First half St. Petersburg hosted the season-opening double-header for the 2025 USF Pro 2000 Championship, and
Turn 3 Motorsport’s
Alessandro de Tullio claimed pole position for both races. He spent the first race resisting attacks from
Pabst Racing’s
Max Garcia throughout three caution periods and subsequent restarts, with the pair colliding on Garcia’s final attack. Still, de Tullio was able to hold on and win the race, while Pabst’s
Michael Costello was handed third after a penalty for Exclusive Autosport’s
Mac Clark. Race two saw de Tullio initially continue defending his lead, but this time, Garcia and Clark were able to both pass him on a restart. De Tullio then fell behind
VRD’s
Max Taylor before crashing into the Turn 4 barriers. Garcia secured victory and with it the lead in the standings, with Clark second and Pabst’s
Jacob Douglas completing the podium after a penalty for Taylor.
NOLA Motorsports Park hosted the next three races, and Garcia claimed pole position for race one despite suspension damage late in qualifying, while de Tullio topped the second session to secure race two pole as Garcia’s second-best lap put him on pole for race three. In the opening race, Garcia held the lead at the start but was passed by de Tullio on lap two, and although he closed back in during the second half of the race he was unable to attempt a move. De Tullio therefore took victory in the series’ 350th race, ahead of Garcia and Clark. He then went on to control race two from pole, resisting pressure from Garcia. TJ Speed Motorsports’
Ariel Elkin, who had started in sixth, charged through the field to third, briefly challenging for second before settling for the final podium spot. The third race saw Garcia defend the lead from Douglas, Taylor and de Tullio at the start, with a brief caution triggered by Clark’s stoppage bunching up the field. Garcia held firm under late pressure from de Tullio to secure his second win of the year, while Taylor in third took his maiden podium. The Louisiana triple-header saw Garcia extend his championship lead to 141 points, 16 clear of de Tullio, with Douglas in third. At
Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s road course, TJ Speed’s
Ariel Elkin secured his maiden series pole for the opening race, with points leader Garcia in fourth. Race one featured several caution periods: Douglas briefly led after an early restart before slowing with issues, handing first place back to Elkin, who held off Clark for his first USFP2000 win. Garcia recovered to third to further extend his championship lead. In race two, Elkin again started from pole and initially led under multiple cautions, but a late clash between Taylor and Elkin allowed Douglas to take his first series victory ahead of Clark and Garcia. The chaotic finale saw Taylor, Douglas, and de Tullio all collide in turn one. Garcia was able to avoid the incident and challenge Elkin, but the Israeli repelled his attacks to claim a second win of the weekend. Turn 3 Motorsport’s
Cooper Becklin rose from 11th to finish second, with Costello completing the podium as a drive-through penalty for VRD’s
Frankie Mossman and further incidents reshuffled the order. Garcia salvaged fourth, narrowly behind Costello, to end the weekend with a further extended points advantage of 57 points over de Tullio, with Elkin a further two points behind. The campaign’s sole oval race at
IRP closed off the first half of the season. Clark narrowly beat Elkin to pole position by 0.005 seconds. In the 90-lap race, Elkin took the lead on lap two around the outside and gapped Clark, who then fell behind de Tullio at a mid-race restart. De Tullio also had no answer to Elkin’s pace and followed him home in second. Points leader Garcia came fourth, minimizing the damage to his points lead. Elkin’s victory saw him move past de Tullio to second in the standings, 41 points behind Garcia.
Second half Garcia claimed pole position for all three races held at
Road America, while his closest competitor Elkin suffered electrical issues in qualifying, dropping him down the order. Garcia converted pole into victory in race one, comfortably leading throughout as Clark and Douglas completed the podium. Alessandro de Tullio rose to fourth ahead of Turn 3’s debutant
Joseph Loake, while Elkin recovered to seventh after starting 17th. Race two followed a similar pattern as Garcia again led from pole, briefly losing out to Douglas after a restart but quickly reclaiming control to notch his second win of the weekend. Clark finished second before a post-race penalty dropped him to third behind Douglas, while Elkin completed the top four after a strong drive through the pack. The final race produced more drama, as Taylor claimed his maiden series victory after a decisive outside move on Garcia following an early caution. Clark briefly challenged at the front before finishing runner-up, while Garcia was shuffled down to fourth behind Elkin after going off in a late battle with Taylor. Three podiums saw Clark take second place in the standings, but two wins meant Garcia now had a 72-point championship lead. Garcia secured two more pole positions at
Mid-Ohio. He then dominated race one, leading every lap despite an early caution triggered by contact between
DEForce Racing’s
Jorge Garciarce and Comet/NCMP’s Logan Adams. Elkin resisted pressure from Taylor and de Tullio to finish second, while Douglas completed the top five. Clark’s race unraveled after a clash sent him spinning down the order, and although he recovered to 11th, he lost second place in the standings to Elkin. Race two was a near-repeat, with Garcia again unchallenged as he pulled clear from Douglas to win by almost 10 seconds. Clark climbed into third after passing Mossman, but lacked the pace to match the Pabst Racing pair, while Elkin finished fifth behind Mossman. Garcia’s weekend sweep extended his championship advantage to 97 points over Elkin, with Clark a further nine points back. Qualifying around
Exhibition Place saw Garcia notch pole position for race one, while de Tullio topped the grid for race two. Garcia led every lap of the opening contest, surviving two safety car interruptions to clinch victory and the championship title with three races to spare. Douglas passed Taylor for second place after the second restart, with Taylor later disqualified for his car failing the post-race technical inspection and Clark inheriting third. Race two saw de Tullio start from pole but lose the lead to Mossman on lap six, before reclaiming it with a last-lap move that secured his first win of the season. Mossman had to settle for second, while Douglas claimed third after JHDD’s
Liam McNeilly lost a podium finish in just his second race to a penalty. With two races remaining, Elkin and Clark were now only separated by three points in their fight for the runner-up spot. The season concluded at
Portland with Mossmann and Garcia sharing pole positions in qualifying. The former started the first race with a lockup into the first corner, allowing Garcia to vault from third to the lead by turn two. After an early caution, Garcia was able to break clear. Clark secured second ahead of Mossman, who resisted late pressure from Taylor to secure a second consecutive podium. Garcia then controlled proceedings in the second race despite two early caution periods. Clark’s challenge for the win ended with front wing damage in turn one, while de Tullio ran second ahead of Elkin. Garcia pulled away to win by nearly seven seconds, with Douglas taking third after a late pass on Elkin, who secured the runner-up spot in the standings. De Tullio’s second place lifted him to fourth in the standings, as Garcia ended the year with nine wins and 495 points. Sixteen-year-old rookie Garcia delivered a commanding campaign, clinching the championship with three races to spare before closing the year with a Portland double to equal
Kyle Kirkwood’s
2019 single-season record of nine wins. Garcia opened his account with victory in St. Petersburg and quickly established himself as the benchmark, adding further triumphs at NOLA, Road America, Mid-Ohio and Toronto while only finishing outside the top five on one single occasion. Consistency and speed in qualifying were also key, as he notched nine pole positions across the season. Behind him, Elkin emerged as his closest challenger after victories at Indianapolis and on the IRP oval, but a difficult second half left him fighting for second with Clark while Garcia pulled away. == Championship standings ==