USF2000 – Sebring Field Shatters Record and Expectations

I’ve been saying for a while now that the Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda was going to have some great fields this season, but even my overly-optimistic fan-boy predictions were short of the mark! I had thought that we’d see mid- to high-twenties, which I thought was a bit of a stretch. Turns out, it was a gross underestimate! A total of 35 cars are signed up to contest the opening round at Sebring International Raceway this Thursday and Friday. This shatters the previous record of 20 at Baltimore last year, and really sets the bar for the other rungs of the Mazda Road to Indy.

“When I look at the entry list, I am not only excited about the number of entries but the talent that is on board for this season. There are numerous drivers who I believe are truly future stars. In the relatively short time the Mazda Road to Indy ladder has been in place, it has proven to be a system that works. We have tremendous partners who are committed to paving the way for drivers to make it in this sport and continually strive to make this program better. It’s an exciting time for our series.” — Dan Andersen, Owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions (promotor of USF2000)

Of those 35 entries, 22 of them are competing in the Championship Class and the other 13 in the National Class. To be honest, seeing a majority of the entries in the Championship Class is the real surprise. I had expected that the numbers would be exactly opposite with more FC and FE cars in the mix. Regardless of the mix, I’m stoked! Both contests, for the Championship and the National titles, should be great. The large field also will present these young open-wheel pilots the challenge of mastering traffic, a necessary skill regardless of the type of racing they find themselves in the future.

While you can certainly check out the race on tape-delay on Velocity TV’s Mazda Motorsports Hour, I invite you to join me in watching live on USF2000’s Live Timing & Scoring site. They will have audio and a live chat with fans and series officials, but hopes are they they’ll have video up and running as well. See you in the chat!

Sebring USF2000 Schedule

Wednesday, March 14
Practice 1: 8:45 am – 9:15 am
Practice 2: 1:25 pm – 1:55 pm

Thursday, March 15
Qualifying: 8:00 am – 8:30 am
Race 1: 1:20 pm – 1:50 pm

Friday, March 16
Warm-Up: 8:40 am – 8:55 am
Race 2: 11:15 am – 11:45 am

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