Title protagonists Sebastian Garzon (DEForce Racing), from Colombia, and Beswick’s fellow Australian teammate Brad Majman both finished well down the order after tangling on Lap 2, which allowed Beswick to close to within 44 points of Garzon with just two races remaining and a maximum of 66 points still to be claimed.

Evan Cooley, from Mokena, Ill., finished second for Exclusive Autosport ahead of Florida-based Brazilian Joao Vergara (VRD Racing).

Beswick laid down a marker earlier this morning by snaring his second Continental Tire Pole Award of the season. Vergara joined him on the front row of the grid, equaling his best grid position of the season (also at Road America in June) with VRD Racing teammate Oliver Wheldon, from St. Petersburg, Fla., sharing row two with Garzon and Majman lining up fifth.

A fraught opening lap saw Wheldon immediately putting the polesitter under pressure before taking the lead on the inside under braking for Turn Five.

Behind, a good start by Majman saw him make up two places on the opening lap to run third ahead of Cooley and Garzon. The Colombian, however, was on a charge. After displacing Cooley, he dived to the inside of Majman under braking for Turn Six, only for there to be contact between the pair at the exit. Garzon’s car leapt into the air but continued with the loss of only a few positions, only to then spear off into the gravel at Turn One on the very next lap to bring out the caution flags for the first and only time during the 12-lap race.

Beswick took advantage of a massive draft at the restart to pass Wheldon cleanly before Turn One for the lead. Wheldon, however, was in no mood to concede. The Floridian made a move to the inside under braking for Turn Six, whereupon contact between the pair immediately broke Wheldon’s front wing. He had no option but to pit for repairs.

Beswick assumed a clear lead over Cooley, which he extended with each successive lap before securing his third win of the season. He also ensured a sixth PFC Award for Augie Pabst as the winning car owner.

Cooley edged slightly clear of Vergara on the final lap, while Exclusive Autosport’s Ayrton Cahan, from Santa Fe, N.M., remained hot on his heels to the finish. Cahan earned the Tilton Hard Charger Award after having started 12th.

Wesley Gundler, from Holly Springs, N.C., also drove a strong race for ENVE Motorsports, closing onto Cahan’s tail in the final stages before having to settle for fifth. Connor Aspley (Exclusive Autosport), from O’Fallon, Mo., drove by far his best race after stepping up from USF Juniors to finish sixth ahead of the other Cahan brother, Gabriel, and VRD Racing’s Ryan Giannetta, from Redondo Beach, Calif.

Coincidentally, Garzon and Majman both rejoined a lap down following their earlier contretemps. Garzon managed to find a way past his rival, although Majman earned the honor of a lap record – and what could turn out to be a crucial additional championship point. 

They therefore remain separated by just 13 points heading into the final two races of the season which will take place tomorrow. At stake is a scholarship valued at $409,816 to assist in graduation to the next level on the USF Pro Championships ladder, USF Pro 2000, in 2027. The two races are scheduled to go green at 10:00 a.m. and 2:55 p.m. CDT.

Provisional championship points after 16 of 18 races:

1. Sebastian Garzon, 342

2. Brad Majman, 329

3. Eddie Beswick, 298

4. Evan Cooley, 269

5. Oliver Wheldon, 244

6. Joao Vergara, 242

7. Anthony Martella, 209

8. Ryan Giannetta, 202

9. Wesley Gundler, 185

10. Ayrton Cahan, 184

Eddie Beswick (#23 Next Level Racing-Pabst Racing Tatuus USF-22): “The Pabst team always gives me a fast race car, especially around here. So once I got my eyes forward and they started battling behind, I knew if I kept it under control, I felt like I was going to drive away. It's the easy way to do it, so I'll take more of them. This is my most driven track in North America, so that's something that probably subconsciously is an advantage. But the track suits our car and I feel like the team gets the most out of us and the cars everywhere. And this particular track, they find a bit more.”

Evan Cooley (#90 Brown Brothers Harriman-Exclusive Autosport Tatuus USF-22): “Honestly, this feels like a win after testing, practice and then qualifying today. We've been struggling a lot as a team just on the setup, but we tried some stuff out, kept our head down, experimented and it paid off. It feels really good to bring home a P2, and I just want to thank the team so much for their support. They've kept their head down, and hopefully we can keep the podiums coming the rest of the weekend.”

Joao Vergara (#3 Cross/Carecode/Son Boronat/Arai-VRD Racing Tatuus USF-22): “It was a pretty fun race. I'm happy to finally be on the podium here. It's not been a great track for us, but I had a lot of battling going on. Unfortunately, Eddie was able to pull away because of that. Me and Evan had a good fight, but I came home with P3 and I’m happy with that. I just want to thank everyone at VRD, all my sponsors and everyone who supported me throughout my whole career. Let's try to go for it tomorrow.”