Road to Indy

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer In a perfect world where the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires gets the maximum exposure for its top tier series, the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires, one would think that having the series race on each of the premier types of tracks that the Verizon IndyCar Series visits would be a necessity. On the ovals, you have the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, site of the Freedom 100. On the road courses, you have Road America’s doubleheader weekend. For streetRead More
By Dalton Kellett, Driver Columnist Providing an inside look for the fans, Dalton Kellett will be contributing to Motorsports Tribune selectively throughout the 2017 Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires season. For his opening column, the 23-year-old Canadian will talk about taking the role as a veteran at Andretti Autosport and some of his plans during a long break before preparing for the April 21-23 doubleheader at Barber Motorsports Park. Growing Up I think one of the big things for me going through my time in Mazda Road to Indy hasRead More
PALMETTO, Fla. – Rinus VeeKay introduced himself to American open-wheel fans late in 2015 when, after earning a Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda test as part of the MAXSpeed/Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires Driver Advancement Program, he steadily made his way up the timing charts at Circuit of the Americas to finish third in the final session, with two seasoned veterans in front. The 16-year-old Dutchman has an impressive karting resume, with numerous championships in Holland and Europe, including Dutch Minimax and Junior titles andRead More
By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Now that we’ve had a week to digest all of the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires action from the streets of St. Petersburg, it’s time to reflect on some interesting observations. Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires Aaron Telitz won the first Indy Lights race of the season with nearly the largest margin of victory for an Indy Lights car ever at St. Petersburg, in what was an impressive showing for the Wisconsin native. J.K. Vernay’s winning margin inRead More
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Talented Australian Anthony Martin continued from where he left off yesterday, scoring another flag-to-flag victory in this afternoon’s Allied Building Products Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. He now boasts a perfect two-for-two record in the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. Martin, 22, led throughout the 40-minute race to enjoy a weekend sweep for himself and the locally based Cape Motorsports team on the streets of St. Petersburg. The remaining podium finishers also repeated from yesterday, with Victor Franzoni, from Sao Paulo, Brazil, finishing secondRead More
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Colton Herta impressed everyone yesterday on his Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires debut by charging through from sixth to second. But that was nothing compared to this morning on the Streets of St. Petersburg. The 16-year-old from Valencia, Calif., started from the pole and displayed remarkable poise as he outpaced the field to win the Mazda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by Cooper Tires in convincing style for Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing. The son of 1993 Indy Lights champion and two-time Indianapolis 500 car owner BryanRead More
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Aaron Telitz tried his utmost to turn the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires season opener into a procession, but fortunately his fellow protagonists failed to follow his script during an otherwise action-packed Mazda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by Cooper Tires. As Telitz, 25, from Birchwood, Wis., romped to an impressive debut victory from the pole for Belardi Auto Racing, the remainder of the 15-car field staged a thrilling contest which ended with fellow Americans Colton Herta (Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing) and Neil Alberico (Carlin) completingRead More
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Robert Megennis (Team Pelfrey) and Oliver Askew (Cape Motorsports) shared the limelight today as the new-look Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda kicked off in style on the streets of St. Petersburg. The brand-new Mazda-powered Tatuus USF-17 chassis provided some spectacular action as the talented young American duo each claimed a race win during today’s season-opening double-header. Last year’s top rookie, Megennis, from New York, N.Y., secured his first win this morning despite a late charge from former karting star Askew, from Jupiter, Fla., whoRead More
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Anthony Martin began his bid to follow Matthew Brabham as only the second driver to claim back-to-back Mazda Scholarships in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda and the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires with a flag-to-flag victory in the Hi-Tide Kids on Track Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The 22-year-old from Kalgoorlie, Australia, driving for St. Petersburg-based Cape Motorsports, remained under pressure virtually throughout the 25-lap, 30-minute race from Brazilian Victor Franzoni (Juncos Racing) before taking the checkered flag to earn victoryRead More