Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography

I try to withhold personal judgment in many of these previews, but I can say without a doubt that the 2025 USF Pro 2000 field has me more excited than any racing series I’ve covered so far on USOpenWheelNation.

You’ve got proven winners like Pabst’s Max Garcia, who has dominated at every level he’s raced. Breakout stars like VRD’s Max Taylor, looking to carry momentum from a stellar 2024. And drivers like Alessandro de Tullio, an elite karting talent who has waited years for an opportunity like the one he has with Turn 3 Motorsport And that’s just the start. Jace Denmark returns to the series as well after a third-place finish in 2024. When the USF Pro 2000 series rolls off the grid in 2025, we could be watching multiple drivers with legitimate IndyCar potential.

Those four drivers are the ones that stand out the most, and they deserve that attention not only because their success in previous years but also their fantastic performances in the offseason. All three of those names are people you’ve seen constantly at or near the top of the timesheets at a rate which exceeds any other driver in the field.

But who is going to challenge them? There’s a full field of nineteen drivers who are expected to take place in at least one round this season, and they all carry fantastic backgrounds that will result in one of the best seasons the championship has had in recent memory.

And they’ll be going faster than ever. A horsepower increase to the USF Pro 2000 cars will lead to faster lap times and the driver’s race craft becoming even more crucial at the car will be harder to control. They’ll all be competing for a $546,500 scholarship, a $100,000 reduction from last year. One key thing to watch at the end of this season is how far that reduced scholarship will get the eventual champion when it comes to advancing to Indy NXT in 2026.

But for now, all races this year will be viewable for free as always on the USF Pro Championships YouTube channel or the USF Pro Championships app. A full breakdown of the schedule will be available at the end of the preview and can also be viewed here and at the end of the preview, but don’t worry about any changes, it’s identical to last year’s.

Okay. Ready to find out why I’m so excited for this season? Here’s a run-through of the grid.

The title frontrunners:

You can make a strong argument Pabst’s Max Garcia is the best driver in the USF Pro Championships right now and is one of the greatest young talents in all of American open-wheel racing. Garcia won five races and finished in the top five fifteen times in USF2000 last year en route to a dominant title win. Garcia didn’t finish a single race lower than seventh, something that has only been done by Kyle Kirkwood and Rinus VeeKay in the past ten years. We’re starting the season on the Streets of St. Petersburg in Garcia’s home state, a track which he has never lost at in two USF2000 starts. It’s that level of consistency that is so rare among young drivers, especially ones only 15 years old.

Garcia and VRD’s Max Taylor combined to win half of the races in USF2000 last season and there is a serious possibility the two will combine for a similar number in 2025. Taylor is one of the best young drivers in the country as well and showed his promise when he was in the fight for two titles last year in both USF2000 and USF Juniors. He only took home the Juniors title, but the dominant fashion he did it in will help prepare him for a renewed showdown with Garcia in 2025. His speed is undeniable and ability to adapt to any circuit the series travels to makes him a truly unique talent. The two drivers are operating at the peak of their game and will be fun to watch in 2025.

The top returning driver to USF Pro 2000 in 2025 will be TJ Speed’s Jace Denmark, who joins the team after finishing third in the championship in 2024. It’s hard to believe that with the experience Denmark has acquired in the USF Pro Championships that he still isn’t 20 years old yet, and this is going to be the best shot he has had yet of utilizing that experience and youth to win a title. He had nine podiums last year and with a new team, anything can happen for the Arizona native as he seeks success and an opportunity at the next level in 2025 and beyond.

While those three have proven themselves in USF Pro Championships competition perhaps more than anyone in the whole ladder system, I wanted to also highlight Turn 3 Motorsport’s Alessandro de Tullio as a person who can challenge for the title as well. He picked up three top-10 finishes in six races last season as he got back into competition after sitting out of racing for two seasons to revert to karting due to budget issues.

After regrouping for two years, de Tullio is back and after having an offseason to get to work in the car, he was the fastest driver in both sessions in spring training last weekend. Yes, faster than Garcia, Taylor and Denmark. I think he has the pace necessary to put up a serious title fight in 2025 for the team that won the title with Lochie Hughes in 2024 in what would be feel-good story of incredible proportions. He also had five wins in USF Juniors in 2022, showing how easily he can get to the top of the podium.

Also contending for wins:

Out of their three-car lineup, Exclusive Autosport is going to enter the 2025 season with two drivers who I think will be talked about a lot more than people think. Mac Clark had a down year in 2024 but is still Mac Clark, the driver who wheeled his way to a USF Juniors title and fought with a strong 2023 USF2000 field to land multiple wins. I foresee this being Clark’s bounce-back year where he will be right up near the front, and top-five runs across the board in spring training point to this being a strong year for the Canadian.

His teammate, Joey Brienza, won the USF2000 Rookie of the Year Award in 2024. Consistency is something that Brienza shines at, having finished in the top ten in ten of the last eleven USF2000 races last year. His promotion to USF Pro 2000 is well deserved and after exceeding expectations in the shadows last year, Brienza is in a prime position to turn those consistent top ten finishes into consistent top five, or maybe even podium finishes in 2025.

Jacob Douglas is returning to the USF Pro Championships in 2025 after picking up two wins in USF2000 in 2025. The New Zealander heading back to America with a team as strong as Pabst Racing is going to be exciting and he is a guy who could definitely surprise people and pick up a few wins given his history of consistency and fight that he has put up throughout his time competing in USF2000.

Ending his season with his first win in the final weekend of the season, Michael Costello continued to grow as a driver throughout 2024 and is going to head to Pabst alongside Douglas and Garcia in 2025, completing what perhaps might be the most stacked team lineup in the USF Pro Championships. Costello has as much of a right to fight for a win as his teammates, having put together a ninth-place finish as USF2000’s fourth-best rookie last season.

Ariel Elkin‘s jump up from USF Juniors directly to USF Pro 2000 with TJ Speed was one of the more surprising news items in the 2024 offseason, but there’s no reason why after a fantastic 2024 the Israeli driver can hit the ground running immediately in 2025. If you want a driver who might be a surprise pick to take a win or even a few in USF Pro 2000 this season, I’d go with Elkin, who on top of his USF Juniors performance had a great showing at the FIA Motorsport Games last October when he finished just off the podium.

And then, finally, one more guy to keep an eye on who might grab a few race wins in 2025 will be Titus Sherlock. Sherlock picked up four wins last season in Formula Regional Americas and also had finished second in Formula 4 United States in 2024, ahead of some of the guys he will be competing with on the USF Pro 2000 grid. Sherlock making the jump back to the USF Pro Championships will be interesting to see and he could be a guy who will exceed expectations and punch well above his weight in 2025 given his success in Formula Regional.

Joining them in the field:

DEForce Racing will field a two-car lineup in 2025 with USF Pro 2000 returner and tenth-place championship finisher Jorge Garciarce returning alongside Nicholas Monteiro, who finished 13th in the championship last year. As always, DEForce puts together a squad known for its international representation in Latin America, and two drivers from Mexico and Brazil will go nicely with the team’s culture. Both also drove for the team in 2024.

Carson Etter will move up to USF Pro 2000 in 2025 after finishing 16th in the USF2000 standings in 2024. He’ll be with Exclusive Autosport this season, and it’ll be fascinating to see how he grows alongside two great teammates in Brienza and Clark.

Jay Howard Driver Development will bring back Frankie Mossman after he completed offseason testing in Indy NXT. Mossman finished eighth in USF Pro 2000 as one of the stronger rookies in the series and will have a great shot to move even further up the field in 2025. He’ll be joined by Tanner DeFabis, who moves up from USF2000 after winning the Freedom 75 last year.

Sebastian Manson will be heading to America to race for TJ Speed after an adventurous career in Asia, having finished second in Formula Regional Japan and sixth in Formula Regional Oceania in the past year.

Cooper Becklin is returning to USF Pro 2000 with Turn 3 after running a partial season last year. Becklin finished third in Formula Regional Americas in 2023 after going on one of the most wild streaks you’ll ever see in auto racing, where he finished third place in eleven straight races. Not higher. Not lower. He’ll bring that consistency with him to USF Pro 2000 in 2025. Tyke Durst will return to Turn 3 as well after finishing 17th in last year’s standings, and Elliot Cox will tag along in a fifth entry for St. Petersburg.

Rounding out the field, Logan Adams will head to St. Pete with Comet/NCMP Racing, who he finished 14th in the standings with in 2024.

Storylines and Predictions:

Prediction 1: At least five teams will win a race

When I went through the four championship contenders, one of the things that is worth mentioning is that all four championship contenders are on different teams. I’d take a guess and say that we’re going to see a very wide variety of teams fight for wins this season and wouldn’t be surprised if over half of the organizations in the USF Pro 2000 grid walk away with at least one first-place finish.

Prediction 2: Max Garcia hits the ground running as much as he did in 2024.

Max Garcia had wins in each of the first three races of the season last year in USF2000 which kicked off his illustrious title run. I am not saying he’ll do the exact same this year, but I think he’ll lead the championship early. He’s really strong on street circuits and having the added benefit of that first street circuit race coming in his home state will really play to his advantage.

Prediction 3: TJ Speed Motorsports fights for the team’s championship.

I think out of all teams, TJ Speed probably did the best job of building their roster out from last season. Jace Denmark is one of the best drivers in the series and Ariel Elkin has grown so much over his time in the United States. It’ll be a bit rough around the edges at first, but expect TJ Speed to be in the fight when it comes down to it.

Prediction 4: Exclusive Autosport will win the Freedom 90 again

Last year, Braden Eves and Exclusive Autosport took a victory on the series’ lone oval race at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Exclusive Autosport is clearly good at this track and in the offseason they went out and signed Mac Clark, a great oval racer who has won at IRP before. I would not count out Joey Brienza here also to pick up a win, you never know what the ovals will produce.

Prediction 5: At least one driver will fully graduate to Indy NXT mid-season.

I think there’s so many drivers who potentially can make the jump to Indy NXT but are just right on the edges either financially or circumstantially so they’re in USF Pro 2000. With HMD Motorsports now having a partnership with TJ Speed Motorsports, keep an eye on any potential driver movement between those two squads.

Schedule:

Times for future rounds beyond St. Pete currently are unknown. Times for St. Pete are in eastern. All races can be viewed on the USF Pro Championships YouTube channel or USF Pro Championships app.

Rounds 1-2: Streets of St. Petersburg – 3/1-3/2

Race 1: 3/1 at 11:35 a.m.

Race 2: 3/2 at 8:00 a.m.

Rounds 3-5: NOLA Motorsports Park – 4/10-4/13

Rounds 6-8: Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course – 5/8-5/10

Round 9: Indianapolis Raceway Park – 5/22-5/23

Rounds 10-12: Road America – 6/19-6/22

Rounds 13-14: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course – 7/3-7/6

Rounds 15-16: Streets of Toronto – 7/18-7/20

Rounds 17-18: Portland International Raceway – 8/7-8/10

For more coverage on USF Pro 2000 throughout the course of the season, subscribe to our site here.