The USF Pro Championships Fall Combine wrapped up this afternoon after two full days of testing on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. A total of 53 drivers turned laps as preparations began for 2025 campaigns in USF Pro 2000, USF2000 and USF Juniors.
Topping the timesheets on the upper step of the ladder, USF Pro 2000, was reigning USF2000 champion Max Garcia, of Miami, Fla., with Pabst Racing. Garcia turned heads this season by becoming the youngest USF2000 champion in the modern day ladder system at just 15 years of age.
“The car was on point right away,” said Garcia. “It felt good learning the car at this obviously heavy braking track. That’s one of the big things. Last year, you had to hit the pedal at 1,100 brake psi and this year it is 1,700, so a big jump and it is pretty cool to learn it here. We were quick every session except for one. It shows we have the pace here but it is not everything. We still need to work and we will keep working over the winter.”
USF Juniors vice champion Liam McNeilly, 18, of London, England set the pace in USF2000 with Jay Howard Driver Development. Narrowly missing the 2024 champion’s crown by a mere five points, McNeilly made a brief foray into USF2000 earlier this year on the streets of Toronto securing a second-place finish after starting from pole.
“It was a good couple of days,” said McNeilly. “Continuing to work with the Jay Howard team is going really well with four sessions topped and top three in all of them so I can’t complain. The car definitely took a little bit to get used to. Obviously I had the outing in Toronto with all the bumps and everything, and it was good to get out and drive on a proper track instead of a street circuit. I got used to the power quite quickly and the braking – those are the two main differences. It’s good to kick start the 2025 season this way and hopefully we can keep building.”
Joao Vergara, 17, of Sao Paulo, Brazil, impressed in USF Juniors pacing four of the six test sessions with VRD Racing. Vergara, a Lucas Oil Formula Car Series Scholarship Shootout winner in 2023, finished eighth in his rookie season of USF Juniors this year.
“It has been a great two days here at Indianapolis,” said Vergara. “It is my first time here and I was working on learning the track. I picked it up pretty quickly. The VRD guys just did an amazing job with the car and I am super happy with how it went. I learned so much throughout my first year in USF Juniors and I am so thankful for everything I have learned that I can now apply it to next year and fight for the championship.”
Of the true newcomers to the series, Joseph Loake led the results in USF Pro 2000 with Turn 3 Motorsport. The 19-year-old from Macclesfield, England, contested FIA Formula 3 this year and is a former Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver of the Year.
“Obviously coming over to the U.S. is a new experience for me,” said Loake. “It is something that I am quite enjoying at the moment. The pace has been really good throughout the whole test. The two days have gone nice and smooth and it is good to see what it is all about. I had a message from Turn 3 asking if I would like to come out and do a bit of testing and see if the U.S. was a good route for me. They have been really supportive. They are a very welcoming team and it is a nice environment to be in. Being with the reigning champions is not a bad thing.”
Mayer Deonarine, 15, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, was fifth overall in his USF2000 debut with VRD Racing. Deonarine graduated to cars this year contesting both Radical Cup North America and the GB4 Championship.
“Coming to Indianapolis first of all is amazing," said Deonarine. “The start of the weekend was pretty good with VRD, a pretty accomplished team. I was happy with the results. Unfortunately, all of the first five sessions I was fourth but in that last session I was P1. It kind of felt like I won a race because the team worked so hard throughout the weekend to put me to the front and we ended up in the front. I’m happy.”
Also driving for VRD Racing, Ryan Giannetta, 14, of Redondo Beach, Calif., led the new arrivals in USF Juniors. Karting since the age of 6, Giannetta finished fourth in the Skip Barber Racing Series this year.
“This was amazing,” said Giannetta. “I have no complaints. It was so much fun. VRD put in the work for me and the car was really on rails. I had goals to be top three every session and I think I did really well on that. We were fast.”
The next official outing for USF Pro Championships is its annual Spring Training at NOLA Motorsports Park on February 22/23, one week prior to the season-opener on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., in support of INDYCAR.