A quartet of Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires cars exiting “Charlotte’s Web” in 2018 (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

By Steve Wittich

After an off-season featuring extensive private team testing, the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires season officially gets underway with a three-day test on the 2.3-mile, 17-turn Barber Motorsports Park natural terrain road course.

The last time that the 2.0L twin-turbocharged four-cylinder AER engines turned an official lap in anger was during a solitary March 13, 2020 practice session in St. Petersburg, Fla. That’s a way too long of a break of 358 days. It will be great to see the IL-15s back where they belong, on a race track,

The two-day Indy Pro 2000 and USF2000 test will be the first time that those two series have had official preseason testing on a track they will be returning to since a 2016 visit to the same circuit.

Questions

Can you determine the champion by who ‘wins’ testing?

The short answer to that question is no; the longer answer is a little more series-dependent.

The eventual Indy Lights champion has only led the combined timesheet in one of the nine official preseason tests since 2015. Oliver Askew, the 2019 champion, led an official preseason test at Circuit of The Americas.

The eventual champions in 2018, 2017, and 2016 finished third, third, and fifth respectively during a single preseason test in their title-winning seasons.

Aaron Telitz, at Barber Motorsports Park in 2016, is the only eventual Indy Pro 2000 champion to lead the combined timesheet during spring training.

  • In 2020, Sting Ray Robb was the 5th quickest on the combined timesheet.
  • In 2019, Kyle Kirkwood was the 3rd quickest on the combined timesheet.
  • In 2018, Rinus VeeKay was the 8th quickest on the combined timesheet.
  • In 2017, Victor Franzoni didn’t take part in spring training.

2016 Indy Pro 2000 champion on track during spring training at Barber Motorsports Park (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

In USF2000, three of the five champions since 2016 were the drivers who topped the combined timesheet in spring training.

However, it hasn’t happened in the past two seasons. 2020 champion Christian Rasmussen was the fourth quickest in spring training, and 2019 champion Braden Eves was the third quickest.

Cape Motorsports drivers Kyle Kirkwood (2018), Oliver Askew (2017), and Anthony Martin (2016) all led the combined timesheet in spring training for their championship seasons.


Will we see record lap times?

An empathic YES, is the answer to that question. The 2.3-mile, 17-turn natural terrain road course was recently repaved.

The current track records are:

  • USF2000 – 83.009 seconds set by Michael Epps (Belardi Auto Racing) during qualifying for Cooper Tires Winterfest in 2014.
  • Indy Pro 2000 – 76.2967 seconds set by Parker Thompson (Exclusive Autosport) during qualifying in 2018.
  • Indy Lights – 72.3865 seconds set by Spencer Pigot (Juncos Racing) during qualifying in 2015.

Michael Epps during the 2014 Cooper Tires Winterfest at Barber Motorsports Park (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)


USF2000 basics, schedule, and entry list

The bottom rung of the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires has 23 pilots taking part in spring training at Barber Motorsports Park on April 4 and April 5.

See below for a complete entry list, but here a few notes:

There are eight veterans, 14 rookies, and one driver for Exclusive Autosport that is still to be announced.

Exclusive Autosport’s Christian Brooks, a race winner in St. Petersburg, Fla., is one of nine drivers returning to the USF2000 series in 2021 (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

Force Indy, Joe Dooling Autosports, Turn 3 Motorsports, and Velocity Racing Development are the three teams that are making their Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship debuts in Alabama.

Cape Motorsports and DEForce Racing each have four entries, the most by any of the teams.

Eighteen of the 22 announced drivers were born in the United States. The other four drivers are made up of two New Zealanders, one Brazilian and one Canadian.

The average age of the 22 drivers is 17.7 years old, and the most senior driver is 20-years-old.

Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Spring Training Schedule

Sunday

TIME EVENT
12:30pm-1:30pm USF2000 Test Session
2:50pm-3:50pm USF2000 Test Session

Monday

TIME EVENT
8:30am-9:30am USF2000 Test Session
10:50am-11:50am USF2000 Test Session
2pm-2:55pm USF2000 Test Session

Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship 2021 Spring Training Entry List

CAR NO. DRIVER AGE TEAM HOMETOWN RESIDENCE LAST SERIES
1 Ely Navarro – r 16 DEForce Racing Las Vegas, Nev. Fishers, Ind. Lucas Oil Formula Car Series / karting
2 Thomas Nepveu – r 16 Cape Motorsports Oka, Quebec, CANADA Oka, Quebec, CANADA F4 United States Championship / Mexican FIA NACAM Formula 4 / karting
3 Evan Stamer – r 19 Cape Motorsports Maryville, Ill. Glan Garbon, Ill. Karting
4 Michael d’Orlando 19 Cape Motorsports Hartsdale, N.Y. Hartsdale, N.Y. USF2000
5 Spike Kohlbecker 18 Cape Motorsports St. Louis, Mo. St. Louis, Mo. F4 United States Championship / Toyota Racing Series
6 Bijoy Garg 18 Jay Howard Driver Development Stanford, Calif. Atherton, Calif. USF2000 / F4 United States Championship
8 Jackson Lee 18 Jay Howard Driver Development Indianapolis, Ind. Avon, Ind. F1600 Championship Series / UK Formula Ford
9 Peter Vodanovich 20 Jay Howard Driver Development Auckland, NEW ZEALAND Auckland, NEW ZEALAND Toyota Racing Series / New Zealand Toyota 86 Championship / Australian TR86 Series
10 Nolan Siegel 16 DEForce Racing Palo Alto, Calif. Palo Alto, Calif. USF2000 / F4 United States Championship
11 Prescott Campbell 20 DEForce Racing Newport Beach, Calif. Oxford, UNITED KINGDOM USF2000
12 Kiko Porto 17 DEForce Racing Recife, BRAZIL Recife, BRAZIL USF2000
16 Kent Vaccaro 19 Miller Vinatieri Motorsports Plattsburgh, N.Y. Burlington, Vt. USF2000 / Formula Regional Americas Championship
22 Yuven Sundaramoorthy 18 Pabst Racing Oconomowoc, Wisc. Guilderland, N.Y. USF2000
23 Jace Denmark 16 Pabst Racing Phoenix, Ariz. Scottsdale, Ariz. F4 United States Championship / karting
24 Josh Pierson 15 Pabst Racing Portland, Ore. Wilsonville, Ore. USF2000
29 Erik Evans 17 Velocity Racing Development Atlanta, Ga. Johns Creek, Ga. F4 United States Championship
33 Josh Green 18 Turn 3 Motorsport Mount Kisco, N.Y. Mount Kisco, N.Y. USF2000
34 Dylan Christie 17 Turn 3 Motorsport Columbus, Ohio Princeton, N.J. F1600 Championship Series / SCCA F1600
44 Christian Brooks 20 Exclusive Autosport Santa Clarita, Calif. Santa Clarita, Calif. USF2000
63 Trey Burke 16 Joe Dooling Autosports Park Ridge, Ill. Alvin, Texas Lucas Oil Formula Car Series / F1600 Championship Series / 305 & 410 Winged Sprint Cars
90 TBA Exclusive Autosport
91 Billy Frazer 18 Exclusive Autosport Auckland, NEW ZEALAND Pukekohe, NEW ZEALAND Toyota Racing Series / New Zealand Formula Ford
99 Myles Rowe 20 Force Indy Powder Springs, Ga. New York, N.Y. Lucas Oil Formula Car Series

Indy Pro 2000 basics, schedule, and entry list

The middle rung of the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires has 17 drivers taking part in spring training at Barber Motorsports Park on April 4 and April 5.

See below for a complete entry list, but here a few notes:

There are six veterans and 11 rookies taking part in the two-day test.

Artem Petrov is one of three Indy Pro 2000 race winning veterans returning to the middle-rung of the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires in 2021. (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

Velocity Racing Development is a newcomer to Indy Pro 2000, while Jay Howard Driver Development and RP Motorsport are series returnees.

Juncos Racing will have three drivers taking part in the test, the most of any team.

The 17 drivers were born in eight different countries. The United States, with ten drivers, is the only country with multiple representatives.

The average age of the 17 drivers is 19.4 years old. The youngest driver is reigning F4 United States Championship Powered By Honda champion Hunter Yeany, who will start the season as a 15-year-old. No driver is over 22 years old, and the test includes five teenagers and a dozen twenty-somethings

Indy Pro 2000 Spring Training Schedule

Sunday

TIME EVENT
1:40pm-2:40pm Indy Pro 2000 Test Session
4pm – 5pm Indy Pro 2000 Test Session

Monday

TIME EVENT
9:40am-10:40am Indy Pro 2000 Test Session
12:50pm-1:50pm Indy Pro 2000 Test Session
3:05pm-4pm Indy Pro 2000 Test Session

2021 Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires Spring Training Entry List

CAR NO. DRIVER AGE TEAM HOMETOWN RESIDENCE LAST SERIES
1 Christian Rasmussen – r 20 Jay Howard Driver Development Copenhagen, DENMARK Copenhagen, DENMARK USF2000
3 James Roe – r 22 Turn 3 Motorsport Dublin, IRELAND Indianapolis, IND Formula Regional Americas Championship
5 Wyatt Brichacek – r 20 Jay Howard Driver Development Noblesville, Ind. Johnstown, Colo. USF2000
7 Cameron Shields – r 20 DEForce Racing Toowoomba, AUSTRALIA Palm Desert, Calif. USF2000
11 Hunter Yeany – r 15 Velocity Racing Development Charlottesville, Va. Virginia Beach, Va. F4 United States Championship / Formula Regional Americas Championship
18 Hunter McElrea 21 Pabst Racing Los Angeles, Calif. Gold Coast, AUSTRALIA Indy Pro 2000
20 Flinn Lazier – r 21 Legacy Autosport Vail. Colo. Vail, Colo. SCCA Formula Atlantic
21 Kyffin Simpson – r 16 Juncos Racing BARBADOS CAYMAN ISLAND F4 United States Championship / Formula Regional Americas Championship
22 Manuel Sulaiman 20 Juncos Racing Mexico City, MEXICO Puebla, MEXICO Indy Pro 2000
27 Colin Kaminsky 21 Pabst Racing Joliet, Ill. Homer Glen, Ill. Indy Pro 2000
40 Jack William Miller – r 17 Miller Vinatieri Motorsports Westfield, Ind. Carmel, Ind. USF2000
42 Artem Petrov – r 21 Exclusive Autosport Saint Petersburg, RUSSIA Saint Petersburg, RUSSIA Indy Pro 2000
51 Jacob Abel – r 20 Abel Motorsports Louisville, Ky. Louisville, Ky. Indy Pro 2000 / Formula Regional Americas Championship
55 Reece Gold – r 16 Juncos Racing Miami, Fla. Miami, Fla. USF2000
74 Enzo Fittipaldi – r 19 RP Motorsport Miami, Fla. Davidson, N.C. FIA Formula 3 Championship
77 Enaam Ahmed – r 21 RP Motorsport London, UNITED KINGDOM London, UNITED KINGDOM FIA Formula 3 Championship
91 Braden Eves 21 Exclusive Autosport Gahanna, Ohio New Albany, Ohio Indy Pro 2000

Indy Lights basics, schedule, and entry list

The top rung of the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires has 13 drivers taking part in spring training at Barber Motorsports Park on April 6.

See below for a complete entry list, but here a few notes:

The baker’s dozen pilots include only three veterans and ten rookies.

Robert Megennis, an Indy Lights race winner with Andretti Autosport, returns to the series with the same team in 2021 (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

Welcome Global Racing Group and Pserra Racing / AS Promotions as new teams to Indy Lights and welcome back championship-winning team Carlin.

A pair of tents will have four cars, each taking part in the test. Andretti Autosport/Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport and HMD Motorsports/Global Racing Group w/HMD Motorsports are the leaders in that category.

Five of the Indy Lights entries were born in the United States, with the other eight representing seven different flags, all born outside of the United States.

The average age of the 13 drivers is 21.3 years old. The test will include four teenagers, eight twenty-somethings, and one 30-year-old.

Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires Spring Training Schedule

Tuesday

TIME EVENT
10:30am-12:30pm Indy Lights Test Session
1:30pm-4:30pm Indy Lights Test Session

Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires 2021 Spring Training Entry List

CAR NO. DRIVER AGE TEAM HOMETOWN RESIDENCE LAST SERIES
2 Sting Ray Robb 19 Juncos Racing Payette, Idaho Payette, Idaho Indy Pro 2000 (2020)
5 Alex Peroni 21 Carlin Hobart, AUSTRALIA Tranmere, AUSTRALIA FIA Formula 3 Championship (2020)
7 Christian Bogle 20 Carlin Covington, La. Covington, La. USF2000 (2020)
11 Antonio Serravalle 18 Pserra Racing / AS Promotions Toronto, Ontario, CANADA Unionville, Ontario, CANADA Formula Regional Americas Championship (2020)
17 Devlin DeFrancesco 21 Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport Toronto, Ontario, CANADA Miami, Fla. Indy Pro 2000 (2020)
24 Benjamin Pedersen 21 Global Racing Group w/ HMD Copenhagen, DENMARK Seattle, Wash. BRDC British Formula 3 Championship (2020) / Euroformula Open (2020) / Formula Regional Americas Championship (2020)
26 Linus Lundqvist 22 Global Racing Group w/ HMD Stockholm, SWEDEN Indianapolis, Ind. Formula Regional Americas Championship (2020)
27 Robert Megennis 21 Andretti Autosport New York, N.Y. New York, N.Y. Indy Lights (2019) / European Le Mans Series (2020) / Intercontinental GT Challenge (2020) / IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (2021)
28 Kyle Kirkwood 22 Andretti Autosport Jupiter, Fla. Jupiter, Fla. Indy Pro 2000 (2019) / IMSA Prototype Challenge (2020) / IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (2020 & 2021)
51 Toby Sowery 24 Juncos Racing Cambridge, UNITED KINGDOM Cambridge, UNITED KINGDOM Indy Lights (2019)
59 Nikita Lastochkin 30 HMD Motorsports Moscow, RUSSIA Los Angeles, Calif. Indy Pro 2000 (2019)
68 Danial Frost 19 Andretti Autosport SINGAPORE Miami, Fla. Formula Regional Americas Championship (2020) / Asian Le Mans Series (2020)
79 David Malukas 19 HMD Motorsports Chicago, Ill. Chicago, Ill. Formula Regional Americas Championship (2020)

Don’t miss any of the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires action:


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.