M1 Racing's Horak clinches Pro Mazda Expert Class championship

M1 Racing's Jay Horak of Mesa, Ariz., is the 2013 Expert class champion of the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires.

Horak finished second in the class, which is for drivers 30 years old and older, in both 45-minute races. He earned enough points that no one else can catch him even though two more races remain in the 2013 season.

The Expert champion receives a cash award of $6,000 at the end of the year.

Horak led the Expert class for most of the second race with his AutoEnginuity No. 37 after starting 13th. He got around his Expert class rival, Bobby Eberle, during a wild standing start when both Horak and Eberle took evasive action to avoid an accident in Turn 6 involving Kyle Kaiser, Stefan Rzadsinski, Shelby Blackstock and Lloyd Read.

When the race restarted on lap four Eberle immediately pressured Horak for the class's top spot, but Horak was able to hold him off until lap 20. Horak was able to get Eberle back a few laps later, and with 15 minutes remaining in the 45-minute event Horak was once again in line for the trophy. Eberle kept the pressure up, however, and with just 4 minutes to go Eberle once again got by and he went on to claim the class victory by 3.059 seconds.

Horak finished ninth overall and set his fastest lap of that race and the weekend on lap 11 with a time of 1:04.293.

Horak started 13th in the first race, but he moved up one position right away when Kaiser dropped from seventh to 13th after the standing start. Kaiser got by Horak shortly after the halfway point on lap 19. Zack Meyer dropped from tenth to 12th with 21 laps down to become the new driver Horak was chasing. On lap 29 both Kaiser and Meyer passed Eberle, and Horak trailed Eberle the rest of the way until the checkered waved with 40 laps complete.

Although Horak finished second to Eberle in the Expert class and 13th overall, he was able to consistently better his individual times throughout Saturday's race, which went non-stop. He bettered his fastest lap of the race mark on laps 10, 11, 12, 21, 25 and 27, running a 1:05.263 on the latter lap. That was more than a second faster than the time he ran during qualifications on Friday, when he posted a 1:06.572 for the 11-turn, 1.5207-mile street course.

The doubleheader supported a NASCAR Canada event.

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