Photo credit: RTD Media | Formula Race Promotions

The final day of Formula Race Promotions competition at Pittsburgh International Race Complex saw multiple drivers experience their first taste of glory in the series as five total races took place.

This included multiple drivers who picked up their first podiums and race wins in the series and also included even more races than Saturday that came down to photo finishes for the overall victory.

Teams began practice on Friday morning with races kicking off Saturday afternoon and running through Sunday. While some rain hit the region on the first two days providing challenging mixed conditions, the Sun came out on Sunday and the track warmed up for the final five races.

Weekend Racing Recap:

F1600

Race 2 – Overall

1. Wesley Gundler
2. Cooper Travis
3. Ayrton Cahan
4. Gabriel Cahan
5. Chace Supplee

Race 2 – F1600 Masters

1. David Adorno
2. Phil Kingham
3. Scott Rubenzer
4. John Thompson
5. Bob Reid

Race 3 – Overall

1. Chris Horan
2. Wesley Gundler
3. Gabriel Cahan
4. Chace Supplee
5. David Adorno

Race 3 – F1600 Masters Winner – David Adorno

Race 2 Recap

In a breakout moment for the series rookie, North Carolina native Wesley Gundler took his first F1600 win after securing back-to-back podiums in the previous two races for K-Hill Motorsports, propelling Gundler to third in the championship standings.

“From the beginning, it was just smooth sailing from there,” said Gundler. “I was just counting the laps down and hoping nothing happened, and it went really well.”

Gundler’s victory was not the only first among the F1600 rookies during the race, as Cooper Travis picked up his first career podium in the series with a second-place finish as the two checked out from the rest of the field. It was Travis’s second consecutive top five after finishing fifth in race 1. 

“It was a great race,” said Travis on the podium. “Started sixth, got a couple places on the start…I want to thank my team, my sponsors, my fellow racers, and Hoosier Tire. It was an amazing race.”

Behind them were the twin brothers of Ayrton Cahan and Gabriel Cahan, who maintained their spots at first and second in the championship race respectively after their finish.

Running with the leaders but falling back in the second half of the race was David Adorno, who held off a hard-charging Phil Kingham and Scott Rubenzer directly in his mirrors to take the victory in the masters class at the same track he picked up two classes victories in F1600 Masters racing with FRP in 2023.

“We got a real battle going on,” explained Adorno after the race. “At a couple of points, Phil almost had me going through turn two, so I had to defend and made sure I made that car as wide as I could.”

Race 3 Recap

The final F1600 race of the weekend was the tightest wheel-to-wheel action yet with multiple laps resulting in the leaders coming across the line three-wide. By the time three laps had been completed, the front seven drivers were still only separated on track by three tenths of a second.

Chace Supplee found the space to build out a gap soon after, when his battle for the lead with pole sitter Cooper Travis was ended by Travis having an issue that forced him into the pits and out of the race.

Supplee eventually found Wesley Gundler right behind him pressuring as the race reached the halfway point. Gundler made the move for the race lead on lap seven, but that wasn’t all the action as Chris Horan would eventually make a move for second and begin pressuring Gundler in the closing laps.

Gundler and Horan traded places all the way up until the line, where Horan pulled off the race win, but only by 0.012 seconds in a photo finish.

David Adorno capped off his weekend with his second masters class victory and was even running at the front of the overall field and hanging around the fifth spot throughout the race, securing the first overall top five for a master’s driver of the 2025 season. 

F2000

Qualifying 2

1. Brandon Dixon – 1:40.808
2. Sebastian Newberg – 1:43.816
3. Carter Sheets – 1:43.911
4. Bob Wright – 1:44.128
5. Anthony DiCesaro – 1:45.719

Race 2

1. Brandon Dixon
2. Glenn Cordova
3. Carter Sheets
4. Bob Wright
5. Sebastian Newberg

Race 2 Recap

Brandon Dixon completed the weekend sweep by taking victory for the fourth consecutive F2000 race he entered in dominant fashion, holding a 10-second gap to Glenn Cordova behind for most of the race. 

It was Cordova’s first start of the weekend, and he managed to keep consistent pace to Carter Sheets behind, who secured his second consecutive podium. Bob Wright also ended up in the top five for the second race in a row, with the field bunching up together at the end due to the race concluding under caution.

Atlantic

Qualifying 2 – Atlantic 016

1. John Mcaleer – 1:35.012

Qualifying 2 – Atlantic Open

1. Bob Corliss – 1:36.901
2. Brandon Schwarz – 1:37.798
3. Tim Pierce – 1:38.449
4. Charles Livingston – 1:38.629
5. Paulie Gatto – 1:39.023

Qualifying 2 – Atlantic Juniors

1. Justin di Lucia – 1:42.192

Race 2 – Atlantic 016

1. John Mcaleer

Race 2 – Atlantic Open

1. Brandon Schwarz
2. Tim Pierce
3. Paulie Gatto
4. Charles Livingston
5. Steve Hamilton

Race 2 – Atlantic Juniors

1. Justin di Lucia

Race 2 Recap

Brandon Schwarz had a much easier journey to the front of the Atlantic Championship’s Open field in the second and final race of the weekend, having started on the front row and maintaining the lead throughout the race until it ended after a caution came out in the final minutes.

It was Schwarz’s second win of the weekend and marks his fifth consecutive victory as he beat out Tim Pierce and Paulie Gatto, who finished behind him on the podium. It was back-to-back second-place finishes for Pierce as he capped off a strong weekend.

For the second consecutive race, John Mcaleer set blazing lap times ahead of the field as the winner of the 016 class. Justin di Lucia continued to battle wheel-to-wheel with open class drivers as he grabbed his second class victory of the weekend. Both drivers entered the race second in their class standings, and exited with the championship lead.

CCS

Race 2

1. Mike Lawrence
2. Mitchell Ferguson
3. Jeff Filipowski
4. Samuel Ryan
5. Sherman Engler

Race 2 Recap

Mike Lawrence continued his dominance at Pitt Race by taking back-to-back victories in another photo finish where this time he beat Ferguson to the line by two hundredths of a second. The win is Lawrence’s third of the season as he extends his podium streak in the series to include all four races of 2025. Ferguson capped off his first CCS race weekend in 2025 with his second consecutive podium, ahead of Jeff Filipowski, who is bound to move upward in the championship standings after finishing in the top three just over a second behind the leaders.

Next up for FRP teams and competitors is a trip to Road America from June 26 to June 30. Visit http://www.RaceFRP.com to register.