By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer
The grid for the 2017 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda has gotten more solid with Thursday’s announcement that 2016 Rookie of the Year Robert Megennis will rejoin the team for this year’s championship.
“Welcoming Rob back to the Team Pelfrey family for a third straight season in yellow says a lot about this partnership. Rob, his family and his partners believe in us, and we have absolute faith in Rob’s abilities,” said Team Pelfrey’s General Manager, Jonny Baker.
“The way he conducted himself on and off the track last season was exemplary and inspiring. Rob will continue to make his mark on the Mazda Road to Indy in 2017, of that I have no doubt.”
The talented 16-year-old is back for his third year with the team after having driven for Pelfrey in the 2015 F1600 championship and last year in USF2000. In 2016, Megennis earned five top five finishes and made the most passes on track to secure the Tilton Hard Charger award.
“I am delighted to be returning to the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda with Team Pelfrey. The revitalized team, relocated to Indianapolis, will be hard to beat,” said Megennis. “After the awesome rookie season we had in 2016, I’m super excited to see what we can do in our second year in the series and my third year in yellow!”
Megennis will be behind the wheel of one of the new Tatuus USF-17s that Pelfrey has purchased.
This announcement comes on the heels of Team Pelfrey announcing that TJ Fischer will be rejoining the team in their Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires team.
So far, here are the confirmed driver/team pairings for this year’s USF2000 championship:
Dakota Dickerson- Newman Wachs Racing
Chandler Horton- RJB Motorsports
Robert Megennis- Team Pelfrey
Rinus van Kalmthout- Benik-Carlin
Devin Wojcik- ArmsUp Motorsports
Moises de la Vara: DEForce Racing
Kory Enders- DEForce Racing
Oliver Askew- To Be Announced
