Myles Rowe takes the USF Pro 2000 title
Rowe, who seems almost impervious to most pressure, indeed hung on to the third place he needed to win IndyCar’s F3-equivalent USF Pro 2000 series – it made the young New Yorker the first African-American in history to win a single-seater title. Not just a landmark achievement for black athletes, the championship triumph is a watershed moment for the Roger Penske-backed Force Indy (FI) project, with even Lewis Hamilton posting his congratulations on social media.
“I think it is extremely important that we represent, in a very positive way, people like us around the world, for young people to see it and think: ‘I can do this’,” says Reid.
“Certainly Lewis Hamilton has had that impact. Even here in this country, when a lot of kids – especially black kids – don’t know anything about racing, when they see Myles, it means something.”
Rowe says part of his adoration for his hero Hamilton has been upon the trail he’s blazed, giving the achievement extra poignance.“It’s extremely important for me, because when I was a kid, looking at Lewis, he was breaking all the records,” said Rowe.
“In the back of my mind, that was something I wanted to do too, inspiring that kind of energy.“Lewis does his thing for blacks in Europe, in F1, and all over the world, but it’s really cool that Americans seem to be really proud of this title. “It’s still only just sinking in, but it means a lot, and I hope I can do more.”
