Copyright RACER
Two days of testing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix road course wrapped up this afternoon with the conclusion of the traditional post-season USF Pro Championships Presented by Continental Tire Fall Combine. Cool, dry conditions persisted throughout the weekend, providing teams and drivers on all three steps of the open-wheel development ladder an opportunity to properly commence preparations for the 2026 season. Generally speaking, slightly warmer temperatures allied to a clearing sky ensured that lap times yesterday were fractionally faster. It was still an enormously productive exercise for the total of 65 drivers representing more than a dozen nations, and ended with Andres Cardenas, from Lima, Peru, fastest in USF Pro 2000 for Jay Howard Driver Development, Exclusive Autosport’s Evan Cooley setting the pace in USF2000 and Ivan Machado Perez posting the best times in USF Juniors for Olivia Racing. Cardenas took advantage of overcast conditions – and a fresh set of Continental tires – this morning to set what would stand as the fastest lap of the weekend at 1m20.7744s. The top five times in USF Pro 2000 were set this morning, with Mac Clark just 0.1322s shy of the quick time for Exclusive Autosport. Frankie Mossman ended the weekend a very close third for VRD Racing as G3 Argyros (Pabst Racing) and Michael Costello (Turn 3 Motorsport)rounded out the top five. Peru’s Cardenas once again was fastest in the final session of the weekend, edging Jacob Douglas (Pabst Racing) by less than a tenth of a second. “I came here with no expectations, to be fair, but I'm happy about everything,” said Cardenas. “In my opinion, the car is even better than in Europe, and everything about the series – the safety, the stewards, the scrutineering – seems very good. It's completely new to me but I really liked the car, how it handles and I really liked working with the Jay Howard team. Let's see what we can do for the future." Cooley continued to set the pace in USF2000 today for Exclusive Autosport. He was once again fastest in each of the first two sessions, before opting to complete just a few laps in the final go-round which left the door open for Sebastian Garzon to lead the way for DEForce Racing. Cooley’s fastest lap from yesterday, 1m24.6455s, remained quickest overall, while his session-leading lap from this morning, 1m24.7235s, also stood as the best of the day. "This year was my rookie year, so I'm still learning a lot," said Cooley, "but I think I'm ready to go for a championship in 2026. This weekend showed what we've been working on. We were top in five out of the six sessions and just pulled in early in the last one. So overall, it was a really good weekend. I will be one of the favorites for next year and I'm excited to get back on track next time." Anthony Martella also enjoyed a strong showing aboard a second Exclusive Autosport Tatuus. Martella was second in all six 35-minute sessions, concluding the weekend with a best of 1m24.8038s, followed by Garzon, and rookie Jensen Burnett, who improved today to 1:24.9011 for VRD Racing. Teammate Joao Vergara completed the top five as he seeks to progress from USF Juniors in 2026. Machado Perez and Brenden Cooley, younger brother of Evan, continued to trade times in USF Juniors today. Cooley topped the timing charts this morning, while Machado Perez took advantage of a fresh set of Continental tires to record the day’s fastest lap on his final time around the 2.439-mile road course. “This weekend has been really impressive,” said Machado Perez, whose best lap at 1m29.1521s came in the third session on Saturday. “I think it's totally what motorsports needs – a good ladder system with good scholarships in order to really boost racing drivers that have the talent to make it to the top. Let's hope I can try to benefit from it. “I'm still a bit shocked because it's a different environment to what I'm used to, but really, really good. And the competition around seems tough. So I think if I'm able to make it to next year, it's going to be really, really fun.” Cooley also impressed for Exclusive Autosport as he looks to build upon the experience he gained during his rookie campaign in 2025. "My rookie season, I learned a lot," said Cooley. "It was my first year really competitively racing, so I was pretty green, but I learned a lot with racecraft, pace and first of all just driving a race car. We improved a lot from where we were from the beginning of the season, showed some good pace, and I’m looking forward to carrying that into next season – but this time trying to go for wins and a championship. Be the leader, not the chaser." Justin Di Lucia this afternoon bettered his fastest lap from yesterday to end up third on the overall charts for Exclusive Autosport ahead of Polish karting standout Karol Pasiewicz (Olivia Racing) and Max Mokarem (Zanella Racing). The USF Pro Championships teams will now spend time finalizing their plans for the 2026 season, which will officially begin with the annual pre-season test at Homestead-Miami Speedway in South Florida on Feb. 17-18.
