Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography

It was a return to the top for Braden Eves, who dominated the competition on the oval at Indianapolis Raceway Park, leading all 90 laps on his way to a victory at the Freedom 90 on Saturday afternoon.

The race was postponed from Friday night to Saturday afternoon, as with the other Carb Night Classic races, due to thunderstorms that covered the track on Friday evening.

Exclusive Autosport’s Braden Eves started on pole after setting a series record in qualifying. His two-lap average of 39.025 seconds put him two-tenths ahead of Pabst Racing’s Jace Denmark. Turn 3 Motorsport put their cars in third, fourth, and fifth place on the grid with Danny Dyszelski, Lochie Hughes and Ethan Ho.

Eves got off to a great start and built up a gap of nearly a second to Denmark in the first two laps alone. That lead would continue to grow as Eves built an insurmountable gap within the first stage of the race, setting lap times consistently two or three tenths faster than the rest of the field.

The race stayed green until Ho collided with championship leader Nikita Johnson in turn 3 on lap 47, taking both of them out of the race. Even with the crash, Johnson maintained a one-point lead over Hughes in the standings. During the caution period, Pabst Racing’s Simon Sikes pulled to pit lane and had to end his race due to mechanical issues. 

DEForce Racing’s Mac Clark also headed to the pits but managed to stay as the seventh and final car on the lead lap heading into the restart.

On the restart, Denmark pulled alongside Eves for a few laps before eventually dropping behind

The point structure for the Freedom 90 is different from the other seventeen races on the calendar due to its unique status as a one-off oval race. Points for each position are multiplied one-and-a-half, which means that winning the race delivers 45 championship points instead of the original 30.

Eves picked up his first USF Pro 2000 win since he won at Road America in July 2022. It’s his first win at IRP. For his Exclusive Autosport team, it is their third consecutive win in the Freedom 90 after Reece Gold and Salvador de Alba won the race in 2022 and 2023.

Eves finished ahead of Denmark, who landed in second, and Hughes, who rounded out the podium in third. Dyzselski finished behind his teammate in fourth. Andretti Global Indy NXT driver Bryce Aron, driving for TJ Speed Motorsports to gain oval experience, rounded out the top five.

For full results, check out usfpro2000.com/results