Next weekend it's finally that time again and the Indy Pro 2000 Championship starts into its new season. In this preview you will get an overview of all teams and their drivers, the season calendar, the Spring Training Test and more. At the end you will find as usual a small prediction from my side for the driver and team championships.
DEForce Racing
Kiko Porto, Nolan Siegel
Kiko Porto enters his fourth year with DEForce as the reigning USF2000 champion. Last season, he scored four race wins and 10 podiums. In addition, the Brazilian was the 2019 Formula 4 Vice champion. His teammate Nolan Siegel is also competing in his rookie year in Indy Pro 2000 this year, finishing eighth in the USF2000 championship last year with one win and four podiums. It will be his second year in a row with DEForce Racing.
Exclusive Autosport
Louis Foster, Christian Brooks, Matt Round-Garrido
The reigning champions from Exclusive Autosport will be competing with three cars this year. Briton Louis Foster raced in Europe in recent years and is the reigning Euroformula Open Vice champion. He also finished third in British Formula 3 in 2020, as well as finishing third in the 2019 British Formula 4 Championship. Christian Brooks is entering his third year with the team. The Californian was still competing in USF2000 in 2020 and 2021 and is entering his first Indy Pro 2000 season. So far, he has won three races on the Road To Indy and finished third in the 2019 F4 US Championship. Their teammate is Matt Round-Garrido, another Indy Pro 2000 rookie. Last year, he celebrated his first and so far only Road To Indy podium at Saint Petersburg with Exclusive.
Jay Howard Driver Development
Braden Eves, Wyatt Brichacek, Salvador de Alba
After the Jay Howard Driver Development Team was able to win the drivers title last year with Christian Rasmussen, the goals & expectations are set high for this season again. Braden Eves is the reigning Indy Pro 2000 runner-up and joins the team this year and his goal will once again be to win the title. The 2019 USF2000 champion has already won four races in the Indy Pro Series and has been on the podium a total of eleven times. Wyatt Brichacek has been part of Jay Howard's team since 2018 and is entering his second Indy Pro 2000 season. Last year, he finished tenth in the championship. During the preseason tests at the Homestead-Miami Road Course, he impressed with two fastest laps. The team is completed by Salvador de Alba. The Mexican enters his first Road To Indy season. He won the 2019 SC Súper Copa Mercedes-Benz and is the reigning NASCAR Peak Mèxico Series champion.
Juncos Hollinger Racing
Enaam Ahmed, Reece Gold
Having already contested two races with Juncos at the end of last year, Enaam Ahmed has now signed for the entire 2022 season. The 2017 British Formula 3 runner-up has already competed in various racing series. These include the FIA Formula 3, Euroformula Open and Japanese Formula 3 Championship. This will be the second season on the Road To Indy for the dual Pakistani-British citizen. Reece Gold will also start his second Indy Pro 2000 year. The third-place finisher in the 2020 USF2000 Championship finished fifth last season with Juncos. In the process, he scored one win and seven podium finishes.
Legacy Autosport
Casey Putsch
Casey Putsch joins Indy Pro 2000 with Legacy Autosport this year. The popular YouTuber has liked fast cars and racing for a long time. Until now, however, he has lacked the money for national championships. But he already did a lot of private testing with different cars, worked as a part-time Ferrari mechanic in his senior year, attended local karting events and did more car and racing affiliated things. His goal is to race in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and the Indy 500 one day. Unfortunately, he isn't on the entry list for the first race weekend on the Streets of St. Petersburg.
Miller Vinatieri Motorsport
Jack William Miller
Jack William Miller enters his fourth Road To Indy and second Indy Pro season. The driver from Indianapolis was able to finish two races on the podium in the USF2000 championship in 2020, but is still waiting for his first win. He finished the past Indy Pro 2000 season in eleventh place.
Pabst Racing
Yuven Sundaramoorthy, Jordan Missig, Colin Kaminsky
Pabst Racing starts the new season with three cars. Colin Kaminsky is entering his third Indy Pro season with the team, but has so far only been officially confirmed for the first weekend. He has been on an Indy Pro 2000 podium three times. Jordan Missig enters his first full Road To Indy season. Last year, he raced with Newman Wachs Racing in Formula Regional Americas and finished the season in fifth place in the championship with one race win. Yuven Sundaramoorthy completes the driver line up for Pabst Racing. He finished third in the USF2000 championship with the team last year. And was able to take four race wins in the process.
Turn 3 Motorsport
Jonathan Browne, Josh Green
Josh Green is entering his second season with the team, but this time moving up a notch on the Road To Indy. The 2019 F1600 Championship Series runner-up finished last year's USF2000 season in fifth place and claimed his first win in the final race of the year. His teammate is Irish racer Jonathan Browne. The 2019 BRSCC Formula Ford Festival winner will make his Road To Indy debut. Last year, he competed in 8 races of the GB3 Championship (formerly British Formula 3) and managed to finish directly on the podium in his first race at Silverstone in third place.
As in the previous season, 18 races will be held this year. The season opener will be held together with the IndyCar Series on the Streets of St. Petersburg. Two oval races are also planned again. The first at Lucas Oil Raceway on May 27th and the second on August 20th at World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Illinois. In addition, after a two-year pandemic break, they will start again in Toronto, Canada at the Exhibition Place.
Round 1/2: Streets of St. Petersburg (26-27 February)
Round 3/4: Barber Motorsports Park (30 April - 1 May)
Round 5/6/7: Indianapolis Motor Speedway - Road Course (13-14 May)
Round 8: Lucas Oil Raceway (27 May)
Round 9/10: Road America (11-12 June)
Round 11/12: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (2-3 July)
Round 13/14: Exhibition Place - Toronto (16-17 July)
Round 15: World Wide Technology Raceway (20 August)
Round 16/17/18: Portland International Raceway (2-4 September)
Each race weekend includes a different number of races. Only one race will be held at Lucas Oil Raceway and World Wide Technology Raceway. In most cases, however, two races will be held each weekend, with the exception of the events at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the season finale at Portland International Raceway, where three races will be held.
There are also more points to be won for the only oval race than for the road races. The following points are awarded in the oval: P1 = 45, P2 = 38, P3 = 33, P4 = 29, P5 = 26, P6 = 23, P7 = 21, P8 = 20, P9 = 18, P10 = 17, P11 = 15, P12 = 14, P13 = 12, P14 = 11, P15 = 9, P16 = 8, P17 = 6, P18 = 5, P19 = 3, P20 = 2.
For a road race, the following points are awarded:
P1 = 30, P2 = 25, P3 = 22, P4 = 19, P5 = 17, P6 = 15, P7 = 14, P8 = 13, P9 = 12, P10 = 11, P11 = 10, P12 = 9, P13 = 8, P14 = 7, P15 = 6, P16 = 5, P17 = 4, P18 = 3, P19 = 2, P20 = 1.
In addition, there are extra points to be won in each race. One point is awarded to the driver who lead the most laps, one point is awarded to the driver with the fastest race lap and one point is also awarded for pole position.
Five preseason test sessions were held on February 14th and 15th at the Homestead-Miami Road Course. Jay Howard Driver Development's Wyatt Brichacek set the best time over both days. He was able to finish at the top of both of the fastest training sessions in the morning.
Test Session 1
P1: Wyatt Brichacek (JHDD) / 1:20.250
P2: Braden Eves (JHDD) / 1:20.395
P3: Louis Foster (Exclusive) / 1:20.410
P4: Christian Brooks (Exclusive) / 1:20.596
P5: Nolan Siegel (DEForce) / 1:20.804
Test Session 2
P1: Louis Foster (Exclusive) / 1:20.997
P2: Christian Brooks (Exclusive) / 1:21.311
P3: Reece Gold (Juncos) / 1:21.419
P4: Wyatt Brichacek (JHDD) / 1:21.545
P5: Enaam Ahmed (Juncos) / 1:21.675
Test Session 3
P1: Wyatt Brichacek (JHDD) / 1:20.561
P2: Braden Eves (JHDD) / 1:20.702
P3: Reece Gold (Juncos) / 1:20.712
P4: Enaam Ahmed (Juncos) / 1:20.837
P5: Nolan Siegel (DEForce) / 1:20.975
Test Session 4
P1: Braden Eves (JHDD) / 1:21.068
P2: Enaam Ahmed (Juncos) / 1:21.136
P3: Reece Gold (Juncos) / 1:21.139
P4: Nolan Siegel (DEForce) / 1:21.402
P5: Louis Foster (Exclusive) / 1:21.429
Test Session 5
P1: Louis Foster (Exclusive) / 1:21.977
P2: Nolan Siegel (DEForce) / 1:22.745
P3: Matt Round-Garrido (Exclusive) / 1:22.818
P4: Kiko Porto (DEForce) / 1:23.522
As I already did with some racing series last year, I dare to make predictions for this year's Indy Pro 2000 driver and team championships.
Drivers Championship Prediction
P1: Braden Eves
P2: Louis Foster
P3: Reece Gold
P4: Christian Brooks
P5: Josh Green
The main favorite for the title this year is probably Braden Eves. After his runner-up finish last year, many of his opponents are no longer competing this season. However, I think especially Road To Indy newcomer Louis Foster and Junco's driver Reece Gold will challenge him. Behind them I expect a close fight for the other places. Christian Brooks, Wyatt Brichacek, Josh Green or the reigning USF2000 champion Kiko Porto are also high on my list.
Teams Championship Prediction
P1: Exclusive Autosport
P2: Jay Howard Driver Development
P3: Juncos Hollinger Racing
In the team championship, the fight for the title will probably go down to the wire. My money is on Exclusive Autosport as champions, just ahead of Jay Howard Driver Development. Behind them, Juncos Hollinger Racing, DEForce Racing, Turn 3 Motorsport and Pabst Racing will probably fight for third place, with the better end for Juncos.
written by Claudio Graf / 23th February, 2022