Cooper Tires, USF Pro Championships partnership to end

The longstanding partnership between Andersen Promotions and Cooper Tires will reach its conclusion at the end of the current USF Juniors, USF2000, and USF Pro 2000 seasons.

“The announcement ends a storied 14-year relationship with Cooper Tires after the upcoming closure of its Melksham, England manufacturing plant by year’s end, which produced all series tires,” the junior open-wheel organization said. “Cooper Tires has been an integral part of the foundation of the world’s leading driver development program dating back to the beginnings of the ladder system in 2010 with the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda.

“Through its various iterations including the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires, the company not only provided tires but a true partnership to both the series and its competitors. Cooper’s support of the future generation of drivers has included contributing to the unprecedented champion’s scholarships to advance to the next step each year, season-end awards and the Cooper Tires Pole Award. Since 2010, the ladder system has distributed just shy of $26 million in prizes and awards.”

The Goodyear-owned brand’s successor in the USF Championships will be named at a later date.

“We are fortunate to have had 14 great seasons with Cooper Tires,” said Dan Andersen. “Change was inevitable but we will be forever grateful to Cooper Tires, Chris Pantani, and his team. Their passion drove our sport, and our ladder program wouldn’t be what it is today without them.

“Moving forward, we had solid interest from five major tire brands, which was gratifying in underscoring the professional racing program we have in place. We are excited to announce a new partner in the coming days and look forward to building our partnership for many years to come.”