The 2026 USF Pro 2000 Championship presented by Continental Tire is scheduled to be the 28th season of the junior series two levels below the IndyCar series. It will be the fourth season under the USF Pro 2000 moniker after the championship's most recent rebrand in 2023.
Series news
- The scholarship for the champion was increased by around $50,000 to $594,500.[1]
Drivers and teams
All drivers will compete using Tatuus IP-22 racecars with Elite Mazda 2.0-014A engines and Continental tires.
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Team changes
IndyCar team Ed Carpenter Racing announced a partnership with Jay Howard Driver Development, with JHDD's cars in the USF Pro Championships entering under the Jay Howard Driver Development powered by ECR guise.[3]
Driver changes
Reigning champion Max Garcia will leave Pabst Racing and the series to move up to Indy NXT with Abel Motorsports.[7] To replace him, the team promoted G3 Argyros from their USF2000 outfit after he came fourth in 2025.[5]
Turn 3 Motorsport saw both Alessandro de Tullio and Nicholas Monteiro leave the team and the series to join A. J. Foyt Racing on their graduation to Indy NXT.[8][9]
Exclusive Autosport saw Carson Etter move up to Indy NXT, joining Chip Ganassi Racing.[10]
Having already undertaken a part-time campaign alongside his 2025 USF Pro 2000 season, Max Taylor will leave Velocity Racing Development to join Andretti Global on his full-time step up to Indy NXT.[11]
The newly formed JHDD/ECR partnership promoted JT Hoskins from their USF Juniors outfit, with whom he finished 11th in 2025, directly to USF Pro 2000.[4]
Schedule
The 2026 schedule was revealed on October 25, 2025. The championship will visit two street circuits, four road courses and two ovals. It followed its parent series in moving its Canadian rounds from Exhibition Place to the Streets of Markham, while it replaced the round at NOLA Motorsports Park it held in 2024 and 2025 with a second round at Road America. USF Pro 2000 will also add a second oval round, making its debut at the Milwaukee Mile, and replace the Streets of St. Petersburg with the Streets of Arlington as its season-opening venue.[1] All rounds except the weekends at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park and the second weekend at Road America will run in support of the IndyCar Series.[12]
| Icon | Legend |
|---|---|
| O | Oval/Speedway |
| R | Road course |
| S | Street circuit |
| Rd. | Date | Race name | Track | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | March 13–15 | TBA | S Streets of Arlington | Arlington, Texas |
| 2 | ||||
| 3 | May 7–9 | TBA | R Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course | Speedway, Indiana |
| 4 | ||||
| 5 | May 21–22 | TBA | O Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park | Brownsburg, Indiana |
| 6 | June 18–21 | TBA | R Road America | Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin |
| 7 | ||||
| 8 | July 2–5 | TBA | R Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | Lexington, Ohio |
| 9 | ||||
| 10 | ||||
| 11 | August 6–9 | TBA | R Portland International Raceway | Portland, Oregon |
| 12 | ||||
| 13 | August 14–16 | TBA | S Streets of Markham | Markham, Ontario |
| 14 | ||||
| 15 | August 29–30 | TBA | O Milwaukee Mile | West Allis, Wisconsin |
| 16 | September 24–26 | TBA | R Road America | Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin |
| 17 | ||||
| 18 |
Championship standings
Drivers' Championship
- Scoring system
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th | 16th | 17th | 18th | 19th | 20th+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 30 | 25 | 22 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Points (O) | 45 | 38 | 33 | 29 | 26 | 23 | 21 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
- The driver who qualifies on pole will be awarded one additional point.
- One point will be awarded to the driver who led the most laps in a race.
- One point will be awarded to the driver who set the fastest lap during the race.
Teams' championship
- Scoring system
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | 22 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
- Single car teams will receive 3 bonus points as an equivalency to multi-car teams.
- Only the best two results will count for teams fielding more than two entries.
See also
References
- ^ a b "USF Pro Championships Announces 2026 Schedules". USF Pro 2000 Championship. October 25, 2025. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
- ^ "Exclusive Autosport Confirms Brienza for USF Pro 2000 Return in 2026". USF Pro 2000 Championship. November 14, 2025. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
- ^ a b Pruett, Marshall (October 24, 2025). "Carpenter aligns with Cape, Howard | RACER". racer.com. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
- ^ a b "JHDD on Instagram: 'We are excited to welcome back JT Hoskins for a 2 year USFPro2000 campaign!!'". Instagram. December 16, 2025. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
- ^ a b "G3 Argyros Signs with Pabst Racing for USF Pro 2000 in 2026". USF Pro 2000 Championship. December 5, 2025. Retrieved December 7, 2025.
- ^ "Jacob Douglas Signs with Pabst Racing for USF Pro 2000 in 2026". USF Pro 2000 Championship. December 16, 2025. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
- ^ Donahue, Jacob (September 15, 2025). "Max Garcia and ABEL Motorsports to Contest Rookie Season in INDY NXT by Firestone". Abel Motorsports. Retrieved September 15, 2025.
- ^ "Alessandro De Tullio To Compete In 2026 INDY NXT by Firestone Season with AJ Foyt Racing". ajfoytracing. November 5, 2025. Retrieved November 5, 2025.
- ^ Pruett, Marshall (November 14, 2025). "Monteiro joins Foyt Indy NXT team | RACER". racer.com. Retrieved November 14, 2025.
- ^ "Chip Ganassi Racing Signs James Roe, Carson Etter to Join Bryce Aron, Niels Koolen in INDY NXT". chipganassiracing.com. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
- ^ gabbyhamill (October 14, 2025). "Andretti INDY NXT Welcomes Max Taylor to 2026 Driver Lineup". Andretti Global. Retrieved October 14, 2025.
- ^ "USF Pro Championships announces 2026 schedules | RACER". racer.com. October 25, 2025. Retrieved October 25, 2025.
External links
- USF Pro 2000 Championship Official Website
