2023 USF Pro 2000 Championship
When the top rung of the Road to Indy ladder system, Indy Lights, was bought by Penske Entertainment (owners of IndyCar) in 2021 and the lower level series changed sanctioning to the United States Auto Club, changes were made to the other championships in the ladder that resulted in the championship being rebranded for 2023.
[35] The first season under the USF Pro 2000 guise began around the streets of St. Petersburg with Turn 3's Christian Brooks on pole position.
He took the race lead from Porto, who had overtaken TJ Speed's pole sitter Francesco Pizzi earlier, around the half point and built a gap from there onwards.
[36][37] Next up was the series' return to Sebring, where Denmark and Turn 3's Michael d'Orlando shared pole positions.
He then made a mistake on the second safety car restart of the race, allowing TJ Speed's Lirim Zendeli to attack him from second, but did not concede the lead.
A chaotic race saw Porto fend off multiple other drivers, until a rain shower arrived and caused a stoppage.
Porto was less fortunate and dropped back at the same time, conceding the podium places to his teammate Reece Ushijima and d'Orlando.
Zendeli got back in front and held on to win, while Porto took advantage of Browne and Pizzi battling to take second and lead the Irishman home.
Rowe finished fourth, while his closest competitor Granfors had to concede second in the standings to Pizzi, now 48 points behind the leader.
When a safety car was then called, Porto overtook d'Orlando on the restart to eventually form a trio of the pair and de Alba that took turns attacking Rowe.
[44][45] The season's only event abroad at Exhibition Place began with Rowe taking double pole positions and then crashing in qualifying.
A big crash at the start of race two did not disturb Rowe, neither did the attack of Denmark, who lost his front wing in the process.
[46][47] The penultimate round marked the series' return to Circuit of the Americas, and DEForce's debutant Mac Clark took pole position.
The former was then dropped back by a penalty, resulting in a podium consisting of Porto, Rowe and DEForce's Bijoy Garg.
He passed poleman d'Orlando right at the start and then survived five safety car restarts in a race of high attrition.
Dominating the Sebring weekend gave him a comfortable cushion to aim for consistent, reliable finishes instead of having to take risks.
The championship's next year also looks to be a strong one, with drivers like Clark and Johnson debuting late in 2023 and already earning wins and podiums.
