Hudson Schwartz Embraces Learning and Growth Ahead of USF2000 Debut Season

U.S. OPEN WHEEL NATION ARTICLE

In the past six months, Hudson Schwartz has accumulated numerous achievements: landing on the USF Juniors podium, topping four of the six sessions at the USF2000 fall combine at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and securing $250,000 by winning the Lucas Oil Race Series.

The 14-year-old Virginia native is now setting his sights on his debut USF2000 season in 2024 with Pabst Racing. Schwartz believes that Pabst, the team that clinched the 2023 USF2000 title with Simon Sikes, is an excellent fit for him to take the next step.

“They’re an amazing team; the results definitely show it,” Schwartz said. “We’ve had a great connection with setting up the car.”

This promotion marks the next step in a racing history that spans over a decade.

Around 11 years ago, father Roy Schwartz, a Spec Miata racer, drove an hour and a half to take Hudson to West Virginia’s Summit Point Raceway, where he was “immediately hooked.”

Six years passed where Schwartz stayed in rental karts before his ascension through the racing ranks began.

It was a meteoric rise. Schwartz competed in national-level races by the time he turned 10. By the time Schwartz had turned 13, he had already begun moving into race cars.

He debuted in the Lucas Oil Race Series at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the summer of 2022. In only his second race of the three-race weekend, he won.

Schwartz prepared to run full-time and hunt for the championship in the 2023 season of the series. His schedule for 2023 became even more booked after it was announced on April 13 that he joined VRD Racing for the remainder of the USF Juniors calendar.

Schwartz came out firing in his second season with the Lucas Oil Race Series as he secured nine consecutive top-2 finishes.

He later went on to secure the title after finishing the season with six wins in fifteen races. That secured him a $250,000 prize that he said will primarily go toward paying for his racing. Additionally, he endorsed the series and said it gave him the skills needed to succeed in the transition from karting to race cars.

“I was able to learn how to control a car without downforce,” Schwartz said. “That was ultimately a big part of why I was so fast in downforce cars because I understand what downforce did.”

Schwartz played a balancing act between his two series and would travel across the country from weekend to weekend to contend.

The success did not come as easily in USF Juniors as Schwartz found himself outside of the top 10 in three of his first five races.

“Last year (in USF Juniors) was very much a learning season for me,” Schwartz said. “Now using all the information from last year, I’m still going to be learning, but I can definitely implement it.”

His goals for the upcoming season in USF2000 revolve around learning as much as he can. He wants to soak up all information that is presented to him with the experience and “don’t leave anything on the table.”

As the season winded down, Schwartz consistently showed improvement in USF Juniors. He received a podium each at both Mid-Ohio and Virginia International Raceway and strung together a streak of eight consecutive finishes of seventh or higher to close out the year. Still, the season finished with no wins.

The next step Schwartz said he needs to take is to be consistent on every lap. He envisioned himself focused more on putting in great times when leading as opposed to looking behind.

Additionally, he credited his coach Bob Perona as someone who helped with the transition to the USF2000 car as Schwartz took to the track at Indianapolis for the first time.

“He really helped me learn the track and dissect it turn-by-turn,” Schwartz said. “It’ll be a great season working together with him and the whole team.”

Schwartz’s stellar performance at the fall combine included running a 1:25.8 in the fourth session, the fastest time that any driver had run throughout the course of the weekend.

Many of the drivers who he ran alongside in the combine, and most of the drivers he will race against in USF2000, will be 3-5 years older than Schwartz, who was born in 2009.

It is a fact he is aware of. Additionally, Schwartz said the season will be “tough,” but that himself and everyone else in the field are all from the same cut of racing drivers.

“Regardless of age, It’s going to be a great season and I think we can be really competitive,” Schwartz said.