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Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course – USF2000, Pro Mazda Qualifying & Notes

Posted by  on Friday, May 13th 2016     

Qualifying sessions for the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda and Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires are in the books early Friday morning at the 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. The Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires qualifying occurs from 12 to 12:45 p.m.

Before we get to those session recaps, a quick note of thanks to some of the rock stars of the Mazda Road to Indy paddock.

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Mazda Road to Indy Gives Thanks to Holmatro Safety Team

AndersenEvent

Following Thursday’s track activity and despite heavy storms which blew through the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, most of the Mazda Road to Indy field – plus a number of other Verizon IndyCar Series luminaries and Mazda Road to Indy graduates – all gathered for an informal, casual but deserved honoring of the Holmatro Safety Team at the Andersen Promotions hospitality.

The Holmatro Safety Team not only serves IndyCar but the entire Mazda Road to Indy at all its events, and the presence of the team led by Mike Yates is invaluable.

“They are the people that have your back,” Dan Andersen said during the event.

Andersen noted how stressful and difficult this work can be on the crew, most who have regular day jobs and add this work to their plate.

The site here is particularly poignant since the Holmatro crew’s work was the first step to saving James Hinchcliffe’s life after his devastating accident in practice last year, before Hinchcliffe was transported to IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. Although Hinchcliffe was unable to attend Thursday night, he has paid tribute to the crew in numerous ways already this season.

Among the IndyCar notables besides the Mazda Road to Indy drivers in attendance were past Indy Lights champions Bryan Herta and Townsend Bell, Indy Lights and USF2000 graduate Charlie Kimball and a host of others. More than 100 people were estimated in attendance.

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USF2000 Qualifying

USF2000 logo

The morning’s USF2000 qualifying ahead of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix of Indianapolis Powered by Mazda was hectic, fast and chaotic and the drama didn’t end until after the checkered flag.

Early runs on the green track, since it rained heavily since the series was last on track, forecast that Nico Jamin’s 1:26.1799 track record would be broken. Additionally, temperatures were pretty cool at just 55 degrees ambient.

Victor Franzoni of ArmsUp Motorsports was first up on cold tires to post the provisional pole time, with a 1:26.4516 in the No. 9 car.

But times would drop throughout the remainder of the 30-minute session. Australian Luke Gabin continued his weekend pace with a 1:26.3965 in the No. 91 JAY Motorsports entry to supplant Franzoni, and then Gabin’s countryman Jordan Lloyd topped Gabin’s time with a 1:26.2219 in the No. 21 Pabst Racing car to ascend into the provisional pole.

It was Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing’s Parker Thompson though, the series points leader in Cape’s No. 2 entry, who was first to break Jamin’s track record time with a new record of 1:26.1738.

That stood for maybe a minute at best before another of the trio of talented Australians, Thompson’s Cape teammate Anthony Martin in the No. 8 car, clocked a 1:26.1053 lap.

Gabin then came through to post an even quicker lap, the first 1:25 lap, at a 1:25.9602 time.

But the time proved too good to be true for Gabin and JAY Motorsports, with word from Race Control after the end of the session that Gabin had blown the checkered flag, and would thus lose his times.

Gabin was one of three drivers, along with Team Pelfrey’s TJ Fischer and ArmsUp Motorsports’ Max Hanratty, who had all their lap times invalidated in the session per Race Director Scot Elkins.

That promoted Martin back to his second straight pole position, having also started on pole in Round 4 at Barber Motorsports Park.

However it marks the first time the native of Kalgoorlie qualified on pole in a qualifying session, rather than having his second best time from a session set the grid for race two of the weekend.

Thompson was second ahead of Lloyd, Franzoni and Yufeng Luo, who led Thursday’s combined practice times with his best lap in first practice.

The first 30-minute race of the weekend takes place at 1 p.m. this afternoon, and with Gabin’s penalty, he’ll be hungry to advance through the field.

Qualifying times are below:

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 8 Anthony Martin 1:26.105 0.000 14
2 2 Parker Thompson 1:26.174 0.0685 14
3 21 Jordan Lloyd 1:26.222 0.1166 17
4 9 Victor Franzoni 1:26.372 0.2670 16
5 23 Yufeng Luo 1:26.506 0.4008 14
6 22 Garth Rickards 1:26.543 0.4375 18
7 3 Nikita Lastochkin 1:26.768 0.6629 14
8 92 Cameron Das 1:26.833 0.7278 11
9 34 Lucas Kohl 1:26.947 0.8415 18
10 33 Ayla Agren 1:26.977 0.8717 18
11 5 Austin McCusker 1:26.988 0.8823 14
12 81 Jordan Cane 1:27.014 0.9084 18
13 18 Dakota Dickerson 1:27.041 0.9362 16
14 80 Robert Megennis 1:27.295 1.1896 17
15 72 Tazio Ottis 1:27.518 1.4123 17
16 77 Sam Chastain 1:28.012 1.9067 12
17 20 Clint McMahan 1:28.447 2.3417 16
18 19 Michai Stephens 1:28.805 2.6998 14
19 12 Eric Filgueiras 1:29.037 2.9318 7
20 11 Robert Armington 1:29.702 3.5968 16
21 7 Dale VandenBush 1:30.119 4.0133 12
22 44 Charles Finelli 1:30.469 4.3642 16
23 15 Brenden Puderbach 1:31.418 5.3127 14
24 6 Max Hanratty No Time — 17
25 82 TJ Fischer No Time — 16
26 91 Luke Gabin No Time — 13

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Pro Mazda Qualifying

Pro Mazda Logo

While the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda qualifying was nuts, the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires qualifying later Friday morning under sunny but cool skies (59 degrees ambient) was all but decided early.

Series points leader Pato O’Ward, in the No. 80 Gap Guard entry for Team Pelfrey, secured his third pole position in five rounds.

O’Ward’s early flier of 1:22.8800 was more than four tenths clear of teammate Aaron Telitz in the No. 82 Rice Lake Weighing Systems entry.

It was also a new track record by more than a tenth, ahead of Spencer Pigot’s best time of 1:22.9623, set in 2014.

O’Ward ran his laps in the opening 15 minutes of the 30-minute session and could afford to sit on his time for the remainder of the session.

Juncos Racing completed the top six with all four of its cars, with Will Owen, Jake Parsons, Garett Grist and Nicolas Dapero all six tenths or more behind.

The Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing teammates, Nico Jamin and Jake Eidson, were a further ways back in seventh and eighth.

The first race for Pro Mazda takes place at 1:55 p.m., following the first USF2000 race of the weekend.

Qualifying times are below:

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 80 Pato O’Ward 1:22.880 0.000 7
2 82 Aaron Telitz 1:23.306 0.4264 8
3 23 Will Owen 1:23.525 0.6451 15
4 00 Jake Parsons 1:23.766 0.8862 18
5 5 Garett Grist 1:23.781 0.9010 16
6 31 Nicolas Dapero 1:23.933 1.0533 17
7 2 Nico Jamin 1:23.961 1.0810 12
8 3 Jake Eidson 1:24.214 1.3343 16
9 13 Bobby Eberle 1:24.978 2.0982 19
10 44 Kevin Davis 1:26.830 3.9497 18
11 37 Jay Horak 1:27.042 4.1619 8
12 57 Bob Kaminsky 1:27.454 4.5735 14

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category: Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires

Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course – USF2000, Pro Mazda, Indy Lights Second Practice & Notes

Posted by  on Thursday, May 12th 2016     

Second practice reports and notes from the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indianapolis weekend, which features all three rungs of the Mazda Road to Indy, are below. The second Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires session was truncated due to heavy rain at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

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USF2000 logo

The second Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda 30-minute practice session witnessed slightly warmer and more overcast temperatures, and slower times.

ArmsUp Motorsports’ Victor Franzoni topped the timesheets in the No. 9 entry with a best time of 1:27.6366 around the 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

The best time was more than eight tenths of a second off Yufeng Luo’s Thursday morning leading time, with a 1:26.8246 in his No. 23 Pabst Racing entry standing as the best time of the day in the series.

Within practice two, Franzoni edged Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing’s Parker Thompson by just 0.0547 of a second.

With Luke Gabin, Luo and Jordan Lloyd completing the top five, the same top five occurred in the afternoon session as they clocked in in the morning session. Additionally, Cape’s Anthony Martin was sixth for the second straight session.

The top 16 drivers were separated by just 0.9995 of a second.

All but two of the 26 drivers entered completed 10 laps or more in the session, with ArmsUp’s Max Hanratty setting the highest number with 20 laps.

USF2000 kicks off Friday’s track activity with its next session, qualifying from 9:30 to 10 a.m., before its first race from 1 to 1:40 p.m.

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 9 Victor Franzoni 1:27.637 0.000 15
2 2 Parker Thompson 1:27.691 0.0547 16
3 91 Luke Gabin 1:27.757 0.1200 16
4 23 Yufeng Luo 1:27.841 0.2048 15
5 21 Jordan Lloyd 1:27.970 0.3338 16
6 8 Anthony Martin 1:28.002 0.3658 14
7 5 Austin McCusker 1:28.213 0.5764 16
8 22 Garth Rickards 1:28.224 0.5874 17
9 81 Jordan Cane 1:28.248 0.6111 17
10 33 Ayla Agren 1:28.438 0.8015 14
11 18 Dakota Dickerson 1:28.440 0.8034 14
12 3 Nikita Lastochkin 1:28.459 0.8226 16
13 80 Robert Megennis 1:28.461 0.8243 13
14 34 Lucas Kohl 1:28.486 0.8490 15
15 6 Max Hanratty 1:28.501 0.8645 20
16 82 TJ Fischer 1:28.636 0.9995 16
17 77 Sam Chastain 1:28.784 1.1475 10
18 92 Cameron Das 1:28.852 1.2157 13
19 72 Tazio Ottis 1:29.013 1.3760 18
20 19 Michai Stephens 1:29.485 1.8483 17
21 20 Clint McMahan 1:30.309 2.6721 13
22 7 Dale VandenBush 1:30.594 2.9569 19
23 11 Robert Armington 1:30.913 3.2765 14
24 44 Charles Finelli 1:31.701 4.0649 9
25 15 Brenden Puderbach 1:31.835 4.1983 15
26 12 Eric Filgueiras 1:32.942 5.3052 7

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Pro Mazda Logo

Aaron Telitz paced his second straight Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires practice session, albeit with times slower in the afternoon 30-minute second practice than they were compared to the morning times.

The Rice Lake, Wis. native posted a best time of 1:24.4319 in the No. 82 Team Pelfrey entry, which is supported by Rice Lake Weighing Systems.

Will Owen was second for Juncos Racing in the No. 23 AMR entry at 1:24.5280, with teammate Garett Grist in third. Points leader Pato O’Ward and another Juncos entry, Nicolas Dapero, completed the top five.

As in the morning session, the 30-minute session ran incident-free without any red flag interruption.

The next Pro Mazda session is 10:15 to 10:45 a.m. on Friday, with qualifying. Its first race of the weekend is scheduled from 1:55 to 2:45 p.m.

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 82 Aaron Telitz 1:24.432 0.000 21
2 23 Will Owen 1:24.528 0.0961 17
3 5 Garett Grist 1:24.656 0.2241 14
4 80 Pato O’Ward 1:24.740 0.3077 21
5 31 Nicolas Dapero 1:24.962 0.5299 17
6 00 Jake Parsons 1:25.088 0.6556 15
7 2 Nico Jamin 1:25.253 0.8212 16
8 3 Jake Eidson 1:25.449 1.0174 16
9 13 Bobby Eberle 1:25.862 1.4303 18
10 44 Kevin Davis 1:27.204 2.7718 17
11 57 Bob Kaminsky 1:27.586 3.1543 17
12 37 Jay Horak 1:27.963 3.5306 17

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Indy Lights Logo

There wasn’t much running time in the second Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires series practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, ahead of this weekend’s Mazda Indy Lights Grand Prix of Indianapolis Presented by Cooper Tires.

Darkening skies and impending rain closed on the IMS road course, before hitting hard just before 5 p.m. local time.

Most of the field got some dry laps in before the rain hit, with Juncos Racing’s Kyle Kaiser posting a best time of 1:16.7026 around the 2.439-mile road course in the InterVision/NetApp/Juniper Networks backed No. 18 car.

Scott Anderson had his best practice session of the year ending second in the No. 77 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports entry, with support from Anderson Podiatry Centers/Laser Therapy, Surgery and Neuropathy/Curb Records.

Felix Rosenqvist, Dean Stoneman and Scott Hargrove completed the top five.

Once the rain hit, Rosenqvist, Belardi Auto Racing teammate Zach Veach and RC Enerson all took to the track for a handful of laps on Cooper Tires wet weather rubber. Times were anywhere from in the 1:45 to 1:55 range in the miserable and worsening conditions.

With just over 14 minutes to go the session received an early checkered flag, owing to the rain.

Indy Lights’ next session is qualifying on Friday, from 12 to 12:45 p.m. Its first race of the weekend is scheduled from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., following Verizon IndyCar Series qualifying.

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 18 Kyle Kaiser 1:16.703 0.000 4
2 77 Scott Anderson 1:16.876 0.1733 4
3 14 Felix Rosenqvist 1:16.882 0.1791 8
4 27 Dean Stoneman 1:16.904 0.2011 6
5 7 RC Enerson 1:17.010 0.3074 7
6 3 Scott Hargrove 1:17.015 0.3126 4
7 11 Ed Jones 1:17.022 0.3195 3
8 5 Zach Veach 1:17.249 0.5468 12
9 51 Shelby Blackstock 1:17.252 0.5498 4
10 13 Zachary Claman De Melo 1:17.285 0.5826 6
11 4 Felix Serralles 1:17.363 0.6607 5
12 2 Juan Piedrahita 1:17.375 0.6724 5
13 55 Santiago Urrutia 1:17.612 0.9097 5
14 28 Dalton Kellett 1:17.797 1.0945 4
15 22 Neil Alberico 1:17.824 1.1216 5
16 17 Andre Negrao 1:17.898 1.1959 5

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category: Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires
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Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course – USF2000, Pro Mazda, Indy Lights First Practice & Notes

Posted by  on Thursday, May 12th 2016     

The Mazda Road to Indy has its full complement of series here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

The Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires championships have all had their first practice sessions, which grew in importance with impending weather likely to hit the track this afternoon.

Quick session reports are below.

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USF2000 logo

The first USF2000 session of the weekend before the Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix of Indianapolis Powered by Mazda was clean, green and dry for 30 minutes from 9:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. on the 2.439-mile road course.

Yufeng Luo, who won Round 2 of the season at St. Petersburg, took his No. 23 Pabst Racing entry to the top of the timesheets at 1:26.8246.

Luke Gabin was second in the No. 91 JAY Motorsports entry at 1:26.8872, with Parker Thompson of Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing and Luo’s teammate at Pabst, Jordan Lloyd, also dipping into the 1:26 bracket.

Victor Franzoni of ArmsUp Motorsports completed the top five runners; the Brazilian makes his USF2000 return to the IMS road course after making his Pro Mazda series debut here last year.

The top 14 drivers were covered by 0.8744 of a second. Nico Jamin holds the track record with a qualifying lap of 1:26.1799 for Cape, set last year.

Of note, the field is reduced to 26 cars this weekend with the absence of James Munro, the fourth driver at Team Pelfrey. Team Pelfrey team principal Nigel Tuckey said there were contractual issues that arose with Munro, and his return status for further rounds is doubtful.

Additionally, ArmsUp is back to three cars with Blake Mount, who drove a fourth ArmsUp entry during Wednesday’s test sessions, not competing in the first practice.

The next USF2000 practice session is another 30-minute session, from 1:30 to 2 p.m.

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 23 Yufeng Luo 1:26.825 0.000 8
2 91 Luke Gabin 1:26.887 0.0626 14
3 2 Parker Thompson 1:26.891 0.0668 18
4 21 Jordan Lloyd 1:26.972 0.1476 16
5 9 Victor Franzoni 1:27.009 0.1841 13
6 8 Anthony Martin 1:27.093 0.2686 17
7 3 Nikita Lastochkin 1:27.189 0.3643 13
8 22 Garth Rickards 1:27.307 0.4822 16
9 80 Robert Megennis 1:27.471 0.6468 14
10 33 Ayla Agren 1:27.519 0.6949 17
11 82 TJ Fischer 1:27.636 0.8113 17
12 81 Jordan Cane 1:27.654 0.8293 16
13 5 Austin McCusker 1:27.664 0.8393 17
14 34 Lucas Kohl 1:27.699 0.8744 18
15 6 Max Hanratty 1:27.998 1.1735 10
16 18 Dakota Dickerson 1:28.165 1.3402 11
17 92 Cameron Das 1:28.181 1.3562 14
18 77 Sam Chastain 1:28.295 1.4701 6
19 72 Tazio Ottis 1:28.838 2.0133 16
20 19 Michai Stephens 1:29.282 2.4570 16
21 20 Clint McMahan 1:29.408 2.5838 14
22 7 Dale VandenBush 1:29.978 3.1534 19
23 11 Robert Armington 1:30.432 3.6072 13
24 12 Eric Filgueiras 1:31.634 4.8098 13
25 44 Charles Finelli 1:31.915 5.0900 13
26 15 Brenden Puderbach 1:33.140 6.3155 16

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Pro Mazda Logo

In first practice for the Pro Mazda Grand Prix of Indianapolis Presented by Cooper Tires, the now routine Team Pelfrey timesheet topping continued with Aaron Telitz ahead of teammate Pato O’Ward.

Telitz, in the No. 82 entry, clocked a best time of 1:23.6710 with O’Ward, in the No. 80 car, a little more than a tenth in arrears at 1:23.7781.

Juncos Racing, which had a strong 2015 setup at the IMS road course and won one race with Timothe Buret, placed three of its four drivers in the next three spots. Garett Grist was third ahead of rookie Jake Parsons and past IMS road course winner in USF2000, Will Owen, in fifth.

Nico Jamin, who swept the weekend in USF2000 here last year, was only sixth best and the lead of two Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing entries.

Of note, Weiron Tan in the third Team Pelfrey entry, is withdrawn for the remainder of the weekend per a contractual issue.

Tan won the Thursday at IMS last year in what was the NOLA Motorsports Park rain-delayed makeup round, then driving for Andretti Autosport.

The next Pro Mazda practice session is another 30-minute session, from 2:15 to 2:45 p.m.

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 82 Aaron Telitz 1:23.671 0.000 8
2 80 Pato O’Ward 1:23.778 0.1071 9
3 5 Garett Grist 1:23.877 0.2065 16
4 00 Jake Parsons 1:24.020 0.3493 16
5 23 Will Owen 1:24.105 0.4335 18
6 2 Nico Jamin 1:24.210 0.5391 16
7 3 Jake Eidson 1:24.302 0.6315 17
8 31 Nicolas Dapero 1:24.521 0.8498 16
9 13 Bobby Eberle 1:25.553 1.8818 17
10 44 Kevin Davis 1:26.538 2.8675 17
11 37 Jay Horak 1:26.972 3.3012 13
12 57 Bob Kaminsky 1:27.437 3.7657 14
13 81 Weiron Tan No Time — —

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Indy Lights Logo

Ahead of the Mazda Indy Lights Grand Prix of Indianapolis Presented by Cooper Tires doubleheader, three track veterans led the opening 45-minute practice Thursday at the 2.439-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Santiago Urrutia, who won the most recent round of the season at Barber Motorsports Park, was the only driver to clock into the 1:15 bracket with a 1:15.9770 lap time. Urrutia drives the Soul Red Mazda No. 55 entry for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian.

The Uruguayan won his first Pro Mazda race last year at the IMS road course, which helped kickstart his title charge. He told TSO before the session he was confident in the car’s pace before even putting on new tires during the test day on Wednesday and it showed on Thursday.

Meanwhile series sophomores Ed Jones of Carlin and RC Enerson, also of SPM, were second and third. Jones was just 0.1256 off Urrutia’s best time with Enerson third, 0.1767.

Felix Rosenqvist of Belardi Auto Racing and Kyle Kaiser of Juncos Racing completed the top five, with Dean Stoneman in sixth (Andretti Autosport), Felix Serralles (Carlin) and Scott Hargrove (Team Pelfrey) the top half of the 16-car field.

SPM didn’t run a ton of laps in the session with Urrutia running only six laps and Scott Anderson seven.

As in the Pro Mazda and USF2000 sessions earlier Thursday, there were no red flags or incidents during the sessions.

Second practice for Indy Lights runs from 4:30 to 5:15 p.m., which is the last session of the day’s activity.

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 55 Santiago Urrutia 1:15.977 0.000 6
2 11 Ed Jones 1:16.103 0.1256 13
3 7 RC Enerson 1:16.154 0.1767 14
4 14 Felix Rosenqvist 1:16.407 0.4298 18
5 18 Kyle Kaiser 1:16.603 0.6256 14
6 27 Dean Stoneman 1:16.711 0.7338 18
7 4 Felix Serralles 1:16.727 0.7496 18
8 3 Scott Hargrove 1:16.745 0.7682 16
9 5 Zach Veach 1:16.756 0.7786 16
10 51 Shelby Blackstock 1:16.778 0.8009 17
11 22 Neil Alberico 1:16.853 0.8757 14
12 77 Scott Anderson 1:16.858 0.8806 7
13 13 Zachary Claman De Melo 1:16.911 0.9343 19
14 17 Andre Negrao 1:16.973 0.9958 14
15 2 Juan Piedrahita 1:17.168 1.1906 17
16 28 Dalton Kellett 1:17.329 1.3516 22

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category: Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires
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CAPE MOTORSPORTS SWEEPS USF2000 MAIN EVENTS AT BARBER

Posted by  on Friday, April 29th 2016     

Cape Motorsports with /WTR logo

CAPE MOTORSPORTS SWEEPS USF2000 MAIN EVENTS AT BARBER 

Canadian Parker Thompson gives championship team first wins of 2016 campaign

BIRMINGHAM, AL (April 29, 2016) – After being kept off the podium in the opening round of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing stormed back with a vengeance last weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, sweeping the doubleheader thanks to a breakthrough performance by their young sophomore driver, Parker Thompson. The Canadian qualified on the pole for the opening race and pulled away to a convincing win on Fridayafternoon, and then backed this up with the flawless triumph in the second race on Saturday to complete the sweep and take over the championship point lead. Australia’s Anthony Martin also improved on his results from St. Petersburg in March, scoring a pair of top-five finishes that included a third place run in Race 1.  Nikita Lastochkin was also on his game, as the Russian pilot posted a pair of top-seven results, highlighted by a fourth place in the second race of the weekend, his best career USF2000 finish. All three team drivers now sit in the top-eight in the championship standings.

“Our hats are off to our USF2000 team,” offered Dominic and Nicolas Cape, team owners. “They did an awesome job over the weekend and we’re happy to grab our first wins of the year.  Our goal is to carry some momentum going into the month of May.”

Qualifying went extremely well for the Cape Motorsports trio, with Thompson leading the way in his #2 Weyburn Energy / Uber / Sylvan Lake RV entry, turning a lap of 1:24.668 to secure his first career USF2000 pole position, and the all-important bonus point that accompanies the top starting spot.  Martin was just 0.05 seconds back in his white #8 Burgess BLA / Mazda / Cooper Tires Van Diemen, making it an all-Cape front row. Lastochkin was still finding his rhythm, laying down the eighth quickest lap in his #3 Russkaya Mechanika machine.

Thompson got a great start to the opening race of the weekend and maximized his speed on cold tires to quickly open a gap, and he remained 100% focused throughout the 30-minute race to extend his margin of victory to 4.278 seconds at the checkered flag. Martin was in the podium hunt all race and despite battling with minor grip and balance issues, he did his best to take care of his tires and was rewarded with his first podium finish of the year in third.  Nikita maintained his position throughout the race and his seventh place result completed a strong day for the Cape Motorsports pilots.

Martin moved over to the pole for the second race of the weekend, held on Saturday, but Thompson got a solid jump at the green flag to run parallel with his teammate powered through Turn 1, which gave him in the inside line for the right-hand Turn 2.  After taking the lead, the field was slowed by a full course yellow on lap two, and then a second caution on lap 14, which pressured Thompson to handle two restarts.  He maintained his lead each time and came home with his second win of the weekend.  Martin posted his second top-five of the weekend with a strong fourth, while Lastochkin improved as well and finished fifth, putting all three Cape cars into the top-five to cap the event.

Armed with confidence and momentum, the team is now looking forward to the next event, which will take place on May 12-14 on the road course circuit at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Thompson will enter the race leading the championship standings by 11 points over Luke Gabin, while Martin and Lastochkin sit fifth and eighth, respectively.

For more information on the team, please visit www.capemotorsports.com.

DRIVER PERFORMANCE – ROUNDS 3/4

 

PARKER THOMPSON – #2

Qualifying: 1st – 1:24.668

Race #1: 1st

Race #2: 1st

Driver Quote: “After coming out of St. Petersburg knowing that we were in a hole for the championship, it feels amazing to have the success we did in Alabama. The whole team really pulled off an exceptional comeback race for the championship. It feels great to get my first pole, and race wins in the USF2000 Championship, as well. I look forward to riding this momentum into the month of May with the Cape Motorsports boys!”

 

ANTHONY MARTIN – #8

Qualifying: 7th – 1:24.719

Race #1: 3rd

Race #2: 4th

Driver Quote: “Overall, it was a great weekend as we made back a significant points lead in the championship, in terms for myself and the team! And that makes us more hungry and determined for the championship, which means we will be doing everything we can to gain more points back at IMS in May.”

 

NIKITA LASTOCHKIN – #3

Qualifying: 8th – 1:25.203

Race #1: 7th

Race #2: 5th

Driver Quote: “I’ve had a rough start to the season, with a mix of both bad luck in qualifying and mistakes on my part, which has not given the results that we wanted. I knew Barber was going to be a challenging track based on last year’s experience. Having learned from my mistakes, and with great tracks ahead of us, I feel really confident. With the field being as competitive as it is, I’m sure that the championship is going to come down to the last round, so my plan is to keep the focus on my performance and I’m sure results will follow.”

category: Cape Motorsports
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Mazda Road to Indy Open-Wheel Development Series Goes 100 Percent Digital

Posted by  on Friday, April 22nd 2016     

 

Mechanic Dave "Rotor" Lehman is a Mazda Road To Indy success story, moving form Team Pelfrey's Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire program to Dale Coyne Racing's IndyCar program. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Mazda Road to Indy Open-Wheel Development Series Goes 100 Percent Digital
Becomes First American Racing Series with a Dedicated Broadcast Channel On Demand
PALMETTO, Fla. (April 22, 2016) – In a first-of-its-kind distribution breakthrough, Mazda Road to Indy TV announced today that in addition to its live broadcasting of all Mazda Road to Indy races on its mobile App, extensive additional programming now is available through its own digital television channels via Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Roku.
The Mazda Road to Indy open-wheel driver development program is unique in the world of auto racing, offering scholarship opportunities for drivers to progress from karting through the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda, the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires to the Verizon IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500. As a measure of the global appeal of the Mazda Road to Indy, drivers representing 17 different nationalities are competing this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Ala.
The additional programming will include bi-weekly shows, onboard footage and live studio episodes, plus archived shows and race coverage from both the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
Digital 1
“This will literally bring the sport to where people live, right to their homes,” said Mazda Road to Indy TV Executive Director JP Manterola. “Every major manufacturer now offers ‘smart’ TVs that can access the internet directly and a host of streaming devices, such as Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV. This is where the future of television is heading, and we are proud to be part of it.”
“Our goal is to continue to make the Mazda Road to Indy the finest open-wheel development program in the world,” added Director of Motorsports at Mazda North American Operations John Doonan. “With the Road to Indy TV, we have these wonderful new outlets that will allow fans across the globe to watch the races live – or on-demand anytime they like. It’s very exciting to be the first to have such unique, dedicated auto racing channels and we believe it will only help the world find out what great racing we have.”
category: Andersen Promotions PR
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My Mazda Road to Indy: Dave “Rotor” Lehman

Posted by  on Friday, April 8th 2016     
Note from TSO Ladder: This series of My Mazda Road To Indy features during the off-season have been fantastic, but this is Steve’s favorite. It serves as a great reminder that the Mazda Road To Indy isn’t just for drivers, but also for team owners, engineers and mechanics.
You can follow “Rotor” on Twitter Follow “Rotor” and also make sure you check out his unique artwork on Amazon Rotor’s Art on Amazon.

My Mazda Road to Indy: Dave “Rotor” Lehman

The essential mission of the Mazda Road to Indy is to serve as a development platform for the Verizon IndyCar Series and other major forms of motorsports – not just for drivers, but for teams, mechanics and support personnel as well. One such graduate is Dave Lehman, aka Rotor.
Rotor worked for Belardi Auto Racing on both their Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires teams before heading up Team Pelfrey’s title-winning Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires effort. Moving up to the “Big Show” with a job this season as a mechanic for Dale Coyne Racing, Rotor talks about his experiences on the Mazda Road to Indy, the differences between the ladder system and IndyCar – and how he managed to reach his 20s with no interest in racing at all.
What got you into racing?
I grew up in the north suburbs of Chicago. I was big into art – abstract, graffiti, painting, drawing. And I played music in two different bands for about nine years. I didn’t have an interest in racing or in anything mechanical until I was in my 20s. We took my dad indoor karting one Father’s Day and I was hooked. I kept going back with friends, then joined a league, then started racing. At that point, I was working as an apprentice electrician in Chicago.
I read an article about a nearby family whose daughter raced nationally and I contacted them about buying a kart. I started going to the track with them, learning how to work on the kart, how to make setup changes. I learned pretty quickly that I was better at working on them than driving them!
When I won my first championship with them at Iowa Speedway, that sealed the deal and I quit my job the next day. I put myself through tech school while I was working on the kart. We won six championships in two years and it didn’t seem like work. Of course there were days that sucked, but it was worth it.
How did you get into the Mazda Road to Indy?
I got lucky enough to find a job with Liberty Motorsports, which is now Belardi Auto Racing, conveniently located about an hour away from me in Illinois. Chuck (Lessick) and Brian (Belardi) gave me my first shot.
They were the team closest to me and since they were running in USF2000, they ran on the same weekends with IndyCar, which was really cool. 2010 was the resurgence of USF2000 with Dan (Andersen) taking the helm of it again and, honestly, I didn’t have anything to lose. So I just fired them an email, asking for an apprenticeship or entry level job. They liked my attitude and I started the next week. I was there from 2010 until October of 2013, doing USF2000 all four years plus some Indy Lights the last two years.
Working for the team gave me the opportunity to work with some veteran mechanics, guys who had been around a long time. It can be easy to learn bad habits, but suddenly I was working with guys who had worked in Champ Car, IndyCar, NHRA, and they really knew their stuff.  In 2011, it became Belardi Auto Racing and we ran Anders (Krohn) and Jorge (Goncalves) in Indy Lights and I got to help out with that.
My last year there, I headed up the USF2000 program, with mechanics underneath me. It was a big undertaking, since we had a five-car team. I loved the challenge: I was still the lead mechanic on a car, but it was up to me to make sure everyone was on the same page, with no issues, and that everything was done right, neatly and on time.
I went to Team Pelfrey in late 2013 to help bring the team back to prominence. They had dominated Pro Mazda two years earlier. They had a whole new staff in 2014 and we worked hard to rebuild the team. By the mid-point of the season, [driver] Nicolas Costa was at the front of the field, earning four podiums [including a win at Mid-Ohio]. Team Pelfrey ended up third in the team championship. Last year was very successful for the team, winning the Cooper Tires Winterfest with Jack Aitken and earning the series championship with Santiago (Urrutia).
Dave “Rotor” Lehman (shades and tattoos) looks on at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca as his Team Pelfrey charges get ready to take to the track. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Dave “Rotor” Lehman (shades and tattoos) looks on at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca as his Team Pelfrey charges get ready to take to the track. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Pelfrey is involved in so many levels, from F1600 into Indy Lights, and that’s a great thing to see. I’ve worked with great guys like Peter Dempsey, Scott Anderson, Peter Portante and Colin Thompson, who is now a factory McLaren Academy driver. I’ve been competing against Sage Karam as a mechanic since he was 8 years old. He’s one of the first guys to go through the whole Mazda Road to Indy and make it to IndyCar and I remember him running around the paddock as a crazy kid.
You took the last step up the ladder to the Verizon IndyCar Series with Dale Coyne Racing this year. How did that come about and how much of a transition was there?
Our old chief at Pelfrey, Roy Wilkerson, had been in IndyCar forever, and he went to Coyne as a fill-in last year. This year, he’s chief on the #19 car for Luca Filippi. He got to assemble his own crew, so he asked me to send in a resume. It was something I had wanted to do, but then everything fell into place and I got lucky.
Dave "Rotor" Lehman is a Mazda Road To Indy success story, moving form Team Pelfrey's Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire program to Dale Coyne Racing's IndyCar program. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Dave “Rotor” Lehman is a Mazda Road To Indy success story, moving form Team Pelfrey’s Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire program to Dale Coyne Racing’s IndyCar program. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

The biggest difference is that I’m not in charge of the entire car anymore. At Pelfrey, I was the only full-time Pro Mazda employee so I rebuilt the cars in between races. In Indy Lights, there are two mechanics per car. Now I’m responsible for only the rear of the Indy car. That being said, the uprights and the drive shafts are attached to the rear end, but I don’t do them. Nor do I touch the gearbox. I’m one of five or six guys at the track and everyone has their own thing. It forces you to communicate with people and work as a team and I haven’t had to do that before. It’s a change, but a welcome one.
Looking back now, what did you take from your years in the Mazda Road to Indy?
I’ve worked with some really great people who have lots of IndyCar experience. You learn from all of those people and that’s where the Mazda Road to Indy really helps. That was key for me. Like John Brunner at Belardi; he used to run Forsythe, so he brought in guys that used to work at Forsythe in Champ Car. These guys really know what they’re doing and you learn good habits from them. You can’t learn it if you’re not exposed to it.
It doesn’t matter what level you’re on: a race car is a race car. If you do something wrong, you’re going to hurt someone. If you’re serious at being a good race car mechanic, you have to be on your guard, do things right, always pay attention. Getting a chance to work on an Indy car, or working at some of the sports car races I was able to do last year with JDC and Riley Motorsports, you realize it’s all the same stuff. It’s all the other bits that take some getting used to this year, like the warm up procedures with all the things you have to do.
What advice do you give kids who want to do what you do?
I went to tech school and now I’m setting up Q&A seminars at that school and hope to expand to more campuses. These kids come in and they have delusions of grandeur; they see racing on TV and don’t realize what’s involved, like putting up the canopy and putting out all the boxes and tools – and then taking it all apart again, no matter the weather conditions. That’s all us. There is so much other stuff that no one knows about so I want to give kids an idea of what to expect. I tell kids to take their resumes and physically drop them off. Go talk to people.
It’s easier to start at the entry level. That’s why the Mazda Road to Indy is so perfect; there are so many teams willing to take someone at the entry level as a floater. You do the grunt work and get your feet wet. Then you know whether you want to stay or not. You get so much exposure to the trials that make or break people, and that’s a good thing.
category: My Road To Indy
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Andretti Autosport – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire qualifying report

Posted by  on Saturday, April 2nd 2016     

Andretti Autosport logo

The Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires 2016 Championship has returned to Phoenix International Raceway this weekend after a two-week break of competition. Dalton Kellett, Dean Stoneman and Shelby Blackstock tested their oval skills at Phoenix International Raceway in late February, giving them a taste of what is to come tomorrow for the tracks with return to the schedule after 10 years.

With the first two races of the 2016 Indy Lights schedule under their belts, the trio of drivers hit the track today for two sessions of practice and capped the day off with qualifying for tomorrow’s90-lap race.

Visit racecontrol.indycar.com tomorrow to follow along with live timing and scoring for the Phoenix Grand Prix and follow along on twitter with #DDCPhoenixGrandPrix. The broadcast of the Grand Prix of Phoenix will air April 6 at 2 a.m. EST on NBC Sports Network.

DALTON KELLETT
NO. 28 K-LINE INSULATORS USA, INC. MAZDA

Top Andretti Autosport qualifier taking the green flag from the eighth starting place

“The run was pretty solid. I think there may have been a little bit left in it, but being my first time qualifying the Dallara IL-15 on an oval, I think that is to be expected. I think the Andretti Autosport crew did a great job and gave me a good K-Line Insulators car. ”

DEAN STONEMAN
NO. 27 STELLRECHT MAZDA

Starting from the ninth position for the Englishman’s career oval debut

“Qualifying was disappointing given our pace in the morning session. I have to take the positives though, this is our first qualifying session in this format and I’m still learning about ovals in my rookie season. I will look to get a good start in the Stellrecht car and see what we can do from where I am in the race.”

SHELBY BLACKSTOCK 
NO. 51 STARSTRUCK MAZDA

The Tennessee native will start tomorrow’s Phoenix Grand Prix from the 12th position

“Obviously not where we wanted to end up. I don’t really know where we’re lacking speed. We’ll have to go back, look at some data and try to put together a good Starstruck race car. Hopefully we’ll get a good result tomorrow.”

category: Andretti Autosport
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Kaiser Claims Pole After Tight Phoenix Qualifying

Posted by  on Saturday, April 2nd 2016     

AVONDALE, Ariz. – Kyle Kaiser didn’t turn the fastest lap during this afternoon’s qualifying session on the 1.022-mile Phoenix International Raceway oval – that honor fell to Brazilian Andre Negrao – but a blend of impressive pace and admirable consistency over his two-lap run was enough for the Californian teenager to claim the pole position for tomorrow’s Indy Lights Grand Prix of Phoenix.

Kaiser PHX Cooper Tires Pole Check 2016

The pole was Kaiser’s second in three races for Juncos Racing, coming on the heels of his first career Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires pole on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla.

Kaiser was the fourth driver to make his attempt during the traditional single-car qualifying session. His first lap, at 21.9182 seconds (167.860 mph), wasn’t quite as fast as Negrao’s best of 21.891 seconds (168.067 mph), set a few minutes earlier, but Kaiser went slightly quicker on his second lap, 21.9152, to ensure a two-lap cumulative time of 43.8334 seconds and an average speed of 167.872 mph. Kaiser’s marks comfortably eclipsed the old Indy Lights qualifying track record, set on a slightly different one-mile configuration by Canadian Claude Bourbonnais at 160.755 mph in 1995.

Even though Negrao’s single best lap remained fastest of the day, the Brazilian’s first lap for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian was significantly slower at 22.1402 seconds. His two-lap average of 167.117 mph was good enough for only sixth on the closely matched grid.

Ed Jones (Carlin) qualified second fastest at an average speed of 167.507 mph, followed by Uruguayan Santiago Urrutia (167.365 mph), who carried the distinctive Mazda Soul Red livery for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian as a result of winning last year’s Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires.

Teammate RC Enerson was fractionally slower at 167.306 mph to complete Row Two of the grid. Felix Serralles (Carlin), who recorded the fastest lap in practice this morning at 22.0617 seconds (166.769 mph), and Negrao will make up Row Three. Canadian rookie Zachary Claman de Melo also impressed aboard the second Juncos Racing entry with a two-lap average of 167.037 mph to earn seventh on the grid.

The top seven qualifiers were within a fraction over two tenths of a second of each other.

The green flag for tomorrow’s race will fly at 1.30 p.m. local time. Live commentary and streaming video will be available at indylights.com, indycar.com and on the Road To Indy TV App.

Kyle Kaiser (#18 InterVision/NetApp/Juniper Networks-Juncos Racing): “We were quickest in the session before qualifying so we really contemplated how much we wanted to change for qualifying. We stayed aggressive because we did think the track would get better. We made good changes to the setup. I was confident in our decision so I kept it flat the whole way and just hoped for the best. The car felt perfect; I was surprised how good the track was. We did a lot of long runs in previous tests here, so we know what the tires will do. But ovals are scary, I’ll be completely honest. They’re intimidating, especially in a car like this where you’re going so fast. You have to have confidence that the car is behind you and that you have the experience. That translates to your feedback as well, so you get a better car.”

category: Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires

Double Podiums for Kyle Kaiser at Indy Lights Season Opener in St. Petersburg

Posted by  on Tuesday, March 15th 2016     

Juncos Racing logo

St. Petersburg, FL (March 14, 2015) – The 2016 Indy Lights Championship Presented by Cooper Tires  is shaping up to be an exciting year for Juncos Racing after a successful weekend at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by Lucas School of Racing. American Kyle Kaiser claimed his first pole and two podiums, while teammate Zach Claman Demelo gave an impressive performance in his first run in the Mazda Road to Indy ladder series.

A total of 16 cars made up the highly competitive field for the season-opening rounds of the 2016 Indy Lights Championship. Juncos Racing teammates Kaiser and Claman Demelo showed great pace in both practice sessions on the 1.8 mile, 14-Turn street course located in St. Petersburg, Florida. Kaiser, (Santa Clara, California) proved to be a top contender behind the wheel of the #18 InterVision/NetApp/ JuniperNetworks car, pacing the field in qualifying to pick up the first pole of the year. Claman Demelo took the 10th starting position for his first race in the Indy Lights series.

The first round of the 2016 season showed just how competitive the field will be for the year with multiple battles throughout the race. Kaiser, who took the pole position, fell back to fourth on the first lap after contact from behind forced him to lose the lead. The American went on to finish third for Round 1. Rookie Claman Demelo (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) saw lots of action on the first lap after contact damaged the front nose. Even though Claman Demelo would run the entire race in the #13 Adidias/SevenforAllManKind car with the damaged nose cone, it did not stop the rookie from showing how strong he will be for the season, finishing only one position down from where he qualified.

The following day Juncos Racing carried the strong momentum gained into Round 2 which saw even more action in the 16 car line-up. Kaiser took the third starting position and Claman Demelo started seventh. On the first lap, Kaiser made his way up to second where he would remain the entire race, delivering the team their second podium of the weekend. Claman Demelo moved into sixth during the first half of the race and had a strong run going until his car lost all power, causing him to end his day early.

Kaiser, who recorded two podiums and one pole in the opening rounds, currently sits one point behind the championship leader.

“It was a great weekend for the team,” said Kaiser. “We executed in qualifying, which really set us up well to achieve the two podiums this weekend. We’ll be looking to carry this momentum to Phoenix in a couple of weeks. I’m so grateful for the team and my sponsors for supporting my program for another year.”

The Indy Lights paddock took notice of rookie Zach Claman Demelo after he showed just how competitive he will be this season, even when faced with unfortunate incidents.

“Overall it wasn’t a bad weekend,” said Claman Demelo. “I learned a lot and was able to get closer to the team over the race weekend. I had some electrical problems in Round 2, but was in sixth until those issues forced me out for the rest of the race. These types of things happen and are part of racing, but I know we will figure out the issues and come back stronger. I’m looking forward to carrying this positive momentum into the next round. “

After an impressive start to the 2016 season Juncos Racing Team Principle, Ricardo Juncos, is pleased with the results of both drivers and thrilled to take home two podiums after the first rounds of the Indy Lights season. Juncos is confident the team will only continue to improve as they head into Round 3 at Phoenix International Raceway later this month.

“I’m really proud of all we were able to accomplish this weekend at St. Pete,” said Juncos. “Everyone has been working very hard to come out this year with the same strong momentum we had last year. Kyle (Kaiser) has really stepped up after a tough 2015 season dealing with many unfortunate incidents that did not allow him to get the results he deserved. These two podiums and his first pole position show he will be one of the top drivers to beat for the championship and I am thrilled to have him back on board for his third year with the team. Zach (Claman Demelo) gained a lot of attention this weekend after he showed what he is capable of in race mode, even with damaged nose cone. When most drivers would come in to have changed, he fought his way through the race and showed us all he will be a tough driver behind the wheel this year. We will continue to stay focused as the season progresses and I am confident as long as we continue to work hard we will obtain the results we deserve. I want to thank everyone for all of their continued support as we make our run for the 2016 championship.”

The Indy Lights Championship Presented by Cooper Tires continues with Round 3 on the first oval of the year at Phoenix International Raceway April, 2nd 2016. For more information please visit juncosracing.com and indylights.com.

category: Juncos PR
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WILL OWEN SCORES 27 POINTS IN FIRST ROUND AT ST PETERSBURG

Posted by  on Tuesday, March 15th 2016     
Will Owen gets ready to race on the streets of St. Petersburg. (Photo courtesy of Speed Group)

Will Owen gets ready to race on the streets of St. Petersburg. (Photo courtesy of Speed Group)

Series: Pro Mazda Championship

Driver: William Owen (USA)

Car: #23 Juncos Racing Pro Mazda

St. Petersburg, Florida – March 15, 2016 – Will Owen, driver of the #23 Juncos Racing machine came away with two top ten finishes, and 27 points in the first round of the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires. The Grand Prix of St. Petersburg didn’t start off with a bang as the #23 car dealt with engine issues forcing Owen to get up to speed quickly with little running. Even though the 20 year-old was running quicker than his teammate Jake Parsons for most of race one, he couldn’t quite make the pass on the narrow streets of St. Petersburg. Owen finished in 9th position, in between teammates Jake Parsons and Nicolas Dapero.

Owen took what he learned from race one and exuded more aggression the next day for race two. With not much happening throughout the entire field, Owen found himself in the same position as the previous race, tucked just behind the car in front. With only a few minutes remaining, Owen seized his opportunity to strike as Jake Eidson made a mistake and passed him to go on and finish in the 6th position.

The second round of the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires will take place at Barber Motorsports Park April 22-24th.  With plenty of laps completed there from past races and testing, Owen will be looking to climb upon his first podium of the season.

Will Owen

Driver

#23 AMR/Juncos Racing /Pro Mazda/Cooper Tires

“It was a fairly succesful weekend overall. Not the results we were looking for, but the team showed a lot of speed ans a lot of promise. We know it’s going to be a tough and competitive year, but now we know what we need to do better to qualifty up front. The racing went really well. I showed a lot of new skills that I picke dup in New Zealand. I made one of the only passes in race two and was more aggressive than last year. Thanks to everyone at Juncos, especially for fixing some engine problems at the beginning of the weekend. I trust them and trust that they are going to work to make the car better and help me become a better driver. We are looking good for better results throughout the season!”

For more information and up to the minute updates, images, and information you can follow Will at www.facebook.com/williamowenracing, www.twitter.com/wowen23, www.instagram.com/wowen23.

category: Juncos PR
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