The USF2000 Championship – The First Step on the Road to Indy

There is no doubt that American open wheel racing has been going through a bit of a hard time recently but there are definite signals that those involved in this form of racing, from Indycar down are dealing with the issues at hand and working at growing the sport to regain its previous position as the pinnacle of North American motor sport. One such development is the brand new “Road to Indy” program which unifies the resurrected USF2000 Championship Series with Star Mazda and Indy Lights within a well defined development framework that junior drivers in North America can enter and use to progress up the ladder with the goal of entering Indy Car.

Dan Anderson, the man behind the USF2000 Championship recently spent some time with F1 Prospects to fill us in on his plans for the series, what drivers need to know about it and why he feels this is a positive development to grow open wheel racing in the United States.

F1 Prospects: In everything that I have read the US F2000 series has been referred to as a “rebirth.” For those of us outside of North America, introduce us to the series and tell us a bit about the history of the championship up until today.

Dan Anderson: Throughout the 1990’s, I owned and operated the USF2000 National Championship. During my tenure, many drivers used the series as a step on their climb upward, and many actually made it. Drivers like Sam Hornish, Jr., Dan Wheldon, Buddy Rice, Greg Moore, Greg Ray, Memo Gidley, Andy Lally, Robbie McGehee, Alex Barron, Sam Schmidt, Larry Foyt, Mark Dismore, Jr., and countless others learned in our championship. Some testimonial quotes can be found on our Web site at usf2000.com. In 2001, I sold the series to businessman Jon Baytos, thinking I was retiring from the racing business.

Mr. Baytos operated the series, which he renamed the Cooper F2000 Championship, until it folded in 2006. I stayed out of racing in 2002, but returned in 2003 with a team running in that series. In 2004 I expanded to both F2000 and Star Mazda, and in 2007 we expanded again to Firestone Indy Lights. About a year ago, the IRL approached me to resurrect my old series, which at first I wasn’t interested in doing, but then decided that the time was indeed right to bring it back.

F1P: You are now part of the “Road to Indy” ladder. How do you feel this will benefit the series and those that compete in it?

Having a clearly defined ladder, with overall IRL involvement, is a big plus as it exposes our efforts on this entry level rung to the full IRL audience, including team owners, sponsors, etc. Marketing assistance from the IRL will also help our drivers as they attempt to raise sponsorship and climb upwards. The IRL has a number of new ideas to promote all Road to Indy series and drivers, and it will certainly help.

F1P: What level driver are you targeting for the series and what is a “typical” budget for those trying to compete?

DA: Drivers coming out of karting, school series (such as Skip Barber), SCCA Club racing, Formula Ford (both U.S. and international) and other lower levels would be the type drivers we want to attract.

A typical budget seems to be settling in (all-inclusive) at between $175,000 and $225,000 for the season. That would include additional testing, and drivers who want to run themselves can likely do it for half that figure, though they will likely have a hard time competing with the fully pro teams.

F1P: With the multitude of junior formulae available to a young driver s these days both in Europe and North America, when should a driver seriously consider USF2000 and specifically your championship?

DA: Several reasons…reasonable budgets for a full pro effort; varied venues, including road courses, street circuits and ovals; great exposure on top weekends; and the MAZDASPEED ladder award to the champion. Mazda will give a scholarship to our champion to go towards competing in the next step, the Star Mazda series.

F1P: What do you feel the future holds for open-wheel racing in North America? Are there too many junior series right now even with the demise of Formula BMW Americas?

DA: There are a lot of choices, but if a driver is truly career minded, there are actually only a few. The three levels in the Road to Indy ladder really don’t have serious competition because of what they provide. Other choices are more semi-pro series that may have some benefit, but they don’t provide what our three steps do.

F1P: Do you feel that having an American Formula 1 team will help increase interest in formula racing in the U.S.?

DA: I do, and I hope they are successful.

F1P: Are their many drivers from outside of the U.S. competing in the championship? Do you feel it to be a logical stepping stone for drivers outside of the United States? Are you actively promoting it in Central and South America or Europe?

DA: We are actively promoting it, and we expect participation from around the world. As a new start-up some things will take time, but we believe the United States offers unique opportunities to international drivers who may find better career opportunities here than anywhere else.

F1P: Tell us a bit about the technical aspects of the cars.

DA: The cars are an evolved tube frame Van Diemen chassis, with modern aero, an excellent new PFC brake package, and quite a few adjustments, which aid driver learning. Drivers and their engineers can change the following:

• Ride height and rake

• Tire pressure

• Castor, camber, toe

• Spring size

• Dampers (adjustable Dynamic dampers)

• Sway bars

• Wing angles and

• Gears

Although the cars are not considered “state of the art,” at this level it is far more important to have a reasonably priced package that can operate in a way that is conducive to driver learning, while not going too crazy and requiring teams to spend unnecessary dollars on testing. We strongly believe in the formula and the package. It has worked well over the years.

F1P: Anything else you would like to add that our readers or potential drivers should know?

DA: We are a very “user-friendly” organization, and my staff will assist interested drivers in finding teams, obtaining licenses, even immigration issues. We expect great competition and welcome all.

The schedule for the 2010 is a nice mixture between various ovals, road courses and street races and USF2000 will be supporting everything from the Izod Indycar Series to American Le Mans at the prestigious Petit Le Mans as well as Star Mazda and Formula Atlantic.

2010 USF2000 National Championship

March 27-28: Streets of St. Petersburg (IRL)
May 29: O’Reilly Raceway Park (Night Before the 500)
June 19: Iowa Speedway (IRL)
June 26-27: New Jersey Motorsport Park (Star Mazda, Atlantic Championship)
July 31-August 1: Autobahn (Star Mazda, Atlantic Championship)
August 21-22: Road America (ALMS)
September 30-October 1: Road Atlanta (ALMS – Petit LeMans)

You can get further information on the series by going to http://usf2000.com

Related posts:

1. The Inaugural Road to Indy Summit Is a Huge Hit with USF2000 Drivers
2. USF2000: The Inaugural Road to Indy Summit Is a Huge Hit with USF2000 Drivers
3. Off the Mark: Thoughts on a Rain-Washed Road to Indy
4. STAR MAZDA PARTNERS WITH PERFORMANCE FRICTION TO EXPAND ‘ROAD TO INDY’ PROGRAM WITH INDY LIGHTS TEST FOR SERIES CHAMPION
5. IRL Road to Indy Summmit report