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Hub AI
2023 USF Pro 2000 Championship AI simulator
(@2023 USF Pro 2000 Championship_simulator)
Hub AI
2023 USF Pro 2000 Championship AI simulator
(@2023 USF Pro 2000 Championship_simulator)
2023 USF Pro 2000 Championship
The 2023 USF Pro 2000 Championship was the 25th season in series history and the first under the USF Pro 2000 moniker. When the top rung of the Road to Indy ladder system, Indy Lights, was bought by Penske Entertainment (owners of IndyCar) in 2021 and the lower level series changed sanctioning to the United States Auto Club, changes were made to the other championships in the ladder that resulted in the championship being rebranded for 2023. This, together with the Indy Lights being rebranded to Indy NXT, effectively ended the "Road to Indy" branding, with the three championships below Indy NXT now collectively called "USF Pro Championships Presented by Cooper Tires".
The three Andersen Promotions series continued to have tire contracts with the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, while the NTT IndyCar Series and Indy NXT had tire contracts with Bridgestone Corporation to use Firestone tires.
Myles Rowe won the championship after an outstanding season where he collected 5 wins and 9 podiums, making history as he became the first African-American to win a U.S. open-wheel championship. His team, Pabst Racing, won their first championship at this level of competition.
All drivers competed using Tatuus IP-22 racecars with Elite Mazda 2.0-014A engines and Cooper tires.
The 2023 schedule was revealed on October 17, 2022. It featured two street circuits, six road courses and one oval round. The championship returned to Sebring for the first time since 2010 (when it was called Star Mazda Championship) and to Austin for the first time since 2013 (when it was called Pro Mazda Championship). All rounds except the weekends at Sebring, Indianapolis Raceway Park and Circuit of the Americas supported IndyCar.
The first season under the USF Pro 2000 guise began around the streets of St. Petersburg with Turn 3's Christian Brooks on pole position. After not getting the chance to contest last year's race due to a crash in qualifying, he made the most of this opportunity and controlled the race to take a flag-to-flag win. Behind him, DEForce's Kiko Porto and Pabst's Myles Rowe were hot on his tail but could not make a move. The latter of the two started the second race in fifth and quickly worked his way up the order. He took the race lead from Porto, who had overtaken TJ Speed's pole sitter Francesco Pizzi earlier, around the half point and built a gap from there onwards. Porto took another second place by keeping Pabst's Jace Denmark behind him. Rowe left St. Petersburg as the championship leader, three points ahead of Porto, with Brooks a further three points behind.
Next up was the series' return to Sebring, where Denmark and Turn 3's Michael d'Orlando shared pole positions. Porto and d'Orlando were both unable to start the first race, while Rowe immediately went for the lead down the inside of Denmark. This top two remained until the penultimate lap, where Exclusive's Joel Granfors and Pizzi both got by Denmark onto the podium. Rowe started third in race two, but overtook both leaders into the same corner. He then made a mistake on the second safety car restart of the race, allowing TJ Speed's Lirim Zendeli to attack him from second, but did not concede the lead. A race-long fight for third was won by Porto in the end, who minimized his points disadvantage that way. Rowe's third win in a row catapulted him 42 points in the lead, ahead of Porto and Pizzi, who were equal on points.
Porto was on pole position for the first race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A chaotic race saw Porto fend off multiple other drivers, until a rain shower arrived and caused a stoppage. JHDD's Ricardo Escotto was by far the fastest car in the final part, rising up from tenth to the lead. Porto was less fortunate and dropped back at the same time, conceding the podium places to his teammate Reece Ushijima and d'Orlando. Rowe began the second race in first, but spun right away. Granfors used cautions and chaos to his advantage to rise from eighteenth on the grid into contention. He took the lead from Exclusive's Salvador de Alba on lap eleven, while Denmark consolidated third place. Rowe had a first race to forget as he retired and was classified 18th, but managed to salvage eighth place in race two. Still, his lead over Porto was reduced to 39 points.
2023 USF Pro 2000 Championship
The 2023 USF Pro 2000 Championship was the 25th season in series history and the first under the USF Pro 2000 moniker. When the top rung of the Road to Indy ladder system, Indy Lights, was bought by Penske Entertainment (owners of IndyCar) in 2021 and the lower level series changed sanctioning to the United States Auto Club, changes were made to the other championships in the ladder that resulted in the championship being rebranded for 2023. This, together with the Indy Lights being rebranded to Indy NXT, effectively ended the "Road to Indy" branding, with the three championships below Indy NXT now collectively called "USF Pro Championships Presented by Cooper Tires".
The three Andersen Promotions series continued to have tire contracts with the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, while the NTT IndyCar Series and Indy NXT had tire contracts with Bridgestone Corporation to use Firestone tires.
Myles Rowe won the championship after an outstanding season where he collected 5 wins and 9 podiums, making history as he became the first African-American to win a U.S. open-wheel championship. His team, Pabst Racing, won their first championship at this level of competition.
All drivers competed using Tatuus IP-22 racecars with Elite Mazda 2.0-014A engines and Cooper tires.
The 2023 schedule was revealed on October 17, 2022. It featured two street circuits, six road courses and one oval round. The championship returned to Sebring for the first time since 2010 (when it was called Star Mazda Championship) and to Austin for the first time since 2013 (when it was called Pro Mazda Championship). All rounds except the weekends at Sebring, Indianapolis Raceway Park and Circuit of the Americas supported IndyCar.
The first season under the USF Pro 2000 guise began around the streets of St. Petersburg with Turn 3's Christian Brooks on pole position. After not getting the chance to contest last year's race due to a crash in qualifying, he made the most of this opportunity and controlled the race to take a flag-to-flag win. Behind him, DEForce's Kiko Porto and Pabst's Myles Rowe were hot on his tail but could not make a move. The latter of the two started the second race in fifth and quickly worked his way up the order. He took the race lead from Porto, who had overtaken TJ Speed's pole sitter Francesco Pizzi earlier, around the half point and built a gap from there onwards. Porto took another second place by keeping Pabst's Jace Denmark behind him. Rowe left St. Petersburg as the championship leader, three points ahead of Porto, with Brooks a further three points behind.
Next up was the series' return to Sebring, where Denmark and Turn 3's Michael d'Orlando shared pole positions. Porto and d'Orlando were both unable to start the first race, while Rowe immediately went for the lead down the inside of Denmark. This top two remained until the penultimate lap, where Exclusive's Joel Granfors and Pizzi both got by Denmark onto the podium. Rowe started third in race two, but overtook both leaders into the same corner. He then made a mistake on the second safety car restart of the race, allowing TJ Speed's Lirim Zendeli to attack him from second, but did not concede the lead. A race-long fight for third was won by Porto in the end, who minimized his points disadvantage that way. Rowe's third win in a row catapulted him 42 points in the lead, ahead of Porto and Pizzi, who were equal on points.
Porto was on pole position for the first race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. A chaotic race saw Porto fend off multiple other drivers, until a rain shower arrived and caused a stoppage. JHDD's Ricardo Escotto was by far the fastest car in the final part, rising up from tenth to the lead. Porto was less fortunate and dropped back at the same time, conceding the podium places to his teammate Reece Ushijima and d'Orlando. Rowe began the second race in first, but spun right away. Granfors used cautions and chaos to his advantage to rise from eighteenth on the grid into contention. He took the lead from Exclusive's Salvador de Alba on lap eleven, while Denmark consolidated third place. Rowe had a first race to forget as he retired and was classified 18th, but managed to salvage eighth place in race two. Still, his lead over Porto was reduced to 39 points.