A trio of Aussies continued their 2024 campaigns in the United States over the weekend, with all three participating in the NTT IndyCar junior feeder series’ rounds at NOLA Motorsports Park.
 
Leading the charge was Lochie Hughes, who was the sole Australian in the USF Pro 2000 Championship and was leading the championship heading into the second round after a victory and runner-up finish.
 
Unfortunately, the Queenslander had a difficult run in qualifying, finishing both sessions outside the top 10 and with plenty of work to do.
 
His day went from bad to worse in the round’s opening race as he started from P13 and ended up off the track midway through – eventually resulting in a DNF after nine laps.
 
In the second race, Hughes made up good ground from his starting position of P12 to find himself in P9 on the penultimate lap, before the rookie again ended up parked up in the gravel – dropping to P18 once the chequered flag came out.
 
Hughes then finished the weekend on a positive note, returning to the sixth row for the start of the race without making any major mistakes to cross the line in P10 – salvaging 11 points for the weekend.
 
Following on from the second round, Hughes has dropped to sixth on the standings after title rival, Nikita Johnson picked up wins in the final two races.
 
In the USF2000 Championship, Quinn Anderson and Xaviar Kokai featured in the category’s three races, with Armstrong faring the better of the two with a trio of P9 finishes, while Kokai’s best result came in the second race where he finished 14th.
 
Both categories will resume their seasons next month as part of the NTT IndyCar Series’ Grand Prix of Indianapolis at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on 9-11 May.