Road to Indy Category

By Road to Indy MADISON, Ill. – This afternoon’s Mazda St. Louis Indy Lights Oval Challenge Presented by Cooper Tires at Gateway Motorsports Park might have attracted only seven starters, but it provided a thrilling 75-lap race as Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Norman came from behind to claim a magnificent first-ever Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires victory over Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing stablemate Colton Herta. Championship leader Patricio O’Ward was unable to quite match his two teammates, but his disappointment was tempered by the fact that his sixth consecutive podium finish meantRead More

By Road to Indy MADISON, Ill. – Dutch teenager Rinus VeeKay moved another step closer to this year’s Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires with another dominant performance this afternoon for Juncos Racing at the 1.25-mile Gateway Motorsports Park oval. VeeKay, who started second, leapt into the lead at the start, then fought off a mid-race challenge from teammate Robert Megennis before cruising to victory – his fifth in a row – to open up a commanding lead over closest rival Parker Thompson with only two races remaining thisRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief The step up to the next level of the Mazda Road to Indy ladder can sometimes be steeper than expected. Oliver Askew has been learning that firsthand this year during his inaugural campaign in the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires. After capturing staggering seven wins, 11 podiums and eight poles in 14 starts en route to the 2017 title in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda – the first rung of the MRTI ladder – with Cape Motorsports, the outside expectations ofRead More

By Road to Indy PALMETTO, Fla. – The two highest rungs on the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires open-wheel development ladder will return to action this weekend at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Ill. The unique, egg-shaped 1.25-mile oval situated just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Mo., will host one race apiece on Saturday for Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires and the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. The events will take on a little more significance with additional points on offer forRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer Juncos Racing has confirmed that Heamin Choi will join the team for the 2018 Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires finale weekend at Portland International Raceway. The Korean driver tested for Ricardo Juncos’s team at the Chris Griffis Memorial Test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course last September and will be making his first start in Indy Lights since the 2016 finale weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. “I’m very excited to come back to the Indy Lights Championship with Juncos Racing,” said Choi inRead More

By Road to Indy PALMETTO, Fla. – The 2019 Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires open-wheel driver development program will kick off another exciting season of racing for all three levels as Andersen Promotions today confirmed that the traditional Spring Training Open Test will return to Homestead-Miami Speedway, in Homestead, Fla., on March 2-4, 2019. The proven ladder system, which offers a series of scholarships to assist young drivers in progressing all the way from the grassroots of the sport to the Verizon IndyCar Series, will continue for aRead More

By Pato O’Ward, Driver Columnist Editor’s note: Pato O’Ward will be contributing to Motorsports Tribune selectively throughout the 2018 Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires season. The 18-year-old Texas-based Mexican racer pilots the No. 27 Mazda/Dallara IL-15 for Andretti Autosport. A Rolex 24 at Daytona winner and series champion in the Prototype Challenge class a season ago in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, O’Ward will be looking for similar success during his rookie campaign in the top rung of the Mazda Road to Indy. Drive, Determination and Hunger. Those three things are whatRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer Mazda announced today that the automaker will conclude their involvement in the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires at the conclusion of the 2018 season. After announcing their involvement on the Road to Indy in late 2010, Mazda has handed out over $12 million in scholarships to drivers advancing their careers in motorsports, including Spencer Pigot (twice), Josef Newgarden, Kyle Kaiser, Oliver Askew (twice) and Victor Franzoni. This announcement comes at a critical time for the Road to Indy. The top two steps onRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor LEXINGTON, Ohio — The Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires doubleheader at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course played out much like the season prior to it in 2018. Colton Herta was nipping at his heels, but Patricio O’Ward held on to score consecutive trips to victory lane. O’Ward held off another late surge from Herta to claim Sunday’s Cooper Tires Indy Lights Mid-Ohio Grand Prix Race 2 – his seventh win of the 2018 season (vs. Herta’s four), and fourth triumph in the past five races. HertaRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor LEXINGTON, Ohio — Kyle Kirkwood captured the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda crown with a Friday win at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. He celebrated a new series record with his eighth-consecutive win on Saturday. On Sunday the Cape Motorsports star got out the broom for a weekend sweep. Kirkwood surged ahead of polesitter James Raven in the first two turns and drove off from there to claim another dominant victory in Sunday’s Cooper Tires USF2000 Mid-Ohio Grand Prix Race 3, tallying his ninth-straight victory andRead More