Nikita Johnson, who has already won this season in USF2000 Presented by Cooper Tires and who won twice just under a year ago in USF Juniors at Circuit of The Americas, has set his aim at becoming the first driver in history to win in all three USF PRO Championships’ series with a win at COTA.
Johnson will race at COTA this weekend with his team VRD Racing, who will also make their debut in USF Pro 2000. VRD Racing will also be competing in USF Juniors the same weekend.
Following their USF Pro 2000 debuts at COTA, Johnson and VRD move the following week to Portland International Raceway to compete in the last round of USF2000 to complete VRD Racing’s first full season in the championship. Sitting a close third in the championship and with three races left in Portland, Johnson still has an outside chance of winning the 2023 USF2000 Championship after a strong season with VRD Racing. Johnson goes into Portland with one win, seven podiums, two poles, two fastest race laps, 11 top-five finishes and 38 laps led in 15 races.
“Making the step up to the USF Pro 2000 class is something we have carefully considered and it had to be at the right time and with the right driver,” said VRD Racing team owner Daniel Mitchell. “This will be a big step for both VRD and Nikita. We go into the COTA weekend confident we can do well but understand we need to control our expectations.
“We have worked with Nikita for many years and we rate him highly and believe he is a huge talent with great potential. He tested in our GB3 car last winter, so he is not a stranger to the power and downforce of the USF Pro 2000, although this will be his first time driving this car.”
“I’m super happy to be stepping up for this one-off weekend,” said Johnson. “I love COTA and can’t wait to get back out to Austin. I won there twice last season in USF Juniors and it is certainly one of my favorite tracks on the calendar. I’d like to thank my sponsors and VRD Racing for making this happen. I’m sure VRD will be putting down a fast race car straight out of the gate.”
For more information on VRD Racing and to find out how to be involved with their race programs, or on how to be a part of Nikita’s journey, please feel free to contact Daniel Mitchell via email: Info@VRD-Racing.com.