Taylor Leads Strong 25-Car Field to Road America Tripleheader

PALMETTO, Fla. – The battle for this year’s USF Juniors Presented by Continental Tire championship title has intensified. Four contenders are separated by a mere 25 points heading into the final six races of the season, which continues this weekend, August 10-11, with a tripleheader event at the scenic and challenging Road America track in Elkhart Lake, Wis.

At stake is a scholarship valued at $263,700 to graduate onto the next step of the USF Pro Championships driver development ladder, USF2000, in 2025.

VRD Racing’s Max Taylor currently leads the way, but with a trio of rookies – Liam McNeilly (Jay Howard Driver Development), Sebastian Wheldon (VRD Racing) and Ariel Elkin (InterMS)  -- hot on his heels.

Taylor, from Hoboken, N.J., who finished sixth in the 2023 standings, will arrive at “America’s National Park of Speed” riding a wave of confidence after claiming two wins in the midst of a streak of six top-five finishes that have vaulted him to the top of the points table. Taylor, who secured his maiden victory last year on the 4.014-mile road course, also has shone during a parallel program this season in USF2000, netting four wins and catapulting him to third in the points chase with just three races remaining.

McNeilly, from Brentwood, England, and Wheldon, from Coral Gables, Fla., have been locked in combat ever since sharing a win and second-place finish apiece from the opening two races of the season. McNeilly currently trails Taylor by just nine points, with Wheldon just 16 points further adrift.

McNeilly enjoyed one of his strongest weekends of the season during the most recent event at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, where he claimed two pole positions, one race win and a third-place finish. The Englishman also impressed during an exploratory debut USF2000 outing last month on the streets of Toronto, where he earned a pole position and a second-place finish.

Wheldon, by contrast, failed to finish two of the three races at the previous USF Juniors round at VIRginia International Raceway and claimed only one fourth-place result at Mid-Ohio, dropping him out of the points lead for the first time since the opening event at NOLA Motorsports Park in early April.

Elkin also remains in firm title contention, having swept both races at Barber Motorsports Park, while InterMS teammate Augusto Soto-Schirripa tasted the fruits of victory at VIR and lies only 18 points adrift of Elkin despite having missed the opening race of the season due to a mechanical problem.

A stacked entry list includes two young drivers who will be making their USF Juniors debuts, with Brendan Cooley, from Frankfort, Ill., joining brother Evan at Exclusive Autosport and Griffin Yellin, from New York, N.Y., stepping up from the Skip Barber Formula Race Series with Jay Howard Driver Development.

Competitors will commence preparations for the PFC Grand Prix of Road America with a trio of test sessions on Friday, August 9, prior to 30 minutes of official practice at 10:25 a.m. CDT on Saturday. A single qualifying session at 12:35 p.m. will determine the starting positions for the first of three races later in the afternoon at 3:55 p.m. The weekend will conclude with two more races at 9:30 a.m. and 2:50 p.m. on Sunday.

Complete coverage will be available on the free USF Pro Championships App, YouTube channel and series’ website, usfjuniors.com.