By Steve Wittich

For Nicolas Giaffone, dominance at Barber Motorsports Park was expressed by the number 11.277. That massive number is the combined margin by which the Brazillian won two Friday races.

For the second straight race, the 18-year-old scored a maximum of 33 points while leading every lap from the pole and setting the quickest race lap, giving him the points lead after the first five of sixteen races.

The Houston, Texas-based DEForce Racing has now won all four USF Juniors races held on the 2.3-mile, 17-turn natural terrain road course.

Crossing under the checkered flags behind Giaffone for the second straight race was Aussie Quinn Armstrong, giving DEForce Racing five of the six podiums at Barber Motorsports Park in 2023.

VRD Racing rookie Jimmie Lockhart gained three spots to stand on his second podium of the season.

For the second straight race, it was a pair of Brazilians – Giaffone and Fecury – that led the 15-car field to the green flag.

The first lap was clean, with Giaffone grabbing the lead and Armstrong again getting around his teammate Fecury for second. Behind the top three, the running order was Joey Brienza (Exclusive Autosport), Lockhart, Max Taylor (VRD Racing), Jack Jeffers (Exclusive Autosport), Ethan Ho (DC Autosport), Ethan Barker (VRD Racing), Erick Schotten (Exclusive Autosport), Hudson Schwartz (VRD Racing), Juan Felipe Pedraza (Ram Racing), Brady Golan (DEForce Racing), Carson Etter (DC Autosport) and Giovanni Cabrera (Exclusive Autosport).

On the second lap of the race, Lockhart moved around Brienza for fourth. That championship leader lost two more spots to finish the second race of the weekend in sixth place.

Mimicking Race #1, Armstrong was able to remain within a second of

On Lap 8, Lockhart moved by Fecury for the final spot on the podium. Behind the top four, Taylor had four drivers within two seconds of the driver in fifth.

At the halfway point of the 20-lap race, Giaffone’s lead over his teammate was 1.8 seconds, with Lockhart over six seconds back in third.

With five laps remaining, Giafforne had a comfortable 3.2-second lead over Armstrong. Behind the front two, Lockhart had not pulled away from Fecury, and Taylor was still facing pressure with Brienza, Ho and Jeffers right on his tail.

Taylor, who finished four spots ahead of his starting position, had three drivers right on his tail but held on for his second top-five finish of the season.

Cooper Tires Grand Prix Of Alabama Race #2 unofficial results

These same teams and drivers return to action for a triple header at Virginia International Raceway on the first weekend in June.

Manuel Sulaiman, in the Telcel/Infinitum/WBC/Inteligentus/Anahuac sponsored Juncos Racing No.22 topped the first test session of the Barber Motorsports Park race weekend – Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy

Don’t forget to read our extensive Indy Pro 2000 team and driver preview here —> Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires – Part #3 – team and driver previews

Unlike the first USF2000 test session, Thursday morning’s Indy Pro 2000 session was reasonably well attended.

All 17 drivers completed numerous laps of the 2.3-mile, 17-turn Barber Motorsports Park natural terrain road course during the 60-minutes of testing. All told, the field completed 784.3 miles of testing. The RP Motorsport rookie duo of Enzo Fittipaldi and Enaam Ahmed were the busiest, completing 32 and 28 laps.

Not surprisingly, it was a pair of veteran championship contenders that made a solid first impression. Indy Pro 2000 race winners in 2020, Manuel Sulaiman (Juncos Racing) and Braden Eves (Exclusive Autosport), were separated by a scant 0.0148 seconds at the top of the timesheet. Sulaiman’s best lap was timed at 77.2680 seconds.

Like the five spring training sessions at Barber Motorsports Park, the driver’s best lap times were ridiculously close. The top five – Sulaiman, Eves, Kyffin Simpson (Juncos Racing), Reece Gold (Juncos Racing), and Fittipaldi – were covered by a scant two-tenths of a second. Less than a half-a-second covered the top nine, and all 17 drivers were within 1.2 seconds of the top spot.

Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires test session #1 at Barber Motorsports Park – April 15, 2021

Christian Brooks behind the wheel of Hot Wheels/Chaco Flaco/Bell Helmets sponsored Exclusive Autosport No. 44 on track during spring training at Barber Motorsports Park. (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

By Steve Wittich

For the third straight USF2000 spring training session, the Hot Wheels/Chaco Flaco/Bell Helmets sponsored Exclusive Autosport No. 44 wheeled by Christian Brooks was the quickest of the 23 drivers.

Brooks’ best lap of 80.7981 seconds in ideal conditions was almost 1.5 seconds quicker than his test leading lap on Sunday.

Next on the timing screens were a trio, Prescott Campbell, Nolan Siegel, and Kiko Porto, of veteran DEForce Racing drivers.

Rounding out the veteran driver-dominated top five was Pabst Racing sophomore Josh Pierson.

The quickest rookie was Pierson’s teammate Jace Denmark.

The top 16 drivers were within a second of Brooks, and 20 of the 23 pilots are below the track record of 83.009 seconds set by Michael Epps in 2014.

Matching the two sessions on Easter Sunday, the early leader in the session was Brooks. The Exclusive Autosport sophomore took advantage of the cool weather and only took four laps to eclipse his fastest lap from the first day of spring training, turning a lap at 82.1106 seconds.

With just under 15 minutes expired in the one-hour session, a pair of Pabst Racing drivers jumped to the top of the timesheet. First, it was veteran Yuven Sundaramoorthy, who was followed by Jace Denmark.

It didn’t take long for Brooks to jump back to the top of the timing screens. The Californian was the first driver to crack into the 81-second range. The rest of the top five at the one-quarter pole were Siegel (DEForce Racing), Josh Pierson (Pabst Racing), Kiko Porto (DEForce Racing), and Bijoy Garg (Jay Howard Driver Development).

A pair of rookies, Thomas Nepveu (Cape Motorsports) and Kent Vaccaro (Miller Vinatieri Motorsports), were the only drivers that had not yet turned a lap.

Siegel was the next driver to jump to the top of the timing screens. The 16-year-old driving for DEForce Racing clocked in at 81.1966 seconds on his fourth lap of the morning.

DEForce Racing sophomore Prescott Campbell was the next driver to jump to the pointiest portion of the timing sheets, becoming the first driver to turn a lap below 81 seconds.

At the halfway point of the session, Campbell’s time was still the best, and the Californian was the only driver with a lap under 81 seconds. He was joined in the top ten by Brooks, Siegel, Porto, Josh Green (Turn 3 Motorsport), Michael d’Orlando (Cape Motorsports), Grant Palmer (Exclusive Autosport), Spike Kohlbecker (Cape Motorsports), Dylan Christie (Turn 3 Motorsport), Josh Pierson (Pabst Racing).

For the next fifteen minutes, many drivers continued to get quicker, including Kohlbecker, Palmer, Rowe, Jackson Lee (Jay Howard Driver Development), and Brooks, the second driver to break into the 80-second laps.

With fifteen left in the session, 19 of the 23 drivers were within 1.1 seconds of Campbell’s quickest lap.

Behind Campbell, Brooks, and Siegel at the top of the timing screens, times continued to fall, with Denmark, Sundaramoorthy, Pierson, Billy Frazer (Exclusive Autosport), and Myles Rowe (Force Indy) all jumping into the top ten within a half-second of Campbell.

Brooks found himself in a familiar position atop the timing screen with just under ten minutes remaining when he turned a lap timed at 80.7981 seconds.

With 54 minutes of the session expired, the first red flag of the morning session came out for three minutes before the track went back to green, allowing the drivers one more chance to set a lap time.

The 22 drivers that took to the Barber Motorsports Park road course completed 587 laps of running. Rookies Denmark and Burke were the busiest drivers, each completing 34 circuits, but they weren’t alone in getting the miles. Eight drivers completed 30 or more laps.

The only driver to not turn a lap was Cape Motorsports rookie Thomas Nepveu, who had electrical issues with the No. 2 Cape Motorsports machine.

Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship spring training at Barber Motorsports Park test session #3 timesheet.

Look for these same cars and drivers at 10:50 am (central) for their fourth test session of spring training.

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A note about our presenting sponsor. 

Once again, a huge thank you to Cooper Tires for coming back to be the presenting sponsor of TSO Ladder for the fourth season. Without them, we would not be able to bring you our extensive Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires coverage. If you require tires, I highly recommend them. Our family has the Discover ® AT3 4S  on our SUV and CS5 Grand Touring on our car.

Cooper Tires 2021 Spring Promotion runs through April 12 and has some great bargains. Click here to learn more and find out where to purchase your Coopers. 

The technicians for Cooper Tire busy at work during Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires spring training at Barber Motorsports Park (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

By Steve Wittich

Mirroring USF2000, the second Indy Pro 2000 session was led by Jay Howard Driver Development rookie Wyatt Brichacek. The 20-year-old also led the first Indy Pro 2000 session of spring training.

Slotting in just behind Brichacek was Turn 3 Motorsport rookie James Roe, who was joined in the top five by Christian Rasmussen (Jay Howard Driver Development), Hunter McElrea (Pabst Racing), and Cameron Shields (DEForce Racing).

Much like the first Indy Pro 2000 session, the top 15 pilots were within one second of Brichacek’s No. 5 PM-18.

With 15 of the 60-minutes allotted for the second Indy Pro 2000 session completed, only 11 of the 17 drivers had turned a lap.

One of those was Enaam Ahmed, who ran afoul of race control immediately after the first session, was forced to sit the first ten minutes of the second session as punishment. The RP Motorsport driver recovered nicely to end his first day in an Indy Pro 2000 car less than four-tenths-of-a-second behind Brichacek.

At that point of the session, the leader was Juncos Racing rookie Gold, with a lap timed at 78.0225 seconds. He was followed immediately by his teammates Manuel Sulaiman and Kyffin Simpson, who were both within three-tenths-of-a-second of the No. 55.

After an early flurry of quick laps, the drivers settled into a rhythm, with only first session leader Wyatt Brichacek making a move. The Jay Howard Driver Development rookie put in a lap that was only five-hundredths of a second behind Gold.

Other drivers to turn their quickest in a couple of minutes before the 30-minute point of the session were Hunter McElrea (Pabst Racing), Cameron Shields (DEForce Racing), James Roe (Turn 3 Motorsport), and Jacob Abel (Abel Motorsport).

Times started to fall during the final fifteen minutes of the session, with McElrea, Shields, and finally Brichacek jumping to the top of the timesheet.

Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires spring training at Barber Motorsports Park test session #2 timesheet.

Myles Rowe, a 20-year-old from Atlanta, Ga., will pilot the No. 99 for Force Indy during the 2021 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship season (Photo Courtesy of Force Indy)

By Steve Wittich

Force Indy, a new and ground-breaking Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship team, announces that Myles Rowe will pilot the team’s No. 99 USF-17 during the upcoming 2021 season.

“We vetted many deserving young men and women and chose Myles based on his ability and performance, inside and outside of the cockpit,” said Force Indy Team Principal Rod Reid. “He understands Force Indy’s mission of building a diverse team of talented individuals. He’s a great fit for the team.”

Rowe, who first developed an interest in motorsport as a four-year-old, won an impressive five of his eight Lucas Oil Formula Car Series race starts. At 20 years of age, Rowe has tested USF2000 machinery on multiple occasions, including for the first time at the Chris Griffis Memorial Test with John Cummiskey Racing.

Myles Rowe at the 2017 Chris Griffis Memorial Test (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

“It’s a blessing for sure. I didn’t expect to get started in open-wheel in this way. It’s definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I’m very grateful for it,” explained two-time Champion Spark Plugs “Search For The Champion” grand prize winner Rowe. “I’ve been working hard for this moment; with all of the practice I’ve put in since I was 12 years old. So, when the opportunity came forth it was a relief, honestly.”

Force Indy is led by principal Rod Reid, a long time motorsports participant and leader of the NXG Youth Motorsports (NXG) initiative. The first three crew members are:

• Derrick Morris, a native of Indianapolis, Ind., and NXG graduate, was most recently a mechanic for the Indianapolis Marion County Police Department.
• Fellow NXG alum Stuart Winston Kelly, an Organizational Development degree holder, who builds his own drift cars.
• Purdue University Mechanical Engineering Technology graduate Mujahid Nadeem Ali. The Montclair, New Jersey native, has been an engineer for Tesla, Fiat Chrysler, and John Deere.

You can follow Myle’s career on the following social media channels – Twitter – Instagram – Facebook.

You can follow Force Indy’s journey here – Website – Twitter – Instagram – Facebook.

The bottom rung of the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires will be on track for an official test at Barber Motorsports Park on April 4-5, 2021, and the first race event will be held on the same 2.3-mile, 17-turn natural terrain road course from April 15-17, 2021.

Thoughts from Steve

• It’s great to see Rowe finally get an opportunity to showcase his talent.
• I checked with a few coaches from the Lucas Oil School Of Racing, and the thoughts were unanimous. Rowe is ‘really good’ and should excel in this opportunity.
• The addition of Force Indy and Rowe to the Road To Indy grid is a big deal. First, opportunities for the Black community in racing have been lacking. Second, and much more pragmatically, the addition of the team and driver open up INDYCAR and racing to a whole new group of fans and sponsors.

Rain falling at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (Photo Courtesy of Steve Wittich – TSO Ladder)

By Steve Wittich

Just before the 14 Indy Pro 2000 entries were about to head from the false grid to pit road, the skies opened up, and it started to pour.

The “Drivers Start Your Engines” command was delayed as track crews dispersed some standing water in Turn 2, Turn 6, and Turn 9.

Teams were informed by race control that the second Surgere Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio race of the weekend would be reduced from 25 laps to 20 laps (45 minutes to 35 minutes) due to the weather and the schedule constraints.

The command to fire the engines was given at 9:11 am, with all 14 Elite Engine 275hp engines firing.

The field was given two reconnaissance laps before going green.

On the first of two laps, Antoine Comeau, who was due to set 10th, spun in the keyhole. He was able to continue but was told he would need to start at the end of the field.

After the first pace lap, race control announced that the start would be single-file.

As the field came to the front straight, Danial Frost, the fifth car in line, spun. The No. 68 Turn, 3 Motorsport PM-18, didn’t hit anything, but he was forced to take the green flag from the rear oft he field.

The field was given one more lap behind the pace car, getting the green flag on Lap 3, with the clock at 28 minutes.

Pole-sitter Sulaiman wasn’t able to get wowed down headed into Turn 1, going into the gravel trap, getting stuck. Also, missing Turn 1 was DeFrancesco. Going off track before the yellow flag came out as leader Sting Ray Robb got to Turn 2 was the Pabst Racing rookies Colin Kaminsky and Hunter McElrea.

The running order as the field crossed the line to start Lap 3 was: Robb, Parker Thompson (DEForce Racing), Artem Petrov (Juncos Racing), Jacob Abel (Abel Motorsports), Moisés de la Vara (DEForce Racing), Danial Frost (Turn 3 Motorsports), Bob Kaminsky (Pabst Racing), Antoine Comeau (Turn 3 Motorsports), Charles Finelli (Fatboy Racing!), C. Kaminsky, McElrea, DeFrancesco, Sulaiman, and Enders.

After one lap circulating under yellow, the field was shown the red flag, and they came to pit road. The clock stopped with 16 laps or 21 minutes remaining in the race.

Sulaiman, DeFrancesco, McElrea, and C.Kaminsky were all able to get back on track with the help of the AMR INDYCAR Safety Team, with C. Kaminsky on the lead lap, and McElrea, DeFrancesco, and Sulaiman one lap down.

With the NTT INDYCAR® SERIES qualifying next on deck, the race was abandoned, with teams told that the race would continue at a time still to be determined. Teams were told to take their cars back to the Road To Indy paddock and not be impounded, allowing them to work their PM-18s.

The running order when the race was abandoned was:

The Race #2 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship podium on the victory podium at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

By Steve Wittich

It’s been two races and two trips to victory podium at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway for Pabst Racing sophomore Eduardo Barrichello. But, the two wins couldn’t have been more different.

Yesterday, the second generation driver led only two laps, while today, he led all 15-laps, facing almost no pressure from his competitors.

“Yes,” said Barrichello when asked if that was his best drive so far, adding that. “It’s really hard to be in first and get a level of concentration good enough to do qual(ification) laps. It’s really, really hard. I figured that I could pull a big enough gap and be a little more comfortable at the start. We did the fastest lap of the race, so we’re really happy.”

The 18-year-old moves into second place in the championship and enters the event’s third race with a 74 point deficit. Before the event began, the gap between the race #2 winner and championship leader was 89 points.

Barrichello’s win is the third on the IMS Road Course for Pabst Racing.

Coming home in second place, his second podium in the last three races was Jack William Miller. The second-generation race made a textbook pass on championship leader Rasmussen. The podium has brought the native Hoosier into a tie for eighth on the championship table.

It was only a matter of time before Christian Brooks found himself on a Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship podium. The Exclusive Autosport rookie has finished in the top five three times before race #2.

Christian Brooks in the Hot Wheels/Chaco Flaco/Bell Helmets sponsored No. 44 from Exclusive Autosport stable on track during a podium run at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

After his podium, Brooks is now only five points behind Josh Green as the highest-scoring rookie.

At 10:55 am, the voice of race control, Jim Swintal, gave the call for the drivers to start their Elite Engine prepared 2.0L. Engines.

After one pace lap, the all-Brazilian front row of Porto and Barrichello brought the 21 cars to the ‘yard of bricks’ and the green flag.

Porto got a decent start, with Barrichello dropping in behind his fellow Brazilian. From his fourth starting spot, Rasmussen also got a good start, making it four-wide going into Turn 1. It was Barrichello that was the first driver to get to Turn 2, followed by Rasmussen and Miller.

The Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship field goes four-wide into the Turn 1 braking zone at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

As they got to Turn 7, Miller made a daring pass on Rasmussen to move to second place.

Pole sitter Porto fell down the running order to sixth on the chaotic opening lap.

The running order after a clean first lap was Barrichello, Miller, Rasmussen, Brooks, Reece Gold (Cape Motorsports), Porto, Nolan Siegel (Jay Howard Driver Development), Michael d’Orlando (Cape Motorsports), Max Kaeser (Jay Howard Driver Development), Yuven Sundaramoorthy (Pabst Racing), Cameron Shields (DEForce Racing), Matthew Round-Garrido (Pabst Racing), Simon Sikes (Legacy Autosport), Wyatt Brichacek (Jay Howard Driver Development), Christian Bogle (Jay Howard Driver Development), Kyle Dupell (Cape Motorsports), Josh Green (Cape Motorsports), Prescott Campbell (Exclusive Autosport), Josh Pierson (Exclusive Autosport), Bijoy Garg (Jay Howard Driver Development) and Michael Myers (Legacy Autosport).

On Lap 2, Brooks, who started sixth, was able to get by Rasmussen to grab the final spot on the podium.

Further back in the field, Garg and Dupell disagreed over space in Turn 12, with the Jay Howard Driver Development car falling to last and Dupell coming to pit road.

On Lap 4, Rasmussen, Gold, and Porto were fighting for the fourth spot, with Porto getting by Gold for fifth. Further back in the field, Gold lost places to his teammate d’Orlando and Siegel to fall to eighth.

Barrichello’s lead over Miller to start Lap 5 was 1.3 seconds, with Brooks another 1.6 seconds back.

The battling for 11th, 12th, 13th, and 14th between Kaeser, Green, Sikes, and Round-Garrido was fast and furious, with Kaeser eventually ending the race with his second top ten.

At the halfway point of the 15 lap race, Barrichello’s lead over Miller had grown to 1.6 seconds. Brooks was 1.4 seconds behind Miller and had his mirrors full of Rasmussen and Porto.

With five laps remaining, Miller has slowly started to eat into Barrichello’s lead, crossing the ‘yard of bricks’ 1.3 seconds adrift of the leader with five laps to go.

The gap remained the same as they started the next lap, with the best battle on track between Brooks and Rasmussen for the podium’s final spot.

Brooks was able to hold the position, which allowed Porto a chance to enter the fight. The pole-sitter was able to get around the championship leader in Turn 1 to move to fourth place.

With two laps remaining, Barrichello held a 1.2-second advantage over Miller. Behind Miller, Brooks, Porto, Rasmussen, Gold, and d’Orlando were nose to tail with a spot on the podium the prize.

The gap between the front two was only one second as they got the white flag.

Further back, the battle for the podium’s final spot was a train of five cars following Brooks.

Barrichello was able to hold on, crossing the ‘yard of bricks a slim 0.5 seconds ahead of Miller. Further back, Brooks held on for third, with the four drivers behind him within less than two seconds.

Cooper Tires Indy Pro 2000 Indy Grand Prix race #2 race results (unofficial)

The remainder of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship schedule

Friday, September 4, 2020
2:45pm – 3:30pm – USF2000 Race #3 (20 laps or 50 minutes)