USF2000: Franzoni rocks Monterey for Race 1 win

Victor Franzoni dominated Round 1 from pole as the USF2000 title fight was narrowed from three to two on Saturday. The Brazilian marched away from Parker Thompson (-12.9597) and Anthony Martin (-18.2930) who completed the podium, but it wasn't enough for Franzoni to stay in the championship hunt.

Title aspirations aside, Franzoni was unfazed and delivered the best quote of the weekend.

"Normally I have to fight a lot in the races, but this time I could drive like my girlfriend was next to me," he said. "I'm really happy. My weekend has been great."

Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing teammates Martin and Thompson will decide the title on Sunday, and with Martin's lead of 21 points drawn down by a slight amount to 18, Thompson is capable of overtaking Martin, but he'd need to finish up front and have Thompson come home outside the top 10.

"I had a good race, went back a couple of spots at the start, got them back, and it was pretty exciting," Thompson said.

Martin was smart to recognize his car wasn't capable of going for the win and went into championship preservation mode. Barring a crash or collapse by Martin, Thompson will have to rely on luck to do anything other than finish second in the championship.

"The car felt quite good for the first few laps, but it just felt like it hit a brick wall and I was struggling with rear tires," he said. "As Parker kept putting pressure on me it was hard to hang on so I conceded [the position] to him."

Luke Gabin (-19.3437) and Jordan Lloyd (-19.8745) completed the top five.

UP NEXT: Race 2, Sunday, 11:20 a.m. PT