USF2000 – Syndication Server

Corry, Christodoulou split USF2000 honors at NOLA

Defending series champion team Pabst Racing continued its momentum by scoring a fourth USF2000 Presented by Continental Tire victory on the trot Sunday morning at NOLA Motorsports Park. Sam Corry, from Cornelius, N.C., emerged as top dog in the first of two races today, although later in the afternoon the streak finally was broken when Canada’s Nico Christodoulou claimed his and VRD Racing’s first win of the season.

Evagoras Papasavvas (Jay Howard Driver Development), 16, from Loveland, Ohio, continued a fine streak of his own by completing a sweep of second-place finishes from this weekend’s Continental Tire Grand Prix of Louisiana tripleheader. Papasavvas thereby maintained some pressure on 15-year-old points leader Max Garcia (Pabst Racing), from Coconut Grove, Fla., who once again displayed his paces today by claiming two pole positions as well as a third and a fourth-place finish.

The final podium position, third in the final race this afternoon, was taken by another 16-year-old, Max Taylor (VRD Racing), from Hoboken, N.J.

Garcia led the field to green in the first race of the day after posting the fastest time in qualifying yesterday to claim his third Continental Tire Pole Award of the young season. But he immediately came under siege from outside front row starter Christodoulou, whose attempt to make a pass under braking for Turn 10 saw both cars make contact and run wide on the exit. Pabst Racing’s Hudson Schwartz, from Arlington, Va., grasped the opening with both hands and swept through into the lead.

Schwartz held his advantage for the first five laps before Taylor executed a nice pass for the lead, only to lose control and spin just a couple of laps later on the entry to Turn Four. Even more unfortunately, teammate Christodoulou, running directly behind, was forced to take evasive action. The Canadian rejoined at the back of the field, whereupon he mounted a tremendous charge which included posting the fastest lap of the race to rise all the way to seventh at the checkered flag. Christodoulou posted a new lap record for good measure.

Papasavvas profited most from the fracas, jumping from fourth to the lead, albeit chased menacingly by all three Pabst cars in the order Schwartz, Garcia and Corry.

However, following a brief caution period, Papasavvas was slow to pick up the pace at the restart and was immediately jumped by an on-the-ball Corry, who leapt from fourth to the lead and maintained his advantage to the finish for his first race win of the season. He also secured another PFC Award for team owner Augie Pabst.

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Papasavvas, in second, stretched his sequence of podium finishes this season to four, while Garcia overcame the early incident to complete the podium in third ahead of Schwartz and Taylor.

“It was an interesting race,” Corry said. “I started P6 on the grid, and I think we were P4 on the second to last restart. My [spotter] Nate came on the radio and said, ‘green, green, green,’ and they weren’t going, so I went. I took advantage of that and passed everyone in front of me and got a good gap. Then the yellow came out again, but I made a good restart with a couple of guys behind us napping. It’s a good start to the season and good to rack up some points.”

DC Autosport’s Ayrton Houk, from McCordsville, Ind., moved from 17th on the grid to 11th to earn the Tilton Hard Charger Award.

Garcia took another Continental Tire Pole Award by virtue of the second fastest laps set by each driver in qualifying yesterday afternoon, but once again was unable to capitalize as Christodoulou pounced around the outside of Turn 1 to grasp an early advantage.

Teammate Taylor muscled his way past soon after a mid-race restart, although after another incident which was cleared in time for a three-lap dash to the checkers, Christodoulou returned the favor and swept on to take the victory spoils. He also earned a PFC Award for Dan Mitchell as the winning team owner.

Papasavvas took second place at Turn 3 after Taylor lost a little momentum, while Garcia shadowed them home in fourth and Joey Brienza (Exclusive Autosport), from San Antonio, Texas, completed the top five.

“The race was pretty good,” Christoloulou said. “We started in P2 and I was able to get around Garcia on lap one. I started to gain a good lead and then we went to a full course yellow. I then got passed and was shuffled but was able to pass my teammate to get a double podium.”

DEForce Racing’s Maxwell Jamieson, from Houston, Texas, claimed his second Tilton Hard Charger Award of the weekend after climbing from 19th on the grid to 11th.

Next on the docket for USF2000 Presented by Continental Tire will be a doubleheader event held in conjunction with the NTT IndyCar Series on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course circuit on May 9-11.

RACE TWO RESULTS

RACE THREE RESULTS

Garcia maintains perfect start to his USF2000 season at NOLA

Max Garcia and Pabst Racing remain unbeaten after the opening three rounds of the new USF2000 Presented by Continental Tire season. Garcia, 15, from Coconut Grove, Fla., took advantage of some squabbling in front of him on the opening lap of this afternoon’s opening leg of the Continental Tire Grand Prix of Louisiana tripleheader at NOLA Motorsports Park, vaulting from fifth on the grid to a lead he never looked likely to relinquish.

Evagoras Papasavvas also continued his strong start to the season for the Jay Howard Driver Development team, finishing second ahead of first-time polesitter Joey Brienza (Exclusive Autosport), from Golden, Colo. All 15 laps were run under green-flag conditions.

Brienza capitalized on the pace he had displayed during yesterday’s test sessions by securing the first Continental Tire Pole Award of his young career during qualifying this morning. He duly held the lead for most of the opening lap, only for Garcia’s Pabst Racing teammate Sam Corry, from Cornelius, N.C., to attempt a bold, late move under braking for Turn 10, which cost both protagonists valuable momentum and opened the door for Garcia to sweep through into the lead.

Papasavvas executed a more conventional maneuver at Turn 1 at the beginning of the second lap to demote Brienza one more position, but by then Garcia was already making his escape.

Garcia quickly extended his lead to over two seconds, setting what was to remain as the fastest lap of the race and gradually easing away to a comfortable victory.

Papasavvas couldn’t hold a candle to Garcia but remained clear of Brienza, who instead soon came under attack from a recovering Corry. The pressure intensified in the closing stages, although Brienza was up to the task and able to secure his first USF2000 podium finish.

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Max Taylor (VRD Racing) capitalized on a good start from 10th on the grid to finish fifth ahead of Hudson Schwartz (Pabst Racing), from Arlington, Va. Schwartz benefited from a last-lap incident between the unfortunate Elliot Cox (Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development), from Indianapolis, Ind., and last year’s USF Juniors Presented by Continental Tire champion Nicolas Giaffone (DEForce Racing). Giaffone was later assessed responsibility for the clash, relegating him to 14th in the final results.

Ayrton Houk and DC Autosport teammate Carson Etter claimed their best finishes to date in seventh and ninth, sandwiching DEForce Racing’s Australian Quinn Armstrong.

Maxwell Jamieson (DEForce Racing) also claimed both his best result in 10th and the the Tilton Hard Charger Award after rising from 21st on the grid.

“We started fifth and got up to third at the initial start,” Garcia said. “I think it was Corry and Brienza who washed up the track into [Turn] 10 and I just took advantage of that and never looked back. The car was mega. This car is so good. It is hard to mess up this car. Thanks to Pabst Racing as always. They are an amazing team – the best team here – Advanced Auto Parts, OMP and Bell.”

Augie Pabst, who pocketed another PFC Award as the winning team owner, will start tomorrow in perfect position for one more after Garcia posted the fastest time in a second qualifying session earlier this afternoon. Garcia will therefore lead the field to the green flag for the second race of the weekend which will start tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. CT. Race3 will start at 1:15 p.m. Live coverage of both races will be available on the USF Pro Championships App and on the series’ website, www.usf2000.com.

RESULTS

Garcia does the USF2000 double in St. Petersburg

A sweep of The Andersen Companies Grand Prix of St. Petersburg has catapulted 14-year-old Max Garcia, from Coconut Grove, Fla., into an early lead in the quest for this year’s USF2000 Presented by Continental Tire title chase and a scholarship valued at $458,400 to progress onto the next level of the USF Pro Championships ladder in 2025. Pabst Racing’s Garcia executed a bold pass for the lead just before the midway point in this afternoon’s second race of the weekend and maintained his advantage to the finish.

Pabst Racing teammate Sam Corry, from Cornelius, N.C., also slipped past early leader Evagoras Papasavvas (Jay Howard Driver Development), from Loveland, Ohio, for second place to ensure a reversal of their finishing positions from yesterday’s opening race of the season.

Garcia once again started at the front of the pack after claiming his second Continental Tire Pole Award, but for the second successive day found himself behind after the first corner as Papasavvas, a second-place finisher also in 2023, used his prior experience to fine effect by slipping into the lead.

Canadian Nico Christodoulou also made a fast getaway for VRD Racing, jumping from sixth to third at the start, although he was unable to hold that position for long as Corry, who had started second, made his way back into third on lap three.

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Garcia heaped the pressure on Papasavvas in the early laps, prior to a full-course caution due to an incident farther back in the field, although as the leaders began their ninth lap, Garcia made a fully committed lunge under braking for Turn 1 and was able to wrest away the advantage.

The resulting loss of momentum also allowed Corry to clip through into second, which is where he remained.

The race ultimately finished behind the safety car following an incident in Turn 4 with just a couple of laps remaining after Ayrton Houk, from McCordsville, Ind., was forced to abruptly slow when the fire extinguisher in his DC Autosport Tatuus unexpectedly discharged. Even more unfortunately, Brazilian Lucas Fecury was caught unawares in his DEForce entry and also forced out of the race.

Up front, the two Pabst cars completed another excellent weekend for the Oconomowoc, Wis.-based squad by claiming a one-two finish. Papasavvas remained in third, while Elliot Cox, from Indianapolis, Ind., completed a strong weekend by taking fourth once more for the Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development team.

“I was jumped at the start but got by him full-send on a restart,” Garcia said. “We got into the lead and never really looked back after that. The red flag was a bit stressful, just waiting there, but once we got back to racing, the car was fast. Big thanks again to Pabst Racing.”

Christodoulou ended the day in fifth, just ahead of Exclusive Autosport’s Thomas Schrage, from Bethel, Ohio, who overcame some difficulties in yesterday’s race to charge impressively from 17th on the grid to sixth.

Australian Quinn Armstrong (DEForce Racing) finished seventh again as Joey Brienza (Exclusive Autosport), from Golden, Colo., Hudson Schwartz (Pabst Racing) from Arlington, Va., and a second Australian, Xavier Kokai (VRD Racing), rounded out the top 10.

Schwartz pocketed the Tilton Hard Charger Award after moving up from 22nd on the grid following an accident yesterday, as team owner Augie Pabst claimed yet another PFC Award.

The series next will return to NOLA Motorsports Park in Avondale, La., the scene of last week’s Spring Training preseason test, for a tripleheader race weekend on April 5-7.

RESULTS

Garcia leads Pabst domination in USF2000 opener at St. Pete

The record will show that 14-year-old Max Garcia started from the pole position for Pabst Racing and won Friday’s first of two races that will comprise The Andersen Companies Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the opening round of the new USF2000 …

Garcia, from Coconut Grove, Fla., chased Jay Howard Driver Development’s Evagoras Papasavvas, from Loveland, Ohio, for the majority of the 20-lap race before executing a pass to secure his first win. Papasavvas had to settle for second – matching his finish in the opening round last year on the unforgiving streets of St. Petersburg – while Garcia’s Pabst Racing teammate Sam Corry, from Cornelius, N.C., finished a close third.

Garcia, still nine days short of his 15th birthday, was not old enough to compete last year in St. Petersburg, but he took advantage of the experience he gained throughout the remainder of the 2023 season, as well as an excellent setup for his Tatuus USF-22 from the defending series champion Pabst team, to capture his first Continental Tire Pole Award.

Teammate Corry lined up alongside him on the front row of the grid, but neither of them was able to maintain their advantage at the first corner. Instead, Brazilian third-generation racer Nicolas Giaffone, last year’s USF Juniors champion, leapt from a fine third on the grid to the lead. Fellow second row starter Papasavvas followed him through into second, with Garcia back to third and Corry bundled all the way down to sixth.

An incident farther down the 21-car field ensured that the first lap finished with caution flags in the air, so the order remained unchanged until the field was unleashed again with five laps in the books.

An audacious move by Papasavvas around the outside line at Turn 1 following the restart saw his blue JHDD car into the lead, and Giaffone’s day soon deteriorated further when he made a mistake heading into Turn 4 and slid into the escape road.

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Papasavvas and Garcia soon began to edge clear of Elliot Cox (Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development), from Indianapolis, Ind., who held third for a couple of laps before Corry was able to find a way past.

Another brief full-course caution interrupted the action after a dozen laps, whereupon Garcia redoubled his efforts to move back to the front. The pair managed to achieve an almost impossible task when they raced side-by-side through the tricky Turn 1-2-3 complex of corners before, incredibly, emerging in the same order, although finally, with just three laps to go, Garcia made a move stick at Turn Four to wrest away the advantage.

He duly reeled off the final few laps to secure a hard-earned victory.

Cox and Corry exchanged places a couple of times before Corry was able to claim third.

“It was really tough,” Garcia said. “Evagoras was protecting really hard but I managed to get by him with three to go. I never really looked back after that. Thank you to Pabst for giving me just an amazing car. I couldn’t have done it without them. Hopefully tomorrow we lead start to finish.”

Michael Costello (Jay Howard Driver Development), from Naples, Fla., was the top rookie finisher in fifth, hot on the leaders tail. Costello also earned the Tilton Hard Charger Award after lining up ninth on the grid.

Canada’s Nico Christodoulou (VRD Racing), Australian Quinn Armstrong (DEForce Racing), Jack Jeffers (Exclusive Autosport), from San Antonio, Texas, Ayrton Houk (DC Autosport), from McCordsville, Ind., and Joey Brienza (Exclusive Autosport), from Golden, Colo., completed the top 10 following an action-packed race.

Augie Pabst claimed the first PFC Award of the season as the winning car owner.

A new season of USF Pro 2000 Presented by Continental Tire also will take place this weekend on the streets of St. Petersburg. Australian Lochie Hughes, a USF2000 race winner at the corresponding event last year, will lead the field for the opening round Saturday at 11:55 a.m. after earning the Continental Tire Pole Award for Turn 3 Motorsport during qualifying earlier Friday. Race two for the Foundation Building Materials Grand Prix of St. Petersburg is slated for a start at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday.

The green flag for the second round of the 18-race USF2000 season will fly at 4:45 p.m. Saturday.

RESULTS

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

USF2000 champ Sikes signs off in style with Portland win

Simon Sikes capped an almost perfect weekend for Pabst Racing at Portland International Raceway by recording his sixth win of the season in Sunday evening’s season finale. Sikes, from Augusta, Ga., on Friday clinched the USF2000 Presented by Cooper Tires championship crown, as well as a Discount Tire Driver Advancement Scholarship valued at $433,200 to ensure graduation to the next step on the open-wheel ladder, USF Pro 2000, in 2024. A one-two finish yesterday also secured a fifth teams’ championship since 2017 for Augie Pabst’s eponymous organization based in Oconomowoc, Wis.

Jacob Douglas couldn’t quite complete a weekend sweep of the Discount Tire Grand Prix of Portland, but still finished comfortably clear of VRD Racing’s Sam Corry, a winner earlier this year at Indianapolis, who earned a long overdue podium result in third.

Pabst Racing once again led the field to the green today with Douglas having secured his third straight Cooper Tires Pole Award ahead of Sikes and 14-year-old Max Garcia. But it was Sikes who won the start, slicing confidently around the outside line in Turn 1 at the notorious Festival Curves chicane before assuming the inside line, and the lead, in Turn 2. The two Pabst cars were once again clearly the class of the field as they immediately romped away from their pursuers.

Douglas dropped back a little during the middle stages of the 25-lap, all-green race before closing in again during the final stages. Sikes, though, was unmoved as he took the checkered flag 0.6653s ahead of his teammate and earned an eighth PFC Award of the year for Augie Pabst as the winning team owner.

“It was a great race. First of all, congrats to Jacob. He got the first two (wins) and we had a great race,” said Sikes. “I think we disappeared from everyone, but he kept the pressure on all race and didn’t make it easy at all. What a way to cap off the season with Pabst Racing — another one-two and I can’t tell you how much that means to us, the team and everybody here. On the championship weekend, it just means so much more. A big thanks to all my supporters. I couldn’t have done it without them. It was a whole group effort and I think we showed our strength this weekend.”

Corry executed a bold move at the first corner to vault from eighth on the grid to third. He maintained that position until the finish despite the best efforts of Thomas Schrage, who bounced back strongly from disappointing results on Friday and Saturday. Schrage, who had been fastest of all during the Thursday test day, had been obliged to switch to Exclusive Autosport’s backup car following difficulties in each of the first few races, but he adapted quickly and pressured Corry all the way to the checkered flag. Corry’s drive earned him the Tilton Hard Charger Award.

After losing a couple of positions during the first few laps, Garcia chased Schrage gamely despite intense pressure from Jay Howard Driver Development’s Evagoras Papasavvas.

Nikita Johnson also impressed once again for VRD Racing. Moments after briefly celebrating victory in the preceding USF Pro 2000 race, Johnson, 15, strapped himself aboard VRD Racing’s No. 17 USF2000 Tatuus and lined up sixth on the grid. Johnson found himself odd man out at the Festival Curves, forced into the escape road as teammate Corry scythed through from behind, whereupon Johnson charged from the back of the pack to seventh at the finish, only a couple of seconds behind Papasavvas.

The USF Pro Championships season will be formally wrapped up tomorrow evening at the traditional Championship Celebration in Portland. The focus then will switch toward the 2024 season, starting with the annual two-day USF Pro Fall Combine Test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on October 21-22.

RESULTS

Provisional final championship points:
1. Simon Sikes, 447
2. Nikita Johnson, 344
3. Lochie Hughes, 335
4. Evagoras Papasavvas, 323
5. Mac Clark, 318
6. Jacob Douglas, 249
7. Sam Corry, 222
8. Jorge Garciarce, 212
9. Max Garcia, 207
10. Chase Gardner, 193

Douglas doubles up for Pabst in Portland USF2000

Jacob Douglas found the perfect way to follow up on his first USF2000 Presented by Cooper Tires victory – by claiming his second win in a row. The youngster from Christchurch, New Zealand, posted another exemplary performance in hot, sticky …

Jacob Douglas found the perfect way to follow up on his first USF2000 Presented by Cooper Tires victory — by claiming his second win in a row. The youngster from Christchurch, New Zealand, posted another exemplary performance in hot, sticky conditions Saturday afternoon at Portland International Raceway, holding off a race-long challenge from Pabst Racing teammate Simon Sikes to finished just 0.3785s to the good.

After clinching the season-long championship yesterday with two races to spare, Sikes kept the pressure on Douglas throughout the 25-lap contest in the second of three races that comprise the Discount Tire Grand Prix of Portland. Behind, 15-year-old Nikita Johnson (VRD Racing) made an impressive pass on the last lap to secure the final podium position after having started back in seventh.

Pabst carried its dominance from yesterday by having all three of its drivers at the front of the grid for today’s penultimate round of the USF2000 title-chase. They were led once again by Douglas, who turned the best of each driver’s second-fastest laps during the lone qualifying session on Friday to snag his second successive Cooper Tires Pole Award. The only change from yesterday came with Sikes earning the outside front row starting position ahead of Max Garcia.

The caution flags waved at the end of the first lap, but rather than for an incident at the first corner, which the entire field negotiated cleanly, it was for the seemingly ever unfortunate Thomas Schrage, who was unable to take up his fourth position on the grid after his Exclusive Autosport Tatuus ground to a halt on the pace lap.

Douglas ensured he had the inside line for the Festival Curves covered at the restart, although behind him Garcia, after realizing there was no space to Douglas’ right, tried to dive across to the outside line, only to make slight contact with Sikes, who was already positioned slightly behind and to Garcia’s left. A momentary touch between the pair was enough to send Garcia spinning to the left, where, fortunately, he was avoided by the pursuing pack and continued, albeit now at the tail of the field.

Thereafter the sun-drenched crowd was treated to another exciting race as Sikes chased Douglas for all he was worth. Sikes fell back a little with just over 10 laps remaining, having set what was to stand as the fastest lap of the race, then closed once again on the leader, Douglas, who stuck to his guns and took another finely judged victory.

“The start was not as hectic as yesterday, having done it before leading into Turn 1 made it a little bit easier,” said Douglas. “But it was a long race with Simon behind me the whole time. I made some mistakes at the end and he was pretty close. I am really looking forward to next year and carrying this momentum through.”

The 2022 USF Juniors champion, Mac Clark, held third place for DEForce Racing for virtually the entire distance, although as the DEForce driver began to struggle for pace in the closing stages, Johnson took his time before executing a textbook pass for third place under braking for Turn 1 on the final lap.

Clark had to be content with fourth, despite the close attentions of Jay Howard Driver Development’s Evagoras Papasavvas, who finished right on his tail in fifth.

A little farther back, Elliot Cox drove another strong race for Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing Development, once again picking up the Tilton Hard Charger Award after rising from 15th on the grid to eighth.

Another glorious day for Augie Pabst brought him a seventh PFC Award as the winning car owner. And after celebrating his first drivers’ championship win, his Pabst Racing organization also extended its lead in the Team Championship to an almost insurmountable 37 points over Jay Howard Driver Development. The 18th and final race of the season will see the green flag Sunday at 4:20pm.

Provisional championship points after 17 of 18 races:
1. Simon Sikes, 416
2. Nikita Johnson, 330
3. Lochie Hughes, 324
4. Evagoras Papasavvas, 308
5. Mac Clark, 306
6. Jacob Douglas, 222
7. Jorge Garciarce, 205
8. Sam Corry, 200
9. Chase Gardner, 193
10. Max Garcia, 190

Meet 2023 USF2000 champion Simon Sikes

New USF2000 presented by Cooper Tires champion Simon Sikes joins RACER’s Marshall Pruett moments after clinching the title with Pabst Racing and shares his incredible story that will include a move to USF Pro 2000 thanks to the big advancement prize …

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