Just two races remain in the 2025 USF Pro 2000 Championship, and there’s plenty to play for for Kiwi 20-year-old Jacob Douglas, who sits just 25 points off second place.
While the title has already been claimed by Douglas’s teammate Max Garcia last round in Toronto, four drivers remain in the fight for the vice-champion position.
Ariel Elkin, Mac Clark, Alessandro de Tullio, and Douglas remain in the hunt, with sixth-placed Max Taylor now 51 points behind the quartet.
Thirty points are up for grabs for the winner of each race, in addition to the potential for bonus points for qualifying on pole, leading the most laps, and setting the fastest lap, making for a maximum of 66 points up for grabs in next weekend’s double-header at Portland International Raceway.
Douglas is no stranger to the 1.964-mile (3.161km), 12-turn road course, taking his maiden victory in the USF 2000 Championship there in 2023. He then won Race 2 and was the runner-up in Race 3.
With momentum on his side, having finished on the podium the last three times out, anything is possible come race time.
“I have very fond memories of Portland,” said Douglas. “My first win was there, as was my second the very next day.
“It’s been a strong season so far, but on occasion, things haven’t gone our way. If we hadn’t had that mechanical while leading Race 1 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, we’d be second in the standings. If we hadn’t been taken out in Race 3, perhaps we’d still be in the hunt for the title.
“It’s a tale of ‘what ifs’, but that’s racing. Regardless, we’re pleased with where we are, and we’ve shown we’ve got the ability and pace to mix it at the front of the field each time out. There’s some extremely tough competition out there, which is highlighted by how close it is in the fight for second in the championship.
“Max has been the man to catch this season, and congratulations to him on clinching the title with a weekend to spare. For us, though, there’s plenty to play for, and we’re going to leave nothing on the table.”
The two podiums last time out on the Streets of Toronto have made for a total of seven top-three finishes for Douglas this season, including one win. He has finished in fourth place a further three times, and outside the top ten only on three occasions.
“It was definitely a rough start to the season in St Petersburg,” adds Douglas, referring to an incident in the season opener that saw him fail to finish.
“We learnt a lot from that one, and to bounce back and finish on the podium the next day was a big confidence boost, one we probably needed after that start.
“Three fourth-placed finishes at NOLA after that put us in the mix, and showed we were in with a shot of a big season, and with our home track at Indianapolis Motor Speedway the next up, there was an opportunity to make big ground on the leaders who had got off to a strong start.
“That looked likely across the start of the weekend, and we showed great pace through testing and practice, before qualifying third. We made good ground through the race and were in the lead when the electrics went. It was gutting, forced to retire from the lead at one of the holy grail of race tracks, and at home.
“Pabst Racing are the best team on the grid, and the reliability in their cars is amazing. It was just an extremely unlucky, and extremely rare thing to happen, at the worst time possible. It was heartbreaking to be honest, but there was still work to be done.
“Winning Race 2 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway offered redemption of sorts, it was great to take my first USF Pro 2000 win, at the Brickyard of all places, and it’s a memory I’ll cherish for my life, standing atop that podium.
“We were so eager to go out and do it again the next day, but unfortunately didn’t really get that chance, being taken out early, in what was a pretty chaotic outing.”
The season’s sole oval outing at Indianapolis Park Raceway followed, which was just the Kiwi’s second-ever attempt on an oval following his first race at the same venue in 2022.
There, in USF 2000 machinery, Douglas started 17th and finished 16th. In 2025, however, the gains were obvious, the Pabst Racing #19 qualifying 10th and finishing ninth.
“It was great to get some oval experience in,” says the 20-year-old.
“Coming from New Zealand, it’s not something we get to do a lot.
“They’re fast, they’re narrow, and they’re frightening, but as a driver, you love that. We haven’t had any official track time on one since 2022, but it was good to take a top ten finish. We knew it was a track we’d battle on, so ninth place was respectable.”
Mid-season tests at Mid-Ohio and Road America sat on either side of the Lucas Oil Raceway, with a triple-header at the latter following for rounds 10, 11 and 12.
There, Douglas finished third in Race 1, second in Race 2, and eighth in the finale, a race where progress was made difficult by two safety car interventions.
A double-header at Mid-Ohio followed, where Douglas was fifth in the opener and runner-up in Race 2, before the most recent round in Toronto, where he finished second and then third.
“Those mid-season tests at Mid-Ohio and Road America were really important,” Douglas adds.
“We really got to work out setups that worked for us ahead of those rounds, and it showed. We’ve finished on the podium five times in seven starts since then, so it really shows.
“Now we have one shot to make a big leap. We’re fifth in the standings, and second is a real possibility. While it’s disappointing not to be in the title hunt, this season has really driven home a sense of belief in myself.
“We’ve put so much into these past few years in the United States, and have sacrificed a lot. But I wouldn’t change a thing. We’re well on the road to Indy.
“Bring on Portland!”
Douglas knows how to win in Portland. He knows how to bounce back. And with two final chances to make a statement, you wouldn’t bet against him doing just that.
Header Image: Gavin Baker Photography
