CARMEL, Ind. – Two weeks after making the team's USF Juniors Presented by Cooper Tires debut, Jay Howard Driver Development will enter a trio of drivers in the final round of the 2023 season this weekend. Bringing another two competitors to the penultimate round of the USF Pro 2000 Presented by Cooper Tires, a total of five JHDD combatants will take on the famed Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas.
“We are still learning and coming to grips with our USF Junior machines and will enter a rookie in USF Pro 2000, so we have prepared for a busy weekend in Texas,” explained Team Owner Jay Howard. “With temperatures forecasted to be in the triple digits, it will all be about staying cool and calm when the on-track action heats up.”
Announced last week, Frankie Mossman will make his USF Pro 2000 debut alongside series regular Ricardo Escotto. A multi-time karting champion and winner in open-wheel competition in 2023, Mossman will make an aggressive move to USF Pro 2000 to prep for a full season in 2024. Escotto, who earned a podium result at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and had several strong runs this season, enters the weekend 13th in the championship standings, only 33 points out of the top 10. Another strong finish in COTA followed by similar results in Portland next weekend will aid Escotto and JHDD to accomplish their 2023 goals.
In USF Junior, three more JHDD-branded drivers will battle for COTA supremacy with Aidan Potter and Hudson Potter being joined by Dane Scott. While Hudson Potter competed at Road America in the series debut for the Jay Howard-run program, Dane Scott and Aidan Potter will be making their long-awaited USF Juniors debut at the circuit made famous by the Formula One World Championship.
Howard added, “The track is over three miles in length which puts an emphasis on straight-line speed and momentum, a few items that we will work with our drivers to perfect before qualifying on Saturday. It is not easy, but we are building our Junior program for next year and the goal is to gather data and learn as much as we can.”
Set the hit the 3.41-mile, 20-turn facility on Friday for testing, qualifying and wheel-to-wheel action will begin Saturday and run through the weekend. Stay tuned to the JHDD social media pages for news, information, photos, and results from the event weekend.