Indy Lights

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 — Notes, Quotes, Stories and Takeaways from the Road to Indy on Saturday at Mid-Ohio Indy Lights Talent, Drama… And Respect Among Andretti Autosport Teammates Make no mistake – Patricio O’Ward and Colton Herta want nothing more than to beat each other for the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires championship this year. But peel beneath their competitive fire and you’ll see something other than intensity and drive shared between the Andretti Autosport duo. Respect. “I think it’s a win-win situation for both ofRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor LEXINGTON, Ohio — Andretti Autosport teammates Patricio O’Ward and Colton Herta found themselves in a familiar place in Saturday’s Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires race – battling amongst themselves for a trip to victory lane. This time it was O’Ward that took the checkered flag. O’Ward led wire-to-wire and kept Herta at bay over the final run to the finish to win Cooper Tires Mid-Ohio Grand Prix Race 1. The win was the Mexican’s sixth in 13 races this season, putting him twoRead More

By Road to Indy PALMETTO, Fla. – It’s coming down to crunch-time for all three tiers of the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires open-wheel development ladder, which collectively offers scholarships and prizes valued at more than $3.5 million to assist drivers in their progression from the grassroots of the sport to the Verizon IndyCar Series. The title-chases for both Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires and the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires are finely poised heading into this weekend at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course,Read More

By Road to Indy TORONTO, Ont., Canada – Santiago “Santi” Urrutia came into this season as a hot favorite to win the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires championship crown – and a scholarship valued at $1 million to advance to the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2019. After all, he had finished a close second in the each of the last two years and was continuing with the same Belardi Auto Racing team with which he had won two of the final four races in 2017. But prior to thisRead More

By Road to Indy TORONTO, Ont., Canada – Patricio O’Ward, from Monterrey, Mexico, reclaimed the lead in the closely fought Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires title-chase following a hard-earned fourth win of the season for Andretti Autosport in this afternoon’s Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix of Toronto Presented by Allied Building Products. Santiago “Santi” Urrutia, from Miguelete, Uruguay, took advantage of various dramas during the 35-lap race to finish second for Belardi Auto Racing, while Ryan Norman, from Aurora, Ohio, equaled his career-best result by completing the podiumRead More

By Road to Indy PALMETTO, Fla. – All three levels of the highly effective Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires open-wheel development ladder will venture north of the border this week for their annual visit to the streets surrounding Exhibition Place – just minutes away from downtown Toronto – in support of the Verizon IndyCar Series. The 1.786-mile, 11-turn temporary circuit always provides a stiff challenge for the drivers with its omnipresent concrete walls ready to punish any mistakes. Two races each will be held for Indy LightsRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor NEWTON, Iowa — Patricio O’Ward entered Iowa Speedway in need of a strong run to close back up to Colton Herta in the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires championship. He emerged with one of the most dominant drives of his Mazda Road to Indy career. O’Ward led all 100 laps from pole to soar to a dominant win in Sunday’s Mazda Iowa 100, beating out Herta by 2.826 seconds as he took the checkered flag. The triumph was O’Ward’s fourth victory of the 2018Read More