R2i: Andersen Promotions Announces Partnership with Skip Barber Racing School

Andersen Promotions today announced a three-year partnership which will see the renowned Skip Barber Racing School become the Official Racing School of USF Juniors Presented by Cooper Tires, the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship and the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires next year.

The new partnership will extend the current, unrivaled scholarship-funded ladder system to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES and Indianapolis 500 anchored by the Road to Indy and USF Juniors. Beginning in 2023, the champion of the Skip Barber Formula Race Series will be offered a scholarship valued at $100,000 to advance to USF Juniors the following season.

Since the formation of the school by Skip Barber in 1975, over 400,000 students have taken part in their classes. Skip Barber alumni include a who’s who of today’s top driving talent including Conor Daly, Colton Herta, Josef Newgarden, Sergio Perez and Alexander Rossi.

The school is also a series partner of IMSA as the “Preferred Racing School” who’s list of alumni include Austin Cindric, Trent Hindman, Andy Lally, Tristan Nunez, Bryan Sellers, Townsend Bell and brothers Ricky and Jordan Taylor amongst many others.

“I am really looking forward to working with the racing school that first got me involved in open-wheel road racing way back in 1991,” said Dan Andersen, Owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions. “The number of drivers that have a connection to the Skip Barber Racing School is staggering. It is both a pleasure and honor to announce our partnership and offer their race series champion a scholarship to the pre-step of the Road to Indy.

“I want to thank Anthony [DeMonte, CEO], Dan [DeMonte, Chief Marketing Officer] and Joe [Monitto, Chief Revenue Officer] for working with us to put this program together. All of us at Andersen Promotions are excited to reconnect with Gerardo Bonilla [Racing School and Race Series President], who served as a driver coach and steward for our series in the past. We look forward to a strong future as our two teams begin to develop this relationship.”

Skip Barber Racing has a presence at circuits on the USF Juniors schedule including Circuit of The Americas and VIRginia International Raceway in addition to legendary circuits such as WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Road Atlanta, Sebring International Raceway and Lime Rock Park.

“The Skip Barber Racing School has a storied history of developing future INDYCAR stars,” said Joe Monitto. “This partnership offers up-and-coming drivers a well-defined ladder coupled with an iconic name in motorsports to launch their pro-racing career. We are always striving to help our racers perform at the highest levels, and this scholarship will give our next series champion a perfect next step in their development.”

Both Indy Pro 2000 and USF2000 concluded their 2022 seasons earlier this month crowning champions Louis Foster of Exclusive Autosport and Skip Barber graduate Michael d’Orlando of Cape Motorsports respectively. USF Juniors will wrap up its inaugural season of competition on September 16-18 at Circuit of The Americas. All three series will return to action on October 22/23 in the annual Road to Indy Fall Combine at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

“I’m thrilled to see this new connection between the Road to Indy and the iconic brand that is the Skip Barber Racing School,” added Rob Howden, Series Development Director and Series Commentator. “In the past, their Skip Barber National Championship series featured epic battles between drivers who were top kart racers making their jump into cars, and so many of them graduated from the series to become the next generation of open-wheel stars. I see that same thing in the future thanks to this new partnership. Personally, I can’t wait to closely follow the action of the Skip Barber Formula Race Series next season to identify all the talent that is destined to make its way into the Road to Indy.”