Road to Indy is GOATed! Introduction of USF Juniors is also really cool. The fact that the people around the series saw the gap in the drivers coming out of the schools and into USF 2000 and actually did something to address it in a timely manner has impressed me at least.
What if I told you there is an Indy Lights driver by the name of Sting Ray Robb? If anyone thought Logan Sergeant was a very American name, behold a kid from Idaho who was named after his father's favorite car, the Sting Ray Corvette. He won the 2020 Indy Pro title. Edit: I looked it up and he said that he was named Sting Ray after the city his extended family is from; Stirlingshire, Scotland, often called Sting for short. I don't see it. Lol
It's a shame that his rookie season is a disaster so far, where he has been involved in a caution in 6 out of 7 races, with just two finishes and 1 on the lead lap.
Prior to 2021, the Road to Indy ladder system was fully run under the ‘Anderson Promotions’ umbrella. Penske Corp (who own IndyCar) bought out Indy Lights (and canceled the Freedom 100 immediately). Anderson Promotions wants to keep 3 series under their umbrella. As a result, USF Juniors will have their debut season this year. Unlike the other Road to Indy series, this will be sanctioned by USAC instead of IndyCar. I believe they use out-dated F4 cars, but could be wrong. Just like the other road to Indy series, the winner gets a $200,000 scholarship to run a season in USF2000. Because it is not IndyCar sanctioned, they will not run with IndyCar as much as the other series. Their tracks include, Ozarks MO, Barber AL (with Indy), VIR, Mid-Ohio, Road America WI, and CotA TX. The series is open to 14+ year olds, with 13 year olds being accepted case by case. Tires? Take a guess. Engines will be sealed Hondas.
Thanks for the info. I need to learn more about and possibly visit the Ozark circuit. I live in Missouri and only recently found out the racetrack existed.
This and the Formula Race Promotion's F1600 Championship just south of the border too. Both great starting points for drivers coming out of karts. Some of the Toyo Tire F1600 teams race in the FRP series, and vice versa.
Will be interesting to see if Indy car can continue to grow. Lots of bad decisions in the past but the feeder system is good and hopefully things continue to trend up. The international driver line up is amazing.
@@EricBurns1 I wish Robin Miller were still here to witness sort of the huge momentum indycar has gained in the last few years and continuing into the future. he was one of the most outspoken about the split and how it ruined indycar forever, and he was mostly right at that time
@@michaelsheal4015 indycar has no limit, the only limit would be the number of cars allowed on track. in recent years, the most we have seen per team in a full or partial season is 4 cars per team with them going to 5 or 6 for the indy500
American racing has a very different history and culture compared to European racing. Even though the horseless carriage was invented by a European America really is the home of the automobile, and so American racing really started with your average joe around the block who wanted to not only drive fast, but be faster than everyone else and prove it. That's still generally the culture today. You still need money because at the end of the day cars are expensive, and racing is even more expensive, but the whole culture is really about how fast you can drive. Mario Andretti, one of America's greatest drivers, and one of the best drivers to ever get behind the wheel of a race car, grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania and started racing short tracks in basic stock cars as a working class immigrant kid, a lot of American drivers have stories very similar to that. It's why NASCAR and Indycar are so popular in the US because a lot of the drivers grew up as average middle class kids just like a lot of the people sitting in the stands or watching on TV. European racing has always been more so the corporate proving ground. Big wig automotive elites with money who want to prove that they can build the best race car, guys like Ferrari, Porsche, Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Maserati, Alfa, etc. In Europe, the best teams with the most money can afford a driver with nothing except pure talent, someone like Lewis Hamilton for example, but those seats are few and far between. The smaller teams trying to compete at the top of the sport need as much money as they can get, and 99% of the time if you don't bring money with you you're not going to be picked. Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes can most likely bet on a young driver with no money as they already have their own pockets and large sponsorship backings, but in reality there's only three seats available for a top driver on the team and they're all taken currently. GT racing and such tend to have much less emphasis on money as they're significantly more affordable than say F1 or even Prototypes in Le Mans, but in F1 75% of the seats are about money.
@@Bazzookie I enjoy that INDYCAR and most US based racing has paddock access, drivers you can meet, reasonable ticket prices, and laid back venues many without assigned seats, and of course, not ruined courses by the FIA that aren't parking lots of tarmac and runoff
What's your option on lundqvist do you think he is a good enough driver for indycar, could you do a video on all the British Drivers that have dipped there hand in indycar it would be very helpful to new British indycar fans
One thing that wasn't mentioned was that since the 2020 season Formula Regional Americas Championship powered by Honda (North American F3) has offered its champion either a season sponsorship in Indy Lights or a season in Super Formula, making it effectively a part of the Road to Indy.
Are you going to silverstone again this year? I remember watching your vlog. That was the 1st vid of yours i watch. Keep up the great quality vids. U will blow up soon
Great video overall, but a couple inaccuracies, the mazda scholarship to enter usf2000 is dead, last time I think It was run was 2018. Mazda pulled a lot of their motorsports sponsorship a few years ago, at least in North America. Keep up the indycar content though!
I've requested some gamers to make a fantasy season of the Indycar championship on this season's F1 tracks like the F1 fantasy season Mitsos made on many abandoned and never raced upon tracks by F1. If I had the tools I would have definitely made and uploaded a fantasy series like that.
Do they call it Indy Lights because they're always so light on numbers? Just 14 entrants again this season and who knows how many will run every race . For the richest country in the world with 350m population that's frankly embarrassing.
well that low number might be the pandemic with lack of sponsors, or travel restrictions with international drivers or something. But I dont mind a smaller lower series as long as the best drivers there get their fair shake at an indycar ride if they deserve it and the flow of drivers up the ladder is reasonably consistent
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
Road to Indy is GOATed! Introduction of USF Juniors is also really cool. The fact that the people around the series saw the gap in the drivers coming out of the schools and into USF 2000 and actually did something to address it in a timely manner has impressed me at least.
What if I told you there is an Indy Lights driver by the name of Sting Ray Robb? If anyone thought Logan Sergeant was a very American name, behold a kid from Idaho who was named after his father's favorite car, the Sting Ray Corvette. He won the 2020 Indy Pro title.
Edit: I looked it up and he said that he was named Sting Ray after the city his extended family is from; Stirlingshire, Scotland, often called Sting for short. I don't see it. Lol
Still a badass name though lol
Also named after the stingray Corvette
@@AnamolHouse Yep; I mentioned that.
It's a shame that his rookie season is a disaster so far, where he has been involved in a caution in 6 out of 7 races, with just two finishes and 1 on the lead lap.
Dalton Kellett watched your strategy video
Prior to 2021, the Road to Indy ladder system was fully run under the ‘Anderson Promotions’ umbrella. Penske Corp (who own IndyCar) bought out Indy Lights (and canceled the Freedom 100 immediately). Anderson Promotions wants to keep 3 series under their umbrella. As a result, USF Juniors will have their debut season this year. Unlike the other Road to Indy series, this will be sanctioned by USAC instead of IndyCar. I believe they use out-dated F4 cars, but could be wrong. Just like the other road to Indy series, the winner gets a $200,000 scholarship to run a season in USF2000. Because it is not IndyCar sanctioned, they will not run with IndyCar as much as the other series.
Their tracks include, Ozarks MO, Barber AL (with Indy), VIR, Mid-Ohio, Road America WI, and CotA TX.
The series is open to 14+ year olds, with 13 year olds being accepted case by case. Tires? Take a guess. Engines will be sealed Hondas.
Thanks for the info. I need to learn more about and possibly visit the Ozark circuit. I live in Missouri and only recently found out the racetrack existed.
This iteration of Indy Lights had *always* been owned by the IRL/Indy (since 2002), it was just promoted by Anderson from 2013-2020
Pro2000 and USF2000 also switch over to USAC Sanctioning starting this season but they will continue to be support races for Indycar and Indylights
@@insertcolorherehawk3761 and before that its was Sanctioned by CART from 1986-2001
@@michaelsheal4015 That was technically a different series owned by CART
There's also the Toyo Tires F1600 (Formula Ford) series in Canada, which is an unofficial 5th step on the ladder.
This and the Formula Race Promotion's F1600 Championship just south of the border too. Both great starting points for drivers coming out of karts. Some of the Toyo Tire F1600 teams race in the FRP series, and vice versa.
Will be interesting to see if Indy car can continue to grow. Lots of bad decisions in the past but the feeder system is good and hopefully things continue to trend up. The international driver line up is amazing.
Penske has done a great job since taking over the series. Hope that growth continues.
@@EricBurns1 I wish Robin Miller were still here to witness sort of the huge momentum indycar has gained in the last few years and continuing into the future. he was one of the most outspoken about the split and how it ruined indycar forever, and he was mostly right at that time
Imo IndyCar's with aero screens look better than without it
lol everyone says that about things that weren’t there previously. They don’t look better, it’s all about what you’re used to or what you saw first.
They do look better, the aeroscreen has to be considered the best thing to happen to IndyCar
The best looking cars were the Kmart cars driven by Andretti, Mansell back in the early 90s.
The sponsorships and guarantees given to these junior drivers makes me wonder why the F1 feeder ladder hasn't even given one of these things
because that driver may not be rich
F1 teams have a fix number of Cars the team can enter in a race where as Indycar team I believe its 5 full time and 2 part time cars maximum
@@michaelsheal4015 indycar has no limit, the only limit would be the number of cars allowed on track. in recent years, the most we have seen per team in a full or partial season is 4 cars per team with them going to 5 or 6 for the indy500
American racing has a very different history and culture compared to European racing. Even though the horseless carriage was invented by a European America really is the home of the automobile, and so American racing really started with your average joe around the block who wanted to not only drive fast, but be faster than everyone else and prove it. That's still generally the culture today. You still need money because at the end of the day cars are expensive, and racing is even more expensive, but the whole culture is really about how fast you can drive. Mario Andretti, one of America's greatest drivers, and one of the best drivers to ever get behind the wheel of a race car, grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania and started racing short tracks in basic stock cars as a working class immigrant kid, a lot of American drivers have stories very similar to that. It's why NASCAR and Indycar are so popular in the US because a lot of the drivers grew up as average middle class kids just like a lot of the people sitting in the stands or watching on TV.
European racing has always been more so the corporate proving ground. Big wig automotive elites with money who want to prove that they can build the best race car, guys like Ferrari, Porsche, Mercedes, Audi, BMW, Maserati, Alfa, etc. In Europe, the best teams with the most money can afford a driver with nothing except pure talent, someone like Lewis Hamilton for example, but those seats are few and far between. The smaller teams trying to compete at the top of the sport need as much money as they can get, and 99% of the time if you don't bring money with you you're not going to be picked. Red Bull, Ferrari, and Mercedes can most likely bet on a young driver with no money as they already have their own pockets and large sponsorship backings, but in reality there's only three seats available for a top driver on the team and they're all taken currently. GT racing and such tend to have much less emphasis on money as they're significantly more affordable than say F1 or even Prototypes in Le Mans, but in F1 75% of the seats are about money.
@@Bazzookie I enjoy that INDYCAR and most US based racing has paddock access, drivers you can meet, reasonable ticket prices, and laid back venues many without assigned seats, and of course, not ruined courses by the FIA that aren't parking lots of tarmac and runoff
My hero! 2:40
What's your option on lundqvist do you think he is a good enough driver for indycar, could you do a video on all the British Drivers that have dipped there hand in indycar it would be very helpful to new British indycar fans
Great video explaining the ladder bud! Go team IndyCar! 💪
hi guys!
@@DJDouglasWarden Hi Dug! Hope you're well!
Fancy seeing you here!
The IL-15 might be one of the best looking formula cars ever
the panoz dp01 exists
Super formula takes the cake for me, it’s just so pretty
One thing that wasn't mentioned was that since the 2020 season Formula Regional Americas Championship powered by Honda (North American F3) has offered its champion either a season sponsorship in Indy Lights or a season in Super Formula, making it effectively a part of the Road to Indy.
Are you going to silverstone again this year? I remember watching your vlog. That was the 1st vid of yours i watch. Keep up the great quality vids. U will blow up soon
It’s super weird how Indycar drivers and random people watch the same sub 20k channel
Another great video, it would’ve been good if you looked at each ones race format.
3:47 actually formerly known as Pro Mazda
And Star Mazda and Formula Mazda, etc.
Now I wonder... Is there something like this for gt3/endurance racing or NASCAR?
At 3:10 you mention a naturally aspirated engine, but are showing a turbocharged engine, just FYI 🙂
Explained the new feeder series USF Juniors
The Watkins Glen footage just makes me sad. IndyCar needs to make their return.
I hope they get rid of Portland and go back to Watkins Glenn. It truly is one of the best tracks in the world.
They just need something in the northeast. Since the removal of Pocono there’s nothing there.
@@joshhill5932 Portland sucks because of its stupid random F1 style Chicane right at the beginning
I heard the glen was a promoter issue and that they were attempting to come back soon. the pandemic may have done something too
@@joshhill5932 people actually attend portland, unlike watkins glen.
Great video overall, but a couple inaccuracies, the mazda scholarship to enter usf2000 is dead, last time I think It was run was 2018. Mazda pulled a lot of their motorsports sponsorship a few years ago, at least in North America. Keep up the indycar content though!
When did USF juniors begin
Please make a video about how Indycar could get global and make for example a fictional calendar
I've requested some gamers to make a fantasy season of the Indycar championship on this season's F1 tracks like the F1 fantasy season Mitsos made on many abandoned and never raced upon tracks by F1. If I had the tools I would have definitely made and uploaded a fantasy series like that.
Look up the Champ Car calendar from the mid 2000s
It's quite sad to see that Linus Lundqvist not progressing to Indycar after winning last seasons Indy Lights. Hopefully he'll find a seat.
The problem is indycar is pretty much a spec series, while funding a scholarship for F1 would cost serious money.
Is it just me or is the audio glitching
nice
I thought the Indy Lights champion got 5 confirmed Indycar starts which the Indy 500 is one of them.
Do they call it Indy Lights because they're always so light on numbers? Just 14 entrants again this season and who knows how many will run every race . For the richest country in the world with 350m population that's frankly embarrassing.
well that low number might be the pandemic with lack of sponsors, or travel restrictions with international drivers or something. But I dont mind a smaller lower series as long as the best drivers there get their fair shake at an indycar ride if they deserve it and the flow of drivers up the ladder is reasonably consistent
we dont want it overflowing and have the issues F1 does with junior drivers lacking upward mobility