USF Pro Championships

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USF Pro Championships logo USFProChampionshipsLogo.png
USF Pro Championships logo
Road to Indy logo Road to Indy logo.png
Road to Indy logo

The USF Pro Championships Presented by Continental Tire, formerly known as the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires, is a racecar driver development program, providing a scholarship-funded path to reach the IndyCar Series and Indianapolis 500. [1] Sanctioned by the United States Auto Club (USAC), the series are owned and managed by Andersen Promotions.

Contents

Since its launch in 2010, the ladder system has attracted competitors from around the globe. Drivers from Albania, Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Guatemala, Guyana, India, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Sweden, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan, United Kingdom, Venezuela and Zimbabwe[ citation needed ] have been part of the grids, showcasing their talents at premier venues on a mix of road courses, temporary street circuits, and ovals.

Participating series (in order from lowest to highest ranking)

Series NameDescriptionYear Founded
USF Juniors A first step on the pathway for younger drivers. Sanctioned by USAC 2022
USF2000 Championship Competing for a scholarship to the next stage of the pathway. Sanctioned by USAC 1990
USF Pro 2000 Championship Competing for a scholarship to the next stage of the pathway. Sanctioned by USAC 1991
Indy NXT A developmental championship supporting IndyCar Series at specific races across the season. Sanctioned by IndyCar 1977 (predecessor)
1986 (original)
2002 (IndyCar sanctioned)
IndyCar Series Highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars. Sanctioned by IndyCar 1996 with history going back to the early 1900s

In 2021 Kyle Kirkwood won the Indy Lights championship and became the first driver to win a championship and thus scholarship at every rung of the ladder on their way to IndyCar. However, both Sage Karam and Matthew Brabham won scholarships from U.S. F2000 and made it to IndyCar. Karam, Brabham, Tristan Vautier, Oliver Askew and Spencer Pigot have all won two scholarships on their way to IndyCar. In 2017, Josef Newgarden became the first Road to Indy graduate and scholarship winner to win the IndyCar Series championship.

Mazda Road to Indy Shootout

From 2016 to 2018, a shootout race for up-and-coming talents was held. In a knock-out format, drivers who won championships in various beginner-level series were invited to compete for a $200,000 scholarship to race in the USF2000 series.

Shootout winners

YearTrackWinner
2016 Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Flag of the United States.svg Oliver Askew
2017 Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park Flag of Ireland.svg Keith Donegan
2018 Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park Flag of New Zealand.svg Hunter McElrea

Champions

IndyCar Series Indy NXT USF Pro 2000 USF2000 USF Juniors
2010 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dario Franchitti 2010 Flag of France.svg Jean-Karl Vernay 2010 Flag of the United States.svg Conor Daly 2010 Flag of the United States.svg Sage Karam Not Held
2011 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Dario Franchitti 2011 Flag of the United States.svg Josef Newgarden 2011 Flag of France.svg Tristan Vautier 2011 Flag of Finland.svg Petri Suvanto
2012 Flag of the United States.svg Ryan Hunter-Reay 2012 Flag of France.svg Tristan Vautier 2012 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Jack Hawksworth 2012 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Matthew Brabham
2013 Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Dixon 2013 Flag of the United States.svg Sage Karam 2013 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Matthew Brabham 2013 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Scott Hargrove
2014 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Will Power 2014 Flag of Colombia.svg Gabby Chaves 2014 Flag of the United States.svg Spencer Pigot 2014 Flag of France.svg Florian Latorre
2015 Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Dixon 2015 Flag of the United States.svg Spencer Pigot 2015 Flag of Uruguay.svg Santiago Urrutia 2015 Flag of France.svg Nico Jamin
2016 Flag of France.svg Simon Pagenaud 2016 Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg Ed Jones 2016 Flag of the United States.svg Aaron Telitz 2016 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Anthony Martin
2017 Flag of the United States.svg Josef Newgarden 2017 Flag of the United States.svg Kyle Kaiser 2017 Flag of Brazil.svg Victor Franzoni 2017 Flag of the United States.svg Oliver Askew
2018 Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Dixon 2018 Flag of Mexico.svg Patricio O'Ward 2018 Flag of the Netherlands.svg Rinus VeeKay 2018 Flag of the United States.svg Kyle Kirkwood
2019 Flag of the United States.svg Josef Newgarden 2019 Flag of the United States.svg Oliver Askew 2019 Flag of the United States.svg Kyle Kirkwood 2019 Flag of the United States.svg Braden Eves
2020 Flag of New Zealand.svg Scott Dixon 2020 no season - pandemic 2020 Flag of the United States.svg Sting Ray Robb 2020 Flag of Denmark.svg Christian Rasmussen
2021 Flag of Spain.svg Alex Palou 2021 Flag of the United States.svg Kyle Kirkwood 2021 Flag of Denmark.svg Christian Rasmussen 2021 Flag of Brazil.svg Kiko Porto
2022 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Will Power 2022 Flag of Sweden.svg Linus Lundqvist 2022 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Louis Foster 2022 Flag of the United States.svg Michael d'Orlando 2022 Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Mac Clark
2023 Flag of Spain.svg Alex Palou 2023 Flag of Denmark.svg Christian Rasmussen 2023 Flag of the United States.svg Myles Rowe 2023 Flag of the United States.svg Simon Sikes 2023 Flag of Brazil.svg Nicolas Giaffone
2024 Flag of Spain.svg Alex Palou 2024 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Louis Foster 2024 Flag of Australia (converted).svg Lochie Hughes 2024 Flag of the United States.svg Max Garcia 2024 Flag of the United States.svg Max Taylor
2025 Flag of Spain.svg Alex Palou 2025 Flag of Norway.svg Dennis Hauger 2025 Flag of the United States.svg Max Garcia 2025 Flag of the United States.svg Jack Jeffers 2025 Flag of Brazil.svg Leonardo Escorpioni

References

  1. ↑ "Mazda Road to Indy" . Retrieved 25 March 2014.
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