USF2000 Presented by Continental Tire traveled to Portland International Raceway (PIR) for the final three races of the 2024 championship. Evagoras Papasavvas, driver for Jay Howard Driver Development (JHDD) program, did not have the weekend he was looking forward to in the Pacific Northwest.
After a test day on Thursday, Papasavvas showed strong pace in the sole practice session of the weekend, finishing as the fifth-quickest driver of the session. In a very competitive qualifying session, Papasavvas had just started his hot lap with a new set of tires on pace to set his fast qualifying lap. Unfortunately, an oil slick on the track caused him to lose traction on the rear wheels, spinning and going off track in the wet grass, forcing him to abandon the qualifying session. Without a fast lap in the books, Papasavvas was awarded the 12th-fastest time, earning a starting position on the outside of row six for race one.
In a wet race one Friday evening, Papasavvas fought his way through the field, from the 12th spot on the grid, all the way to the front, crossing the finish line in the second position. The rain was extremely heavy during the race, rendering visibility at very low levels, occasionally only having the flashing red light of the car in front as an indication of any traffic in the vicinity. The conditions and the spray were so severe that it caused Papasavvas to have an avoidable but unintentional contact with the car in front, enough to be given a post-race ten-second penalty, relegating him from second to sixth on the final results sheet.
“We ran a good race tonight, but the penalty we got prevented us from finishing on the podium,” Papasavvas expressed after race one. “Frustrating to finish in sixth after crossing the line in second, given all the work we had to put in during a very challenging race. We will take though the sixth place as we have two more chances to fight for the win.”
Starting from 12th in race two, Papasavvas was able to move his way forward again in the second wheel-to-wheel action of the weekend, gaining seven positions to finish in fifth.
“Race two was a good one, and given where we started, I’m ok with the result,” Papasavvas added. “The #6 was quick, and we were able to fight our way forward into the top-five, which I’m proud of.”
Papasavvas started fourth in race three and made his way up to second. During a race restart, Papasavvas attempted to make a pass for the race lead in the notorious turn one of the Portland International Raceway. A race lead and a potential win would have elevated Papasavvas in third or second place in the final Championship standings. Unfortunately, the other driver, as he was being passed, went too deep in the corner, locked up his front tires and drove straight into Papasavvas as he was making the pass. Though he fell down the field, he was able to continue but unfortunately on the next restart, an incident right in front him blocked his way through, and with nowhere to go he made contact with another driver that ended his race.
“This was not the way I wanted the season to end,” Papasavvas continued. “It was an extremely frustrating weekend. We had a strong pace and a quick car, but unfortunately, we did not get the results to back it up. Starting the weekend with an early exit of our qualifying session due to the oil slick to getting caught in on-track incidents in race three were enough to prevent us from getting the weekend we wanted, to score more podiums and claim a higher spot in the championship.”
“I want to say a huge thank you to the entire JHDD crew for all of their work this weekend and this season. We achieved some great results, and I’m proud of how we did this season.”
For more information on Evagoras Papasavvas, don’t hesitate to get in touch with Nektarios Papasavvas via email at evagoras71p@gmail.com or visit him online at www.EvagorasRacing.com. Be sure to follow Evagoras Papasavvas on Facebook, X, and Instagram for news, results, information, and photos.
RTD Media | Jay Howard Driver Development | Photo: RTD Media
