The 2024 Radical Cup North America season saw the first green flag of the season Saturday at the famed Sebring International Raceway. With two wheel-to-wheel races on the day, the only qualifying session kicked off a jam-packed daily activity in Central Florida. As the racing commenced, it was Jon and Clint Field who found their way to the top step of the podium in the Platinum Class while Jordan Missig provided Graham Rahal Performance with their first two wins of the season. Chris McMurry continued his Pro 1340 domination going two-for-two on the day while 14-year-old Mayer Deonarine impressed all.
“The level of competition continues to climb year after year and age does not seem to be a defining factor,” Radical Cup Director Tom Drewer explained. “We have some very clean racing despite the number of rookies who have joined the series in 2024. It is exciting to see the growth, and we can’t wait for the rest of the season.”
The day started with the McDonald’s Pole Position Awards. Lapping the Sebring International Raceway with the fastest laps in the early morning session, Jon Field and ONE Motorsports claimed top honors in the Platinum class while Graham Rahal Performance’s Nick d’Orlando followed suit in Pro 1500 with McMurry putting Crown Racing with Apex on top in Pro 1340.
Platinum Class
Qualifying
1. Jon Field – 2m01.671s
2. Clint Field – 2m02.315s
3. Louis Schriber – 2m02.940s
Race 1
It was a driver with the last name of Field who won race one, but not the pole position winner Jon Field (ONE Motorsports). Advancing from his P2 starting spot, Clint Field (ONE Motorsports) beat his dad and took the win as the checkered flag flew under yellow conditions for a crash involving a Pro 1500 driver. Impressive despite his lack of experience, Clint proved that he is a title contender. With a pair of Fields on the top two steps of the podium, it was Louis Schriber (WISKO Racing) who rounded out the blocks in third after recovering from a testing crash last week that heavily damaged his race car. Dirt Racer turned pavement driver Wayne Williams (ESSES Racing), who had a turbo issue during Friday’s on-track action, added a top-five finish as he started his second year of competition in Radical Cup with Platinum class rookie Gregg Gorski (WISKO Racing) finishing fifth.
Race 2
Jon Field got the better of Clint Field in race two as he was able to move from the outside of the front row in the second starting position to climb his way to the top of the podium. It was another Field and Field one – two finish as Clint Field crossed the line in the second position, albeit more than 13s behind Jon. Chip Romer had a great race going until a late race spin took him off of what would have been his first podium of the season and opened the door for Gorski to cross the line in third. Romer rebounded to finish fifth while Schriber was also able to get by following Gorski through to finish fourth. Jim Booth (WISKO Racing) and Kevin Poitras (Radical Canada East) also gained positions throughout the 18-lap affair to finish sixth and seventh respectively.
PRO 1500
Qualifying
1. Nick d’Orlando – 2m06.467s
2. Danny Dyszelski – 2m06.973s
3. Jordan Missig – 2m07.119s
Race 1
The top three finishers in the Pro 1500 class in race one were Radical XXX machinery with Jordan Missig (GRP) taking his first win in 2024 Radical Cup competition for both himself and Graham Rahal Performance (GRP). 2023 Vice-Champion Danny Dyszelski (RySpec Racing) was able to push himself to a podium result in his first event with a new team crossing the line in third just behind d’Orlando (GRP) in the second position, making it a near-perfect debut for the GRP program. It should be noted that all drivers are under the age of 25 and have all come from events in the popular Road to Indy program. Evan Slater, racing out of the WISKO Racing camp, had an impressive drive to fourth despite little time running the car and the only Pro 1500 driver in the WIKSO Racing program in Sebring. Spencer Schmidt, son of McLaren IndyCar Team Owner Sam Schmidt, also showed the speed to run near the front finishing fifth in his series debut with Stephen Cameron Racing and Radical Northwest just ahead of Romer (ONE Motorsports). Jack Yang (Group-A Racing) had a solid qualifying performance and showed substantial pace in the race before crashing out on the last lap of the race.