Road to Indy Category

PALMETTO, Fla. – The future stars of the Verizon IndyCar Series will display their talents this weekend on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., as all three levels of the Mazda Road to Indy development ladder will commence their 2015 seasons. The race weekend also will mark the debut of the exciting new Dallara IL-15, powered by a 450 HP, 2.0-liter turbocharged Mazda MZR-R engine, heralding the dawn of a new era for Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires.   The Mazda Road to Indy is unique in the worldRead More

Matt Brabham will make a return to Indy Lights for the first event of the 2015 season at St. Petersburg, Florida (March 27-29) with Andretti Autosport. The arrangement sees the Brabham and Andretti names come together once again after a successful first Indy Lights season in 2014 and clinching the Pro Mazda Championship together in 2013. Matt was in Indianapolis today for a seat fitting and will test at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Monday prior to the Florida race. Brabham has had a great deal of success at St. Petersburg inRead More

Oconomowoc, Wisconsin – The start of the official 2015 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda is quickly approaching and Oconomowoc, Wisconsin-based Pabst Racing today announced the signing of their second full-season driver, Jake Eidson. After a successful Cooper Tires Winterfest Championship where the team and driver earned two wins together, they proved to be a championship contending team this season. 19-year-old Littleton, Colorado native, Jake Eidson will join the team to pilot the #22 Pabst Racing VanDiemen for his second season of the 16-race Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship. BothRead More

Although the weather was very cold, M1 Racing was all fired up after one of its rookies, Tristan DeGrand of Eureka, Mo., finished fourth in the finale of the Pro Mazda Series’ Cooper Tires Winterfest Feb. 26 at Barber Motorsports Park in Leeds, Ala. In addition to almost making the podium in his first Pro Mazda event, DeGrand definitely was the hard-charger at Barber. He moved up six positions in both races held on the 2.3-mile road course that will host the third event of the 2015 Pro Mazda season.Read More

A dramatic pair of races today in bitterly cold conditions at Barber Motorsports Park saw young Frenchman Nico Jamin of Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing edge Brazilian Victor Franzoni to the fifth annual Cooper Tires Winterfest title. American Jake Eidson also was in the thick of the action until his Pabst Racing entry was cruelly hobbled by a fuel pump failure while holding second place in the early stages of the final race.   The pre-season series was cut short by one race following the cancellation of yesterday’s trackRead More

Just as Team Pelfrey’s Jack Aitken predicted following the first two rounds of the Cooper Tires Winterfest at NOLA Motorsports Park last week, the outcome of the pre-season mini-series went all the way down to the wire. The first of three scheduled races at Barber Motorsports Park was cancelled yesterday due to inclement winter weather, but today’s action could hardly have been hotter. In the end, the title was decided in favor of Aitken by virtue of the fact he posted the fastest lap of the race in this afternoon’sRead More

There was nothing to choose between Jack Aitken and Weiron Tan during today’s pair of Cooper Tires Winterfest races at NOLA Motorsport Park. The Englishman and the Malaysian scored one win apiece and are now tied on points as the Mazda Road to Indy pre-season mini-series competitors head to Barber Motorsports Park for three more races next Wednesday and Thursday.   Aitken started on pole for Team Pelfrey this morning, only to be outfumbled at the start when Andretti Autosport’s Tan made a clear jump as the green flag waved.Read More

Jake Eidson and Victor Franzoni shared the victory spoils for Pabst Racing and Afterburner Autosport respectively following today’s pair of 30-minute Cooper Tires Winterfest races at NOLA Motorsports Park. Eidson, who also won yesterday’s opening round of the six-race pre-season mini-series, now holds a commanding 26-point advantage over his nearest pursuer as the first rung on the Mazda Road to Indy ladder heads to Barber Motorsports Park for three more races next week.   After an electrical problem in qualifying restricted Franzoni to an unrepresentative 14th on the grid forRead More

Mazda Road to Indy pre-season testing continued this week for participants in Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires with 10 hours of valuable on-track time over a two-day stretch at NOLA Motorsports Park near New Orleans, La. The Indy Lights teams kicked off the annual Cooper Tires Winterfest at the track which will see action in April with the Verizon IndyCar Series as well as the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda and the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. Teams were greeted with temperatures hovering near 40ºRead More

Two youngsters who have honed their skills in Europe in recent years staged a fine battle for the lead in this afternoon’s opening round of the Cooper Tires Winterfest, with Briton Jack Aitken (Team Pelfrey) narrowly holding off Andretti Autosport’s Weiron Tan at NOLA Motorsports Park. Aitken, 19, from London, England, returned to the Pro Mazda ranks following an impressive debut performance in last year’s season finale at Sonoma Raceway, where he finished fourth. His focus this year will be on a return to the Formula Renault Eurocup, but heRead More