The second Team USA Scholarship recipient to join the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda grid for 2016, Dakota Dickerson, has been confirmed with Afterburner Autosport.
Dickerson joins Michai Stephens, who will race with RJB Motorsports this year.
Dickerson’s teammate at Afterburner is Felipe Ortiz, and the potential exists further cars could join that team this year on the first rung of the Mazda Road to Indy ladder. Dickerson has already tested with the team several times.
“We’re happy to have Dakota with us,” team owner Tim Walsh said in a release. “I’m impressed with him and his thirst for knowledge and understanding the setups on the car. He’s equal to or faster than any other driver we’ve had. Every driver has a different style, and the keys are to get comfortable with the tires and the car and to understand how it all works. To get that experience is the key to going out and driving to win.”
Dickerson, a San Diego resident, raced in the Formula Ford Festival and Walter Hayes Trophy events in England, the open-wheel Skip Barber Summer Series before winning the $200,000 Mazda scholarship shootout, Spec Miata and the California Sports Car Club.