P7 in race two highlights the weekend
It was a trip to NOLA Motorsports Park for Ayden Ingratta as he joined the Jay Howard Driver Development (JHDD) program for the opening round of USF Juniors Presented by Continental Tire, part of the growing USF Pro Championships ladder program. Moving forward in two of three races and earning a pair of top-10 finishes, the Canadian driver continued to gain knowledge and experience in his rookie season of car racing.
After a jam-packed Friday that featured four practice sessions, Ingratta returned to the track Saturday morning for the newly formatted USF Juniors qualifying session. With a substantial increase in entries, the USF Juniors competitors were split into a pair of groups with the #7 Jay Howard Driver Development driver running in the first of two groups. Earning the sixth fastest lap of the session, Ingratta lined up on the inside of row six for the first wheel-to-wheel action of the weekend.
Moving forward when the green flag flew, Ingratta battled hard in the top-10 and eventually crossed the line in the ninth position while holding a trio of drivers off behind him. In an all-green flag race, passing was difficult on the ultra-fast NOLA Motorsports Park layout with the young Canadian earning his first top-10 result of the season.
Back to the track Sunday for races two and three on the weekend, it was the second qualifying session of the weekend where Ingratta clocked the sixth fastest lap of his group and would roll off the grid for race two from the outside of row six in the 12th position after the groups were merged. When the green flag flew, it was a steady march forward as Ingratta quickly moved into the top-10 and ran seventh after only five laps. Moving to sixth late in the race, Ingratta fell one spot before the checkered flag flew, crossing the line seventh and earning his best result of the weekend with one race remaining.
While race two was a positive, race three was a negative as Ingratta had contact in the beginning stages and was forced to pit lane. Rejoining the race, albeit a few laps behind the rest of the field, the young Canadian used the third race to gain valuable experience that will help him at future events moving forward.
“We did not end the weekend the way we wanted, but still learned a ton,” explained Ayden. “Thank you to JHDD, Road to Racing Canada and all my partners. On to the next one in Alabama later this month.”
Next up for Ingratta and the rest of the USF Juniors competitors will be a trip to Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Alabama for rounds four and five as they compete alongside the NTT INDYCAR Series for the first time in 2024.