Running off in turn 1 cost Zack Meyer any chance of a top finish at Mid Ohio. 

Lexington, Ohio – On the back of yesterday's seventh place finish in the sprint race of the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio, Zack Meyer was hoping to improve upon that result and finish the weekend on a positive note. However, it wasn't to be for the up-and-coming Canadian, after a small mistake sent him off-track early in the race and left him a gap to the field that was impossible to overcome. There are lessons to learn, though, for the young racer in only his third year in car racing, and every time in the car is a learning experience from which he can benefit.

The 21-year-old from Innisfil, Ont., started the race in the ninth position and made slight contact with Juan Piedrahita on the initial start, while in front of them Luiz Razia and Matthew Brabham made contact, bringing out a full-course caution. On the restart, Meyer was able to get around Juan Pablo Garcia for seventh, putting him hot on the heels of new teammate Jimmy Simpson. However, while pursuing Simpson for sixth and setting impressively quick lap times, Meyer went off in Turn 1, losing gobs of time restarting the car and returning to the track.

From there, it was simply a matter of setting consistent lap times and bringing the #2 TMR/DAMIS PARTNERS III/Innisfil Indy Karting/Xtreme Coil Drilling car home in one piece. "My wing was already damaged from hitting Piedrahita, and then I may have gotten too close to Jimmy [Simpson] going under the bridge," explained Meyer. "I had a big amount of understeer so I went straight off. I tried to just hold it full throttle and power through it, but I caught some air, hit the ground, and spun. It took way too long to restart the car and that was it."

"Overall, it was a pretty tough weekend. Nothing is going to stop me from training even harder and pushing even more to achieve my goal as a race car driver. I really thought that this was going to be a great weekend because Mid-Ohio is a track I enjoy, plus it's my birthday on Monday. But, that's the way it is sometimes. I gave it my all and will continue to do so."

With now 11 of 14 rounds of the 2014 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires season complete, Meyer sits tenth in the championship standings, just five points out of ninth and 25 points adrift of eighth. Meyer moves on to Milwaukee in two weeks for the Milwaukee 100 on the famed Milwaukee Mile. Meyer may have missed out on a chance to give himself a great birthday present at the track, but there's still time for a belated birthday present at the world's oldest continually operating race track.

You can learn more about Zack Meyer by visiting ZackMeyer.ca, and you can also follow Zack on Twitter @ZackMeyer66 and Instagram @ZackMeyer66. If you are interested in supporting an up-and-coming Canadian racer in the Mazda Road to Indy, you may directly contact Zack Meyer to discuss sponsorship opportunities.

About Zack Meyer:

A homegrown racer from Toronto, Ont., Meyer began his racing career in karting at Innisfil Indy Karting. Meyer's racing career blossomed under the tutelage of his driver coach and manager, Joe Launi. With both the support of his mother and Launi, Meyer went on to become one of the top karters for the ultra-competitive GP Racing Karts team, participating in and winning numerous KZ2 Shifter Kart events. Meyer claimed the championship for the Brian Stewart BSRKC-F125/ICC Shifter class in both 2009 and 2010, only to follow those up by claiming the championship in the KZ2 Class in the Florida Winter Tour in 2011 and 2012. Meyer made his debut in the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires in 2012 with JDC MotorSports before moving to the series full-time in 2013. Meyer posted a best finish of fourth in his home race, the Honda Indy Toronto, on his way to finishing the year as the highest-placed JDC MotorSports driver in the championship with sixth in the championship standings. For 2014, Meyer steps up to the top rung on the Mazda Road to Indy development ladder, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, with race-winning Team Moore Racing.