Looking at the Ladder Series
By Dan Layton
Ed Note: Dan was a Formula Ford and Formula Atlantics pilot, while also being a long-time Team USA Scholarship judge. That makes him a great person to look at the ladders series action from St. Petersburg, Fla.
Q – When a racing driver happiest?
A – Just before the start of the season, when all things are possible….
The 2025 season has officially started for three open-wheel ladder series leading to INDYCAR: Indy NXT, USF Pro 2000 and USF2000, so how are the three series shaping up after the first race weekend of 2025?
USF2000
Not atypically, there was a massive turnover in the USF2000 driver pool for this season, with 14 of the 19 drivers in the field classified as rookies to the series. Of the newcomers, Liam McNeilly emerged triumphant with a near complete sweep of the weekend for Jay Howard Driver Development: front row start for race 1, pole for race 2, and a pair of race wins highlighted by a flag-to-flag romp in Saturday’s race.
Moving up from USF Juniors, where he finished a close second in 2024 as well as running a single USF2000 round, McNeilly started on the outside of the front row for Friday’s race 1, claimed the lead after an early-race caution and remained at the front the rest of the weekend – winning race 1 despite constant pressure from Jack Jeffers, then starting from the pole and leading throughout in Saturday’s second 20-lap run.
Jeffers also had an impressive weekend, the 18-year-old Exclusive Autosport Texan made two previous USF2000 starts in the series last year, then turned his focus to USF Juniors. Finishing second to McNeilly in both rounds this weekend, after qualifying third (race 1) and fourth (race 2), Jeffers two was impressive.
The returning drivers include G3 Argyros, now with Pabst Racing; Lucas Fecury, moving to Exclusive Autosport from DEForce Racing; Brady Golan, who returns with DEForce; Ayrton Houk (moving from DC Autosport to Benchmark, run by his father Kevin and former DC owner Don Conner); and Thomas Schrage, now with VRD Racing.
Of the sophomores, Schrage had the strongest runs, the 2022 Team USA Scholarship winner started last on Friday following a crash in qualifying, but was 12th at the checkers. On Saturday, with less attrition, he gained nine positions to finish 7th after starting 16th.
Both Argyros and Houk had good runs on Friday, Argyros finishing fifth after starting ninth; while 2023 Team USA winner Houk went from 15th to ninth in the first race.
Finally, the newest racing Cameron, 14-year-old Christian (son of former winning IMSA driver/now team owner Steve and nephew of IMSA champion Dane) who impressed with an eighth-place finish in his USF2000 debut.
USF PRO2000
A 22-car field started off the USF PRO2000 season at St. Pete. Here It was Alessandro De Tullio claiming the laurels in race 1. Returning to the sport late last year after a (lack of) finance-forced sabbatical, the 18-year-old from Miami put his Turn 3 Motorsport entry on the pole, then held off attacks from Pabst Racing’s Max Garcia on each of the restarts following three separate cautions to take the win.
Behind the lead pair, the battle for the final podium spot was fierce, with USF2000 graduates Elliot Cox, Mac Clark and Michael Costello all contesting the spot. Cox had the advantage right up to the final restart, but was jumped by Clark on the run to the first turn. A last-lap attempt by Cox to retake the spot, and equally fierce defense from Clark, saw Cox off at Turn 9. Clark took the checkers in third for Exclusive Autosport, but a post-race penalty dropped him to fourth behind Costello, who had come up from ninth on the grid.
Also of note on Saturday, Max Taylor made the most of each restart to finish fifth after starting back in 13th. Cooper Becklin came home sixth, followed by Nicholas Monteiro, who impressively came through the field from 19th, with Jace Denmark rounding out the top eight finishers for TJ Speed.
In Sunday’s race, while while De Tullio took an early lead, it was Costello and Cox making contact while battling for third, taking both out of the race in the first of four cautions.
After a second caution, for Tyke Durst’s crash in the first turn, Garcia got inside of De Tullio to take the lead, while Clark snagged second one turn later. Three laps later, De Tullio went into the Turn 4 barriers to end his day for the third caution of the race.
Following one more caution – after Becklin hit the rear of Douglas and crashed down the run-off area – Garcia opened up a two-second lead over the final two laps to claim victory ahead of Clark. With a 2-1 overall result, Garcia also left St. Petersburg with the early-season points lead. Taylor was ordered to give up third to Douglas under the final caution for blocking, and had to settle for fourth. Former Formula Regional European driver Owen Tangavelou finished his US debut weekend with fifth.
Indy NXT
For a race report from Sunday’s Indy NXT season opener, check out the coverage from TSO’s Steve Wittich (Hauger completes perfect weekend, winning from pole in his first INDY NXT by Firestone appearance). Meanwhile, here’s a look at the field that makes up the final step on the ladder to INDYCAR:
First things first – Dennis Hauger spanked the field this weekend – of that there is no doubt. But what makes that even more impressive is just how stout this year’s field is in total.
Abel Motorsports has Callum Hedge, the 2023 Formula Regional Americas and Porsche Cup Australia Champion, who finished fourth in the 2024 Indy NXT championship; 2nd generation racer Jack William Miller; Jordan Missig, a race winner in Radicals, Formula Regional Americas, and Lamborghini Super Trofeo; and Miles Rowe, a race winner in every previous category he had run and 2023 USF PRO2000 champion.
Andretti Global fields Salvador de Alba, 2021 NASCAR Mexico race winner and champion; the aforementioned Hauger, an eight-time karting champion, FIA Formula 3 race and championship winner in 2021, and Formula 2 race winner; 2022 Formula 4 USA Champion and 2024 USFPRO2000 champion Lochie Hughes; and James Roe, a race winner in sports cars, F3 Americas and USF PRO2000.
The affiliated Andretti-Cape Motorsports features the returning Ricardo Escotto, also a USF PRO2000 race winner; and rookie Sebastian Murray, the 18-year-old Scot making the step up from British Formula 3 (similar to Formula Regional Americas).
New to IndyNXT this year, but not to winning races and championships, is Chip Ganassi Racing, with cars for a pair of second-year NXT drivers: Jonathan Browne, a Formula Ford Festival champion (2019) and yet another USF PRO2000 race winner; and Niels Koolen, both drivers joining Ganassi from HMD Motorsports.
Speaking of HMD, Henry Malukas’ organization continues to field the largest team of drivers in NXT competition, a nine entry armada for 2025. Nolan Allaer is a three-time SCCA National Champion in Formula Ford and Formula Continental; Bryce Aron is a 2020 Team USA Scholarship winner, race winner in British Formula 3 and Formula Regional Oceana, and made his IMSA GTP debut driving a Porsche 963 for JDC Motorsports at January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, finishing sixth.
After impressing as a rookie in 2024, winning once and finishing third in the title chase, Brazilian Caio Collett returns for a second season with HMD; Hailee Deegan makes the huge move from Off-Road and NASCAR to open wheel racing in Indy NXT; Sophia Floersch also makes a big move, from FIA Formula 3 and European Le Mans Series prototypes to America and Indy NXT; Josh Pierson will combine an Indy NXT program with sports car racing in both IMSA and the World Endurance Championship; while rookie Liam Sceats moves up from USF PRO2000, where he won on the IMS road course in 2024. Tommy Smith, a veteran of FIA Formula 3 and Formula Regional Oceanas racing, completes the full-season HMD lineup.
The final HMD entry will be shared this year by Nikita Johnson, who is expected to contest four rounds in addition to a European program; and Max Taylor, who will add six races with HMD to a full season of USF PRO2000 competition.
