PALMETTO, Fla. – Another exciting USF Pro Championships Presented by Continental Tire season will reach its conclusion this week, August 8-10, at Portland International Raceway. The 1.964-mile road course situated just a few miles from downtown Portland, Ore., will feature races for all three levels of the highly acclaimed open-wheel driver development ladder, in addition to INDY NXT and the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

And on Monday, August 11, Andersen Promotions will host its traditional Championship Celebration on the Columbia Riverfront, where scholarships and prizes worth almost $1.5 million will be shared among drivers seeking to progress along the three-step open-wheel development ladder in pursuit of a future in the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

One of the three championships has already been decided. A few weeks ago on the streets surrounding Exhibition Place, some 2,500 miles to the east in Toronto, Ont., Canada, 16-year-old Max Garcia etched his name in the history books as the youngest ever USF Pro 2000 champion. The other two categories, USF2000 and USF Juniors, will be decided during their respective Continental Tire Grand Prix of Portland tripleheader events.

Pabst Racing’s Garcia, from Coconut Grove, Fla., doesn’t have much to prove after securing the USF Pro 2000 title with two races remaining – his second successive championship after also sweeping to the USF2000 crown one year ago. However, with seven race wins to his credit this season, Garcia does have an opportunity during this weekend’s doubleheader finale to match the single-season record of nine set by current NTT INDYCAR SERIES star Kyle Kirkwood, who established the standard on his way to winning the championship in 2019.

Attention also will be focused on a tight battle for second place in the points table. The position is currently held by Israel’s Ariel Elkin, who has won twice this season for TJ Speed Motorsports. But Mac Clark remains hot on his heels for Exclusive Autosport. The personable Canadian trails by only three points and is still seeking an elusive maiden USF Pro 2000 victory. He has fond memories of the Portland track after securing his maiden USF2000 win during an exploratory outing in 2022 having already clinched the inaugural USF Juniors crown.

Turn 3 Motorsport’s Alessandro de Tullio, from Miami, Fla., and Pabst Racing’s Jacob Douglas, from Christchurch, New Zealand, also remain in contention as second through fifth are currently bracketed by 25 points with a maximum score of 66 still on the table.

VRD Racing’s Max Taylor, from Hoboken, N.J., and Frankie Mossman, from Newport Beach, Calif., are looking to complete their seasons on a high note, too. Taylor, the 2024 USF Juniors champion, claimed his first win at Road America in June, while Mossman led the majority of the most recent race in Toronto before succumbing to a spectacular pass by de Tullio on the final lap. VRD Racing has won the last three races at Portland dating back to 2023.

Local driver Cooper Becklin also will have high expectations in his home event for Turn 3 Motorsport, while Australian Miles Bromley will make his USF Pro Championships debut with TJ Speed Motorsport. Bromley, a former champion karter, has spent the year working as a race mechanic for the TJ Speed team after previously competing in the Australian Formula Open (aka Formula 3) Championship.

The schedule will begin with a pair of 45-minute test sessions on Thursday afternoon, August 7, then continue on Friday with 30 minutes of official practice at 10:30 a.m. PDT and a single qualifying session later in the day at 4:10 p.m. Race One will see a green flag at 10:20 a.m on Saturday with the season finale set for Sunday, immediately after the NTT INDYCAR SERIES headline event, at 2:50 p.m.

Teenaged Texan Jack Jeffers is riding the crest of a wave. Jeffers, who recently celebrated his 19th birthday, has won four races in a row for the Exclusive Autosport team and now holds a commanding 51-point advantage in the USF2000 point standings with just three races remaining

A few weeks ago, the picture had looked entirely different. Jeffers and primary rival Thomas Schrage (VRD Racing), from Bethel, Ohio, were tied on points heading into a doubleheader event on the streets of Toronto. But a pair of wins for Jeffers, including a spectacular pass on Schrage in the opening race, combined with a pair of poor results for Schrage, turned the title chase on its head.

That scenario only goes to show how quickly things can change. It also explains why Jeffers will be taking no chances this weekend with a scholarship valued at more than $405,000 at stake to ensure progression to USF Pro 2000 in 2026.

Teddy Musella, from Orlando, Fla., also holds a legitimate title hope, only five points behind his VRD teammate, Schrage, following a streak of 10 top-six finishes.

G3 Argyros, from Newport Beach, Calif., who claimed a surprise maiden USF2000 victory during a chaotic race in Portland one year ago, also will be among the front runners, along with rookie Pabst Racing teammate Caleb Gafrarar, from Charlotte, N.C.

Additional contenders for race wins will include Jay Howard Driver Development stablemates Brad Majman, from Melbourne, Australia, and Anthony Martella, from Toronto, Ont., Canada, as well as a second Australian, Eddie Beswick, who claimed a breakthrough second-place finish last month in Toronto for Australian-owned Synergy Motorsport.

Two 45-minute test sessions on Thursday afternoon will provide a springboard for a busy day on Friday which will begin with 30 minutes of practice at 9:45 a.m. and continue with a crucial, single period of qualifying at 12:10 p.m. before concluding with the first of three 25-lap races at 5:50 p.m. Two more races will wrap up the weekend and the season at 3:25 p.m. on Saturday and 3:55 p.m. on Sunday.

The USF Juniors crown also will be decided over three races. And as with USF2000, the championship took a major turn during the most recent event – a tripleheader at Road America, where yet another Australian, Liam Loiacono, swept the weekend for Jay Howard Driver Development to vault from fifth to second place in the point standings.

Loiacono now trails Florida-based Brazilian Leonardo Escorpioni by only 14 points with a maximum score of 99 still up for grabs. The ultimate winner will pocket a scholarship valued at almost $250,000 to ensure progression to USF2000 in 2026.

Zanella Racing’s Escorpioni has held the points lead ever since winning the fifth round (out of 16) at Barber Motorsports Park in early May. Remarkably, he has failed to finish on the podium only twice this season. The first occasion was at NOLA Motorsports Park in April when he experienced a rare mechanical failure. The only other time was the opening race at Road America, where he rebounded brilliantly from a problem in qualifying, which restricted him to 17th on the grid, to finish a strong fourth.

Fifteen-year-old Escorpioni also displayed his class in the other two races at Road America, rising from seventh on the grid to second in Race Two and then a magnificent charge to second again – after starting 14th – in the finale.

By contrast, title rivals Joao Vergara and Oliver Wheldon, teammates at VRD Racing and both hailing from Florida, and Zanella Racing’s Ty Fisher, from White Rock, B.C., Canada, all experienced difficulties in Wisconsin. They now hold only a slim chance of overhauling Escorpioni and Loiacono.

Another Florida racer, Justin Di Lucia, is set to dip his toes in the water by making his debut for Exclusive Autosport.

As with the other two series, the USF Juniors field will take advantage of a pair of 45-minute test sessions on Thursday. A hectic Friday will include practice at 9:00 a.m., an all-important qualifying session later in the morning at 11:30 and then the first of three 15-lap races at 4:55 p.m. Their season will conclude on Saturday with two more races set to see the green flag at 2:30 p.m. and 6:20 p.m.