By Patrick Stephan
The second series on track today was the USF Pro 2000 presented by Cooper Tires. Running their practice under clearing skies at Portland International Raceway. Like the USF 2000 series for which I sent notes earlier, the USF Pro 2000 series also ran a pair of test sessions on Thursday.
Ricardo Escotto was quickest in the first test session yesterday, run under wet conditions (thus his best lap being just a 1:25.1320), with the second having a much improved surface with Kiko Porto leading that session at 1:09.0762.
Only 10 of the 19 cars entered turned laps in the first session with the red flying for Nicolas Monteiro who made contact in Turn 4 about half way through. In the second test session later in the afternoon, 16 of the 19 would turn laps.
This morning’s first practice was bested by Nikita Johnson, who is running his third USF Pro 2000 race of 2023. Currently 3rd in USF 2000 points, Johnson is running both series this weekend. He ran the most recent USF Pro 2000 races at Circuit of the America’s on July 26th and 27th, starting 3rd both times and winning Race #2.
Myles Rowe enters this final weekend with a 58 point lead over Kiko Porto. With 30 points for a win, 25 for second on down to 2 for 19th (last based on number of entries), Rowe’s lead is commanding but not mathematically insurmountable over the three races.
It’s a similar story to USF2000 and even the NTT INDYCAR Series, where the leader, Rowe, would need a very bad weekend while his pursuer Porto has to be nearly perfect.
Rowe would crash on his fourth lap of this session, making contact in Turn 5 and bringing out the red flag. That would end his practice session, but Pabst Racing with Force Indy was able to make repairs and get him back out for qualifying.
USF Pro 2000 Presented by Cooper Tires Portland Practice #1 Results:
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Best Time | Diff. | Gap | Best Speed | In Lap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 17 | Nikita Johnson | VRD Racing | 1:09.0262 | -.—- | -.—- | 102.431 | 11 | 14 |
| 2 | 1 | Michael d’Orlando | Turn 3 Motorsport | 1:09.1549 | 0.1287 | 0.1287 | 102.24 | 16 | 17 |
| 3 | 91 | Salvador de Alba | Exclusive Autosport | 1:09.2073 | 0.1811 | 0.0524 | 102.163 | 15 | 16 |
| 4 | 12 | Kiko Porto | DEForce Racing | 1:09.3270 | 0.3008 | 0.1197 | 101.986 | 10 | 10 |
| 5 | 7 | Bijoy Garg | DEForce Racing | 1:09.4869 | 0.4607 | 0.1599 | 101.752 | 11 | 14 |
| 6 | 44 | Danny Dyzzelski | Turn 3 Motorsport | 1:09.4877 | 0.4615 | 0.0008 | 101.75 | 16 | 16 |
| 7 | 55 | Francesco Pizzi | TJ Speed Motorsports | 1:09.5220 | 0.4958 | 0.0343 | 101.7 | 12 | 12 |
| 8 | 20 | Jace Denmark | Pabst Racing | 1:09.7255 | 0.6993 | 0.2035 | 101.403 | 13 | 13 |
| 9 | 4 | Ricardo Escotto | Jay Howard Driver Development | 1:09.7721 | 0.7459 | 0.0466 | 101.336 | 12 | 16 |
| 10 | 2 | Jonathan Browne | Turn 3 Motorsport | 1:09.8073 | 0.7811 | 0.0352 | 101.285 | 14 | 16 |
| 11 | 40 | Jack William Miller | Miller Vinatieri Motorsports | 1:09.8538 | 0.8276 | 0.0465 | 101.217 | 16 | 16 |
| 12 | 19 | Jordan Missig | Pabst Racing | 1:09.8584 | 0.8322 | 0.0046 | 101.21 | 15 | 15 |
| 13 | 95 | Avery Towns | Exclusive Autosport | 1:10.0225 | 0.9963 | 0.1641 | 100.973 | 15 | 15 |
| 14 | 10 | Lirim Zendeli | TJ Speed Motorsports | 1:10.0928 | 1.0666 | 0.0703 | 100.872 | 8 | 9 |
| 15 | 3 | Louka St-Jean | Turn 3 Motorsport | 1:10.1082 | 1.082 | 0.0154 | 100.85 | 9 | 12 |
| 16 | 32 | Nicolas Monteiro | TJ Speed Motorsports | 1:10.1940 | 1.1678 | 0.0858 | 100.727 | 16 | 16 |
| 17 | 93 | Lindsay Brewer | Exclusive Autosport | 1:10.3681 | 1.3419 | 0.1741 | 100.477 | 13 | 14 |
| 18 | 99 | Myles Rowe | Pabst Racing with Force Indy | 1:12.4935 | 3.4673 | 2.1254 | 97.532 | 3 | 3 |
| 19 | 6 | Frankie Mossman | Jay Howard Driver Development | No Time | -.—- | -.—- | No Speed | 0 | 0 |
USF Pro 2000 Presented by Cooper Tires Championship Standings Entering Portland Weekend
| Pos. | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Myles Rowe – R | 333 |
| 2 | Kiko Porto | 275 |
| 3 | Salvador de Alba | 245 |
| 4 | Lirim Zendeli – R | 225 |
| 5 | Michael d’Orlando – R | 224 |
| 6 | Francesco Pizzi – R | 218 |
| 7 | Joel Granfors – R | 206 |
| 8 | Jace Denmark – R | 199 |
| 9 | Jonathan Browne | 188 |
| 10 | Jack William Miller | 183 |
| 11 | Ricardo Escotto – R | 143 |
| 12 | Jordan Missig | 143 |
| 13 | Reece Ushijima – R | 140 |
| 14 | Yuven Sundaramoorthy | 121 |
| 15 | Christian Weir – R | 119 |
| 16 | Bijoy Garg | 110 |
| 17 | Nicholas Monteiro – R | 99 |
| 18 | Lindsay Brewer | 88 |
| 19 | Jackson Lee – R | 84 |
| 20 | Christian Brooks – R | 79 |
| 21 | Louka St-Jean – R | 64 |
| 22 | Nikita Johnson – R | 53 |
| 23 | Mac Clark – R | 50 |
| 24 | Frankie Mossman – R | 22 |
| 25 | Jorge Garciarce – R | 17 |
| 26 | Avery Towns – R | 13 |
| 27 | Charles Finelli | 12 |
USF Pro 2000 Portland Test Session #1 – Thursday
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Best Time | Diff. | Gap | Best Speed | In Lap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Ricardo Escotto | Jay Howard Driver Development | 1:25.1320 | -.—- | -.—- | 83.052 | 7 | 12 |
| 2 | 10 | Lirim Zendeli | TJ Speed Motorsports | 1:26.8573 | 1.725 | 1.7253 | 81.402 | 18 | 21 |
| 3 | 55 | Francesco Pizzi | TJ Speed Motorsports | 1:27.2100 | 2.078 | 0.3527 | 81.073 | 24 | 26 |
| 4 | 12 | Kiko Porto | DEForce Racing | 1:28.0443 | 2.912 | 0.8343 | 80.305 | 9 | 14 |
| 5 | 40 | Jack William Miller | Miller Vinatieri Motorsports | 1:28.2567 | 3.125 | 0.2124 | 80.112 | 18 | 21 |
| 6 | 91 | Salvador de Alba | Exclusive Autosport | 1:29.4010 | 4.269 | 1.1443 | 79.086 | 13 | 15 |
| 7 | 7 | Bijoy Garg | DEForce Racing | 1:29.5052 | 4.373 | 0.1042 | 78.994 | 15 | 19 |
| 8 | 32 | Nicolas Monteiro | TJ Speed Motorsports | 1:30.5238 | 5.392 | 1.0186 | 78.105 | 21 | 23 |
| 9 | 95 | Avery Towns | Exclusive Autosport | 1:31.0774 | 5.945 | 0.5536 | 77.631 | 18 | 20 |
| 10 | 93 | Lindsay Brewer | Exclusive Autosport | 1:34.1359 | 9.004 | 3.0585 | 75.108 | 12 | 23 |
| 11 | 1 | Michael d’Orlando | Turn 3 Motorsport | No Time | -.—- | -.—- | No Speed | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | 2 | Jonathan Browne | Turn 3 Motorsport | No Time | -.—- | -.—- | No Speed | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | 3 | Louka St-Jean | Turn 3 Motorsport | No Time | -.—- | -.—- | No Speed | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | 6 | Frankie Mossman | Jay Howard Driver Development | No Time | -.—- | -.—- | No Speed | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | 17 | Nikita Johnson | VRD Racing | No Time | -.—- | -.—- | No Speed | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | 19 | Jordan Missig | Pabst Racing | No Time | -.—- | -.—- | No Speed | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | 20 | Jace Denmark | Pabst Racing | No Time | -.—- | -.—- | No Speed | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | 44 | Danny Dyzzelski | Turn 3 Motorsport | No Time | -.—- | -.—- | No Speed | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | 99 | Myles Rowe | Pabst Racing with Force Indy | No Time | -.—- | -.—- | No Speed | 0 | 0 |
USF Pro 2000 Portland Test Session #2 – Thursday
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Best Time | Diff. | Gap | Best Speed | In Lap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | Kiko Porto | DEForce Racing | 1:09.0762 | -.—- | -.—- | 102.357 | 11 | 16 |
| 2 | 7 | Bijoy Garg | DEForce Racing | 1:09.3527 | 0.2765 | 0.2765 | 101.948 | 21 | 21 |
| 3 | 1 | Michael d’Orlando | Turn 3 Motorsport | 1:09.5793 | 0.5031 | 0.2266 | 101.616 | 13 | 16 |
| 4 | 2 | Jonathan Browne | Turn 3 Motorsport | 1:09.6849 | 0.6087 | 0.1056 | 101.462 | 20 | 22 |
| 5 | 91 | Salvador de Alba | Exclusive Autosport | 1:09.6861 | 0.6099 | 0.0012 | 101.461 | 13 | 14 |
| 6 | 17 | Nikita Johnson | VRD Racing | 1:09.7218 | 0.6456 | 0.0357 | 101.409 | 16 | 17 |
| 7 | 10 | Lirim Zendeli | TJ Speed Motorsports | 1:09.7351 | 0.6589 | 0.0133 | 101.389 | 17 | 18 |
| 8 | 55 | Francesco Pizzi | TJ Speed Motorsports | 1:10.0549 | 0.9787 | 0.3198 | 100.927 | 18 | 21 |
| 9 | 4 | Ricardo Escotto | Jay Howard Driver Development | 1:10.0771 | 1.0009 | 0.0222 | 100.895 | 21 | 23 |
| 10 | 40 | Jack William Miller | Miller Vinatieri Motorsports | 1:10.1398 | 1.0636 | 0.0627 | 100.804 | 14 | 19 |
| 11 | 44 | Danny Dyzzelski | Turn 3 Motorsport | 1:10.3846 | 1.3084 | 0.2448 | 100.454 | 16 | 18 |
| 12 | 93 | Lindsay Brewer | Exclusive Autosport | 1:10.3848 | 1.3086 | 0.0002 | 100.454 | 21 | 21 |
| 13 | 3 | Louka St-Jean | Turn 3 Motorsport | 1:10.4452 | 1.3690 | 0.0604 | 100.367 | 16 | 21 |
| 14 | 95 | Avery Towns | Exclusive Autosport | 1:10.5480 | 1.4718 | 0.1028 | 100.221 | 10 | 19 |
| 15 | 6 | Frankie Mossman | Jay Howard Driver Development | 1:10.5901 | 1.5139 | 0.0421 | 100.161 | 16 | 24 |
| 16 | 32 | Nicolas Monteiro | TJ Speed Motorsports | 1:10.7048 | 1.6286 | 0.1147 | 99.999 | 22 | 28 |
| 17 | 19 | Jordan Missig | Pabst Racing | No Time | -.—- | -.—- | No Speed | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | 20 | Jace Denmark | Pabst Racing | No Time | -.—- | -.—- | No Speed | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | 99 | Myles Rowe | Pabst Racing with Force Indy | No Time | -.—- | -.—- | No Speed | 0 | 0 |