Photo: Gavin Baker Photography
The 22-car grid for this weekend’s USF Pro 2000 season opener on the streets of Arlington has been set.
There are eight late additions to the field, including four Arlington-only entries: Tanner DeFabis (Jay Howard Driver Development), Colin Aitken (Velocity Racing Development), Leandro Juncos and Thomas Schrage (both TJ Speed).
DeFabis announced his presence via social media: “Apparently, there was a rumour I was done racing. Who decided that? Excited to share with everyone I will be racing in the Grand Prix of Arlington with Jay Howard Driver Development.”
JHDD, now competing in partnership with IndyCar outfit Ed Carpenter Racing, has run the 20-year-old American over the last three years.
He came 24th in United States Formula 4’s 2023 season, and did the first half of the 2024 USF2000 campaign. A win put him 18th in the standings, then he returned to action for USFP2000’s season finale and finished ninth on debut. DeFabis did three rounds in 2025, with a best finish of seventh.
Aitken, 18, currently races for VRD in USF2000 and made the top 10 in February’s season-opening race. He joined VRD for USF Juniors’ last two rounds of 2025 and finished seventh in his first race.
The 20-year-old Juncos steps up from GB4, where he came fifth last year with a win and three other podiums. He was 19th in USF Juniors in 2024.
Schrage has loads of single-seater experience, but the 21-year-old is new to USFP2000. In 2022 he was F1600 Championship Series champion and fourth in the Formula Ford Festival, and has been in USF2000 since then. He came 12th in 2024, missing two rounds but netting three poles and two podiums, and improved to third in 2025 with three victories, eight other podiums and five poles.
JHDD has also signed Andres Cardenas, a likely title contender. The Peruvian began his single-seater career in Spanish F4, coming eighth as a rookie in 2023. His season peaked at Jerez, where he converted two poles into a win and a second place.
In early 2024 he was runner-up in Spain’s Formula Winter Series, with two victories and four other podiums from 11 races, then went podium-free in Spanish F4. In the Motorsport Games F4 event, also in Spain, he finished second.
Cardenas stepped up to Eurocup-3 last year. He was fourth in the winter series, winning once and finishing third twice, then was seventh in the main championship. The 17-year-old made the podium mid-season, and won the finale from pole.
Comet/NCMP Racing’s Logan Adams is back in USFP2000 after being 16th and 15th in the past two seasons, missing two rounds in each. A fourth place is his best result to date.
TJ Speed’s full-time driver is pre-season pace-setter Christian Cameron. The 16-year-old came fourth in the Lucas Oil Formula Car Race Series, 10th in USF Juniors and 11th in USF2000 the last three years.
Leaving it latest to join the grid is Exclusive Autosport’s Mac Clark. After taking two podiums and a pole in a 2023 USFP2000 cameo, the 21-year-old Canadian had a podium-free 2024 then came third in 2025 with 11 podiums.