PALMETTO, Fla. – All three levels on the USF Pro Championships Presented by Continental Tire open-wheel driver development ladder will be in action this Fourth of July weekend at the challenging Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio.

The PFC Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio on the 2.258-mile, 13-turn road course will allow young drivers in USF Pro 2000, USF2000 and USF Juniors to display their talents alongside the NTT INDY CAR SERIES and INDY NXT as all three championship chases are reaching a pivotal point in the season.

Two weeks ago at Road America, Max Garcia strengthened his USF Pro 2000 championship lead as he bids to become the third driver in the past 12 years to claim back-to-back titles in USF2000 and USF Pro 2000. The last two to achieve the feat were Kyle Kirkwood, in 2018/2019, and Christian Rasmussen, in 2020/2021. Both will be among the NTT INDYCAR SERIES field this weekend – alongside another dozen USF Pro Championship graduates.

Garcia, 16, from Coconut Grove, Fla., scored five race wins on his way to claiming the USF2000 title last year for Pabst Racing. Three poles and a pair of victories at Road America took his 2025 season tally to four and his points lead to 72 with six races remaining on the schedule.

The battle for second place has intensified with five drivers currently bracketed by 45 points. A hat-trick of podium finishes has vaulted Canadian Mac Clark (Exclusive Autosport) to the position of closest challenger to Garcia, merely one point ahead of Israeli rookie Ariel Elkin, who has won three times for TJ Speed Motorsports after stepping up directly from USF Juniors.

Alessandro de Tullio, from Miami, Fla., also has three wins to his credit for Turn 3 Motorsport, although his most recent victory came at NOLA Motorsports Park in May. He now lies 12 markers adrift of Clark.

Last year’s USF Juniors champion Max Taylor (VRD Racing), from Hoboken, N.J., who secured his first win at Road America, and New Zealander Jacob Douglas (Pabst Racing) also remain in the mix, 32 and 33 points, respectively, behind de Tullio.

Nick Gilkes, from Richmond Hill, Ont., Canada, is set to make his USF Pro 2000 debut with Jay Howard Driver Development in advance of an event at his home track on the streets of Toronto in two weeks’ time. Gilkes, a former Ontario Formula Ford 1600 Champion, also has achieved success in Europe in recent years.

A pair of 45-minute test sessions on Thursday, July 3, will commence activities for the USF Pro 2000 competitors, followed by 30 minutes of practice at 9:45 a.m. EDT on Friday and the lone qualifying session at 12:15 p.m. A pair of 30-lap races will be held on Saturday, July 5, starting at 11:55 a.m. and 5:15 p.m..

Even though Thomas Schrage’s run of seven consecutive USF2000 podium finishes for VRD Racing, including two victories, came to an end in the most recent race at Road America, the 20-year-old from Bethel, Ohio, will make the short trip to his home track this weekend with a 27-point advantage over his nearest challenger, Exclusive Autosport’s Jack Jeffers.

Schrage has been looking forward to this event for the entire season. He won twice at Mid-Ohio en route to claiming the FRP Formula 1600 Championship in 2022 and impressed on his USF2000 debut at the same venue in 2023, overcoming a mechanical problem in qualifying to notch a pair of top-10 finishes and a clean sweep of three Tilton Hard Charger Awards. A second partial campaign in 2024 – and his maiden outing with VRD Racing – yielded his first fastest race lap, pole position and podium finish.

Jeffers, from San Antonio, Texas, began his year as the closest challenger to Englishman Liam McNeilly, who blitzed the first five races in a row for Jay Howard Driver Development before visa difficulties prevented him from continuing. Jeffers finished second in each of the first three races and looked set to strengthen his title challenge after taking pole for both of the most recent races at Road America.

Unfortunately, a crash in the opening race left Jeffers on the back foot, although he remains solidly in title contention.

Jeffers’ miscue has opened the door for a second VRD Racing challenger, Teddy Musella. The rookie from Orlando, Fla., last year’s Ligier JS F4 champion, took both poles at the Indianapolis Grand Prix circuit in May. After following home Schrage in a fine one-two VRD finish in Race One at Road America, Musella went on to claim his maiden victory in Race Two. He has now closed to within nine points of Jeffers with six races remaining – starting with this weekend’s tripleheader.

Other likely contenders will include Pabst Racing’s G3 Argyros, from Newport Beach, Calif., and Caleb Gafrarar, from Charlotte, N.C., while last year’s Mazda Scholarship Shootout contender Vaughn Mishko, from Sylvan Lake, Mich., will make his USF2000 debut with DEForce Racing.

Two 45-minute test sessions on Thursday and 30 minutes of official practice at 8:55 a.m. on Friday will lead into the crucial single USF2000 qualifying session at 11:25 a.m., which will help determine the grids for all three races – one at 2:05 p.m. on Friday, a second at 4:20 p.m. on Saturday and the finale at 8:20 a.m. on Sunday, July 6.

The top four drivers in a hotly contested USF Juniors championship are separated by only 23 points heading into this weekend’s Mid-Ohio doubleheader. The battle for the Teams Championship also is hotly contested with just 17 points separating Zanella Racing from VRD Racing.

Each team has two protagonists in the chase. Zanella currently leads the way with Florida-based Brazilian Leonardo Escorpioni, a three-time winner, holding a mere seven-point edge over top rookie Oliver Wheldon (VRD). The 14-year-old younger brother of Sebastian (both sons of the late, lamented Dan Wheldon), from St. Petersburg, Fla., is still seeking his maiden victory, despite having finished on the podium in seven of the first eight races of the season.

Young Canadian rookie Ty Fisher, aboard a second Zanella entry, and another Florida-based Brazilian, Joao Vergara (VRD) have two wins apiece and stand 19 and 23 points off the lead, respectively. Half of the season – eight races – remain on the schedule.

Australian Liam Loiacono also is in the title chase for Jay Howard Driver Development, especially after claiming an emphatic maiden victory in the most recent race – in the wet at Mid-Ohio during the IMSA weekend in early June. Loiacono trails Escorpioni by 40 points with a total of 66 available this weekend

The inclement weather in June saw Emma Scarborough (InterMS), from Senoia, Ga., and Kaylee Countryman (Exclusive Autosport), from Chandler, Ariz., secure their maiden top-10 finishes, while a third female, locally based Maddie Colleran, from Hunting Valley, Ohio, also seeks to continue her learning curve with Zanella Racing.

Chase Fernandez, from Manchester, England, a race winner already this year in the British F4 series, will make his USF Juniors debut with Jay Howard Driver Development.

In common with the other two USF Pro Championships series, a pair of 45-minute test sessions will start the weekend ball rolling for USF Juniors on Thursday afternoon. A busy day on Friday will comprise practice at 8:05 a.m., qualifying at 10:35 a.m. and the first race at 1:05 p.m. Race Two is set to see a green flag at 9:40 a.m. on Saturday.