Mazda Road to Indy Tag

By Ryan Norman, Driver Columnist Providing an inside look for the fans, Ryan Norman will be contributing to Motorsports Tribune selectively throughout the 2017 Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires season. The 19-year-old Ohio native drives for Andretti Autosport and is in rookie campaign in the Mazda Road to Indy. In this installment, he returns home to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, hangs out with four-time Verizon IndyCar Series champion Scott Dixon and welcomes one of the all-time classic rock bands to racing. Mid-Ohio is one of my favorite tracks, one of theRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer INDIANAPOLIS— A rookie team with a second year driver in the Indianapolis 500 would seem to be a match that wouldn’t produce much in terms of results. However, Juncos Racing and Spencer Pigot aren’t exactly new to each other. Pigot drove for Juncos Racing in karting in the 2000s, rejoining the team in 2014 to win the Pro Mazda championship. The Pasadena, California-born driver then won the Indy Lights championship with the team, becoming the only driver to win multiple championships inRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana- Jack Harvey’s first go in the Verizon IndyCar Series has gone about like his journey to get there. Tough.  The two-time runner up of the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires in 2014 and 2015, Harvey’s $75,000 check he received at the Mazda Road to Indy banquet in September 2015 was nowhere near enough to secure him an IndyCar ride. How was the journey from September 2015 to this year, finally getting a ride in the Indianapolis 500? “Terrible. It’s anRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer SPEEDWAY, Indiana — At the track where he made his Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires debut two years ago, Victor Franzoni earned his first Pro Mazda win in dramatic fashion by out-dueling series points leader Anthony Martin. The Juncos Racing driver started on the pole but lost the lead at the start to Martin. The Cape Motorsports driver held the lead for the next few laps while Franzoni gradually closed the gap. On Lap 5, Franzoni got alongside Martin andRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer BIRMINGHAM, Alabama- After a chaotic start to the second race for the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda at Barber Motorsports Park, Oliver Askew was able to sweep the doubleheader weekend in USF2000 after surviving constant pressure from Kaylen Frederick. The Cape Motorsports entry led from pole but the first half of the race was run under the safety car after three separate incidents knocked four cars out of the race and another car out of contention. On the restart, FrederickRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — After a hectic start to the first race of the weekend for the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires at Barber Motorsports Park, Nico Jamin picked up his first Indy Lights win for Andretti Autosport. In an aborted start, Colton Herta, Santi Urrutia and Pato O’Ward all suffered damage that severely hampered their race performances as they started second, fourth and sixth. When the green flag came out, Jamin started second behind polesitter Kyle Kaiser. Jamin was able toRead More

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

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. – The season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg kicked off today with practice and qualifying for four of the six races which comprise the start of a new campaign for the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires. A dramatic qualifying session for Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, the highest rung on the acclaimed open-wheel development ladder which offers Mazda Scholarships to enable talented drivers to reach all the way from the grassroots of the sport to the Verizon IndyCar Series, ended with Aaron TelitzRead More