Pro Mazda Tag

By Road to Indy PORTLAND, Ore. – There was a bittersweet element to last night’s Mazda Road to Indy Championship Celebration as over 200 members of the racing community, including drivers, families, teams and sponsors, gathered for their traditional end-of-season banquet. Following a cocktail reception on a glorious summer’s evening overlooking the Columbia River and with Mt. Hood looming in the distance, over $2.6M was distributed in the Mount St. Helens Ballroom at the Red Lion On The River, Jantzen Beach, just a mile or so away from Portland InternationalRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor LEXINGTON, Ohio — Rinus Veekay didn’t have another dominant effort from pole in the second Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. But after polesitter David Malukas went off-course on Lap 8, the Juncos Racing driver won the race all the same. Veekay held on to his second starting position through the opening circuit and benefitted from Malukas’ misfortune to claim Cooper Tires Pro Mazda Mid-Ohio Grand Prix Race 2, completing a weekend sweep that saw the Dutch shoeRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor LEXINGTON, Ohio — Notes, Quotes, Stories and Takeaways from the Road to Indy on Saturday at Mid-Ohio Indy Lights Talent, Drama… And Respect Among Andretti Autosport Teammates Make no mistake – Patricio O’Ward and Colton Herta want nothing more than to beat each other for the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires championship this year. But peel beneath their competitive fire and you’ll see something other than intensity and drive shared between the Andretti Autosport duo. Respect. “I think it’s a win-win situation for both ofRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor LEXINGTON, Ohio — Rinus Veekay put together a dominant Saturday at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to claim the Pro Mazda Presented by Cooper Tires championship lead. Veekay scored the pole and led wire-to-wire to claim Saturday’s Cooper Tires Pro Mazda Mid-Ohio Grand Prix Race 1. The Juncos Racing prospect took the checkered flag 2.8753 seconds clear of BN Racing’s David Malukas in what proved to be a comfortable win in a caution-free event. Robert Megennis rose from fifth to claim the final spot on theRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ELKHART LAKE, WI — Toby Sowery had one weekend of experience in the Mazda Road to Indy last year at Barber Motorsports Park and on his debut weekend in the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires, the Brit posted two second place finishes in both races at Road America. With an off weekend from his day job racing International GT Open, Sowery took an opportunity to race with BN Racing following an opening in their Pro Mazda team. “I had the [USF2000] race in BarberRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer One day removed from a pair of podiums in the first Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, title hopefuls Rinus Veekay and Harrison Scott entered Saturday’s second event hoping for more of the same. They would instead be met with early problems. Scott and Veekay both failed to reach the checkered flag in the second Royal Purple Synthetic Motor Oil Grand Prix of Indianapolis, finishing outside of the top 10 and losing ground in the championship battle. Veekay didn’t makeRead 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 Two years ago, Pato O’Ward was staring at a crossroads. Having enough funding for the first two race weekends of the 2016 Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires, the Mexican racer ended up winning three of the first four races and finished second in the other race. In 2018, O’Ward again has won three of the first four races of his championship campaign in the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires and despite a seventh at race two in St. Petersburg, the hope is thatRead 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 Aaron Bearden, Contributing Writer Rinus Veekay wasn’t surprised when he struggled in the first of two Pro Mazda Championship race at Barber Motorsports Park. Based on his history at the track, he expected it. “This was my worst weekend last year,” Veekay told Motorsports Tribune. “So let’s just move on and dominate the rest of the season.” Veekay rose from seventh to claim a relatively quiet fifth-place run in the Race 1 of the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama, keeping his car clean and salvaging a decent points day afterRead More