Legacy Autosport today announced the signing of Casey Putsch to its 2022 Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires campaign.

“I am extremely excited to do this with the Meyer family," said Putsch. "They are the real deal, a no B.S. race family that actually sees the big picture. They are 'old-school get it done' racers. I enjoy their company and look forward to fighting for the podium with them in 2022.

“My father and I started auto crossing a VW Scirocco when I was 15, but we couldn’t afford more than slot car racing when I was a kid so it wasn’t until I was in college that I saved enough money to buy a used Yamaha KT100 kart to race locally. I was also a serious member of my college's Formula SAE team and was working as a part-time Ferrari mechanic my senior year. The owner let me keep a project 1957 Devin race car there and work on it on the nights and weekends. I drove it on the street with my sleeping bag and tools to Mid-Ohio two weeks after I graduated college, raced it all weekend and then drove it home. Since that time, I have prepared, built or restored every single car I have raced. Only by being able to do that and trade up with cars was I able to afford to race at all.

“Outside of racing I’m focused on building my automotive YouTube channels and I’m also building a replica Lancia Stratos Zero and a Nissan GTP Viper V10-powered car from scratch. I have been racing my Top Kart in the LO206 class locally and I have been mentoring engineering students in the non-profit I created eight years ago called Genius Garage. The program has cars like the Daytona Prototype and a Lotus T125 gentleman’s F1 car, so I am planning the future of the programs with these new additions.”

“On the driver side of things, I had Rodolfo Lavin’s ex-Swift Formula Atlantic and ran that quite a while ago as well as occasionally driving a mid-90s Indy car in tests.  I have raced production-based cars, sports racers, Formula Ford, Formula Atlantic, Can-Am, WSC prototype, IMSA GTO Corvette, vintage Trans-Am and even a Bill Thomas Cheetah. I continue to race my Top Kart locally in the LO206 class.

“My goal is to race in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and the Indy 500, be a positive public figure for young people and show that you can still dare to dream and attain impossible dreams. Currently, I’m 17 years older than the next oldest person in the field. I did not come from a pre-positioning in life to be able to compete in motor racing. I got here by determination, talent with a wrench and a steering wheel and by never giving up. Now the world is watching through social media and the tables have turned. Time to race! Plus, when you’re the 'old guy' the jokes are better.

“I believe The Road to Indy is the absolute best and most competitive open-wheel series there is. INDYCAR racing is my dream, so naturally this makes sense. However, I am genuinely very impressed with the people that make up The Road to Indy and that is what really matters.

“I’d like to thank my late grandfather who instilled positive core values like caring for your community and nation as well as a 'never give up' and 'go down swinging' attitude. He was the classic WWII generation proud Army veteran and Doctor of Optometry and he always believed in me. I also want to thank Mike Meyer for believing in me and being a genuinely good person in the racing world.”

“I was a big fan of Casey's YouTube channel and reached out to him after a video he put out about his struggles in racing," said Louis Michael Meyer, Owner of Legacy Autosport. “He went into details about some situations he had been dealing with and I really understood what he was saying and thought that maybe working together we could break past some of the barriers.

“Fast forward to today and Casey has become part of the Legacy family and working together, those barriers are being knocked out of the way. Every day something new and exciting happens and we are full steam ahead on our Road to Indy program.

“We are looking forward to the 2022 season and beyond with Casey. He is a one-of-a-kind spokesman, a talented driver and great human being. Pay close attention to his journey, it’s going to be unique and exciting.”