Ryan Giannetta was one lap away from his third straight podium finish. Instead, the 16-year-old Redondo Beach open-wheel racer watched his No. 44 car go airborne.

Giannetta, who drives for VRD Racing in the USF2000 series, the entry-level rung on the Road to IndyCar ladder, was running in podium position during Race 2 at Portland International Raceway on Sunday, Aug. 9, when Pabst Racing's Brad Majman dove to the inside under braking for Turn 1 on the final-lap restart. The contact launched Giannetta's car high into the air, according to Racer magazine's race report, ending his race on the spot.

Race officials penalized Majman 30 seconds for avoidable contact, dropping him from third to 13th in the final results. Evan Cooley inherited the podium spot.

But for Giannetta, the damage was done.

The crash erased what had been a strong Portland weekend for the Redondo Beach native. He was second-fastest in free practice, qualified fourth and finished third in Race 1 on Saturday, Aug. 8, just 1.55 seconds behind race winner Oliver Wheldon. That third-place result extended a streak that began with a second-place finish at Mid-Ohio in Round 11.

Wheldon, Giannetta's 15-year-old VRD Racing teammate and the son of two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon, swept both Portland races and both poles, becoming the fifth-youngest winner in USF2000 history, IndyCar reported. After winning Race 2, Wheldon said the final-lap restart "went well" for him but called the race "pretty difficult" given the heat and multiple caution periods.

Giannetta sits eighth in the championship standings with 173 points after 13 of 18 races, trailing leader Sebastian Garzon's 299. Five races remain. His career stats now include one win, two pole positions and seven podiums across 35 starts, according to DriverDB.

Born Jan. 28, 2010, Giannetta still lives in Redondo Beach, where he also surfs and golfs when he's not behind the wheel.

The series heads next to the streets of Markham, Ontario, for the Ontario Honda Dealers Indy at Markham on Aug. 14–16, where USF2000 will run double-header races in support of the NTT IndyCar Series.