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MRTI: Saturday Barber Notebook

O'Ward Barber 2018

Pato O’Ward during practice at Barber Motorsports Park. Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography

Bret Kelley

Both the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires and the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires completed their first races of the weekend on Saturday at Barber Motorsports Park.

Indy Lights saw a pair of teammates battle for the win, while a series veteran suffered first lap trouble for the second race in a row.

In Pro Mazda, things were much more straightforward, as a title contender ran away to a dominant win from the pole.

Reports on both series are below.

Indy Lights: O’Ward Withstands Herta Challenge for Race 1 Victory

IL R1 BARBER 2018 PODIUM (1)

The Indy Lights podium for Race 1 at Barber Motorsports Park. Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography

Joe Skibinski

Lap 1 told the tale for Indy Lights Race 1, as Colton Herta led from the pole, but Pato O’Ward was able to sneak by on the inside entering Turn 5.

O’Ward subsequently had to withstand a race-long challenge from Herta, who kept the gap at less than one second between the two Andretti Autosport affiliated drivers - Herta races under the Andretti Steinbrenner Racing banner - for most of the 30-lap race. But, O’Ward kept Herta at bay to take the win by one-and-a-half seconds at the checkered flag.

This is also O’Ward’s second win in three races in the 2018 season, and he revealed afterward that his pass on Herta was somewhat accidental.

“I just wanted to stay clean at the start but I saw Santi right behind me, so I tucked behind Colton. But coming into Turn 5, Santi was right on my gearbox, so I knew I would have to brake deep. My intentions were not to launch and go to first, but I was watching my mirrors and braked really late and it worked,” he explained.

O’Ward added that, despite leading every lap, he was battling the car the entire way. “The car was really a handful through the race, much different than it was in qualifying,” he detailed. “It was one of the hardest races I’ve ever done, going into the grass a few times when I was fighting the car with major oversteer. It took all my knowledge to keep it on the black stuff – I was so relieved to see the checkered flag.”

Belardi Auto Racing’s Santi Urrutia finished third, followed by Juncos Racing’s Victor Franzoni, and Ryan Norman finished fifth to put three Andretti Autosport affiliated drivers in the Top 5.

Meanwhile, Belardi’s Aaron Telitz endured a second consecutive race in which he failed to complete a lap, after he was collected in a Lap 1, Turn 2 spin with Dalton Kellett. Kellett, who spun on his own, was able to continue despite the contact, but Telitz suffered damage to the right-front suspension, forcing him to retire without completing a lap for the second race in a row.

Results are below. Race 2 rolls off at 1:00 p.m. ET.

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Pro Mazda: Thompson Roles to Dominant Race 1 Victory

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Parker Thompson during practice at Barber Motorsports Park. Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography

Chris Owens

Race 1 for Pro Mazda was hardly ever in doubt. Polesitter Parker Thompson, who soared to pole with a track record in qualifying, led right from the drop of the green flag to lead all 25 laps on his way to winning Race 1.

Thompson had to withstand a brief challenge from RP Motorsport’s Harrison Scott on a Lap 4 restart - a caution was flown for debris on the front straightaway on Lap 2 - but Thompson immediately began gapping the field again, and the Exclusive Autosport driver won by over five seconds.

Thompson dedicated the victory the Humboldt Broncos junior hockey team, which lost 16 members of the team, including 10 players, following a tragic bus accident earlier in April.

PM R1 PODIUM (1)

The Exclusive Autosport team pay tribute to the Humboldt Bronco after winning Race 1 at Barber Motorsports Park.

Joe Skibinski

“This is huge for us, being Canadian and from Saskatchewan. With the tragedy that happened in Humboldt, in our home province, to come here and dedicate this win to them is so special, especially when I look at the emotions from my team owner,” Thompson revealed.

“Trust me when I say that I felt as though I had 16 angels riding on board with me. There’s something on this team today that wasn’t there in St. Pete. But starting on the pole is key here, but even more so when you have the kind of car I had today. It was on rails. The team told me to slow down, but I was going as slow as I could. It was a really good drive for me today and my hat is off to the entire team.”

Scott came home in second, while BN Racing’s David Malukas, Team Pelfrey’s Andres Gutierrez, and Juncos Racing’s Rinus VeeKay battled for third, with Malukas holding off Gutierrez and VeeKay to take the final spot on the podium.

Results are below. Pro Mazda Race 2 rolls off at 10:50 a.m. ET on Sunday.

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