PALMETTO, Fla. – The USF Juniors Presented by Continental Tire championship is reaching toward crunch-time. Ten races are in the books and just six remain – to be held over two weekends – to determine who will win the coveted title and a scholarship to advance onto the next step of the acclaimed USF Pro Championships open-wheel racing development ladder, USF2000, in 2026.
The first of the two upcoming tripleheader events will be held at the challenging Road America track in Elkhart Lake, Wis., as part of the popular GRIDLIFE Summer Apex Music and Motorsports Festival event this coming weekend, July 24-26.
Five young drivers representing three different teams have set themselves apart from the field, with Brazilian teenager Leonardo Escorpioni as the current points leader. Escorpioni, who is based in Windermere, Fla., has won four times for Zanella Racing and is riding a streak of seven podium finishes.
Fellow Florida-based Brazilian Joao Vergara lies only 24 points adrift – with 33 points at stake in each of the remaining six races. Vergara, who drives for VRD Racing, has two race wins to his credit this year, along with three additional podium finishes – including a pair of seconds in the most recent doubleheader event at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in early July.
Victory in the most recent race at Mid-Ohio has vaulted Liam Loiacono, from Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, to third in the standings for the Jay Howard Driver Development team. Just...
Loiacono has accumulated 198 points – 43 adrift of Escorpioni – as has second-generation racer Oliver Wheldon, who, like Vergara, represents VRD Racing. The pair are separated only by the fact Loiacono now has two wins to his name (the second also came at Mid-Ohio, in wet conditions, in June), while Wheldon is still searching for that elusive first victory. Nevertheless, Wheldon’s tally of seven podium finishes has been surpassed only by Escorpioni.
The fifth contender in the title fight is Ty Fisher, who drives alongside Escorpioni at the crack Zanella Racing squad. Fisher, who, like Wheldon, is only 14 years of age, hails from White Rock, B.C., Canada.
Fisher lies only four points further back in the title standings and is also a two-time winner. He seemingly claimed a magnificent third triumph also at Mid-Ohio earlier this month, only to be denied when his car failed post-race technical inspection.
Fisher will therefore return to action for the Elite Engines Grand Prix of Road America with a point to prove, especially since he and teammate Escorpioni were fastest during a midseason test at the same challenging 4.014-mile, 14-turn road course in June. On that occasion they were separated by only 0.0053 of a second.
In addition to all the usual contenders, the field will be bolstered by the addition of karting standouts Colin Aitken, from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., who is set to make his debut with VRD Racing and Rahim Alibhai, from Miami, Fla., who will join the Zanella Racing squad.
The race weekend will commence with a pair of 50-minute test sessions on Thursday, July 24, followed by 40 minutes of official practice at 1:00 p.m. CDT. A single 20 minutes of qualifying later in the afternoon at 4:20 p.m. will determine the starting order for the first two races on Friday at 9:15 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. The third and final race will start at 10:55 a.m. on Saturday, July 26.
Full coverage, including timing and live streaming, can be found on the free USF Pro Championships App, YouTube channel and the usfjuniors.com website.