Pato O’Ward Tag

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer The third place driver in the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires championship, Pato O’Ward earned a fifth and a third place finish in St. Petersburg for the opening races of the 2017 season. However, he was uncertain about whether or not his season would continue. After speaking with Motorsports Tribune, it might be a good idea to pencil in O’Ward as an entrant. “As everyone knows, it’s a long championship so anything can happen here in a couple of months, but I’mRead 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. – 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

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief Pato O’Ward will see his Mazda Road to Indy career continue for at least one more round as Team Pelfrey confirmed him in Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires for spring training test at Homestead-Miami Speedway and the St. Petersburg season opener on March 10-12. The 17-year-old Mexican raced for Team Pelfrey last season, finishing runner-up in the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires to then-teammate Aaron Telitz. O’Ward has enjoyed phenomenal success over the off-season, having claimed a Rolex 24 at Daytona win inRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer Across all three levels of the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires, there were moments that stood out from the start of the season to the end.  Here’s a look at the top five moments across the Mazda Road to Indy. 1. Indy Lights: The Freedom 100 Dean Stoneman earned both of Andretti Autosport’s wins this season and scored their final victory of the year at the Freedom 100, edging out Carlin’s Ed Jones by 0.0024 of a second.  JonesRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer One of the more storied teams in the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires will close the garage doors as Schmidt Peterson Motorsports confirmed they will not be fielding a team in the 2017 championship. Despite nearly winning the 2016 championship with Santiago Urrutia, the team will be centering its focus on the Verizon IndyCar Series program after winning seven championships in the final step on the Mazda Road to Indy ladder The team had tested 2016 Pro Mazda standout PatoRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer In 2016, Pato O’Ward had a ton of pressure on him as he began his campaign in the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires.  After the season concluded, O’Ward found himself in second position in the championship standings.  Let’s take a look at his 2016 campaign on the second step on the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires. Before the season began, O’Ward only had enough funding for the first two race weekends of the season.  The firstRead More

MONTEREY, Calif. – Champions from all three levels of the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires open-wheel driver development program were honored last night in the Championship Celebration banquet at the Monterey Plaza Hotel. A total of more than $2.3M in Mazda Scholarships and other awards was distributed. The major winners included Dubai, United Arab Emirates-based Englishman Ed Jones, 21, who on Sunday clinched the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires crown, along with a scholarship valued at $1M to ensure entry into at least three Verizon IndyCarRead More

MONTEREY, Calif. – This year’s Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires came to a dramatic conclusion today at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca as Aaron Telitz, from Birchwood, Wis., won the 16th and final round for Team Pelfrey to secure the title and a Mazda scholarship prize to graduate into Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, the top tier of the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires, in 2017. Earlier this morning, Telitz and teammate Patricio “Pato” O’Ward clashed while disputing the lead, which allowed Argentinean rookie NicolasRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief MONTEREY, Calif. – Nicolas Dapero took his first career Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires win in the second of a three race tripleheader at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The 18-year-old Argentinian inherited the lead when championship combatants and Team Pelfrey teammates Aaron Telitz and Pato O’Ward made contact in the Andretti Hairpin. Telitz started on pole and led the field to green. As they headed down to Turn 1, O’Ward charged to the outside of his teammate before the duo made contact at theRead More