U.S. F2000 National Championship

U.S. F2000 National Championship

Category	Single seaters
Country	United States
Inaugural season	1990
Drivers	20
Teams	11
Constructors	Élan Motorsport Technologies
Engine suppliers	Mazda, Ford
Tyre suppliers	Cooper Tires
Drivers' champion	Nico Jamin
Teams' champion	Cape Motorsports
Official website	usf2000.com
Current season

The Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda is an American racing series using the American variation of the Formula Ford formula, "F2000", that resumed operation for the 2010 season. It is sanctioned by IndyCar,^[1] and is the first rung of the Mazda Road to Indy.

History

Andersen/Foschi era

The series was initially founded by Doug Powell in 1990, and regularly fielded over 60 entries per race. In the first seasons the series was mainly based in the western part of the United States sanctioned by the United States Auto Club.^[2] For 1992 the series started an Western Division and an Eastern Division, the Eastern Division being headed by Dan Andersen and Mike Foschi. In the 1992 season the race at Indianapolis Raceway Park (Night before the 500) and the race at Heartland Park Topeka (East-West Shootout) counted towards both championships and attracted huge fields. It was a regular site at Indianapolis that drivers had to qualify on time to make the grid for the race. In the same year the Sports Car Club of America founded the American Continental Championship. All three classes utilized the same set of rules, based on the SCCA Formula Continental regulations. In 1994 both USAC series were merged into one national championship.

For 1995 the SCCA series merged with the USAC series. Creating one national championship co-sanctioned between the SCCA and USAC. The series ran on the same tracks as high ranking series such as the Indy Racing League, NASCAR Winston Cup and Trans-Am Series. Many drivers graduated into the higher ranking series such as Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon.

Jon Baytos era

In June 2001 the series promotor, Formula Motorsports, Inc. (headed by Andersen and Foschi), was sold to Primus Racing, Inc. (headed by Jon Baytos).^[3] Jon Baytos introduced a number of controversial rule changes that brought the series out of alignment with similar Sports Car Club of America classes. The two liter Ford NEA engine was replaced by a two-liter Ford Zetec engine which produced ten horsepower more. The shock package was also upgraded.^[4] The series also ran under Grand-Am Road Racing sanctioning. The number of competitors dwindled and the series folded at the end of the 2006 season.^[5] For 2004 until the series folding in 2006 SCCA Pro Racing was the sanctioning body for the series.^[6]

IndyCar era

For 2010, the U.S. F2000 National Championship returned under the leadership of Dan Andersen, who then owned professional racing teams in Star Mazda and Indy Lights. The intent was to return F2000 to its status as a stepping stone to higher calibers of professional open wheel racing in the United States. The car rule package includes two sub-classes: the Championship class requires a Van Diemen chassis with a league mandated aerodynamics package, and a sealed Mazda MZR engine. In 2017, a new chassis will be introduced. The Tatuus USF-17 is a significant technology leap over the current Van Diemen USF2000 chassis. It is a full carbon monocoque chassis built to the latest FIA F3 test specifications utilizing the current Mazda MZR 2.0-liter naturally aspirated engine with additional safety features to meet the specific needs of racing in the United States.

The USF2000 champion will receive a scholarship package from Mazda to advance to the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires in 2017. The series is also part of the Mazda Motorsports Development program which assists young drivers in advancing from the Skip Barber Racing School to USF2000. Dakota Dickerson is the latest winner of the Skip Barber Shootout and will earn a $200,000 scholarship from Mazda to advance to USF2000 in 2016.

Timeline

Sub-championships

Throughout the years the USF2000 series featured a number of sub-championships competitors could be eligible for.

Oval Crown

In 1996 the series introduced the Road to Indy Oval Crown. Races at Walt Disney World Speedway, Pikes Peak International Raceway, Lowe's Motor Speedway and other ovals counted towards the Oval Crown. The championship was continued until the 2002 season.

American Continental Championship

Named after the former SCCA F2000 series, the American Continental Championship, was introduced in 1999. The second tier class was open for Formula Ford 2000 cars manufactured between 1990 and 1996 and also Van Diemen chassis built in 1997.^[7] The class continued until the 2003 season. As only three drivers competed the class in 2003, the class was dropped for 2004.^[8]

National class

With the re-introduction of USF2000 in 2010, the National class was introduced. For 2010 and 2011 the national class was open to every Formula Continental spec car.^[9] For 2012 and 2013 the Formula Continental cars were outlawed. The cars allowed were the SCCA Formula Enterprises cars. The Formula Enterprises had their own pro series in 2010 and 2011, a number of the cars joined the USF2000 field for 2012. For 2012 and 2013 the Formula Enterprises cars were not allowed at Indianapolis Raceway Park. Due to low car counts, the National Class was discontinued for 2014 and 2015. The class returns in 2016, open to all Sports Car Club of America-legal FC (Formula Continental) cars, from any chassis manufacturer, dating back to 2000. The season champion garners an invitation to the $200,000 Mazda Scholarship Shootout, which earns the winner entry into the 2017 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda.

Champions

Year		USAC West	USAC East	American Continental
1990 West		Vince Puleo, Jr.
1991 West		Craig Taylor
1992	West	Greg Moore	Chris Simmons	Greg Ray
	East
	ACC
1993	West	David DeSilva	Chris Simmons	Ernest Sikes
	East
	ACC
1994	Nat	Clay Collier		Mike Borkowski
	ACC

Unified championship

Season	Champion	B-Division	Oval Crown	Eastern States Triple Crown	Western States Triple Crown
1995	Jeret Schroeder	Jon Groom
1996	Steve Knapp	Jon Groom	Allen May	Steve Knapp	Jason Bright
1997	Zak Morioka		Zak Morioka
1998	David Besnard		David Besnard
1999	Dan Wheldon
2000	Aaron Justus	Tom Dyer
2001	Jason Lapoint	Scott Rubenzer
2002	Bryan Sellers	Kip Meeks
2003	Jonathan Bomarito	Chris Dona
2004	Bobby Wilson	Greg Pizzo
2005	Jay Howard
2006	J. R. Hildebrand
2007–2009, series not held		Team Champion	National class	Winterfest	Winterfest National class
2010	Sage Karam	Andretti Autosport	Ardie Greenameyer
2011 (W)	Petri Suvanto	Andretti Autosport	Luca Forgeois	Zach Veach
2012 (W)	Matthew Brabham	Cape Motorsports	Henrik Furuseth	Spencer Pigot	James Dayson
2013 (W)	Scott Hargrove	Cape Motorsports	Scott Rettich	Neil Alberico	James Dayson
2014 (W)	Florian Latorre	Cape Motorsports		R. C. Enerson
2015 (W)	Nico Jamin	Cape Motorsports		Nico Jamin

^[10]

Constructors championship

Between 1997 and 2002 a constructors championship was contested. Only constructors who were Associate Members of the USF2000 championship were eligible to score points.

^1 These manufacturers were not Associate Members of the USF2000 championship and thus were not eligible to score points.

Statistics

Race winners

These statistics include the USAC West, East, National championships, American Continental Championship and the USF2000 series previous and past, including the Winterfest. These statistics exclude class wins.

• Red: Main series champion
• Yellow: Winterfest champion
• Orange: Main series and Winterfest champion
• Blue: Includes Winterfest wins

Other

All statistics exclude the Winterfest

• Total races: 327
• Most races: Scott Rubenzer (72)
• Most wins: Chris Simmons (13)
• Most pole positions: Nico Jamin (13)
• Most podium finishes: Jake Eidson (22)

^[17]

See also

• Formula Ford
• F2000 Championship Series

References

External links

• Official website
• IRL bouwt op: U.S. F2000 National Championship (In Dutch)
• U.S. F2000 National Championship on Twitter