USF2000 – Syndication Server

Andersen Promotions unveils 2025 USF Pro Championships schedules

The 2025 calendar of events for USF Pro Championships Presented by Continental Tire was unveiled on Tuesday. The schedule for the three rungs comprised of USF Pro 2000, USF2000 and USF Juniors will once again provide the rising talents in open-wheel …

Of the 52 total races across the three series, 36 will be held in support of IndyCar, kicking off at the popular NTT IndyCar Series season-opener on the streets of St. Petersburg.

USF Juniors – which has blossomed since its debut in 2022 – will also be a support series for IMSA at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, and part of the GRIDLIFE Festival Tour at Road America featuring a blend of music and motorsports.

Live streaming of all events will continue to be provided by USF Pro Championships TV (Pro Racing Group), which returns for its 12th season providing behind-the-scenes content as well as the highly acclaimed mini-documentary series The Climb.

A total of 85 drivers participated in USF Pro Championship events this season with top honors claimed in a thrilling season finale at Portland International Raceway three weeks ago. Champions Lochie Hughes (USF Pro 2000), Max Garcia (USF2000) and Max Taylor (USF Juniors) will now take their scholarships to progress up the ladder.

For 2025, the USF Pro 2000 champion will receive a scholarship package valued at $546,500 to advance to INDY NXT, with the USF2000 champion’s package valued at $405,050 to move up to USF Pro 2000 and the USF Juniors champion’s package at $249,675 to progress to USF2000.

Skip Barber, the Official Racing School of USF Pro Championships, will continue to offer its Formula Race Series champion a scholarship valued at $100,000 to advance to USF Juniors.

Additional prize money and awards include the Continental Tire Pole Award for each race, and season-ending awards for Rookie of the Year, Team Champion, Engineer of the Year, Mechanic of the Year, Hard Charger, Move of the Year and Spirit Award. In USF Pro 2000, the top-three finishers will also receive a Dallara Simulator Award to help further prepare for a move up to Indy NXT.

“This year marked 25 years of promoting for me and, since 2010, over $27.5 million in scholarships and awards have been distributed to help drivers move up the ladder,” said Dan Andersen, Owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions. “It was gratifying to see 14 of our recent graduates on the IndyCar grids this year and 18 in Indy NXT – further proof that what we are doing is working.

“It is not easy to win in our championships and that, to me, makes for great training. To have as many events as we can on IndyCar race weekends is vital to that training and I want to thank our promoter partners for making this possible. It seems our depth of talent amongst drivers grows stronger every year, and we look forward to seeing what 2025 will bring.

“While our schedules are in place for next season, we are still working to finalize our full prize money and award packages and look to build on the $1.4 million currently on offer over the coming months.”

USF Pro Championships will take to the track for one final outing this year with the USF Pro Fall Combine at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on October 19-20.

Spring Training will return to NOLA Motorsports Park on February 22-23. Additional series’ in-season tests for all three series will be held at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on May 13-14 and Road America on June 11-12. The season-ending Championship Celebration will take place on August 11 in Portland. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway will once again host the traditional USF Pro Fall Combine on October 25-26.

Garcia clinches USF2000 title in style at Portland as Argyros wins

An intense climax to the USF2000 Presented by Continental Tire season began Saturday morning at Portland International Raceway with Pabst Racing’s Max Garcia taking a hard-fought victory. It was enough to wrap up the championship in style. Later in the day, a thrilling first half of the final race witnessed USF2000 competition at its finest with a sensational six-car scrap for the lead. Sadly, a chaotic series of incidents blighted the second half of the race and concluded with rookie G3 Argyros, from Newport Beach, Calif., surviving to claim an unlikely maiden victory after having lined up 14th on the starting grid.

Elliott Cox (Sarah Fisher Hartman Driver Development), from Indianapolis, Ind., led both of the day’s races, although both he and two-time polesitter Thomas Schrage (VRD Racing), from Bethel, Ohio, had to be content with one visit to the podium.

Schrage earned his first Continental Tire Pole Award of the day by virtue of posting the fastest of every driver’s second-fastest laps during the lone qualifying session on Friday. It was Schrage’s second pole of the season after also starting up front for one of his home-track races at Mid-Ohio last month.

Cox started alongside, but immediately took over the lead and continued to hold the advantage for the majority of the 25-lap race.

Garcia, who started fourth, also worked his way past Schrage in the early stages as the top three edged clear of Sam Corry, from Cornelius, N.C., in a second Pabst Racing Tatuus.

Garcia, from Coconut Grove, Fla., was virtually assured of the championship crown, but he was intent upon finishing his impressive campaign with a flourish. He achieved exactly that by finding a way past Cox at the Turn 1-2 chicane with just three laps remaining to claim his fifth win of the season and secure the championship crown in the best possible manner.

The unfortunate Cox, who had hoped to celebrate his 17th birthday Friday with an overdue maiden victory, had to settle for a nonetheless impressive second ahead of Schrage and VRD teammate Max Taylor, from Hoboken, N.J., who had risen from eighth on the grid.

Even so, the Tilton Hard Charger Award was claimed by Evagoras Papasavvas (Jay Howard Driver Development), from Loveland, Ohio, who finished strongly in fifth after lining up only 12th on the grid.

Schrage, who has contested only a partial campaign, once again underlined his promise by setting the fastest lap of the race which was enough to secure another pole position for the season finale Saturday afternoon.

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Another fine start by Cox saw him vault from fifth on the grid to second on the opening lap, and two laps later he also overtook Schrage on the back straightaway to lead for the second successive race.

Cox held onto a slender advantage with a snarling pack of cars behind him until lap 12, when a lunge around the outside of the first corner by Garcia ended with both cars off the track and a full-course caution.

Taylor assumed the lead for the restart, but that lasted only a few hundred yards until he overshot his braking point at Turn 1 and made heavy contact with Papasavvas, who had taken a wide entry to the corner and was trying to make a move around the outside. Chaos ensued as the majority of the field was involved and several drivers were forced to take to the escape road, earning themselves drive-through penalties.

When the dust had settled, Argyros, who had been running ninth before the incident, suddenly found himself in the lead. Garcia, meanwhile, having been sent to the back of the field after being assessed responsibility for the earlier incident with Cox, took advantage of the melee and then made a series of incisive passes to work his way back into the fight for the win.

Argyros firmly rebuffed Garcia’s attempt to wrest back the lead at the chicane as they entered the final lap, then gained a reprieve when the caution flags waved again following another incident further back in the pack.

So Argyros’ maiden victory was assured and Garcia had to settle for second ahead of last year’s USF Juniors champion Nicolas Giaffone (DEForce Racing), from Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Schrage.

Argyros also earned the Tilton Hard Charger Award, while his team owner, Jay Howard, and Augie Pabst of Pabst Racing shared the day’s two PFC Awards.

An exciting season will be celebrated at Sunday night’s Championship Celebration, where Pabst will accept his sixth Team Championship and Garcia will be presented with a scholarship valued at $458,400 to ensure graduation onto the next step of the USF Pro Championships Presented by Continental Tire ladder in 2025.

RACE TWO RESULTS

RACE THREE RESULTS

Costello splashes to first USF2000 victory

Michael Costello made light of extremely treacherous conditions Friday afternoon to claim his first USF2000 Presented by Continental Tire victory for Jay Howard Driver Development in the first of three races that will comprise the Continental Tire …

Behind, Pabst Racing’s Max Garcia took one step closer to the championship title by producing a fine drive after an early mistake to finish second ahead of first-time podium finisher and teammate Hudson Schwartz. The pair of podium finishes ensured a second successive teams’ championship for Pabst Racing.

Garcia made certain he would start from the best possible starting position by posting the fastest lap during qualifying earlier in the day and snagging his series leading seventh Continental Tire Pole Award of the year…just. In fact, the top eight drivers in qualifying were blanketed by less than two tenths of a second, which boded well for an exciting race later in the afternoon.

But a heavy rain shower just as the cars left the pre-grid threw everyone for a loop. The entire field switched to wet-weather tires in time for the start, whereupon VRD Racing’s Thomas Schrage made the best getaway to lead into the first corner…only to leave his braking a touch late and slide well past the apex. Extraordinarily, the top three made the same mistake, with Garcia and Schrage’s teammate, Max Taylor also taking to the escape road. The errors resulted in all three being required to serve a drive-through penalty for short-cutting the course.

Schwartz, who started eighth, was the primary beneficiary. A good start saw him make up several positions on the opening lap, which soon became the lead when the others made the turn onto pit road to serve their penalties.

Schwartz quickly established a margin of over three seconds over Costello, only to make a mistake on the exit of Turn 10 on the ninth lap which saw him slide wide and onto the grass. Schwartz fell all the way to ninth before he was able to rejoin.

Costello gratefully took over the lead, pulling out a commanding advantage of over 11 seconds after 14 laps until it was instantly nullified by a full-course caution after the rain returned with a vengeance and left the 1.964-mile circuit completely awash.

The race was restarted with less than six minutes remaining, after which Costello maintained his dominance and sped home just over three seconds clear of the field.

“You know, just a mix of emotions out there in very, very hard conditions,” said Costello. “I just kept pushing through and I took advantage of everything that I possibly could have. We came out on top so it’s all that matters today.”

Teammate Evagoras Papasavvas took the flag in second, but later fell back to sixth with the addition of a 10-second penalty after he inadvertently tipped Garcia’s title-contending teammate Sam Corry into a spin at Turn 2 with three laps remaining.

Garcia marched through the field to second after his early transgression, while Schwartz recovered to take third.

DEForce Racing’s Brady Golan picked up his third Tilton Hard Charger Award of the season after rising from 16th on the grid to ninth.

Jay Howard claimed another PFC Award as the winning car owner.

Two more races will wrap up the USF2000 season Saturday. The green flags are set for 10:20am and 6:05pm, with Garcia now holding a commanding 47-point advantage in the quest for a scholarship valued at $458,400 to make the step up to USF Pro 2000 next season. A total of 66 points remain on the table.

RESULTS

Team USA Scholarship to support Schrage, Houk in Portland USF2000 season finale

The Team USA Scholarship will enable a pair of promising young American drivers, Ayrton Houk and Thomas Schrage, to contest this weekend’s USF2000 Presented by Continental Tire tripleheader season finale at Portland International Raceway. The pair will remain with their current teams, Houk at DC Autosport and Schrage at VRD Racing. Both have previously represented the Team USA Scholarship in England.

USF2000 is the middle step on the USF Pro Championships ladder, which, uniquely in the world of motorsports, provides drivers with scholarships and awards to ensure graduation onto the next level as their aspire toward a career in the NTT IndyCar Series. All three levels of the ladder — USF Pro 2000, USF2000 and USF Juniors — will be in action this weekend, alongside both IndyCar and Indy NXT. Former Team USA Scholarship winners Josef Newgarden, Kyle Kirkwood and Conor Daly will compete in the Bitnile.com Grand Prix of Portland headline event on Sunday.

Budgetary constraints otherwise would have prevented Houk, 21, and Schrage, 19, from making the trip to the West Coast, although both have displayed their abilities both on and off the track during their first seasons of competition on the middle step of the USF Pro Championship’s open-wheel ladder.

“This represents a switch in emphasis for our program, which has proudly been supporting deserving young American drivers since 1990,” said Team USA Scholarship founder and president Jeremy Shaw. “Traditionally, we have provided an opportunity for some drivers to compete overseas, often for the first time. We have entered at least two drivers in the Formula Ford Festival and the Walter Hayes Trophy in England each year since 2008.

“Even though I remain firm in my belief that Formula Ford continues to provide a magnificent first step for young drivers, the reality is that the most efficacious way forward for drivers who are seeking a future in the NTT IndyCar Series is via the USF Pro Championships ladder, and after consultation with all our partners and constituents, I am delighted to be able to ensure that Ayrton and Thomas will be able to finish their seasons and build toward full championship challenges in 2025.

“Raising the financing for racing these days is a huge challenge for many young drivers but I have been impressed by the efforts put forth this season by both Ayrton and Thomas. They have worked hard to make new connections and open doors for themselves in order to continue in pursuit of their dreams.”

Houk remains in the top 10 in the USF2000 points table despite minimal testing and skipping the most recent rounds on the streets of Toronto. He has claimed eight top-10 finishes, highlighted by a fourth position on his home track, the Indianapolis Grand Prix circuit, and a front row qualifying run on the only oval event of the season at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.

“This USF2000 season has been race by race and I am pleased to announce a partnership with the Team USA Scholarship to help me finish off my season in Portland,” said Houk, who traveled to England last fall as a team USA Scholarship winner. “The Team USA Scholarship has been monumental in my development as a driver. From my time racing in England, to all of the amazing people that I have been granted opportunities to meet through Jeremy, I have learned and developed my skills both on and off of the track. I am extremely honored to continue my partnership with the Team USA Scholarship and fly the American colored driver suit again. I cannot thank Jeremy and all of the Team USA supporters enough for all of their help over the past few years.”

Schrage was obliged to miss the lone oval race and the subsequent weekend at Road America, but has showcased his abilities with a pole position and a second-place finish at his home track of Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in July.

“I’m very grateful to be able to compete in the USF2000 Presented by Continental Tire championship finale at Portland International Raceway,” said Schrage, who carried the Team USA Scholarship colors to a fourth-place finish at the 2022 Formula Ford Festival. “I have high hopes to end my season on a good note, as this is one of two tracks I get to return to from last season. This event would not be possible without Jeremy Shaw, the Team USA Scholarship and its supporters as well as Airport Electric Service and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Cincinnati.”

Papasavvas rebounds to score Toronto USF2000 victory

Evagoras Papasavvas found the perfect way to rebound after a disappointing day on Saturday by leading virtually throughout this morning’s second leg of the USF2000 Continental Tire Grand Prix of Toronto. Papasavvas grasped the lead on the opening …

Papasavvas grasped the lead on the opening lap from pole-winning Jay Howard Driver Development teammate Liam McNeilly, and led the remainder of the 20-lap contest for his second win of the season. McNeilly was content to finish second after an impressive debut as the USF Juniors Presented by Continental Tire championship contender sought to gain some valuable experience in advance of an anticipated graduation to USF2000 in 2025.

Sam Corry finished third for Pabst Racing after sneaking past teammate Max Garcia on lap 4. The pass enabled Saturday race winner Corry to make up three more points on Garcia as they chase a scholarship valued at $458,400 to make the step up to USF Pro 2000 next season.

McNeilly, in common with Papasavvas, made contact with the wall during the opening race of the doubleheader weekend, but was already assured of his first Continental Tire Pole Award after topping the timing charts during the dedicated qualifying session for Race Two earlier on Saturday.

Following a couple of laps behind the Honda Civic Type-R pace car due to some moisture on the race track for the early start at 8am, McNeilly led the field through Turn 1 ahead of fellow front row starter Papasavvas and the two Pabst cars of Garcia and Corry, who had started third and fourth.

Papasavvas’ incident on the opening lap in Saturday’s race severely dented his own title aspirations so he knew only a race win today would be good to enough to keep his flickering hopes alive. As did McNeilly. So when Papasavvas drafted alongside his teammate on the outside line on the long run down Lake Shore Boulevard, McNeilly didn’t press the issue which allowed Papasavvas to move into the lead.

Next time around, Corry grasped an opportunity to pass Garcia for third place at Turn 3, and for the remainder of the race he piled the pressure on McNeilly, who steadfastly maintained his position and made sure there was no room for Corry to attempt a pass.

Papasavvas never was able to extend the lead over his teammate to more than a few car lengths, but it was enough, especially when the caution flags waved with just two laps remaining after DEForce Racing’s Quinn Armstrong, crashed out of a strong fifth place in Turn 10.

The race duly finished under yellow with the top four positions unchanged and Max Taylor (VRD Racing) in fifth after also profiting from a mistake by Exclusive Autosport’s Evan Cooley, who made contact with the wall while running in fifth a few laps earlier. The result represented a good return for Taylor, who had slipped back to 10th on the opening lap, especially after picking up the bonus point for fastest race lap to keep his title aspirations alive.

“This is a big relief keeping the championship in mind, but when I was out there I wasn’t thinking about the championship,” said Papasavvas. “I was just executing and hitting my marks. The car felt great and I have to thank Jay and the team for putting together such a great car right out of the box in practice. We had good pace all weekend so I am happy to show all the hard work we put together with a win.”

A little farther back in the pack in 11th, Brady Golan picked up his second Tilton Hard Charger Award of the season after having started 18th.

Race winning team owner Jay Howard capped a perfect morning by taking home another PFC Award.

Today’s result was enough to clinch a third successive — and sixth out of the last eight — USF2000 Team Championship for Pabst Racing, although the drivers’ title chase remains very much alive heading into the critical tripleheader season finale at Portland International Raceway on Aug. 27-28, with Garcia, Corry and Taylor still very much in contention.

RESULTS

Provisional championship points after 15 of 18 races:

1. Max Garcia, 347

2. Sam Corry, 312

3. Max Taylor, 307

4. Evagoras Papasavvas, 288

5. Joey Brienza, 228

6. Elliot Cox, 221

7. Hudson Schwartz, 192

8. Nicolas Giaffone, 191

9. Michael Costello, 165

10. Ayrton Houk, 144

Corry keeps USF2000 title hopes alive with Toronto victory

Pabst Racing’s Sam Corry did exactly what he needed to do in Saturday afternoon’s opening leg of the USF2000 Continental Tire Grand Prix of Toronto. The 16-year-old from Cornelius, N.C., overtook his championship leading teammate and polesitter Max Garcia soon after a restart a little over midway through the 20-lap race and remained out front when a multi-car accident ensured that the race would finish under a full-course caution.

Corry’s third win of the season moved him back into second place in the USF2000 Presented by Continental Tire point standings, still 38 markers shy of Garcia but now three points ahead of VRD Racing’s Max Taylor, from Hoboken, N.J., who had been able to demote Garcia to third.

Garcia, 15, from Coconut Grove, Fla., laid down a quick lap in qualifying on Friday afternoon to clinch his series leading sixth Continental Tire Pole Award of the season and extend his championship lead by one more point. He duly led the field through Turn 1 on the opening lap but was unable to shake off Corry on the long Lake Shore Boulevard straightaway that leads to Turn 3. Corry braved it out around the outside line as Garcia defended the inside, which in turn gave Corry the preferred line – and the lead – as they entered Turn Five.

Fellow title contender Evagoras Papasavvas (Jay Howard Driver Development), from Loveland, Ohio, also was in the thick of the battle until unfortunately making contact with another car and losing his front wing. Taylor moved up to third as Papasavvas trundled into the pit lane for repairs.

The battle for the top spot intensified as Garcia returned the favor on Corry at Turn 5 on the very next lap. He then edged away to a slender advantage until the Pace Car was deployed after Jay Howard Driver Development’s Michael Costello, from Naples, Fla., ended his race having made contact with the wall in Turn 4.

Garcia continued to lead at the restart, but left his braking a fraction too late at Turn 1 which caused him to slide wide and open the door for Corry to slip through.

Behind, Exclusive Autosport’s Evan Cooley, from Frankfort, Ill., overtook Taylor for third in Turn 3, albeit only for a few corners before Taylor regained the advantage with a bold move under braking for Turn 8.

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Taylor continued his charge by diving to the inside of Garcia in Turn 1 on lap 14.

The decisive point in the race occurred later on that same lap in Turn 5, where impressive USF2000 debuts for USF Juniors title protagonist Liam McNeilly (Jay Howard Driver Development), from Brentwood, England, and Australian Eddie Beswick (Exclusive Autosport) came to an untimely conclusion following contact which was precipitated by an opportunistic move by fellow Aussie Quinn Armstrong (DEForce Racing).

A separate incident moments earlier in Turn 4 unfortunately left too much for the AMR IndyCar Safety Team to clean up in time to prevent the race from being completed under yellow-flag conditions, so Corry gratefully took the checkered flag to secure a seventh PFC Award for Augie Pabst as the winning team owner.

“The race was good today,” Corry said. “It was a long one for sure. The safety car really helped. We were chipping at it all the way through. I was catching the leader and the yellow flag came out which helped us. I got by on the restart and just checked out from there. Another yellow flag came out and it ended under yellow, which I don’t mind when you are leading. It was a really good day for the Pabst Racing guys and a great car from them, and I can’t thank them enough.”

Cooley finished a strong fourth ahead of Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development’s Elliot Cox, from Indianapolis, Ind., and DEForce Racing’s Nicolas Giaffone, from Sao Paulo, Brazil, who earned his first Tilton Hard Charger Award after climbing from 14th on the grid.

Race two of the weekend will see the green flag bright and early at 8:00 a.m. Sunday when McNeilly will have an opportunity for redemption after claiming pole position during a separate qualifying session held earlier this morning.

RESULTS

Papasavvas takes flag-to-flag home USF2000 win at Mid-Ohio

Local driver Evagoras Papasavvas put a disappointing Friday firmly behind him as he sped to a flag-to-flag victory for Jay Howard Driver Development in Saturday afternoon’s second leg of the Tatuus Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio tripleheader. On pole for the second straight day, Papasavvas, from Loveland, Ohio, repeated his maiden success from one year ago. He also moved up to second place in the USF2000 Presented by Continental Tire point standings with his first win of the season.

Teammate Michael Costello, from Naples, Fla., maintained his recent strong form by claiming a second runner-up finish in his last three races, while Elliot Cox, from Indianapolis, Ind., also snagged his second podium finish of the season with third in his patriotically liveried Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development Tatuus USF-22.

Papasavvas has been the form man all weekend. He backed up his first Continental Tire Pole Award of the season yesterday by once again starting at the front of the field, courtesy of his second-fastest lap during the solitary qualifying session on Friday being quicker than all of his rivals.

The weather turned a 180-degree change from Friday, with a treacherously wet track replaced by perfect summer conditions. And, having made a mistake on the opening lap on Friday afternoon, there was no such hiccup today as Papasavvas made a clean getaway to maintain the early advantage.

Front row starter Quinn Armstrong (DEForce Racing), from Newcastle, Australia, was unfortunately shuffled down the order on the opening lap as Costello took up position behind Papasavvas and another home-state driver, Thomas Schrage, from Bethel, Ohio, slipped into third for VRD Racing.

Schrage, a former FRP F1600 champion and Team USA Scholarship winner, has seemingly endured more than his fair share of misfortune since making his USF2000 debut at Mid-Ohio last year. Sadly, his luck was no better Saturday afternoon as his car’s shock-absorber cover flew off on the third lap… and, incredibly, lodged itself firmly against the rear wing, stripping his car of downforce.

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Schrage battled on gamely for a few laps before giving up the unequal struggle and heading for pit lane. Once the offending piece of bodywork had been replaced, Schrage rejoined at the back of the field and promptly turned a series of fastest laps of the race which, with the improved weather conditions Saturday, were enough to ensure that he will start Sunday’s third race of the weekend from pole position. Lady Luck still wasn’t done, however, as Schrage headed to the pits once again with just a couple of laps remaining after the car’s fire extinguisher mysteriously discharged.

Following a brief full-course caution which concluded with four laps remaining, Papasavvas edged clear of Costello to cement a well-deserved victory, while Costello just held off a strong attack from Cox to maintain second.

Behind, Friday’s winner, Max Taylor (VRD Racing), from Hoboken, N.J., mounted an impressive late charge by making three passes in the final few laps to annex fourth position ahead of championship leader Max Garcia (Pabst Racing), from Coconut Grove, Fla., Joey Brienza (Exclusive Autosport), from Golden, Colo., and Brazilian Nicolas Giaffone (DEForce Racing).

“The race was unbelievable,” Papasavvas said. “Just from the start, I had my teammate behind me and we had a plan before the start of the race to stay in front the entire race and just focus on ourselves. We executed and that’s what we did. I stayed in front the entire race and just hit my marks. The car was really fast and felt great and I have to thank the team for that. It’s unbelievable what we did and we won in great fashion for the team with a one-two. We had a yellow that came and that bunched up back together but I just stuck to my line. It was great.”

Taylor’s effort from ninth on the grid secured his first Tilton Hard Charger Award of the season.

The PFC Award went the way of Jay Howard as the winning team owner.

The weekend will conclude with a third race tomorrow at 9:15 a.m. EDT, immediately before the NTT INDYCAR SERIES warmup.

RESULTS

Taylor slips and slides to sopping USF2000 win at Mid-Ohio

Max Taylor kept a clear head while many of his rivals were losing theirs amid treacherous conditions Friday afternoon, sweeping home to a well-deserved victory for VRD Racing in the opening leg of the Tatuus Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio tripleheader. Taylor, 16, from Hoboken, N.J., moved up to third in the USF2000 Presented by Continental Tire points standings with his third win of the season.

Championship leader Max Garcia, from Coconut Grove, Fla., overcame a spin under yellow-flag conditions to finish second for Pabst Racing, while 2023 USF Juniors champion Nicolas Giaffone, from Sao Paulo, Brazil, secured third for DEForce Racing.

Jay Howard Driver Development’s Evagoras Papasavvas, from Loveland, Ohio, set what he hoped would be the tone for his weekend early Friday morning by turning the fastest time during practice, then continued his form into qualifying to secure his first Continental Tire Pole Award of the season. Both of those sessions had been held under clear, sunny skies, although by the time race time rolled around the weather – and track – conditions had changed dramatically due to persistent mid-afternoon rain showers.

Stereotypical Ohio summer struck once again at Mid-Ohio just in time for the race start. Gavin Baker Photography

The 2.258-mile road course remained wet as Papasavvas led the field toward the green flag, all 18 cars now fitted with grooved Continental tires, but it didn’t take long before a pair of separate incidents brought out the waved double yellow flags for the first time.

Unfortunately, the majority of the 40-minute race was spent with the field circulating behind the Honda Civic Type-R pace car, but even before the first lap had been completed, Taylor had moved into the lead despite lining up in seventh on the starting grid.

Taylor maintained his advantage during the numerous additional full-course cautions, and cemented his authority by claiming an additional championship point after posting the fastest lap of the race following a one-lap dash to the checkered flag.

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Garcia, who fell as far as 10th during the middle stages, charged his way back up to second immediately prior to the final full-course caution to extend his championship lead to 42 points over Pabst Racing teammate Sam Corry, from Cornelius, N.C., who finished fourth behind Giaffone.

“I was able to lead the entire race and control the pack during the restarts and just had amazing pace with the VRD car,” Taylor said. “Thanks so much to everyone involved. It was an amazing race.”

Hudson Schwartz, from Arlington, Va., earned the Tilton Hard Charger Award after steering clear of the carnage and rising from 15th on the grid to fifth.

Dan Mitchell of VRD Racing scoped another PFC Award as the winning team owner.

The USF2000 contenders will be back in action Saturday afternoon at 1:05 p.m. EDT for their second race of the tripleheader weekend which will conclude with a third and final race at 9:15 a.m. on Sunday.

RESULTS

Taylor tops USF2000 in a podium sweep at Road America

Max Taylor swept his second podium of the weekend in the Elite Engines Grand Prix of Road America double-header. Only this time the VRD Racing driver from Hoboken, N.J. went two steps better to claim his second win of the season in a 20-minute …

Michael Costello of Naples, Fla., notched his first career USF2000 podium with a second-place finish for Jay Howard Driver Development while Joey Brienza of Golden, Colo., also claimed his second podium of the event in third.

The race was originally slotted for Saturday, but severe weather resulted in some schedule reshuffling with the USF2000 field slotted in just after the final event for USF Pro 2000 and before Indy NXT.

Taylor lined up for his second front row start on the scenic 4.014-mile, 14-turn road course – albeit this time from the point after notching his first Continental Tire Pole Award. Saturday’s polesitter Max Garcia of Pabst Racing lined up alongside while Brienza and Costello rounded out the second row.

Taylor held the lead at the opening as a few battles ensued towards the front with Costello displacing both Garcia and Brienza to slot into second by the second tour. Garcia held on to third until an issue in Turn 5 on lap five dropped him to sixth in the front-running pack.

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The race remained lean and green with Taylor’s lead just over a half second from Costello, who did attempt a challenge for the lead on lap seven and almost looped his car around. Costello recovered and resumed position but any additional attempts for the top step were negated when a caution came out for a car in the gravel at Turn 1.

With the clock winding down, the race ended under yellow with Taylor, Costello and Brienza adjourning to the podium.

Race one race winner Sam Corry of Pabst Racing had to settle for fourth with Evagoras Papasavvas of Jay Howard Driver Development – rebounding from an issue in race one which forced him from starting – to round out the top five.

“It was a really strong race. We started on pole position and I was able to capitalize on the start and get away a bit,” Taylor said. “I held the lead the entire race and had a little bit of a challenge from Costello. The VRD car kept me going strong. They just did an amazing job and I can’t thank them enough.”

With a gain of five positions USF Juniors regular Anthony Martella of Woodbridge, Canada, took home the Tilton Hard Charger Award. Dan Mitchell of VRD earned the PFC Award as the winning team owner.

The USF2000 field will head next to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, for a pivotal triple-header round held in conjunction with the NTT IndyCar Series on July 6-7.

RESULTS

Corry wins USF2000 at Road America for local Pabst team

USF2000 Presented by Continental Tire today reached the halfway point in its 18-race season with the first of two races which will comprise this weekend’s Elite Engines Grand Prix of Road America. The schedule was affected by severe weather Saturday morning, which led to the second race being postponed until Sunday morning, although that will be of little consequence to the locally based Pabst Racing team, which will surely celebrate a fine second win of the season for Sam Corry, from Cornelius, N.C.

A dramatic affair saw Joey Brienza, from Golden, Colo., emerge in second for Exclusive Autosport, while VRD Racing’s Max Taylor, from Hoboken, N.J., rounded out the podium in third.

The race began earlier this afternoon with championship leader Max Garcia, from Coconut Grove, Fla., lining up at the front of the 21-car grid for Pabst Racing after earning his fifth Continental Tire Pole Award of the season during the lone qualifying session held on Friday morning. Unfortunately a heavy rain shower forced officials to red-flag the race after merely one lap behind the Honda Civic Pace Car, which led to a lengthy delay before the race finally was restarted much later in the afternoon.

A sequence of incidents interrupted the flow of the restarted race, such that there was time for merely a two-lap dash to the checkered flag. Corry had usurped teammate Garcia from the race lead during one of the earlier cautions, and assisted by some dramatic weaving in an attempt to break the slipstream, he was able to achieve his goal and take the checkered flag just under one second clear of Brienza.

A poor start saw Taylor, who started on the outside of the front row, slip as low as seventh in the order. But the teenager put his head down as the race reached toward its conclusion, diving to the inside under braking for Turn 12, Canada Corner, on the final lap to emerge in third ahead of Garcia, who had been shuffled back at the final restart, and Elliott Cox, from Indianapolis, Ind.

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Cox, who started seventh for the Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development team, was involved in an early skirmish which relegated him all the way to 15th. Incredibly, despite a broken front wing, Cox fought back through the field to run as high as third on the final lap before finally being shuffled back to a still impressive fifth.

Ayrton Houk, from McCordsville, Ind., also drove another strong race for the DC Autosport team, rising from 11th on the grid to sixth at the finish, although the Tilton Hard Charger Award was claimed by debutant Jace Bacon (Jay Howard Driver Development), from Gilbert, Ariz., who kept out of trouble and rose from 21st on the grid to 14th.

Also impressive was the recovery drive posted by teammate Michael Costello, from Naples, Fla. His hopes of a good finish seemed to be over after his attempt to overtake to pass Garcia for the lead soon after a restart in Turn One saw him spinning off into the gravel. Remarkably, and with huge credit to the AMR Safety Team, Costello not only was able to rejoin the race, he even contrived to fight his way back to an eighth-place finish.

The PFC Award went to Augie Pabst as the winning car owner.

Saturday’s schedule revisions has led to the second race of the weekend being postponed until 10:30 a.m. Sunday, when VRD Racing’s Max Taylor is due to start from the pole position by virtue of having posted the best of every drivers’ second-fastest lap during qualifying on Friday.

RESULTS