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.

Drivers and teams

All drivers compete using Tatuus IP-22 racecars with Elite Mazda 2.0-014A engines and Continental tires.

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.

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. The team promoted G3 Argyros from their USF2000 outfit after he came fourth in 2025.

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. 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. Turn 3 Motorsport also fielded a fifth car at the Grand Prix of Arlington for reigning USF Juniors champion Leonardo Escorpioni.

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. TJ Speed's lineup was completed by GB4 graduate Leandro Juncos, who replaced Turn 3-bound Manson.

Exclusive Autosport saw Carson Etter move up to Indy NXT, joining Chip Ganassi Racing. To replace him, the team promoted reigning USF2000 champion Jack Jeffers from their outfit in that championship. USF2000 drivers Evan Cooley and Anthony Martella also joined the team for the opening round at Arlington.

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. The team also entered a third car at the opening weekend for their USF2000 driver Colin Aitken.

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. 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.

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. 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.

Race results

Season report

First half

The 2026 USF Pro 2000 Championship began with a new track for the series as Exclusive Autosport's Jack Jeffers took pole position ahead of Turn 3 Motorsport's Leonardo Escorpioni around the Streets of Arlington. Jeffers initially lost out to Escorpioni, but retook first and led the majority of the race as VRD Racing's Frankie Mossman slotted into third. With two laps to go, Jeffers then spun, hit the wall and retired. That handed the victory to Escorpioni and promoted Turn 3's Michael Costello onto the podium. Setting the fastest lap in race one meant Jeffers was back on pole position for race two, and this time, he remained faultless throughout multiple incidents and safety car periods. JHDD/ECR's Andrés Cárdenas finished second on the road, but multiple penalties meant Pabst's G3 Argyros inherited second, with Mossmann in third taking the championship lead.

Championship standings

Drivers' Championship

Scoring system

• 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.

Teams' championship

Scoring system

• 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.

See also

• 2026 IndyCar Series
• 2026 Indy NXT
• 2026 USF2000 Championship
• 2026 USF Juniors

External links