Photo: Gavin Baker Photography
Liam McNeilly will return to action with Jay Howard Driver Development this weekend by making his USF Pro 2000 debut in Toronto.
The 19-year-old Englishman was USF Juniors runner-up with the team last year, and began 2025 in stunning style with five consecutive victories after stepping up to USF2000.
But visa issues after a trip home then prevented him from returning to the USA and continuing his title charge, and he has only been able to make it back into the cockpit this week due to the USF Pro championships visiting Canada.
“It feels brilliant to know I’ll be back behind the wheel on the streets of Toronto,” said McNeilly, who is still seventh in the USF2000 standings despite missing four of the six rounds held so far.
“My triple win at NOLA in April feels like ages ago and I can’t wait to be back on track in Canada. While I’m familiar with the circuit from last year, the USFP2000 car is a big step-up from the USF2000 in terms of performance with more power and more grip, so learning how to drive it quickly in the time I have won’t be easy.
“The aim of this weekend is to gain experience and to use it as a starting point to plan our 2026 season [in USFP2000], but if we can come away with a couple of strong results, I’ll be very happy.”
McNeilly had a similar strategy last year when he joined the USF2000 grid in Toronto and took a pole position and a second place finish.
“I’ll start by saying I am super excited to see Liam back with the team and that I speak for everyone when I say we’ve missed him,” said JHDD team principal Jay Howard.
“Moving to USFP2000 makes the most sense considering the circumstances as at this point it’s all about preparation for 2026. It has been a devastating year for him and I’m still in disbelief. However, we can’t dwell on the past so it will be eyes forward from here.”