days, he also claimed a new fastest race lap, fractionally faster than his older brother Sebastian had managed just one year ago.
Zanella Racing’s Ty Fisher, from White Rock, Canada., hustled his way from eighth on the opening lap to a solid fourth after passing Mexican Rodrigo Gonzalez (DEForce Racing) a couple of laps from the finish.
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