SPEEDWAY, Ind. – The annual USF Pro Fall Combine test kicked off today at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix road course with a total of nine sessions – three for each of the three junior open-wheel categories that comprise USF Pro Championships Presented by Continental Tire.

Rookie Andres Cardenas, from Lima, Peru, emerged fastest for Jay Howard Driver Development in USF Pro 2000, while Exclusive Autosport veteran Evan Cooley, from Mokena, Ill., topped the timing charts in USF2000 and another newcomer, Ivan Machado Perez, from Madrid, Spain, set the pace in USF Juniors for Olivia Racing. 

The tightest group of times came in the senior category, USF Pro 2000, with a different driver heading the way in each session.

This season’s recently crowned USF2000 champion, Jack Jeffers, from San Antonio, Texas, led the way this morning for Exclusive Autosport at 1:21.4442. Consistent track conditions – and cool ambient temperatures – saw lap times progressively improve as VRD Racing’s Frankie Mossman, from Newport Beach, Calif., was fastest immediately after lunch at 1:21.3462 and then Cardenas took advantage of fresh tires at the end of the day to record a best of 1:21.1331.

"I'm really happy with the work we've done,” said Cardenas, who has raced in Europe the past few years, firstly in Spanish F4 and this season in Eurocup3. “I have watched the INDYCAR series a lot and I knew about the opportunities [in North America], and I’m very happy to be here.

“It's my first time on this circuit with everything new to me, but it's super nice that the team gave me a car that is really quick. That has given me confidence of course. The main difference for me is the engine. I have always driven (previously) with turbo engines, so it's different with the engine braking, the throttle response, but I adapted quite quickly. The first session was a little bit difficult, but now of course it started to go better and better, so I'm happy with the progress."

Pabst Racing pair G3 Argyros, from Newport Beach, Calif., and New Zealander Jacob Douglas ended up fractionally shy of Cardenas’ best time, with Turn 3 Motorsport’s Michael Costello, from Sarasota, Fla., only a tenth further back in fourth.

Evan Cooley, who placed sixth in his rookie season of USF2000 Presented by Continental Tire, used the experience to excellent effort by recording a best time of 1:24.6455 this afternoon – fractionally faster than the existing race lap record set by Braden Eves at 1:24.7440 back in 2019.

“The day was really good," said Cooley. "I led all three sessions, just working on my driving a lot. We changed some things to the car, just finding a little bit more time, but overall, a really good day. I'm excited for tomorrow.

"Experience is definitely big. This will be my second year in USF2000, and having the time in the car really helps a lot."

Exclusive Autosport teammate Anthony Martella, from Toronto, Ont., Canada, followed in second place today at 1:24.8038, followed by DEForce Racing’s Sebastian Garzon, from Neiva, Colombia.

Another Toronto native, Jensen Burnett, was the fastest rookie, seventh overall at 1:25.3494 for VRD Racing.

In USF Juniors, rookie Machado Perez impressed enormously by posting the fastest laps in two of today’s three sessions.

Machado Perez, who has already clinched this year’s Skip Barber Formula Race Series title, turned a fastest lap of 1:29.1521 to edge Evan Cooley’s younger brother Brenden (Exclusive Autosport), from Mokena, Ill., by a tick over four tenths of a second.

"I'm here because the guys from Olivia Racing invited me to do the test and see how everything could go,” said Machado. “Yesterday when we arrived and I was looking at the environment around me, being here in Indianapolis just feels unreal. It really gives me a lot of chills, a lot of good vibes. And also to be able to do some fast laps around here is just a mental experience.

“After a great season in the Skip Barber Series, this is my second chance to racing,” continued Machado Perez, who competed in some European formula car racing a few years ago  before “retiring” from the sport at age 19 due to the lack of a budget, then earning an opportunity to join the Skip Barber ranks after securing an iRacing scholarship . The day has been pretty good all around. From the first moment I’ve felt very comfortable with the car. Also, the guys have worked really, really hard to make several setup changes that have suited me very, very good. By the end of the day, I was just feeling super comfortable with the car, being able to throw it around pretty happily and just pointing it wherever I wanted. So, yeah, pretty happy with how the day has gone and looking forward to tomorrow and seeing if we can improve.”

Cooley, who placed 10th in his rookie season of USF Juniors, was quickest in the opening session this morning and ended the day second fastest, less than a tenth clear of Exclusive Autosport teammate Justin Di Lucia, from Palm Beach, Fla.

The USF Pro Fall Combine test will conclude tomorrow following three more sessions for each of the three classes. Once again, live timing will be available on the respective series websites, usfpro2000.com, usf2000.com and usfjuniors.com.