LEXINGTON, Ohio – No one came close to challenging the dominance of Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship leader Christian Rasmussen Wednesday afternoon during the first of three midweek races comprising the USF2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio presented by Cooper Tires Honoring First Responders. Barrichello, 18, was fastest in both to clinch his first-ever Cooper Tires Pole Award. Gold was just .0045 of a second adrift to ensure a starting position on the outside of the front row. Barrichello made a good start to maintain his position at the front, but it wasn’t long before Rasmussen was looming large in his mirrors. Barrichello looked to have second place fairly comfortably within his grasp at the halfway point in the 20-lap race. Unfortunately, another Cape vs. Pabst battle had ended in tears early in the race when Josh Green, a podium finisher at Road America, tangled with Yuven Sundaramoorthy in the Carousel on the opening lap. Unfortunately, he finished two laps off the pace in 16th after his car failed to fire up on the starting grid.

Follow MotorMouth on social media:

• 
• 
• 
•