Garrett Grist Tag

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer I really am a glutton for punishment, I admit it. Much to my own detriment, I read online comments and there was a central one that I saw quite often during the INDYCAR Grand Prix weekend: “Why are there only seven cars in Indy Lights? What happened to Indy Lights?” There were various people calling for outrageous suggestions such as shutting Indy Lights down or merging various championships on the Mazda Road to Indy to avoid this situation. Folks, Indy Lights is going to be fine,Read More

TORONTO, Ont., Canada – For the second successive day, Felix Rosenqvist took the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires field by storm, romping to a clear victory in this morning’s Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix of Toronto. The Swede’s #4 Belardi Auto Racing Dallara-Mazda IL-15 was never seriously threatened as the 2015 FIA European Formula 3 champion and two-time Macau Grand Prix winner left everyone in his wake before cruising to a 7.2-second victory. The main interest instead centered on a thrilling battle for second place which eventually fellRead More

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Team Pelfrey once again flexed its muscles in this afternoon’s third round of the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires at Barber Motorsports Park. Wisconsin native Aaron Telitz led for most of the 40-minute contest, the first of two races this weekend that will comprise the Mazda North American Operations Presents the Pro Mazda Grand Prix of Alabama, but teenaged Mexican Patricio “Pato” O’Ward pounced soon after a restart in the closing stages to secure his second win of the season. Canadian Garett Grist completed theRead More

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Two weeks ago, Patricio “Pato” O’Ward wasn’t even sure whether he would be competing in the 2016 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. After concluding a last-minute arrangement to rejoin Team Pelfrey for the first four races of the season just a few days before last weekend’s Spring Training pre-season test at Barber Motorsports Park, in Birmingham, Ala., the second-year driver romped to an impressive maiden victory in today’s Allied Building Products Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. O’Ward, 16, from Monterrey, Mexico, had been edgedRead More

Monterey, Calif. – Garett Grist scored an accomplished victory for Juncos Racing in this afternoon’s Allied Building Products Pro Mazda Grand Prix of Monterey at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, but a second-place finish for Team Pelfrey’s Santiago “Santi” Urrutia was enough to clinch the season-long Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. The gifted Uruguayan thereby guaranteed himself a $590,000 Mazda Scholarship prize to assist in his graduation to Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, the final rung on the Mazda Road to Indy open-wheel development ladder, in 2016. Grist,Read More

TORONTO – Oh Canada! Garett Grist became the first Canadian to win a Verizon IndyCar Series’ ladder series event on the streets of Toronto in exactly a decade, since Antoine Bessette won a Toyota Atlantic Series race on July 10, 2005. It was the fourth career Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires win for the Juncos Racing sophomore, who hails from Grimsby, Ontario, a quick one hour drive down Queen Elizabeth Way from the 1.755 mile, 11-turn Exhibition Place street circuit. Starting from pole for the first time thisRead More

This afternoon’s thrilling Cooper Tires Freedom 90, Round Nine of the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, provided a rousing climax to the traditional 70th “Day (Night) Before the 500” at Lucas Oil Raceway. Malaysian Weiron Tan led every inch of the 90-lap race around the 0.686-mile oval in front of an appreciative crowd in perfect weather conditions, but his eventual margin of victory was a mere 0.4261 seconds over American Will Owen (Juncos Racing). It was the third win in succession at Lucas Oil Raceway for Andretti Autosport.Read More

Birmingham, Ala. – Neil Alberico bounced back to prominence this morning for Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing, winning an action-packed Mazda Grand Prix of Alabama at Barber Motorsports Park. The 22-year-old had struggled two weeks ago at NOLA Motorsports Park, finishing sixth after winning both opening rounds of the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires at St. Petersburg, but his latest victory, added to a fourth-place finish yesterday, enabled him to stretch his championship lead to eight points, 130-122 over today’s second-place finisher Santi Urrutia (Team Pelfrey).  Read More

Birmingham, Ala. – Weiron Tan has developed an affinity for Barber Motorsports Park. The 20-year-old Malaysian won once and finished second in the two Cooper Tires Winterfest races at the 2.3-mile, 17-turn road course in February, and maintained that form today by scoring a clear victory for Andretti Autosport in the Mazda Grand Prix of Alabama, Round 4 of the 2015 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires.   Frenchman Timothé Buret chased hard in second for Juncos Racing, while Uruguayan Santi Urrutia kept the international theme going by finishingRead More

St. Petersburg, Fla. – Neil Alberico scored his second Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires victory in as many days as he led throughout this morning’s second stanza of the Allied Building Products Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The popular Californian started from the pole for St. Petersburg-based Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing and was never seriously threatened during the half-hour race.   Jose Gutierrez, from Monterrey, Mexico, finished second for defending champion team Juncos Racing, while Alberico’s teammate, Canadian rookie Daniel Burkett, secured his first podium finishRead More