CHARGE SIKES TAKES

USF2000 preview

By Jeremy Shaw // Photography by Gavin Baker Photography

It was widely anticipated prior to the new USF2000 Presented by Cooper Tires season that it would be hard to match the level of excitement that unfolded in 2022. An intense three-way battle waged throughout the 18-race campaign and was decided only at the last gasp, when preseason favorite Michael d’Orlando edged out Myles Rowe in a dramatic series finale at Portland International Raceway. Rowe’s Pabst Racing teammate Jace Denmark also had been in the thick of the contest until faltering at the final hurdle.

All three protagonists have now graduated onto the next level of the USF Pro Championships ladder, USF Pro 2000 Presented by Cooper Tires. In fact, the top 11 finishers from last year have all moved on to pastures new, opening the door for a fresh crop of youngsters aiming to scoop the champion’s Discount Tire Driver Advancement Scholarship prize, valued at $433,200, to continue their career progression in 2024. And the level of intensity remains undiminished.

Prior to the most recent tripleheader at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course held in support, as usual, of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, Simon Sikes (Pabst Racing), from Augusta, Ga., and Australian Lochie Hughes (Jay Howard Driver Development) had been locked together at the top of the points table. Both drivers had won one race during all but one of the opening four race weekends of the season. They were separated by just three points with 10 races in the books.

But a dramatic incident at Mid-Ohio ultimately could prove pivotal in the title-chase. In the second race of the weekend, Sikes had taken control until his commanding lead was negated by a fullcourse caution. Hughes, running second, glimpsed an opportunity soon after the restart, but a late-braking attempt to make a pass ended in disaster as his car cart- wheeled into a gravel trap and out of the race. The Jay Howard Driver Development team worked miracles to repair the badly damaged Tatuus USF-22 in time for the final race of the weekend, only for it to grind to a halt on the pace lap. Sikes took full advantage by driving away to a clear victory. It was no more than he deserved after displaying prodigious pace all weekend.

Consequently, Sikes now holds a healthy 40-point advantage with only this weekend’s Cooper Tires Grand Prix of Toronto doubleheader and triple race finale at Portland International Raceway remaining on the schedule.

Hughes’ disastrous weekend in Ohio has brought Nikita Johnson firmly into the title picture, with Canada’s Mac Clark and Evagoras Papasavvas also lurking in the wings.

Johnson, 15, from Gulfport Fla., has won only once this season for VRD Racing but his tally of seven podium finishes has brought him level on points with Hughes. Clark, meanwhile, last year’s inaugural USF Juniors Presented by Cooper Tires champion, has been on a tear of late with two race wins and three additional podium finishes from his last six starts. And Jay Howard Driver Development’s Papasavvas, another 15-year-old from Loveland, Ohio, has catapulted himself into contention following a win, a second and a fourth at Mid-Ohio.

2020 PATO O’WARD SIGNED

MID-OHIO RACE USED ARROW MCLAREN

INDYCAR NOMEX

Nomex worn by Pato O'Ward in the 2020 Indycar race at Mid Ohio The nomex has been signed by O'Ward on the lower half in silver marker O’Ward shot onto the scene in spectacular fashion winning both the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring in the PC class (the youngest driver ever to do so at only 17 years old!)

2022 Marcus Ericsson Signed Race Used Chip Ganassi Racing Indycar Gloves

Race-used Sparco gloves worn by the 2022 winner of the Indianapolis 500 The Swede used these gloves during the 2022 season at several races in the first half of the season, while driving his #8 Huski Chocolate IndyCar for Chip Ganassi Racing

1998 Michael Andretti Race Used Newman Haas Swift Indycar

Original Swift IndyCar raced by IndyCar Champion Michael Andretti in the 1998 CART Series for Newman Haas Racing This IndyCar is in great show condition and looks like it did when it was last used on track The car was recently acquired directly from Newman Haas, as it sold its assets and closed down operations