USF Pro 2000 – Syndication Server

Johnson scores NOLA USF Pro 2000 perfection

Nikita Johnson was virtually in a class of his own Sunday at NOLA Motorsports Park. The 15-year-old from Gulfport, Fla., romped to a pair of USF Pro 2000 Presented by Continental Tire victories for VRD Racing and now holds a commanding 39-point …

Saturday’s winner Hunter Yeany (TJ Speed Motorsports), from Virginia Beach, Va., has emerged as Johnson’s closest challenger following second and third-place finishes today. Two Pabst Racing drivers shared the podium honors with 2023 USF2000 champion Simon Sikes, from Augusta, Ga., finishing third this morning and Jace Denmark, from Brownsburg, Ind., going one better in the weekend finale.

Yeany continued the morning from where he left off Saturday by taking up his position at the head of the field after having secured his first Continental Tire Pole Award in qualifying. The Virginian maintained his advantage both at the start and a subsequent restart after four laps due to Danny Dyszelski, from Belmont, N.C., having been involved in an incident which dumped his Turn 3 Motorsport Tatuus into the gravel at Turn 6.

Soon, though, it was apparent that Johnson had the car to beat. Having started fifth and then lost a couple of positions at the initial start, Johnson quickly made up the deficit and more as he charged his way into contention. By lap eight, Johnson was on Yeany’s tail and challenging for the lead.

Remarkably, the top two raced absolutely side-by-side through several corners on lap 10, each giving the other just enough space to race cleanly. Johnson was narrowly ahead as they completed the lap, only for Yeany to regain the advantage at Turn 1. A lap later, Yeany bowed to the inevitable as Johnson towed alongside on the front straight and finally made the pass stick in Turn 1.

Johnson then pulled away to his second win of the season, leaving Yeany to settle for second. Johnson’s fine effort brought him a new lap record as well as earning him the Tilton Hard Charger Award.

Sikes finished hot on Yeany’s tail in third for his best result of the season, while Canadian Mac Clark (DEForce Racing) also enjoyed a strong run to fourth.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1505]

The BN Racing duo of Nicolas Baptiste, from Bogota, Colombia, and Mexico’s Ricardo Escotto finished nose-to-tail in fifth and sixth for their best results to date.

The Continental Tire Pole Award for the third and final race of the weekend was taken by Johnson by virtue of his new lap record in the earlier race being faster than anyone else’s second fastest lap set during qualifying on Saturday afternoon. Unsurprisingly, Johnson rocketed into the lead at the start and immediately began pulling away.

Johnson stretched his lead to as much as 4.5s following a string of fast, consistent laps before easing his pace a little in the closing stages. His eventual margin of victory was 2.8090s.

“Today was great. We came away with two wins. The VRD car was really fast,” Johnson said. “In race two, I started P5 and didn’t get the best start. My tires were brand new and they weren’t in yet so I fell back to seventh or eighth. I had to work back through the field and once my tires came in, the car was just a rocket ship and I was able to pass everyone. We made a change from race two to race three and that made it even better. Once I broke the draft to Jace I just put my head down and focused on building a gap and that’s what I did. I want to thank everyone on the team, Dan Mitchell, Jacob Loomis, Jacob Abel, Scottie, Hugo, all my teammates, my family and everyone back home watching.”

In stark contrast to this season’s previous four thrilling USF Pro 2000 races, Sunday afternoon’s encounter was rather tame. Denmark completed a strong weekend, which also included a pole position Saturday, by finishing a relatively lonely second as Yeany settled into third and once again kept Sikes at bay.

Clark and Escotto finished fifth and sixth, while Danny Dyszelski, from Belmont, N.C., claimed another Tilton Hard Charger Award after rising from 14th on the grid to eighth.

The PFC Award for both of today’s races were claimed by Dan Mitchell as the winning team owner.

USF Pro 2000 Presented by Continental Tire will return to action on May 9-11 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course where a pair of races will be held in support of the NTT IndyCar Series headline event.

RACE TWO RESULTS

RACE THREE RESULTS

Yeany becomes third USF Pro 2000 winner in as many races at NOLA

The new USF Pro 2000 Presented by Continental Tire season is off to another intensely competitive start, evidenced by Hunter Yeany this afternoon becoming the third different winner – representing three different teams – from the opening three races …

Driving for TJ Speed Motorsports, Yeany, from Virginia Beach, Va., added his name to the roster following a hard-fought race in which he muscled past polesitter Jace Denmark (Pabst Racing), of Brownsburg, Ind., on the opening lap and then held off a determined challenge in the closing stages from VRD Racing’s Nikita Johnson, from Gulfport, Fla.

Denmark had to be content with a third-place finish.

It was a different story earlier in the day as Denmark emerged fastest from a close-fought qualifying session – which saw the top 12 drivers separated by less than 0.5s – to claim his first Continental Tire Pole Award since Sebring last year. Yeany occupied the other position on the front row of the grid with Taiwanese-American Ethan Ho (Turn 3 Motorsport), from Los Angeles, Calif., and last year’s USF2000 champion Simon Sikes (Pabst Racing), from Augusta, Ga., making up Row Two.

A fraught opening few corners saw Yeany battle his way to the front following some wheel-to-wheel contact with Denmark at Turn 3, while Sikes fought his way past Ho into third. Unfortunately, Ho’s hopes of a high finish were dashed just a couple of laps later when he clipped the wall at the exit of Turn 13 and spun off the road with damaged suspension.

A couple more incidents served to break up the race into a series of short sprints, caution periods and restarts. On each occasion Yeany managed to successfully defend his position to ensure a well-judged victory.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1505]

After starting a lowly eighth on the grid after making a mistake in qualifying, Johnson – a winner last month on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. – worked his way steadily forward during the early stages of the 18-lap race. He was able to sneak ahead of Denmark at Turn 3 soon after one of the restarts, but there was no way past Yeany. As a consolation, Johnson, the only driver to finish among the top four in each of the three races, has now moved to the top of the championship standings.

“I wanted to take the lead early because I knew if I got clean air it would be really hard for the guys behind to follow because it is such a high speed track,” Yeany said. “Everything went to plan and then it was just about holding them off especially on the restarts. It was really hectic. We got the job done at the end of the day so I am super happy. The team did a great job and we have been really fast all weekend. All the hard work in off-season like set-ups and developing the car has really paid off and I want to thank them for all of the hard work they put in. It really means a lot.”

Fellow teenager Danny Dyszelski, from Belmont, N.C., also impressed for Turn 3 Motorsport, earning the Tilton Hard Charger Award as he battled his way from 12th on the grid to fourth, including a late pass on Canadian Mac Clark (DEForce Racing) with a couple of laps remaining.

The PFC Award went to Tim Neff of TJ Speed Motorsports as the winning team owner.

The Continental Tire Grand Prix of Louisiana will continue tomorrow, April 7, with another pair of 18-lap races with the green flags set to fly at 10:00 a.m. and 2:15 p.m CDT. Yeany will be in prime position to continue his march up the championship standings after posting the fastest time in a separate qualifying session earlier this afternoon. Live coverage of both Sunday races will be available on the USF Pro Championships App and on the series’ website, www.usfpro2000.com.

RESULTS

Johnson scores home-turf USF Pro 2000 win

Twelve months after Lochie Hughes and Nikita Johnson shared the victory spoils during the opening two USF2000 races of the season on the downtown streets of St. Petersburg, the two talented youngsters have repeated the feat. Only this time both have now stepped up to USF Pro 2000 Presented by Continental Tire, the next level on the USF Pro Championships ladder which propels drivers all the way from the grassroots of the sport via a scholarship-funded path toward a future in the NTT IndyCar Series.

Hughes, from the Gold Coast of Queensland, Australia, took top honors yesterday, while today it was the turn of local driver Johnson, from nearby Gulfport, Fla., who swept past his rival soon after a restart with six laps remaining and pulled away to an emphatic victory for VRD Racing.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=6751]

Hughes on this occasion had to settle for second as Turn 3 Motorsport teammate Danny Dyszelski, from Belmont, N.C., capped another fine weekend for the Illinois-based team by finishing third following a thrilling tussle with Pabst Racing’s Christian Brooks, from Santa Clarita, Calif.

Hughes jumped into an early lead after claiming his second Continental Tire Pole Award for the Foundation Building Materials Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Johnson, who started fourth, vaulted immediately to second at the first corner and remained tucked in behind the rear wing of Hughes’ car until the caution flags waved due to Ethan Ho (Turn 3 Motorsport) being inadvertently pitched into the wall at Turn 10 as TJ Speed Motorsports’ Hunter Yeany tried to initiate a pass. Shawn Rashid (VRD Racing) also was involved as an innocent victim.

The pace at the front was just as frantic following the restart, with both leaders lapping ever faster around the 1.8-mile, 14-turn street course.

Another incident after 16 laps brought a brief respite for Hughes, but there was no stopping the inspired Johnson soon after the restart when he elicited a loud cheer from the grandstands after executing a perfectly judged pass for the lead. Once in front, Johnson continued to set new fastest laps — quicker even than Hughes’ best from qualifying on Friday — before taking the checkered flag just over two seconds in front.

“My race went really well. I started fourth and made up two positions on the first lap going around the outside in Turn 1, said Johnson. “After that, I knew we had a fast car. I saw Lochie sliding a lot. He was pushing hard, and I was just trying to play the end game. We had a lot of cautions and, finally, on the last caution I pipped him. I followed him along down the inside and came back up high which forced him into an error and went over/under.

“It feels great to win in my hometown. There was a lot of PR and activities leading up to this event, so I had to go do well. It was fun. I really loved it and hopefully we can continue on this roll at NOLA.”

Dyszelski, who started second, held third place for the majority of the 25-lap race. Brooks, who finished second on Saturday, briefly found a way past Dyszelski at almost the same moment as Johnson overtook Hughes for the lead, only for Dyszelski to return the favor next time around.

Brooks also fell victim to Jay Howard Driver Development’s Frankie Mossman, who finished a strong fourth, chased home by Brooks and New Zealander Liam Sceats (TJ Speed Motorsports).

DEForce Racing’s Jorge Garciarce claimed his second Tilton Hard Charger Award of the weekend after rising from 20th on the grid to 10th — one position better than yesterday. The PFC Award for the winning car owner went to VRD Racing’s Dan Mitchell.

The USF Pro 2000 competitors now have a month’s break before returning to action for a tripleheader at NOLA Motorsports Park, just outside New Orleans, La., on April 5-7.

RESULTS

Hughes dominates scrappy USF Pro 2000 opener in St. Petersburg

Just as he did one year ago, Australian Lochie Hughes arrived at the opening race of a new season on the unforgiving streets of St. Petersburg as a rookie and promptly scored an emphatic debut victory. This time, after stepping up from USF2000 to USF Pro 2000, the next level on the highly acclaimed USF Pro Championships Presented by Continental Tire open-wheel driver development ladder, Hughes led throughout a crash-marred 24-lap opening leg of the Foundation Building Materials USF Pro 2000 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg race to take the checkered flag for Turn 3 Motorsport. Impressively, it was the team’s third successive triumph in the opening round of the season.

California’s Christian Brooks couldn’t quite match his result from 2023, when he took the victory, but was relatively content with second place after switching across to the defending series champion team, Pabst Racing. New Zealander Liam Sceats rounded out the podium for TJ Speed Motorsports as six different teams were represented in the top six positions.

Hughes, who completed the 2023 season third in the USF2000 title chase, laid out his stall early. He was fastest in the traditional Spring Training preseason test at NOLA Motorsports Park just over a week ago, and continued that form onto the 1.8-mile, 14-turn street circuit in downtown St. Pete with his No. 44. After setting the pace yesterday morning in practice, Hughes repeated the feat later on Friday in qualifying to secure the Continental Tire Pole Award.

His advantage was never seriously threatened today. Hughes cemented his position in the lead at the start, and was clearly unfazed by an early red-flag stoppage due to a heavy crash in Turn 9 on the opening lap as he stayed out in front at the restart.

Hughes quickly pulled away from his pursuers, led by Brooks, who had jumped from fourth to second at the first corner, and had stretched his margin to almost three seconds before the caution flags waved again.

Another couple of incidents resulted in the race finishing under yellow, but it made no difference to Hughes, who never looked in any danger of ceding his position at the front.

“It was an eventful race, but you just had to manage it, really,” said Hughes. “It is always tough into Turn 1 here — a big braking zone on a part of the track you really don’t drive on so it is very dusty and very slippery. It was just about getting through Turn 1 in the lead. I was able to pull a gap but it just felt like safety car after safety car, and that meant I had to keep leading at the restarts. With the big, long straight here you are quite vulnerable into Turn 1.”

A brilliant start saw Mexico’s Ricardo Escotto jump from eighth on the grid to fourth, behind Sceats, whom he later passed for what would have been a fine podium finish for BN Racing had it not been for an error in Turn Four with just two laps to go. Escotto’s unfortunate mistake enabled Sceats to take a strong third in his first race in North America.

Nikita Johnson, from nearby Gulfport, Fla., also impressed while finishing fourth. The VRD Racing youngster fell to eighth in the early skirmishes, but put his head down and posted the fastest lap of the race – worth one extra championship point – to finish on the heels of Sceats and just ahead of Braden Eves (Exclusive Autosport), from Indianapolis, Ind., who marked his return to the category after a one-year absence by finishing fifth ahead of Canadian Mac Clark (DEForce Racing).

Hunter Yeany also drove well in a second TJ Speed Motorsports entry, executing several impressive passes to work his way from 15th on the grid to seventh.

A little farther back Jorge Garciarce earned the Tilton Hard Charger Award for DEForce Racing after rising from 20th on the grid to 11th.

For the third successive year in St. Petersburg, Peter Dempsey earned the PFC Award as the winning car owner.

Race 2 of the double-header opening round of the season will start tomorrow at 8:00am with Hughes once again set to start at the front of the field.

RESULTS

Hughes joins Turn 3 Motorsports for USF Pro 2000 campaign

Lochie Hughes will step up from the USF2000 series where he placed third in the 2023 championship to racing at the next level of the USF Championships ladder with the Turn 3 Motorsports team. “I’m very excited to be joining Turn 3 Motorsport for the …

Lochie Hughes will step up from the USF2000 series where he placed third in the 2023 championship to racing at the next level of the USF Championships ladder with the Turn 3 Motorsports team.

“I’m very excited to be joining Turn 3 Motorsport for the 2024 USF Pro 2000 season,” Hughes said. “We’ve been testing this month to prepare for the season which has gone really well so far. Turn 3 has a very strong program in place and has won a lot of races in the past, so I’m looking forward to getting the season underway in St. Petersburg soon.”

The young Australian showed a lot of talent and determination during the USF2000 season where he earned eight podiums and four victories with the Jay Howard Driver Development team.

“Lochie is a driver we have really enjoyed watching over the past few seasons,” said Turn 3 team owner Peter Dempsey. “He has always had raw speed, and his results have proven that. To have this caliber of driver in our program for the 2024 season will only help drive the entire team forward. We have been enjoying our short time working together so far, but the serious stuff is about to start, and we are all fully focused on maximizing the season. I can’t wait to get going for an exciting season with all of our drivers.”

USF Pro Championships prep for 2024 with Sebring test

The first official pre-season test for the USF Pro Championships Presented by Continental Tire wrapped up Tuesday at Sebring International Raceway. Ideal conditions brought slightly faster lap times than on Monday, especially as competitors began to …

Pabst Racing led the way in both USF Pro 2000 and USF2000 through the efforts of Christian Brooks and Sam Corry, albeit by incredibly small margins. It was a similar story in USF Juniors where Jimmie Lockhart narrowly emerged fastest for VRD Racing.

A trio of Pabst Tatuus IP-22s topped the times in USF Pro 2000, separated by just 0.008s. Brooks edged out 2023 USF2000 champion Simon Sike and Jace Denmark, as all three set their fastest times of the test during this morning’s opening session.

“The first outing with Pabst Racing went to plan,” said Brooks. “The team has been incredible and gave me a very solid piece. I’m looking forward to getting some more seat time and dialing in the driving. More than ready to get back to work.”

Francesco Pizzi didn’t quite match his best time from yesterday for TJ Speed Motorsports, but still ended the test with the fourth-fastest time. Nicolas Monteiro found a significant improvement in the final session for DEForce Racing, vaulting to fifth overall ahead of Turn 3 Motorsport rookie Adam Fitzgerald.

Combined Results

Pabst Racing’s Corry picked up from where he left off on Monday by continuing to set the pace in USF2000.

Jay Howard Driver Development rookie Michael Costello was the first to eclipse Corry’s best from yesterday but Corry found a little more improvement just before the lunch break as he turned the fastest time of the two-day test at 1m03.186s.

“Today went really well,” said Corry. “We were able to try a bunch of different things with the car and with the team. We were able to lead the pack and ended the day P1 as well. I am really happy with how the couple of days went here in Sebring. As we ran with the Continental tire on a longer run, we noticed that it doesn’t have a super hard fall off, it kind of stays plateaued and you are able to run consistent times. I really enjoyed the test and thank you to all the Pabst team for giving me such a fast race car.”

Remarkably, the top nine drivers today turned laps within a half-second of Corry’s best time. Costello’s time remaining good enough for second, narrowly ahead of Max Garcia (Pabst Racing) and Nico Christodoulou (VRD Racing).

A pair of rookies, Michael Boyiadzis (Jay Howard Driver Development) and Ayrton Houk (DC Autosport) ended the day fifth and seventh, sandwiching Indianapolis, Ind.’s Elliot Cox, who posted his best time while topping the charts in the final session.

Combined Results

There was a slightly larger improvement in lap times today for the USF Juniors competitors when compared to Monday, around 0.4s. The level of intensity certainly ramped up, too, as no fewer than seven youngsters on the first rung of the USF Pro Championships Presented by Continental Tire ladder managed to eclipse Bruno Ribeiro’s fastest day one time.

Lockhart, who placed fourth at the conclusion of his rookie season in USF Juniors, winning the final two races of the season at Circuit of The Americas, made a big jump this morning to turn what remained as the fastest lap of all at 1m06.055s. Lockhart ended the day narrowly ahead of Hudson Potter.

Also extremely close behind were Jay Howard Driver Development teammate G3 Argyros and yesterday’s pacesetter Ribeiro, for DEForce Racing.

“Things have gone well today,” said Lockhart. “Yesterday was a bit of nuisance. We had a lot of issues and didn’t get out really much at all in the first two sessions. We were able to get out in the third session and get some times in and really be able to test the new tire. Day two has been pretty good, to be on top all day and run without any issues. I definitely like the Continentals but they are a lot harder to handle because the sidewalls are a lot harder and have a lot less give to them, so they are a lot more snappy mid to exit but they definitely have a lot more grip. I think they will give us a lot more pace this year.”

Alex Popow (Exclusive Autosport) and Ava Dobson (Jay Howard Driver Development) also were comfortably within two-tenths of a second of the front-running times.

Combined Results

The next official outing for USF Pro Championships will be Spring Training at NOLA Motorsports Park on February 26-27.

Sikes, Schwartz and Jeffers top USF Pro Fall Combine

The USF Pro Championships Presented by Cooper Tires annual Fall Combine wrapped up this afternoon after two days of testing on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix circuit. A small margin separated the top times across each of the three ladder series — USF Pro 2000, USF2000 and USF Juniors – in what is shaping up to be a highly competitive season in 2024.

At the end of six test sessions, six drivers had topped the timesheets in USF Pro 2000 representing six different teams. It was reigning USF2000 champion Simon Sikes who took the honors at the close with a quick lap of 1m21.8s. It was an impressive debut by the 22-year-old from Athens, Ga.

RESULTS

“I was curious coming into this event, especially with the level of competition and this being my first days in the car. Yesterday was all about getting a feel for it and then trying to put together what I learned yesterday into some laps this morning and it turns out it was pretty quick. It wasn’t by much, but we managed the overall quickest lap. I am happy for everyone at Pabst Racing. It is just a really good showing and some confidence. Not that we don’t have work to do, but we are not too far behind heading into the off-season.

“The level of competition is extremely high. I knew that coming in, just seeing the names that were going to be at the test. You’ve got drivers like Braden [Eves] that are coming back, Christian Brooks, current drivers in the series like [Francesco] Pizzi and the USF2000 drivers that I raced with moving up. It is just an extremely high level of competition and six different teams at the top just proves it.”

In USF2000, Hudson Schwartz of Pabst Racing set the bar with a fastest lap of 1m25.8s in his series debut following a season of USF Juniors. This past week, Schwartz, 14, of Washington, D.C., was crowned the Lucas Oil School of Racing Formula Car Series champion where he earned a $250,000 prize to advance to USF2000 in 2024. Schwartz paced all but one of the six test outings at IMS.

RESULTS

“The last session was amazing,” said Schwartz. “I was really pushing the car to the limit. I really like the USF2000 car. It is so fast and driving it at Indianapolis Motor Speedway just means so much to me. It is such a great track and I really enjoyed driving it. This is really the perfect way to kick off the year and the start of my USF2000 career. I want to thank everyone at Pabst as well. It was amazing being able to work with such a great team.”

Jack Jeffers led bragging rights in USF Juniors for Exclusive Autosport with a best lap of 1m29.2s. The 17-year-old from San Antonio, Texas, is coming off his rookie season in USF Juniors competition where he finished third with a trio of wins. Jeffers was among the top three in all six sessions, headlining four.

RESULTS

“Having a full year of experience under my belt, I have an advantage,” said Jeffers. “I can hop in the car and I am already acclimated to it. I have never been to the Speedway and had to learn the track, but Exclusive Autosport and myself have a good winter test program set up so being as fast as we were was a big pay off to them. It definitely helps with our attitude and mental state being this fast against the rest of the field. It gives us confidence going into next year but you never know, so we just have to keep working.”

USF Pro Championships competitors will return to the track for an official series test at Sebring International Raceway’s Club Circuit on December 11-12.

USF Pro Championships sports 50 entries for Fall Combine

The USF Championships will see 50 entries take part in this weekend’s Fall Combine on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Across its three classes, 19 entries are found in USF Pro 2000 and in USF2000, and 12 will hit the track in USF …

“The Fall Combine never disappoints in terms of new drivers and new programs,” said USF development director Rob Howden. “I love this annual test because it provides our first opportunity to see drivers moving up a category, such as our USF Juniors champion Nicolas Giaffone debuting in USF2000 with DEForce and reigning USF2000 title winner Simon Sikes getting behind the wheel of his Pabst Racing USF Pro 2000 car.

“Add in drivers advancing from the Skip Barber Formula Race Series and those coming in from New Zealand, Ireland, Brazil and Portugal to get their first taste of our equipment and program, and this weekend’s test is full of tremendous storylines. The 2024 season is shaping up to be our best thus far.”

Timing and scoring info for the Fall Combine can be found on the three series’ sites and through the USF Pro Championships App.

ENTRY LIST

Johnson dominates USF Pro 2000 finale

Fifteen-year-old Nikita Johnson put on a clinic in this afternoon’s third race of the VP Racing Fuels Grand Prix of Portland weekend, the season finale for USF Pro 2000 Presented by Cooper Tires. Johnson, from Gulfport, Fla., took the lead with a bold move at the first corner and held on to score his second victory in just five end-of-season starts as he looks to step up from USF2000 Presented by Cooper Tires on a full-time basis in 2024.

Salvador de Alba rebounded from a disappointing first couple of races at Portland International Raceway to finish a strong second for Exclusive Autosport. It was enough to secure third in the championship. Jonathan Browne also returned to prominence after a poor sequence of results to secure the final podium position for Turn 3 Motorsport.

Yesterday’s winner Michael d’Orlando started at the front of the field for Turn 3 Motorsport after snagging his sixth Cooper Tires Pole Award of the season. But d’Orlando was unable to hold off a charging Johnson, who drove around the outside at Turn 1, which gave him the preferred inside line at Turn 2 and a lead he never looked like losing.

In stark contrast to yesterday’s all-green race, today’s was strewn with incidents and caution periods, five in total. The restarts were crucial, but despite his tender years, Johnson was perfect in every single one as he led all 25 laps to take an accomplished victory.

“I took control of the race in Turn 1,” recounted Johnson. “I started in second, braked pretty late, went around the outside of Turn 1 and ended up in the middle for Turn 2 and came out in first position. After that I just put my head down and pushed very hard. We had the car, thanks to the VRD crew, who gave me a rocketship. We had a lot of yellows but I just did my best at the restarts. I think the restarts are what won the race.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=6751]

Lirim Zendeli (TJ Speed Motorsports) and Kiko Porto (DEForce Racing) ran third and fourth in the early stages before colliding on the entrance to the Turn Nine/10 chicane. Both were out on the spot.

On one of the early restarts, Pabst Racing’s Jace Denmark dived to inside of d’Orlando for second place at Turn 1. Stuck on the outside line, d’Orlando chose to take to the escape road, which immediately dropped him from second to 11th.

Denmark glimpsed an opportunity to go for the lead at Turn 1 following another restart after 14 laps, whereupon a huge sideways slide caused mayhem behind as virtually the entire field converged on Turn 2 together. Denmark’s teammate Myles Rowe was one of the casualties, forced into the pits to repair damage.

Browne, who started seventh, emerged from the melee in second place, with de Alba hot on his heels, although the Mexican finally took the place for good with a fine maneuver under braking for Turn 1 following another restart after 20 laps. De Alba kept the pressure on Johnson for the final seven laps without quite getting close enough to attempt a pass.

Denmark chased home Browne to snag his second fourth-place finish of the weekend, followed by d’Orlando, who did well to salvage fifth after his early off-course excursion. Francesco Pizzi (TJ Speed Motorsports) finished hot on his heels and just ahead of Jordan Missig (Pabst Racing), who earned his fifth Tilton Hard Charger Award after making up 11 positions during the 30-lap race.

VRD Racing’s Dan Mitchell gained another PFC Award as the winning team owner

Rowe, who yesterday clinched a Discount Tire Driver Development Scholarship valued at $664,500 to ensure graduation to INDY NXT by Firestone in 2024, and his Pabst Racing with Force Indy team will formally receive their awards at the traditional Championship Celebration tomorrow evening in Portland.

After that the focus will switch toward the 2024 season, starting with the annual two-day USF Pro Fall Combine test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix road course on October 21-22.

RESULTS

Provisional final championship points:
1. Myles Rowe, 391
2. Kiko Porto, 326
3. Salvador de Alba, 291
4. Michael d’Orlando, 288
5. Lirim Zendeli, 259
6. Francesco Pizzi, 259
7. Jace Denmark, 252
8. Jonathan Browne, 230
9. Jack William Miller, 212
10. Joel Granfors, 206

USF Pro 2000 champion Myles Rowe and Force Indy’s Rod Reid

New USF Pro 2000 presented by Cooper Tires champion Myles Rowe and Force Indy director Rod Reid join RACER’s Marshall Pruett after making history with Pabst Racing at Portland International Raceway. Or click HERE to watch on YouTube.

Or click HERE to watch on YouTube.