Indy Lights Category

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer The final step of the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires has offered some fantastic racing over the past few years. The Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires has seen some close finishes and tighter action with its fair share of dicing passes and chaos behind the wheel. Drivers are looking to move up to the Verizon IndyCar Series with the Mazda scholarship award and a few drivers look like they’re on the right track to do just that. Aaron TelitzRead More

PALMETTO, Fla. (March 8) – Cooper Tire and Mazda today announced the renewal of the MRTI Hashtag Program that encourages drivers and teams to utilize the #MRTI and #TeamCooperTire hashtags through their social messaging on Twitter and Instagram. The social media program originated in 2014 as an initiative by Cooper Tire in cooperation with the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires, and was designed to encourage drivers and teams to give their fans an inside look at the life of an up-and-coming race car driver, bringing out theRead More

PALMETTO, Fla. (March 7, 2017) – The eyes of the open-wheel auto racing world will be focused firmly on St. Petersburg, Fla., this weekend as the Verizon IndyCar Series and all three levels of the acclaimed Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires begin their new season on the challenging 1.8-mile, 14-turn downtown street circuit. More than 50 ambitious drivers literally from around the globe will converge on the scenic waterside track, each and every one of them looking to make a strong start to their campaigns in pursuitRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer As the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires wrapped up their spring testing at Homestead-Miami Speedway, several drivers emerged as contenders and other announcements were made that would help shape the different series for 2017. Let’s take a look at each series. Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires Colton Herta will be a driver to watch.  The second generation driver was in the top three in every practice session on both the oval and road course in his first drive inRead More

HOMESTEAD, Fla. – The Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires Spring Training Open Test concluded this afternoon at Homestead-Miami Speedway with 15 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires drivers strutting their stuff in preparation for next week’s season-opening races some 200 miles or so to the northwest on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla. A total of 1271 laps were logged during the course of six and a half hours of testing. Rookie Colton Herta, the youngest driver in the field at just 16, emerged with early braggingRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer The worst kept secret in the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires has finally been made official as Mazda announced that Aaron Telitz will pilot their Soul Red Mazda paint scheme for Belardi Auto Racing in the 2017 Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires. The 2016 Pro Mazda champion earned the right to race the Soul Red scheme after winning the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires in dramatic fashion and with it, the MAZDASPEED scholarship that funded theRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Pato O’Ward will see his Mazda Road to Indy career continue for at least one more round as Team Pelfrey confirmed him in Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires for spring training test at Homestead-Miami Speedway and the St. Petersburg season opener on March 10-12. The 17-year-old Mexican raced for Team Pelfrey last season, finishing runner-up in the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires to then-teammate Aaron Telitz. O’Ward has enjoyed phenomenal success over the off-season, having claimed a Rolex 24 at Daytona win inRead More

HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Judging by the opening day of Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires Spring Training at Homestead-Miami Speedway, the competition this year in Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires is going to be intense. A dozen of the 15 contenders expected to challenge for a Mazda Scholarship valued at $1 million to secure entry into at least three Verizon IndyCar Series races in 2018, including the Indianapolis 500, took the opportunity to test on the 1.485-mile oval. After six and a half hours of running, noRead More

Teams and drivers from all three levels of the acclaimed Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires will converge next week at Homestead-Miami Speedway in South Florida for an official Spring Training test. The four-day outing will comprise over six hours of testing for Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires competitors on the 1.5-mile oval on Monday, February 27, followed by two days of running on the 2.21-mile road course for the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, thenRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Carlin has expanded again in the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires.  After competing in 2015 with two cars and 2016 with three cars, the team has expanded to a fourth car and has brought back Neil Alberico to drive one of them alongside Zachary Claman DeMelo, Matheus Leist and Garth Rickards. Alberico had a less than ideal 2016 Indy Lights season with only one top 5 finish at Watkins Glen to carry him to 11th in points.  However, Alberico has aRead More