USF Pro Championships

Racing driver development program

USF Pro Championships logo 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.

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 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)

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Series Name  | Description  | Year 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

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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

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Year | Track | Winner

|
|

2016 | Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca |  Oliver Askew
2017 | Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park |  Keith Donegan
2018 | Wild Horse Pass Motorsports Park |  Hunter McElrea

## Champions

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IndyCar Series | Indy NXT | USF Pro 2000 | USF2000 | USF Juniors

|
|
|
|

2010 |  Dario Franchitti | 2010 |  Jean-Karl Vernay | 2010 |  Conor Daly | 2010 |  Sage Karam | Not Held
2011 |  Dario Franchitti | 2011 |  Josef Newgarden | 2011 |  Tristan Vautier | 2011 |  Petri Suvanto
2012 |  Ryan Hunter-Reay | 2012 |  Tristan Vautier | 2012 |  Jack Hawksworth | 2012 |  Matthew Brabham
2013 |  Scott Dixon | 2013 |  Sage Karam | 2013 |  Matthew Brabham | 2013 |  Scott Hargrove
2014 |  Will Power | 2014 |  Gabby Chaves | 2014 |  Spencer Pigot | 2014 |  Florian Latorre
2015 |  Scott Dixon | 2015 |  Spencer Pigot | 2015 |  Santiago Urrutia | 2015 |  Nico Jamin
2016 |  Simon Pagenaud | 2016 |  Ed Jones | 2016 |  Aaron Telitz | 2016 |  Anthony Martin
2017 |  Josef Newgarden | 2017 |  Kyle Kaiser | 2017 |  Victor Franzoni | 2017 |  Oliver Askew
2018 |  Scott Dixon | 2018 |  Patricio O'Ward | 2018 |  Rinus VeeKay | 2018 |  Kyle Kirkwood
2019 |  Josef Newgarden | 2019 |  Oliver Askew | 2019 |  Kyle Kirkwood | 2019 |  Braden Eves
2020 |  Scott Dixon | 2020 | no season - pandemic | 2020 |  Sting Ray Robb | 2020 |  Christian Rasmussen
2021 |  Alex Palou | 2021 |  Kyle Kirkwood | 2021 |  Christian Rasmussen | 2021 |  Kiko Porto
2022 |  Will Power | 2022 |  Linus Lundqvist | 2022 |  Louis Foster | 2022 |  Michael d'Orlando | 2022 |  Mac Clark
2023 |  Alex Palou | 2023 |  Christian Rasmussen | 2023 |  Myles Rowe | 2023 |  Simon Sikes | 2023 |  Nicolas Giaffone
2024 |  Alex Palou | 2024 |  Louis Foster | 2024 |  Lochie Hughes | 2024 |  Max Garcia | 2024 |  Max Taylor
2025 | TBD  | 2025 | TBD  | 2025 |  Max Garcia | 2025 | TBD  | 2025 | TBD

## References

[edit]

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

* v
* t
* e

Road to Indy

IndyCar Series|

* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

Indy NXT|

* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* ~~2020~~
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

USF Pro 2000 Championship|

* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

USF2000 Championship|

* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

USF Juniors|

* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

Road to Indy Shootout (defunct)|

* 2016
* 2017
* 2018

Chris Griffis Memorial Test
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