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.

USF Pro Championships logo
Road to Indy logo

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

References

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