Mazda Road to Indy Tag

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Familiar faces are back in familiar places as Team Pelfrey announced that Ayla Agren will be back with the team for the 2017 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda in the No. 82 Energima/Team Pelfrey Tatuus USF-17. 2017 will be Agren’s third year in the USF2000 championship.  She campaigned in 2015 with Team Pelfrey but spent 2016 with John Cummiskey Racing. Prior to her stint in USF2000, Agren won the 2014 F1600 championship with the team before moving up. Agren hasRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Pabst Racing Services, World Speed Motorsports and Carlin have all added to their Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires rosters with driver announcements that add to each of the three series that make up the MRTI. Pabst announced that Calvin Ming will be joining the team to pilot one of their cars in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda.  The Guyanan driver started his career in karting in 2012 before moving up to winning races in F1600 andRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Victor Franzoni has had one of the more interesting journeys in the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires. After having run the 2014 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda for Afterburner Autosport, Franzoni returned to Afterburner in 2015 looking to contend for the USF2000 championship. Those plans didn’t come to fruition as Franzoni was disqualified after a top five finish at the second race at Barber Motorsports Park and a decision was made by the series to sit theRead More

Like good friend Colton Herta, Chandler Horton grew up at Verizon IndyCar Series races. His father Jeff is the longtime INDYCAR Director of Engineering, and young Chandler played with many a race car in paddocks across the country. Starting out on dirt bikes then progressing from karts to formula cars, the 19-year-old now moves into the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires, driving for RJB Motorsports in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda. Here, Horton details his other racing passion (cycling), how he became the familyRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer The grid for the 2017 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda has gotten more solid with Thursday’s announcement that 2016 Rookie of the Year Robert Megennis will rejoin the team for this year’s championship. “Welcoming Rob back to the Team Pelfrey family for a third straight season in yellow says a lot about this partnership. Rob, his family and his partners believe in us, and we have absolute faith in Rob’s abilities,” said Team Pelfrey’s General Manager, Jonny Baker. “The wayRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Oliver Askew is no ordinary teenager. The 19-year-old Floridian represented Team USA at the Formula Ford Festival in England, finishing second at the prestigious Walter Hayes Trophy Race at Silverstone and won the Mazda Road to Indy Shootout. With that win, he earned a $200,000 Mazda Racing scholarship to fund a drive in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda for 2017. The craziest part of this whole situation is that before going over to race in England in November, Askew hadRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief It has been announced that Garth Rickards will join Carlin for the 2017 Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires season. The 24-year-old American competed in USF2000 the past two seasons, competing in 2015 with Team Pelfrey before switching to Pabst Racing for 2016 and going on to capture a podium at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. The jump up to Indy Lights means that Rickards will skip the Pro Mazda Championship – the second step on the Mazda Road to Indy ladder. “To say I am excitedRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Belardi Auto Racing announced on Friday that is has signed Santiago Urrutia for the 2017 Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires campaign. A rookie in 2016, Urrutia finished runner-up in the championship with four wins and seven podiums in 18 starts. The 20-year-old Uruguayan expressed his belief in his new team and the motivation for next year. “We have a really strong crew and I believe that we are going to have one of the greatest teams in the paddock,” said Urrutia, winner of the 2015Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Parker Thompson had what many racers would consider to be a successful 2016 racing season. After winning four races in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda and finishing second in the championship to teammate Anthony Martin, Thompson represented Team Canada at the Formula Ford Festival and the Walter Hayes Trophy Race in England. However, heading into 2017, it’s unclear what 18-year-old’s racing plans are in the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires. “We’re doing everything we can behind theRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer In an announcement that came out of left field, Colton Herta was announced as Andretti Autosport’s fourth driver in their Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires program alongside Dalton Kellett, Nico Jamin and Ryan Norman today. Herta’s entry is funded with a partnership between Andretti Autosport and Steinbrenner Racing, which is owned by the same family that purchased the New York Yankees in 1973. After racing British F4 in 2015 and EuroFormula Open in 2016, the son of current IndyCar team co-ownerRead More