USF Juniors: Kaylee Countryman secures top ten in Road America, Maddie Colleran scores personal best

The fifth round of the 2025 USF Juniors championship at Road America was a positive one for two of the three female drivers on the grid, with Kaylee Countryman securing her third top ten of the season and Maddie Colleran improving her personal best finish with a P14 in the second race.

Photo Credit: Gavin Baker Photography

The fifth and penultimate round of the 2025 USF Juniors championship at Road America was a positive one for two of the three female drivers on the grid, with Kaylee Countryman securing her third top ten of the season and Maddie Colleran improving her personal best finish with a P14 in the second race.

It was a more unlucky weekend for Emma Scarbrough; the International Motorsport driver has often shown great speed and potential but hasn't been able to capitalize, and was out of the first two races of the weekend due to accidents.

The three rookies, all in their first season in single-seaters, are collecting valuable experience in this USF Juniors campaign. Exclusive Autosport’s Kaylee Countryman also recently made a few appearances in the USF2000 Championship, where she raced at Road America and last week in Toronto, claiming an eleventh place in Race 1. In the competitive USF Juniors, Countryman has made remarkable progress over the season, progressively closing in on the top ten—which she secured for the first time at Mid-Ohio with a P10, then followed up with a P8 at the same venue.

Emma Scarbrough, a karting prospect who has shown great speed in single-seaters, has frequently been in contention for front-running positions. However, bad luck has kept her from achieving the results she deserves, despite a strong eighth-place finish in the third round at Mid-Ohio.

Maddie Colleran, racing for Zanella Racing, has been a consistent and solid finisher. She has shown steady progress over the season, now regularly placing in the top 15 in recent rounds—and was aiming to keep the momentum going for an even stronger showing at Road America, the fifth round of the season.

In the pre-event test, Emma Scarbrough again showed pace just outside the top ten, running just over a second off the overall pace setter. She was eleventh fastest in the second session, showing promise for the rest of the weekend. In official practice, all three drivers found significant time, with the entire 21-car field covered by less than two seconds—an indicator of just how competitive the field is.

Qualifying brought a shakeup in the order, and Maddie Colleran capitalized, securing P13 on the grid with a great session, clocking a 2:17.535. She lined up just ahead of Kaylee Countryman in P14 by five-hundredths of a second. Unfortunately, Emma Scarbrough had a tough session and would have to start from P20 in what was a frustrating outing for the International Motorsport team.

Photo Credit: Gavin Baker Photography

Friday was race day at Road America—one of North America’s fast and iconic racetracks.

Maddie Colleran started from P13, Kaylee Countryman from P14, and Emma Scarbrough from P20 for the opening race of the weekend. Everyone made it cleanly through Turn 1, with all 21 cars tightly packed within tenths of each other; Emma made a good start, gaining one position to P19 by passing Diego Guiot.

However, it was a difficult first lap for Maddie Colleran, who dropped from P13 to P21. Countryman initially held P14 but lost out to Achituv, settling into P15. Kaylee battled hard in the midfield, engaged in two-wide, wheel-to-wheel duels.

Scarbrough began a strong recovery drive, climbing through the order: she passed Nordquist, Potter, and Countryman to move up to P15 by lap 3. When Connor Aspley dropped down the order, Emma grabbed P14 on lap 4.

Meanwhile, Countryman was passed by Potter and held P17, with Maddie Colleran following in P19.

Drama struck a lap later: Emma, closing in on the doors of the top ten, was involved in an incident, when the two InterMS cars of Michael Suco and Emma Scarbrough made contact at turn 1 and ended up off-track, triggering a full course yellow.

Kaylee Countryman also hit trouble, suffering front wing damage and having to pit. She rejoined in P19 at the back of the pack. Staying clean through the incidents, Maddie Colleran moved up into P14 as the race continued under caution.

The green flag resumed on lap 6. Maddie had to defend and slotted into P15. It was a chaotic restart: Ty Fisher lost his nosecone, more drivers went off, and a full course yellow came out again with Nordquist off at Turn 3. Meanwhile, Countryman made the most of the restart and gained several positions, charging from P18 to P11. Colleran, however, lost ground and fell to P17 as the race went back under caution with eight minutes to go.

The green flag waved again with just two and a half minutes left. Loiacono, from pole, survived the restart for the final lap. Countryman dropped to P12, but Maddie Colleran had a good restart and looked for opportunities to gain ground.

Countryman held on and took the chequered flag in P12—a strong result considering the early contact. After post-race penalties, she was classified in P10, scoring a very positive top ten. Maddie Colleran crossed the line in P16, then promoted to P15—her third top-15 of the campaign and equalling her best result to date.

Photo Credit: Gavin Baker Photography

Later on Friday afternoon, it was already time for Race 2 of the weekend. Liam Loiacono again started on pole after winning the first contest, this time sharing the front row with Brenden Cooley. Emma Scarbrough lined up as the top female in P13, just ahead of Kaylee Countryman, while Maddie Colleran aimed to move up from P21.

A two-way battle for the lead began between Loiacono and Cooley, with Fischer trying to insert himself into the fight but losing his front wing. Emma Scarbrough held P13 while Fischer dropped down the order. However, drama unfolded as Countryman and Nordquist went off at Turn 8—Kaylee was hit and sent into the barriers on the first lap, bringing out the caution. Maddie Colleran survived the chaos and climbed to P17 as the race was neutralized.

Colleran gained one more position when Rodrigo Gonzalez pitted from P4 for a new front wing on the second lap. The green flag waved again on lap 4: Scarbrough held P12—but chaos erupted again at Turn 1, where Cooley and Vergara collided. Several cars took evasive action and went off; Scarbrough was collected and out again, in a very unlucky incident. The yellow flag was back out.

Colleran once again had navigated through the chaos and moved up to P15. The race finally resumed on lap 5 with just two minutes to go. A three-wide battle for the lead ensued as Loiacono and Escorpioni made light contact, allowing Gonzalez to momentarily take the lead into Turn 3 before Escorpioni fought back. Big battles continued as the white flag flew for the final lap.

Maddie Colleran dropped to P17 at the restart, locked in a tight battle with Michael Suco, with less than a tenth separating them. On the final lap, however, they both moved forward—Colleran passed Cooley, Gonzalez, and Achituv to take the chequered flag in P14, her personal best finish of the season in the series. Loiacono took the win once again after a last-lap pass.

Photo credits: 1shotphotos

Saturday morning brought the final race of the weekend at Road America. It was one more chance for a top ten for Kaylee Countryman, who started from P12. Emma Scarbrough lined up in P19, aiming to turn her weekend around, while Maddie Colleran started P20 in the Zanella Racing machine.

When the green flag waved, Loiacono held off Cooley and Fisher. Countryman had a good getaway and moved into P11. Scarbrough moved up to P18 and Colleran followed closely in P19 after the opening corners. However, Countryman dropped to P13 by the end of the first lap, while Colleran, battling with Suco and Nordquist, settled into P19. Colin Aitken pitted with damage.

Countryman continued battling in the midfield and lost one spot to Vergara on the second lap—but Vergara then pulled off with a technical failure on the main straight.

Countryman held P14, and Scarbrough battled Suco, holding P16. Colleran was up to P18 after Vergara's retirement.

Emma managed to get ahead of Suco—who then went off at the final corner—and grabbed P15. Colleran also gained another position by the end of lap 4 before the race was neutralized with 18 minutes to go.

The race resumed on lap 7 with 10 minutes left: Loiacono defended the inside line into Turn 1, forcing Cooley to slot back behind and also defend from Fisher and Aatola. Fisher launched an attack into Turn 3 to take second but couldn't hold the position.

Further back, Countryman gained one place on the restart and then another to move into P12. Emma Scarbrough also made up spots, taking P15, while Colleran ran P17 as Rodrigo Gonzalez pitted with issues. The battle for the top positions intensified as Oliver Wheldon, who had climbed to third, was pushed off, spun, and ended up stranded in the middle of the track. Thankfully, he was avoided by all.

Countryman capitalized to move into P11, with Scarbrough now enjoying a cleaner race and following in P13—though she had to defend from JT Hoskins.

Escorpioni, Fisher, and Gonzalez banged wheels in the battle for second, allowing Liam Loiacono to cruise to his third win of the weekend—and fourth consecutive victory.

Kaylee Countryman delivered another strong result, taking the chequered flag in P12. Emma Scarbrough finished her first race of the weekend in P15, bringing the car home after an unlucky two days. Maddie Colleran crossed the line in P16, keeping Oliver Wheldon behind after his spin and ending the weekend on a solid note.

Emma Scarbrough remains the highest-placed female driver in the championship standings, sitting 16th with 73 points. However, Countryman’s strong results have closed the gap—she’s now just two points behind. Maddie Colleran follows with 45 points.

Next up will be the final round of the season in Portland, August 7–10.