The 2024 USF Pro 2000 Championship presented by Continental Tire is the 26th season in series history and the second under the USF Pro 2000 moniker after the three championships below the Indy NXT series were rebranded in 2023 following the acquisition of Indy NXT by Penske Entertainment.

Series news

* The scholarship for the champion was slightly increased to $681,500. * All three ladder series organized by Andersen Promotions ended their long-running affiliation with

Cooper Tires Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is an American company that specializes in the design, manufacture, marketing, and sales of replacement automobile and truck tires, and has subsidiaries that specialize in medium truck, motorcycle, and racing tires. W ...

as supplier and presenting partner. Continental is the new tire supplier and title partner of the series.

Drivers and teams

All drivers compete using Tatuus IP-22 racecars with Elite Mazda 2.0-014A engines and Continental tires.

Team changes

Miller Vinatieri Motorsports left the series to move up to Indy NXT. After NeoTech Motorsport's only driver Nicholas Monteiro moved to TJ Speed Motorsports halfway through 2023 and now joined DEForce Racing, the team discontinued their series entry.

BN Racing HMD Motorsports (formerly BN Racing) is an American racing team in the IndyCar Series and Indy Lights series. The team is owned by Henry Malukas. Road to Indy (2017–present) USF2000 and Pro Mazda The team entered the USF2000 series in 2017 runn ...

returned to the series with two full-time entries after last participating during the 2020 season. Comet/NCMP Racing joined the championship, fielding a single car.

Driver changes

Reigning Teams' champions Pabst Racing signed two new drivers following

Jordan Missig Jordan Missig (born 22 March 1998) is an American racing driver currently competing in the 2023 USF Pro 2000 Championship with Pabst Racing. Career Karting Jordan Missig competed in the Briggs & Stratton LO206 powered Margay Ignite Series ...

's departure from the series and reigning series champion

Myles Rowe Myles Rowe (born June 19, 2000) is an American racing driver. He is signed to compete in the 2024 Indy NXT driving for HMD Motorsports with Force Indy. He is the 2023 USF Pro 2000 champion. Rowe competed in the 2022 USF2000 Championship with ...

's graduation to

Indy NXT Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American Minor league, developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to In ...

. The team promoted

Simon Sikes Simon Sikes (born December 7, 2000) is an American racing driver. He currently competes in the USF2000 Championship with Pabst Racing. He is the 2023 USF2000 champion. Career USF2000 Championship Sikes would compete in his fourth year in ...

after he won the

2023 USF2000 Championship The 2023 USF2000 Championship presented by Cooper Tires was the fourteenth season of the USF2000 Championship since its revival in 2010. When the top rung of the Road to Indy ladder system, Indy Lights, was bought by Penske Entertainment (owne ...

with the same team and signed Christian Brooks after he contested a handful of races during the

2023 season 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

for Turn 3 Motorsport. Turn 3 Motorsport saw a complete overhaul of their lineup, as the team took on five series rookies. One Irishman replaced another in the No. 2 car, with Formula Regional European competitor Adam Fitzgerald replacing Indy NXT-bound

Jonathan Browne Jonathan Browne (1601 – 19 December 1643) was an Anglican clergyman, Dean of Hereford from 1637 until his death. Browne was educated at Gloucester Hall, Oxford, matriculating on 13 October 1620, aged 19, and graduating BCL (1625), DCL (1630). ...

. Danny Dyszelski graduated from USF2000 competition to replace Louka St-Jean in the No. 3 car after having already contested the final two rounds of the

with the team. The No. 44 and No. 68 cars are also piloted by USF2000 graduates, with Lochie Hughes and Ethan Ho joining the team after coming third and 13th in the 2023 USF2000 championship, respectively. The teams final car, the No. 33 entry, is driven by Tyke Durst, who graduated from US Formula 4 competition and replaced

IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge The IMSA VP Racing Sportscar Challenge is a North American auto racing series for LMP3 and GT4 (run as the GSX class) vehicles. The series is sanctioned by IMSA and is usually run as support races for the IMSA SportsCar Championship. The series ...

-bound Jackson Lee. DEForce Racing signed one Brazilian to replace another, with

Kiko Porto Francisco "Kiko" Porto (born August 28, 2003) is a Brazilian racing driver who competes full-time in the Indy Pro 2000 Championship, driving for DEForce Racing. He is the champion of the 2021 U.S. F2000 National Championship The 2021 USF2000 ...

joining ANSA Motorsports in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America and his seat being filled by Nicholas Monteiro, who came 19th in 2023 with NeoTech Motorsport and TJ Speed. The team also kept two drivers they fielded in the 2023 season finale, with Mac Clark replacing

ELMS Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of Nor ...

-bound

Bijoy Garg Bijoy Garg (born July 15, 2002) is an Indian-American racing driver. He currently competes in the 2023 USF Pro 2000 Championship driving for DEForce Racing. He previously competed in the USF2000 Championship with DEForce Racing and Jay Howard Dr ...

and

Jorge Garciarce Jorge Garciarce Dávila (born 29 December 2004), also known as George Garciarce, is a Mexican racing driver. He currently competes in the U.S. F2000 National Championship with DEForce Racing in 2023. He is the 2022 Gran Turismo Mexico champion ...

remaining in the team's third car. TJ Speed Motorsports also signed three new drivers to replace

Lirim Zendeli Lirim Zendeli (born 18 October 1999 in Bochum) is a German racing driver of Macedonian-Albanian descent who is set to compete in the 2023 USF Pro 2000 Championship with TJ Speed Motorsports. He last competed as a substitute driver for Campos ...

Christian Weir Christian Weir (born September 24, 2006) is an American racing driver. He currently competes in the U.S. F2000 National Championship with Turn 3 Motorsport. Career U.S. F2000 National Championship In 2021, Weir would make his debut in the ...

and

Francesco Pizzi Francesco Raffaele Pizzi (born 12 November 2004) is an Italian racing driver racing in the 2023 USF Pro 2000 Championship with TJ Speed Motorsports. He most recently competed for Charouz Racing System in the 2022 FIA Formula 3 Championship. He ...

. The team signed FROC and FRJ runner-up Liam Sceats as well as two Americans returning from European competition in former FIA F3 competitor Hunter Yeany and GB3 and Eurocup-3 driver

David Morales David Morales (; born August 21, 1962) is an American disc jockey (DJ) and record producer. In addition to his production and DJ work, Morales is also a remixer. David Morales has remixed and produced over 500 releases for artists including Ma ...

. After running as many as four cars during some rounds in 2023, Exclusive Autosport downsized to one full-time entry in 2024. After

Yuven Sundaramoorthy Yuven Sundaramoorthy (born February 22, 2003) is an Indian-American racing driver. He currently competes in the 2023 USF Pro 2000 Championship with Exclusive Autosport and in the 2023 Indy NXT with Abel Motorsports. He previously drove for Pabs ...

Salvador de Alba Salvador de Alba Jr. (born 11 December 2000) is a Mexican racing driver who competes full-time in the Indy Pro 2000 Championship, driving for Jay Howard Driver Development. He is a two-time NASCAR PEAK Mexico Series The NASCAR Mexico Series ...

and

Lindsay Brewer Lindsay Marie Brewer (born April 17, 1997) is an American professional Formula Car racing driver. She competes full time in the 2023 USF Pro 2000 Championship for Exclusive Autosport, formerly known as the Road to Indy and the second highest ti ...

all graduated to Indy NXT and Joel Granfors left the series, the team welcomed back

Braden Eves Braden Eves (born May 3, 1999) is an American racing driver. He currently competes in the Indy Pro 2000 Championship with Jay Howard Driver Development. Eves earned his first Indy Pro 2000 Championship win at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 20 ...

, who competed with the team in the 2020 and 2021 seasons before a move to JHDD for 2022 and a hiatus in 2023. The team also fielded Avery Towns for the season opener at St. Petersburg. Jack William Miller followed his family-run team's move to the Indy NXT championship.

Jay Howard Driver Development Jay Howard (born 16 February 1981) is a British professional race car driver who competes in the IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500 and resides in Indianapolis, Indiana. Howard was the 2005 US Formula Ford Zetec champion (now known as the Coo ...

saw Ricardo Escotto move to BN Racing and

Reece Ushijima Reece Ushijima (born 13 January 2003) is a Japanese-American racing driver who is currently racing in the 2023 USF Pro 2000 Championship with Jay Howard Driver Development. He previously competed in the 2022 FIA Formula 3 Championship for Van ...

depart the championship. The team retained Frankie Mossman, who already did five races with the team in 2023. Velocity Racing Development expanded to two cars for the events at St. Petersburg and NOLA, with

Nikita Johnson Nikita Johnson (born 25 May 2008) is an American racing driver who is currently competing in the 2024 USF Pro 2000 Championship, driving for Velocity Racing Development. Career USF2000 Championship 2023 On October 6, 2022, it was annou ...

, who did the 2023 season finale with the team, being joined by Shawn Rashid and both drivers also embarking on a campaign in the

GB3 championship The GB3 Championship is a single seater motorsport series based in the United Kingdom. The championship is the UK's premier single-seater category, and is aimed at young racing drivers moving up from FIA Formula 4 championships or Karting. H ...

through VRD's collaboration with Arden Motorsport. Returning team

fielded two Latin American drivers, with

Nicolás Baptiste Nicolás Baptiste Velasco (born 31 October 2005) is a Colombian racing driver set to compete in the 2024 USF Pro 2000 Championship for BN Racing. He previously competed in the 2022 Formula Regional European Championship for Fernando Alonso, FA R ...

returning to the Americas after competing in Formula Regional Europe and Ricardo Escotto departing JHDD to embark on his sophomore season in the championship. New team Comet/NCMP Racing signed Logan Adams to drive their single entry, who jumps up to USF Pro 2000 after competing in US F4 and USF2000 in 2023.

Mid-season changes

Ahead of the

Grand Prix of Indianapolis The IndyCar Series hosts two races a year on the combined road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The first, the GMR Grand Prix is held in early May with an inaugural running in 2014. The second race, the Gallagher ...

, David Morales left TJ Speed Motorsports due to budgetary constraints after crashing his car in both St. Petersburg and NOLA. He was not replaced. Mexican driver Arturo Flores joined the grid in the No. 78 BN Racing car, making his series debut after two years of competing in the F4 NACAM championship. Long-time driver Charles Finelli also rejoined the grid at Indianapolis in his own FatBoy Racing! team. Ahead of the Freedom 90, Adam Fitzgerald announced he would not continue his championship campaign to focus on recovering from his back injury that he sustained in the crash that took

Dilano van 't Hoff Dilano van 't Hoff (born 26 July 2004) is a Dutch racing driver who is currently competing in the F4 Spanish Championship and Formula Regional European Championship for MP Motorsport. He is the 2021 F4 Spanish Championship champion. Career K ...

's life in

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

. TJ Speed Motorsport also altered their lineup further, with

driver

Bryce Aron Bryce Aron (born 30 September 2003 in Winnetka, Illinois) is an American racing driver who last raced in the Euroformula Open Championship with Motopark Academy. Aron previously raced in the GB3 Championship with Hitech GP where he was a race wi ...

joining to pilot Morales's No. 28 car and series returnee

taking over the No. 27 car from Yeany, who struggled for funding. Both Arturo Flores (BN Racing) and Logan Adams (Comet/NCMP Racing) were not entered.

Schedule

The 2024 schedule was revealed on October 31, 2023. It features two street circuits, five road courses and one oval round, one event less than the year before. The round at Sebring International Raceway was dropped in favor of a triple-header at NOLA Motorsports Park, the first time the championship will return there since the

2015 Pro Mazda Championship The 2015 Pro Mazda Championship was the 17th season in series history. The series consisted of sixteen races at nine tracks, having expanded from fourteen races in 2014; adding races at NOLA Motorsports Park, the Streets of Toronto, Iowa Speedway ...

. The round at Circuit of the Americas was also dropped, while the rounds at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Road America were made into triple-headers to keep the race tally at 18. All rounds except the weekends at NOLA and Indianapolis Raceway Park support IndyCar.

Race results

Championship standings

Drivers' Championship

; Scoring system * The driver who qualifies on pole is awarded one additional point. * One point is awarded to the driver who leads the most laps in a race. * One point is awarded to the driver who sets the fastest lap during the race.

Teams' championship

; Scoring system * Single car teams receive 3 bonus points as an equivalency to multi-car teams * Only the best two results count for teams fielding more than two entries

Notes

References

External links

USF Pro 2000 Championship Official Website
{{Road to Indy

2024 Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1928 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ***''Steamboat Willie'', Walt Disney's fi ...

USF Pro 2000 Championship The USF Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, formerly known as the Star Mazda Championship, Pro Mazda Championship, and later Indy Pro 2000 Championship, is an open-wheel racing series serving as the third step on the Road to Indy l ...

USF Pro 2000 USF Pro 2000