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Support Racing…
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The Road to Indy is the ladder system that develops IndyCar drivers. It is made up of now four series in increasing complexity, performance and cost, each when conquered becomes a step towards entering the IndyCar series. All four of the rungs on the ladder will be racing at Barber this weekend. They are:
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USF Juniors - The now bottom rung of the ladder is a new series developed to give the uninitiated a place to develop both the technical skills of driving open wheel cars but also the career skills to keep advancing to higher rungs. The cars are the Ligier JS F4 Honda - same car as used in F4 United States. The Honda engine has 160 hp. The drivers will be coming out of karting or possibly F1600 and will have very little open wheel experience for the most part. The age range is 14 years old to whatever, though a driver can start at 13 as long as he or she turns 14 before season’s end.
The first race weekend for USF Juniors at Gravois Mills, Missouri just ended and it was dominated by Canadian Mac Clark, driving for D#EForce Racing. He thus leads the points as Barber begins.
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Mac Clark in his Ligier Honda
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USF2000 - The next step up on the ladder is a bit more complex and is populated with drivers who have more open-wheel racing experience - even at this lower level. USF2000 uses the all-carbon Tatuus USF-17 car, powered by a 2.0 liter engine made by Elite Engines, with about 175 hp. The cars have racing slicks and adjustable wings. The transmissions are a six-speed sequential gearbox, with steering-wheel paddle shifters. The brakes are 4-piston monobloc caliper sets, front and rear.
The fields are usually very large, very eclectic and very competitive but the talent range is also large - some very good while others are learning. After the first 2 rounds at St. Pete, the current points leader is Jace Denmark, a sophomore driving for Pabst Racing.
Jace Denmark
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.Indy Pro 2000 - This is the middle rung of the ladder. “IP2K” uses the PM-18 car from Tatuus, based on the USF-17, but with much bigger tires, much more wing, and a much more powerful engine. The Elite Engines 2.0 liter puts out 275 hp. The brakes are bias driver-adjustable, just like in the USF-17. Transmissions are six-speed paddle-shifter sequential jobs. With the bigger tires and more wing, the cars have substantially more downforce and braking than USF2000.
The fields are typically graduates from USF2000 or from European F3 and GP3, all used to more power and grip and with great racecraft. The level of competition across the board is more even, though the fields are smaller than USF2000. After the first 2 rounds at St. Pete, the current points leader in IP2k is Nolan Siegel for DEForce Racing, the youngest driver in the series at 17 and a rookie.
Nolan Siegel
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Indy Lights - The car is the Dallara IL-15 and is substantially bigger and better than the PM-18. It is much closer to an IndyCar in performance and feel - a great training ground to step up to the big cars. The Dallara uses a 450 hp turbo-charged engine from AER. The adjustable brakes are by PFC and are the biggest in the Road to Indy. The cars have much bigger wheels than the PM-18, providing much more grip. The IL-15 has one more thing - Push-to-Pass, just like on the big cars. That is, an additional burst of 50 horsepower is available to the driver under certain conditions, with the push of a button on the steering wheel.
The drivers are typically graduates of USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000, but can often come from GP3 or GP2 in Europe. These drivers are ready to make the move to the big cars by season’s end and many of the drivers in IndyCars are recent graduates of Indy Lights. The Lights held 1 race at St. Pete and it was WON by Matthew Brabham for Andretti Autosport, making Matty the series points leader coming to Barber.
.Matty Brabham
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Thursday will be a day of series testing for Indy Pro 2000 with 3 tests while USF Juniors will have a complete racing day, with a practice, followed by qualifying and then Race 1 of the weekend.
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Let’s GET THIS GOING!!!
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