Schriber and D’Ambrose star as streak continues for Nicol at Road America

Louis Schriber and Mike D’Ambrose Sr. gained class victories, while Raiden Nicol continued his winning ways at Road America for Radical Cup North America’s third round of the season. Racing alongside the NTT IndyCar Series and with a full grid of 30-plus drivers, three races on Elkhart Lake’s famous 4.014-mile circuit delivered tight battles, standout performances, and momentum-building results as the series reached the halfway point of the season.

“A weekend of warm weather and hot competition across all three classes,” explained Radical Motorsport’s Tom Drewer. “We saw new names on the podium, numerous young guns impressed, particularly Raiden Nicol, Austin Riley, Valen Venkatesh, and Brady Clapham, and the series veterans delivered some of the best racing of the weekend, especially in high-horsepower SR10s.”

Qualifying

Friday’s qualifying sessions set the tone early. In the Platinum class, ONE Motorsports’ Wayne Williams posted a 2m 06.919s to take pole, narrowly beating out Louis Schriber and Steve Jenks. The top-five in class were separated by less than a second – a preview of how competitive the races would be. It was a particularly impressive turnaround for Williams, who had a heavy impact on the exit of Turn 13 during practice, and borrowed a car from fellow driver Jason Greenwood.

Mike D’Ambrose Sr. (Team Stradale) led the Pro 1340 field with a 2m 16.554s, while Brady Clapham, continuing to impress in his rookie season with RySpec/YD Auto Group, slotted into P2. Dermot Ennis rounded out the top-three in a field packed with emerging talent.

In Pro 1500, Raiden Nicol (PRIMAL Racing) continued his strong form with a pole-winning time of 2:12.081. Like Williams, Nicol was in recovery mode, having also found the wall in practice, and repaid the overnight rebuild by his PRIMAL team with additional help from Team Stradale and Group-A. Nicol held off challenges from Jack Yang (Valour Racing) and Vaughn Glace (Proper Performance), with the top-eight separated by under two seconds.

Race 1

Friday’s opening race saw Jon Field (ONE Motorsports) take a win in the Platinum class, but only after Wayne Williams’s luck ran out with brake fade in the last few laps hampering an otherwise faultless drive. As Williams approached Canada Corner for the final time, Field lunged, and the pair touched, shuffling Williams down the order. Logging a best lap of 2:08.096, it was Field’s fourth straight victory. Teammate Chip Romer finished second, while Louis Schriber (JBR) completed the podium. Rookie James Long (Primal) was awarded the Sunoco Hard Charger for his efforts.

In Pro 1340, Brady Clapham earned his first win of the season, but it wasn’t without a fight from D’Ambrose Sr., who led for much of the race, until Clapham got the better of him on a restart. Aaron Ziegler impressed in his series debut, with the Team Stradale driver taking third.

Over in Pro 1500, Raiden Nicol converted pole into a dominant win, finishing more than 17 seconds ahead of second-place Jack Yang (Valour), who also took Gold class top honors. Austin Riley (Racing with Autism) kept his streak of finding the podium during each round going, after a close multi-car scrap that showcased the depth of the field.

RTD Media - Jeff Walrich

Race 2

Saturday’s Race 2 delivered some of the best action of the weekend. In Platinum, Louis Schriber scored a hard-fought win for JBR, holding off Steve Jenks (Group-A Racing) and Wayne Williams in a race that came down to the final laps. Initially, both Williams and Field looked strong, but after the One Motorsports cars fell by the wayside, Jenks mounted a final lap attack on Schriber, who had vowed to win to honor the memory of Marko Niketic, whose family was trackside to cheer him on. It was clear nothing would stop the Wisconsin native, and Jenks had to settle for second. Platinum driver Scott Wagner was named the Sunoco Hard Charger.

Brady Clapham doubled up in Pro 1340 with another consistent and well-managed drive. D’Ambrose Sr. pushed him to the end, while Kenny Naill (Graham Rahal Performance) grabbed another podium in the third position.

Nicol kept his perfect weekend going with another victory in Pro 1500. However, this time Austin Riley was able to better match the pace of the Primal driver, while Vaughn Glace (Proper Performance) impressed, charging through the field to third place. However, a technical infraction post-race elevated Arul Ventakesh to third. It was an impressive run too for brother Valen, who was classified fourth, as the duo from Cameron Racing showed strong pace. Another standout was Chris Huhn (Primal), who took a win in the Gold class.

Race 3

Sunday’s final race wrapped up the weekend with another round of strong performances. In the third and final race, which saw plenty of side-by-side action, a mandatory pit stop greeted teams and drivers as an extra element to plan for, and overcome efficiently, if they had hoped to climb to the top step of the podium.

One Motorsports and Jon Field perfected their pit stop and closed out the triple-header with his second win of the weekend and fifth of the season. Schriber also had a good stop to leapfrog a number of drivers, while JBR teammate Scott Wagner found himself on podium as the order shuffled through.

Mike D’Ambrose Sr. finally broke through for a win in Pro 1340, bouncing back after two runner-up finishes. Clapham had looked like he might make it a clean sweep, but pit stop violation curtailed his plans. Naill and Graham Rahal Performance maintained their consistent run with another third-place result.

In Pro 1500, Raiden Nicol completed a weekend sweep, taking home his third win at Road America and ninth class victory from nine races this year. Rookie Valen Venkatesh clinched his first career podium, to gain bragging rights around the family dinner table, while Vaughn Glace made amends with a spectacular drive, carving his way up through from the last row to take third. The effort was rewarded

with the Sunoco Hard Charger. Finishing an impressive seventh outright, and fourth in Pro 1500, Mike Anzaldi took Gold class honors for Ryno Racing.

The series now heads into the second half of the season with championship battles heating up in all three classes. Road America delivered excitement, but the next round of the 2025 program will take teams and drivers across the country to the famed WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca over the July 25-27 weekend.

Radical Cup North America events are open to local and regional Radical racers of all ages with eligible cars to participate. More information, including links to register for events and obtain licensing, can be found at www.radicalmotorsport.com. Stay tuned to the Radical Cup social media pages for the latest series news and updates.