Photo: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy
Jace Denmark will step up to USF Pro 2000 with Pabst Racing in 2023, after fighting for the USF2000 title with the team this year.
The 18-year-old joined the team last year, coming 11th in USF2000 with one podium. He upped his game for 2022, winning the season opener, claiming his first pole a race later and was in title contention until the final race following two wins late in the season.
He eventually finished third in the points, just behind team-mate Myles Rowe who will also be stepping up to USFP2000 with Pabst in a car with Force Indy branding.
“Super excited to extend my relationship with Pabst Racing for the full 2023 season,” said Denmark.
“This step up in my career is big, the car is so much fun to drive. I believe that we can make strides in our USF Pro programme with what I have to offer. Lots of preparation is in order to make it great.”
Augie Pabst, the eponymous team boss, commented: “Jace has grown tremendously as a driver in our USF2000 programme over the past two seasons. We’re absolutely thrilled to see him progressing to our USFP2000 programme for 2023.”
Elsewhere on the USFP2000 grid, the incoming TJ Speed team has signed 16-year-old Christian Weir.
This year Weir finished eighth in USF2000 with Turn 3 Motorsport, taking one pole and two podiums, and also drove in the series aged 14 in 2021 with the disrection of IndyCar.
He also has Formula 4 experience, coming seventh in the YACademy Winter Series and winning the Eastern F4 series in 2021.
“I am excited to join TJ Speed in 2023 and thank Tim [Neff] and his entire staff for the opportunity,” said Weir.
“In the end, the ultimate goal is to be a professional in motorsports, and I think the TJ Speed programme allows me to continue that path.”
TJ Speed team principal Tim Neff said “we are expecting big things” from Weir in 2023, and that he is “confident that with our experience, knowledge, and driver development efforts, we will be able to further harness his abilities and better his results this coming year”.
He added: “This is not a hobby for us as I look to add to our team’s results resume. Christian is the perfect fit for our programme and that is noted just from his time spent at the shop. He is precise about what he wants and determined more than most. I think he will be a success story next year.”