Parker Thompson Tag

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ELKHART LAKE, Wisconsin — Friday has come and gone for the Kohler Grand Prix and the Verizon IndyCar Series and its support ladder had many interesting tidbits coming out of Road America. Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden topped both practice sessions with an overall Friday best lap of 1 minute, 42.6279 seconds for an average speed of 140.804 mph. However, behind Newgarden in each session were a large amount of Hondas ready to pounce on the defending series champion. Honda had four of the top five positionsRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer The Mazda Road to Indy heads to Road America for the third year in a row as each of the three championships are coming off of their first oval race weekend of the season supporting the Verizon IndyCar Series. Let’s take a look at each championship heading into Road America after each series tested at the 4.048 mile natural terrain road course. Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires Seven cars will greet Road America for rounds eight and nine of the Indy Lights championship. Belardi AutoRead 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 Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer Parker Thompson and Exclusive Autosport had their breakout performance in a dominant Barber Motorsports Park drive. Sunday’s triumph at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) felt even sweeter. “I think this one feels even better, because at Barber the crew and I expected to win with starting on pole and having as strong of a car as we did,” Thompson told Motorsports Tribune. “Here with a tough start yesterday, we had a mechanical part failure at no part to Elite Engines or Exclusive Autosport, that set us back. ItRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — Thursday has come and gone for the 2018 INDYCAR Grand Prix weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and despite all the on track action being devoted to the Mazda Road to Indy, the Verizon IndyCar Series had some news of its own. Alfonso Celis announced that he would be racing an Indy car for Juncos Racing at Road America. Celis raced at Barber Motorsports Park for Juncos Racing in Indy Lights, finishing seventh and eighth in his two races. Zachary Claman DeRead More

By Road to Indy PALMETTO, Fla. – With a history dating back over 100 years, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ranks right at the top of the list of venues for all open-wheel racers. This weekend around 50 young Indianapolis 500 aspirants, representing all three levels of the highly acclaimed Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires development ladder, will be chasing victory on the Brickyard’s 2.439-mile Grand Prix road course in a total of six races which will comprise the Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Grand Prix of Indianapolis supportingRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — With rain anticipated on Sunday at Barber Motorsports Park, few drivers in the Mazda Road to Indy were as confident as Harrison Scott. “I’m British, and we’re used to the rain for sure,” he told Motorsports Tribune after Saturday’s first Pro Mazda Championship race. “So if it’s wet, it’s not going to phase me. I know what to do.” Scott proved that to be true on Sunday. The Briton surged past the off-course Andres Gutierrez shortly before a caution for weather conditionsRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — Parker Thompson had a month to think about the race win he’d let slip away on the streets of St. Petersburg. So when he got an opportunity to redeem himself at Barber Motorsports Park, the Canadian made it count. “It was on the back of my mind, but I had a month-long break to get over the fact that I lost a race in Race 1,” Thompson said. “I think that really helped, because I came into this weekend with my elbows up,Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer BIRMINGHAM, Alabama — After a month off, the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires races are back at Barber Motorsports Park with two championship doubleheaders: Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires and the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires. Indy Lights Despite the loss of Team Pelfrey in Indy Lights, the Indy Lights field is strengthened by the addition of Alfonso Celis to the Juncos Racing squad. Celis was a test driver for Formula One team Force India and is making his AmericanRead More

By Road to Indy ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Rinus VeeKay drove another exemplary race under sunny skies this afternoon to win the second leg of the Pro Mazda Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by Allied Building Products. The Dutch prodigy remained unflustered after a miscue at the initial start which caused his Juncos Racing Tatuus-Mazda PM-18 to be shuffled back in the pack after having claimed the pole position during qualifying yesterday morning. The officials wisely red-flagged the race and ordered a complete restart, after which VeeKay maintained aRead More