PALMETTO, Fla. – USF Pro Championships Presented by Continental Tire returns to action this week, May 1-3, at the scenic and challenging Barber Motorsports Park road course situated just a few miles from Birmingham, Ala., in support of the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

No clear leader emerged from the opening USF Juniors Presented by Continental Tire tripleheader event earlier this month at NOLA Motorsports Park in Avondale, La. Instead, three drivers shared the spoils of victory, while another, VRD Racing’s Oliver Wheldon, failed to win a race but earned enough points from a hat-trick of podium finishes to secure an early championship lead. The 14-year-old second-generation racer from St. Petersburg, Fla., has every intention of breaking through into Victory Lane and extending his points advantage at this week’s Children’s of Alabama Indy Grand Prix. 

At stake is a scholarship prize valued at almost $250,000 for the series champion to graduate onto the next step of the USF Pro Championships ladder, USF2000, in 2026.

Each of the USF Juniors’ three prior events at the 2.3-mile, 17-turn road course have resulted in one driver sweeping the race wins. The inaugural visit in 2022 saw eventual champion Mac Clark, from Canada, win both races for the DEForce Racing team. One year later, Brazilian Nicolas Giaffone repeated the feat for the Texas-based team also en route to the championship crown.

A different organization broke through during the 2024 doubleheader as InterMS ensured its first visit to the top step of the podium through the efforts of Israeli Ariel Elkin.

This time there will be three races and at least as many teams with the potential to emerge on top.

Aside from Wheldon, whose older brother Sebastian recorded a second-place finish at Barber in 2024 and placed third in the title-chase, all three NOLA winners – VRD Racing teammate Joao Vergara, from Miami, Fla., and the Zanella Racing duo of Leonardo Escorpioni, from Windermere, Fla., and Canadian Ty Fisher – are sure to be among the leading contenders.

So, too, is Australian Formula Ford graduate Liam Loiacono, who claimed a pole position and runner-up finish in Louisiana.

Others to watch will include young Finn Vilho Aatola (DEForce Racing), Mexican teammates and brothers, Rodrigo and Patricio Gonzalez, and Exclusive Autosport’s Brenden Cooley, from Mokena, Ill.

The field also will include three female drivers – Maddie Colleran (Zanella Racing), from Hunting Valley, Ohio, Kaylee Countryman (Exclusive Autosport), from Chandler, Ariz., and  Emma Scarbrough (InterMS), from Senoia, Ga. – who made appreciable steps at NOLA after stepping up from karting.

All 22 drivers will have one final opportunity to gain valuable track time with a pair of 50-minute test sessions on Thursday, May 1, prior to 30 minutes of official practice and a pair of 20-minute qualifying sessions later in the afternoon. Two 20-lap races will see the green flag on Friday, May 2, at 9:45 a.m. and 12:25 p.m. CDT, with the third and final race set for Saturday at 8:05 a.m.

Coverage of the event, including timing and live streaming, can be found on the free USF Pro Championships App, YouTube channel and at usfjuniors.com.