Kaylen Frederick knows that the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda title may be out of reach. The 16-year-old phenom also knows that strong results in the crucial tripleheader this weekend at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course could still help propel him up the Mazda Road to Indy ladder.
Frederick, driver of the No. 24 Pilot ONE Racing Mazda/Tatuus USF-17 for Pabst Racing in INDYCAR’s introductory level of the three-tiered development series, is a distant second to Kyle Kirkwood as they enter competition at Mid-Ohio. With a 131-point lead, the Cape Motorsports driver can sew up the 2018 USF2000 championship and $325,000 Mazda scholarship to advance next season to the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires by totaling 34 points this weekend – essentially a top-10 finish in each of the three races.
That leaves Frederick focused on finishing second in the championship. He is three points ahead of Exclusive Autosport’s Igor Fraga and seven up on Pabst teammate Rasmus Lindh heading to Mid-Ohio.
“I think a very respectable goal for me would be to finish the season in second and take away as many points as I can from the gap between Kyle Kirkwood and I,” Frederick said. “Looking at how the end of the season is coming together, a win in the final few rounds seems achievable, as I seem to be on a strong run getting podium after podium.”
Frederick has rocketed from 19th place to second in the standings on the heels of four podiums in the last five races, along with taking the pole position for the second race at Toronto two weeks ago. Those results have the native of Potomac, Maryland, confident he can score his first series win before season’s end.
“The round at Lucas Oil Raceway was a great turnaround for me, as I was finally able to show the potential I had, bringing home a second place,” Frederick said of the only oval round on the USF2000 schedule, at the track outside Indianapolis in May. “Ever since then, I have been itching to get my first win of the season, racking up three more podium finishes, which brought me all the way back into second place for the championship.”
Unfortunately for Frederick’s title hopes, his run of podium finishes has been overshadowed by Kirkwood, who is on a six-race win streak. That hasn’t dimmed Frederick’s belief that, by taking second in points, he can impress enough decision makers to allow him to climb up to Pro Mazda in 2019 after two seasons in USF2000.
“I would be confident to move up into Pro Mazda. I feel I have shown the potential I have to fight for podiums and wins consistently throughout the season,” he said. “I could continue my upwards progress throughout the 2019 season.”
Frederick has added confidence for the Mid-Ohio weekend after posting the fourth-quickest overall lap during a series open test at the 2.258-mile permanent road course on July 19.
“It's great to have some days of testing before you get into the race weekend,” Frederick said. “It gives me time to find speed and refine my driving, and it allows the team and I to work together to find the best setup for a quick qualifying lap and a long-distance race.”
USF2000 and Pro Mazda teams each had three more test sessions on Thursday at Mid-Ohio. The official race weekend commences on Friday. USF2000 will conduct one practice and a qualifying session before the first race of the tripleheader weekend at 4:30 p.m. ET Friday. Race 2 is set for 12:35 p.m. Saturday, with Race 3 at 12:10 p.m. Sunday. All three races will stream live on RaceControl.IndyCar.com.