New Series Joins Indy Pro 2000/USF2000 Competitors at Barber Test
The highly anticipated pre-step to the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires will make its official track debut in an Open Test at Barber Motorsports on Tuesday, March 22 as part of “Spring Training” for USF Juniors Presented by Cooper Tires. Sixteen drivers and seven teams are currently slated to participate as plans for 2022 continue to fall into place for competitors in preparation for the season-opening triple-header at Ozarks International Raceway a month later on April 22-24.
Entry List
USF Juniors follows the renowned scholarship-funded format of the Road to Indy – which saw 20 of the 33 starters in the 2021 Indianapolis 500 as graduates – and will offer its champion a scholarship of over $221,000 to advance to the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship in 2023.
The series has made several key announcements in recent months as it ramps up for the start of its augural racing season including a six-event/16-race schedule at premier road courses in North America, the services of the AMR Safety Team, a live streaming platform for all races and a dedicated USF Juniors App as well as the launch of the new Tatuus JR-23 next season.
“We’ve put a great deal of work into our new USF Juniors program through the off-season and I think everyone is simply excited to get our first official test underway at Barber,” said Rob Howden, Series Development Director. “Interest in the program has been strong, with teams filling their available seats over the past weeks to the point where some unfortunately had to turn drivers away.
“There are still seats available and we can certainly help coordinate making connections between drivers, parents and team owners. Along those lines, I expect to see a half-dozen or more additional driver announcements between now and our opening rounds at Ozarks International Raceway in April.”
The off-track portion of USF Juniors “Spring Training” will take place today featuring media training with noted announcer/reporter/play-by-play analyst and NTT INDYCAR SERIES Pit Reporter Kevin Lee; a competition presentation by Road to Indy Competition Director Tony Cotman and Series Manager Gustavo Yacaman; a sim training presentation by SimMetric Driver Performance Labs’ Greg De Giorgis; filming with Road to Indy TV – the broadcast, production and social media arm of USF Juniors and the Road to Indy – and studio photography sessions.
With USF2000 on track Monday and the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires on track both Monday and Tuesday, over 49 drivers across the three series will be on hand to prepare for their second rounds of the season at Barber Motorsports Park in support of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES on April 28-May 1.
Indy Pro 2000 Entry List
USF2000 Entry List
Nolan Siegel of DEForce Racing and Jace Denmark of Pabst Racing currently lead the point standings in Indy Pro 2000 and USF2000 respectively following a double-header opening weekend on the streets of St. Petersburg last month.
Live timing for the Open Test can be found on the series respective websites at indypro2000.com, usf2000.com and usfjuniors.com, and the Road to Indy TV App for Indy Pro 2000 and USF2000.