PALMETTO, Fla. – The USF Pro Championships Presented by Continental Tire season has reached a critical stage. Only two race weekends remain for the top two rungs on the driver development ladder, USF Pro 2000 and USF2000, starting with this weekend’s Ontario Honda Dealers Indy Toronto, where both series will compete once again in support of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.
The championships remain finely poised, with a pair of crucial scholarships valued collectively at over $1.1 million at stake for the respective champions to ensure graduation onto the next step of the ladder.
The 1.786-mile, 11-turn track which winds its way around Exhibition Place, within easy reach of downtown Toronto, Ont., Canada, traditionally provides close competition. And in each of the past two seasons, Toronto winners from both series have gone on to clinch their respective championships.
Hughes Leads a Three-Horse Race
The USF Pro 2000 Presented by Continental Tire season has resembled a roller coaster ride for two of the primary championship contenders, while a third protagonist has quietly worked his way into contention to set the scene for what promises to be a nail-biting crescendo.
Lochie Hughes was the early pacesetter. The USF2000 graduate from the Gold Coast of Queensland, Australia, made a strong start to his rookie campaign with Turn 3 Motorsport, claiming a victory and a second-place finish from the opening weekend in St. Petersburg, Fla., to nab the initial points lead.
But a substandard weekend at NOLA Motorsports Park for Hughes coincided with a sensational run of form for Nikita Johnson, from Gulfport, Fla., who won the second race on the St. Pete streets for VRD Racing. Johnson followed up with a runner-up finish and three consecutive wins at NOLA and the Indianapolis Grand Prix road course to grasp a clear advantage.
Then it was Johnson’s turn to hit a rocky patch. His momentum was arrested by a disqualification at Indianapolis and a poor weekend at Road America, where Hughes took full advantage by winning all three races to reclaim a relatively comfortable points lead.
The pendulum swung once more at Mid-Ohio, where Johnson bounced back emphatically with a pair of stylish wins while his Australian rival struggled to take a fourth and a seventh. Consequently, they are now separated by only 26 points with four races remaining.
And they aren’t the only ones with legitimate title aspirations. Jace Denmark, from Brownsburg, Ind., lies only six points shy of Johnson after accumulating seven podium finishes for Pabst Racing. Denmark is still searching for that elusive first USF Pro 2000 win, but will arrive in Toronto brimming with confidence after tasting the fruits of victory in USF2000 on the unforgiving streets in 2022.
Other strong contenders will include Christian Brooks, from Santa Clarita, Calif., who has taken three podium finishes in his last four races; Pabst Racing teammate Simon Sikes, from Augusta, Ga., who won one of the Toronto races last year en route to clinching the USF2000 championship; and 2022 USF Juniors champion Mac Clark, from nearby Milton, Ont., Canada, who will enjoy plenty of hometown support.
The weekend schedule will commence with 30 minutes of practice at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, July 19, followed by a pair of qualifying sessions at 2:15 p.m. and 9:45 a.m. the following day, which will set the starting order for the two 25-lap races at 4:30 p.m. Saturday and 8:55 a.m. Sunday. All times are EDT.
Garcia Leads for the Way in USF2000
Max Garcia has led the USF2000 point standings ever since his dominating victory from the pole position in the opening round of the season in St. Petersburg. The 15-year-old from Coconut Grove, Fla., is seeking to secure a second successive championship title for Pabst Racing.
Three more wins followed over the next six races, and even though Garcia remains winless in his last six starts, he has been regularly picking up points and now holds a relatively comfortable 42-point edge heading into the final five races of the season – two as part of this weekend’s Continental Tire Grand Prix of Toronto and a tripleheader finale next month at Portland International Raceway.
Garcia’s teammate Sam Corry has been his closest challenger for most of the season thus far. Corry, from Cornelius, N.C., has a pair of wins to his name but has recently been overhauled by VRD Racing’s Max Taylor, from Hoboken, N.J., who has amassed a remarkable tally of five race wins over the course of his 10 most recent starts while doubling up in both USF2000 and USF Juniors.
While circumstances can change, Jay Howard Driver Development’s Evagoras Papasavvas, from Loveland, Ohio, appears to be the only other competitor with legitimate aspirations of securing the title and a scholarship valued at $458,400 to progress to USF Pro 2000 in 2025. Papasavvas, who recently claimed his first win of the season at his home track, Mid-Ohio, is within 14 points of Taylor as the chase of Garcia intensifies.
The 20-car field will be bolstered by a pair of talented youngsters making their USF2000 debuts: England’s Liam McNeilly, who stands just nine points behind Taylor in the battle for the USF Juniors championship and will make the step up with Jay Howard Driver Development as he seeks to gain some experience for next year; and established Formula Ford/F1600 ace Eddie Beswick, from Sydney, Australia, who joins Exclusive Autosport.
Evan Cooley, from Frankfort, Ill., also will return to the Exclusive Autosport fold following an impressive debut at Indianapolis, where he swept the pole positions, while Thomas Schrage, from Bethel, Ohio, remains with VRD Racing after an impressive debut with the team at Mid-Ohio which netted a maiden pole position and podium finish.
The USF2000 schedule will mirror that of USF Pro 2000 with a practice session at 10:15 a.m. on Friday followed by qualifying sessions a little later in the day at 1:40 p.m. and at 9:10 a.m. on Saturday. The first of the doubleheader 20-lap races will see a green flag at 12:40 p.m. Saturday, with Race Two opening the proceedings on Sunday at 8:00 a.m.
Full live coverage can be found on the free USF Pro Championships App, YouTube channel and respective series’ websites, usfpro2000.com and usf2000.com.