Indy Pro 2000 Category

By Road to Indy Nikita Lastochkin took a very different route to the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires than many of his fellow competitors. With no motorsports background growing up in Moscow, Lastochkin did not start racing until the age of 22, after moving to the United States. Here, the now 27-year-old entering his sophomore Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires season, talks about coming to America at the age of 16, how he first got the racing bug and how taking racing cues from ColtonRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief The 2018 lineups for the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires is beginning to take shape with Sting Ray Robb as the latest confirmed as it was announced he would return to Team Pelfrey. The Idaho native enjoyed a solid rookie campaign in 2017, finishing sixth in the overall standings with 11 top 10 results, including a career-best of fourth on three separate occasions (St. Petersburg – race two, Road America – race one, Watkins Glen – race one). A full release from the team canRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer After a thrilling championship, Victor Franzoni won the 2017 Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires driving for Juncos Racing. Franzoni will be moving up to Indy Lights in 2018 in a yet-to-be-announced drive for Juncos Racing. This move up the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires was possible thanks to a scholarship presented to the Pro Mazda series champion valued at just over $790,000. But what advice would past Pro Mazda champions give to Franzoni about moving up toRead More

Indianapolis, IN (December 12, 2017) – Juncos Racing announced today Carlos Cunha will join the team for the 2018 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. Cunha is the third driver to commit to the reigning 2017 Pro Mazda champions. Carlos Cunha (Campinas, Brazil) joins Juncos Racing after a successful rookie season in the 2017 Pro Mazda Championship. The young Brazilian recorded seven podium finishes and ended the season third in the championship. “It’s great to become a part of Juncos Racing,” said Cunha. “I am really excited to startRead More

Cape Motorsports is thrilled to confirm its first driver for the 2018 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires campaign. The team will welcome MRTI veteran Nikita Lastochkin back to the squad, having run the talented Russian-born driver in the USF2000 program in 2016. Cape Motorsports is planning to run a trio of PM-18s on the second level of the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires next season. Off-season testing has been extremely successful and the crew is highly-motivated to challenge for the title in 2018. “We areRead More

Indianapolis, IN (December 5, 2017) – Juncos Racing announced today that Palo Alto Networks driver Robert Megennis will join their 2018 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires driver line-up. Megennis is the second driver to commit to the reigning championship team. Robert Megennis (New York, New York) moves up to the Pro Mazda series after a strong two-year run in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda. The young American finished off the 2017 season with one pole and one win, both coming at the season-opener on theRead More

Indianapolis, IN (November 28, 2017) – Juncos Racing announced today the 2017 Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda championship runner-up, Rinus VeeKay will join the team for the 2018 Pro Mazda Presented by Cooper Tires championship. VeeKay is the first driver to join the reigning 2017 Pro Mazda champion team. Rinus VeeKay, 17, of Hoofddorp, Netherlands recently completed a very successful run in the USF2000 championship, picking up one pole, three wins and 12 podiums within 14 races in his rookie season. VeeKay’s most notable weekend during the 2017 yearRead More

By Road to Indy There is a great deal of symmetry between the histories of Juncos Racing team owner Ricardo Juncos and driver Victor Franzoni. Both came to the U.S. from South America with little more than the money in their respective pockets, and the passion and drive to make their racing dreams happen. In an all-or-nothing, pressure-packed scenario, the story of their 2017 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires title run became one of the feel-good narratives of the year. Juncos’ story is well-known: as a successful autoRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer The Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires recently concluded their first official test after the 2017 season at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. The seventh annual Chris Griffis Memorial Test was a chance for several drivers and teams to get acquainted with one another and with their machinery, as well as giving everyone a reason to see cars run at IMS. Here’s some observations about the weekend. Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires Victor Franzoni, Anthony Martin and CarlosRead More

By Road to Indy Forty drivers representing all three rungs of the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires were in action this weekend during the two-day Chris Griffis Memorial Test held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Over 5,300 laps were turned around the 2.439-mile road course in the seventh annual outing as teams and drivers focused on 2018 preparations. The highly anticipated debut of the brand-new PM-18 – with the first container of 15 chassis sold out and additional cars and conversion kits on the way – tookRead More