By Road to Indy PALMETTO, Fla. – Almost 50 drivers representing 15 different nationalities from around the globe will convene this week in rural Wisconsin, where all three levels of the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires open-wheel development ladder will feature a pair of races in support of the Verizon IndyCar Series’ Kohler Grand Prix at the historic Road America facility in Elkhart Lake, Wis. The challenging and undulating 4.014-mile road course marks the halfway point in the season for Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, theRead More

By Road to Indy ELKHART LAKE, Wis. – A total of 48 drivers representing 14 nations this afternoon completed a two-day Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires open test at Road America in rural Wisconsin. All three levels of the acclaimed open-wheel development ladder, which offers scholarships for drivers to progress all the way from the grassroots of the sport to the Verizon IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500, saw action on the scenic and challenging 4.014-mile natural terrain road course. Perfect weather conditions proved conducive to fastRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor BROWNSBURG, Ind. — Alex Baron and Russ McDonough found themselves at odds after a run-in at Lucas Oil Raceway. Baron was running third in his No. 19 Swan-RJB Motorsports machine when he caught McDonough’s lapped No. 29 BN Racing machine on Lap 29 of Friday’s Freedom 75. The French driver attempted to overtake McDonough going into Turn 3 on the .686-mile oval, but the duo made contact. The resulting shunt sent Baron into the outside wall, knocking the 23-year-old out of the race in 21st. “WhenRead More

By Road to Indy BROWNSBURG, Ind. – Parker Thompson and the Exclusive Autosport team are on a roll in the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. The popular Canadian from Red Deer, Alb., used his oval experience to excellent effect in this evening’s Cooper Tires Freedom 90, speeding to victory on the 0.686-mile Lucas Oil Raceway oval as part of the traditional “Carb Night Classic – The Race Before the 500.” Thompson led throughout the 90-lap race but was kept on his toes by Brazilian Carlos Cunha, who tookRead More

By Road to Indy BROWNSBURG, Ind. – Up until recently, Kyle Kirkwood claimed to be not much of a fan of oval racing. His tune changed somewhat following his first left-turn-only test at Memphis Motorsports Park last week, and the 18-year-old from Jupiter, Fla., took full advantage of that positive experience this evening at Lucas Oil Raceway as he sped to a dominant victory for Cape Motorsports in the Cooper Tires Freedom 75, Round Seven of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda. Kaylen Frederick, 15, from Potomac, Md.,Read More

By Road to Indy SPEEDWAY, Ind. – What a month it has been for second-generation Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires racer Colton Herta. The teenager from Valencia, Calif., driving for the team co-owned by George Michael Steinbrenner IV and former IndyCar star Michael Andretti, followed up his two-race sweep at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix circuit two weeks ago by holding off primary title rival Patricio O’Ward in a nail-biting finish to this afternoon’s 16th Annual Freedom 100 – the crown jewel in the Mazda Road to IndyRead More

By Road to Indy SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Dalton Kellett has developed quite an affinity for the ovals, and especially the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. After finishing third in each of his two previous starts in the biggest event of the year for Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, the Indianapolis-based Canadian this afternoon secured his first-ever Mazda Road to Indy pole position when he posted the fastest two-lap average of 195.027 mph for Andretti Autosport during qualifying for tomorrow’s Freedom 100. Kellett, 24, who hails originally from Toronto, Ont., has workedRead More

By Road to Indy BROWNSBURG, Ind. – For many competitors in both the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda and even the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, tomorrow at Lucas Oil Raceway will mark their very first competitive outing on an oval track. To aid them with the transition from road racing, reigning Verizon IndyCar Series champion Josef Newgarden and last year’s Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires champion Kyle Kaiser, along with six-time Indianapolis 500 starter Johnny Unser and Gerardo Bonilla, Director of Competition for theRead More

By Road to Indy SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Memorial Day weekend is steeped in tradition, especially in Indianapolis where the annual federal holiday held in remembrance of the people who died while serving in the country’s armed forces coincides with the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” – the Indianapolis 500. The Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires – a unique open-wheel development ladder which offers scholarship-funded opportunities for drivers to progress all the way from the grassroots of the sport to the Indy 500 – pays its own tribute toRead More