2026 USF Pro 2000 Championship
The 2026 USF Pro 2000 Championship presented by Continental Tire is the 28th season of the junior series two levels below the IndyCar series. It is the fourth season under the USF Pro 2000 moniker after the championship's most recent rebrand in 2023.
Series news
- The scholarship for the champion was increased by around $50,000 to $594,500.[1]
Drivers and teams
All drivers compete using Tatuus IP-22 racecars with Elite Mazda 2.0-014A engines and Continental tires.
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Team changes
DEForce Racing, a series mainstay since the 2018 season, announced no drivers ahead of the start of the season while the one-car FatBoy Racing! outfit also did not confirm its presence on the grid ahead of the season opener.
IndyCar team Ed Carpenter Racing announced a partnership with Jay Howard Driver Development, with JHDD's cars in the USF Pro Championships entering under the Jay Howard Driver Development powered by ECR guise.[7]
Driver changes
Reigning teams' champions Pabst Racing downsized from three to two entries after reigning driver's champion Max Garcia graduated to Indy NXT with Abel Motorsports and Michael Costello moved over to Turn 3 Motorsport.[18][13] The team promoted G3 Argyros from their USF2000 outfit after he came fourth in 2025.[9]
Turn 3 Motorsport saw both Alessandro de Tullio and Nicholas Monteiro leave the team and the series to join A. J. Foyt Racing on their graduation to Indy NXT, while neither Cooper Becklin nor any of the teams' single-round entrants returned.[19][20] The team signed Michael Costello and Sebastian Manson from Pabst Racing and TJ Speed Motorsports after they came seventh and twelfth in 2025, respectively, while Brady Golan rejoined the team for a full-season program after contesting ten races in 2025.[13] Turn 3 Motorsport also fielded a fifth car at the Grand Prix of Arlington for reigning USF Juniors champion Leonardo Escorpioni.[14]
TJ Speed Motorsports initially only confirmed its all-new lineup for the opening race weekend. Two USF2000 graduates replaced Jace Denmark and 2025 runner-up Ariel Elkin in Thomas Schrage and Christian Cameron, who came third and eleventh in 2025, both driving for VRD Racing.[13] TJ Speed's lineup was completed by GB4 graduate Leandro Juncos, who replaced Turn 3-bound Manson.[12]
Exclusive Autosport saw Carson Etter move up to Indy NXT, joining Chip Ganassi Racing.[21] To replace him, the team promoted reigning USF2000 champion Jack Jeffers from their outfit in that championship.[5] USF2000 drivers Evan Cooley and Anthony Martella also joined the team for the opening round at Arlington.[3]
VRD Racing replaced Max Taylor, who joined Andretti Global in Indy NXT after having already undertaken a part-time campaign alongside his 2025 USF Pro 2000 season, with their 2025 USF2000 runner-up Teddy Musella.[22][16] The team also entered a third car at the opening weekend for their USF2000 driver Colin Aitken.[15]
The newly formed JHDD/ECR partnership initially only confirmed one full-season entry for JT Hoskins, who jumps up from their USF Juniors outfit, with whom he finished 11th in 2025.[8] The team entered two additional cars at the Grand Prix of Arlington for Tanner DeFabis, who returns after contesting six races with the team in 2025, and Andrés Cárdenas, who joins the team coming from Eurocup-3, where he came seventh in 2025 driving for MP Motorsport.[2]
None of the two departing teams' drivers returned to USF Pro 2000 in 2026.
Schedule
The 2026 schedule was revealed on October 25, 2025. The championship will visit two street circuits, four road courses and two ovals. It followed its parent series in moving its Canadian rounds from Exhibition Place to the Streets of Markham, while it replaced the round at NOLA Motorsports Park it held in 2024 and 2025 with a second round at Road America. USF Pro 2000 will also add a second oval round, making its debut at the Milwaukee Mile, and replace the Streets of St. Petersburg with the Streets of Arlington as its season-opening venue.[1] All rounds except the weekends at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park and the second weekend at Road America will run in support of the IndyCar Series.[23]
| Icon | Legend |
|---|---|
| O | Oval/Speedway |
| R | Road course |
| S | Street circuit |
| Rd. | Date | Race name | Track | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | March 13–15 | Andersen Interior Contracting Grand Prix of Arlington | S Streets of Arlington | Arlington, Texas |
| 2 | ||||
| 3 | May 7–9 | TBA | R Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course | Speedway, Indiana |
| 4 | ||||
| 5 | May 21–22 | TBA | O Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park | Brownsburg, Indiana |
| 6 | June 18–21 | TBA | R Road America | Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin |
| 7 | ||||
| 8 | July 2–5 | TBA | R Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | Lexington, Ohio |
| 9 | ||||
| 10 | ||||
| 11 | August 6–9 | TBA | R Portland International Raceway | Portland, Oregon |
| 12 | ||||
| 13 | August 14–16 | TBA | S Streets of Markham | Markham, Ontario |
| 14 | ||||
| 15 | August 29–30 | TBA | O Milwaukee Mile | West Allis, Wisconsin |
| 16 | September 24–26 | TBA | R Road America | Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin |
| 17 | ||||
| 18 |
Race results
| Rd. | Track | Pole position | Fastest lap | Most laps led | Race winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driver | Team | |||||
| 1 | Streets of Arlington | Jack Jeffers | Jack Jeffers | Jack Jeffers | Leonardo Escorpioni | Turn 3 Motorsport |
| 2 | Jack Jeffers | Leonardo Escorpioni | Jack Jeffers | Jack Jeffers | Exclusive Autosport | |
| 3 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course | |||||
| 4 | ||||||
| 5 | Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park | |||||
| 6 | Road America | |||||
| 7 | ||||||
| 8 | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | |||||
| 9 | ||||||
| 10 | ||||||
| 11 | Portland International Raceway | |||||
| 12 | ||||||
| 13 | Streets of Markham | |||||
| 14 | ||||||
| 15 | Milwaukee Mile | |||||
| 16 | Road America | |||||
| 17 | ||||||
| 18 | ||||||
Championship standings
Drivers' Championship
- Scoring system
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th | 16th | 17th | 18th | 19th | 20th+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 30 | 25 | 22 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Points (O) | 45 | 38 | 33 | 29 | 26 | 23 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
- The driver who qualifies on pole is awarded one additional point.
- One point is awarded to the driver who led the most laps in a race.
- One point is awarded to the driver who set the fastest lap during the race.
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Teams' championship
- Scoring system
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 22 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
- Single car teams receive 3 bonus points as an equivalency to multi-car teams.
- Only the best two results count for teams fielding more than two entries.
| Pos | Team | ARL | IMS | IRP | ROA1 | MOH | POR | MAR | MIL | ROA2 | Points | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Turn 3 Motorsport | 1 | 6 | 51 | ||||||||||||||||
| 3 | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Exclusive Autosport | 6 | 1 | 44 | ||||||||||||||||
| 9 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | VRD Racing | 2 | 3 | 36 | ||||||||||||||||
| 12 | 9 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Jay Howard Driver Development powered by ECR | 4 | 5 | 27 | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | 10 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Pabst Racing | 10 | 2 | 21 | ||||||||||||||||
| 13 | 12 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | TJ Speed Motorsports | 5 | 8 | 16 | ||||||||||||||||
| 11 | 11 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Comet/NCMP Racing | 7 | 13 | 13 | ||||||||||||||||
| Pos | Team | ARL | IMS | IRP | ROA1 | MOH | POR | MAR | MIL | ROA2 | Points | |||||||||
See also
References
- ^ a b "USF Pro Championships Announces 2026 Schedules". USF Pro 2000 Championship. October 25, 2025. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Andersen Interior Contracting Grand Prix of Arlington" (PDF). USF Pro 2000 Championship. March 11, 2026. Retrieved March 11, 2026.
- ^ a b c "Exclusive Autosport Heads into USF Pro 2000 Season Opener with Four-Car Driver Squad". USF Pro 2000 Championship. March 9, 2026. Retrieved March 10, 2026.
- ^ "Exclusive Autosport Confirms Brienza for USF Pro 2000 Return in 2026". USF Pro 2000 Championship. November 14, 2025. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
- ^ a b "Reigning USF2000 Champ Jack Jeffers Continues up the Ladder with Exclusive Autosport". USF Pro 2000 Championship. March 6, 2026. Retrieved March 6, 2026.
- ^ "MAC CLARK RETURNS TO EXCLUSIVE AUTOSPORT FOR THIRD USF PRO 2000 SEASON". USF Pro 2000 Championship. March 12, 2026. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
- ^ a b Pruett, Marshall (October 24, 2025). "Carpenter aligns with Cape, Howard | RACER". racer.com. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
- ^ a b "JHDD on Instagram: 'We are excited to welcome back JT Hoskins for a 2 year USFPro2000 campaign!!'". Instagram. December 16, 2025. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
- ^ a b "G3 Argyros Signs with Pabst Racing for USF Pro 2000 in 2026". USF Pro 2000 Championship. December 5, 2025. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
- ^ "Jacob Douglas Signs with Pabst Racing for USF Pro 2000 in 2026". USF Pro 2000 Championship. December 16, 2025. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
- ^ a b "TJ Speed Motorsports Ready for USF Pro 2000 Season Opener". www.usfpro2000.com. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
- ^ a b "TJ Speed announces Leandro Juncos for Arlington". www.usfpro2000.com. Retrieved March 10, 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f g Wood, Ida (February 3, 2026). "Turn 3 Motorsport announces four drivers for USF Pro 2000". Formula Scout. Retrieved February 3, 2026.
- ^ a b "Turn 3 Motorsport Adds USF Juniors Champion Escorpioni for Season-Opener in Arlington". USF Pro 2000. March 9, 2026. Retrieved March 9, 2026.
- ^ a b "Aitken Poised for Inaugural GP of Arlington with VRD Racing". www.usfpro2000.com. Retrieved March 12, 2026.
- ^ a b "Teddy Musella to Step Up to USF Pro 2000 with VRD Racing for 2026 Season". USF Pro 2000 Championship. February 4, 2026. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
- ^ "Frankie Mossman Returns to VRD Racing for 2026 USF Pro 2000 Championship". www.usfpro2000.com. Retrieved January 16, 2026.
- ^ Donahue, Jacob (September 15, 2025). "Max Garcia and ABEL Motorsports to Contest Rookie Season in INDY NXT by Firestone". Abel Motorsports. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
- ^ "Alessandro De Tullio To Compete In 2026 INDY NXT by Firestone Season with AJ Foyt Racing". ajfoytracing. November 5, 2025. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
- ^ Pruett, Marshall (November 14, 2025). "Monteiro joins Foyt Indy NXT team | RACER". racer.com. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
- ^ "Chip Ganassi Racing Signs James Roe, Carson Etter to Join Bryce Aron, Niels Koolen in INDY NXT". chipganassiracing.com. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
- ^ "Andretti INDY NXT Welcomes Max Taylor to 2026 Driver Lineup". Andretti Global. October 14, 2025. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
- ^ "USF Pro Championships announces 2026 schedules | RACER". racer.com. October 25, 2025. Retrieved October 25, 2025.