As Mr. Bob Varsha is famous for saying during the Formula 1 broadcasts on SpeedTV, “Before you can race, you must qualify!” As of this morning, all three of the Mazda Road to Indy series have qualified for their respective races on the Streets of St. Petersburg. The USF2000 National Championship and the Star Mazda Championship both qualified yesterday afternoon, and the Firestone Indy Lights series just finished their qualifying session this morning. Let’s take a look at the results series-by-series. Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by…
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News and commentary on the USF2000 National Championship in the Mazda Road to Indy
USF2000 – AcceleRace Motorsports Returns to the Track
Our friends at AcceleRace Motorsports will be returning to competition on the Streets of St. Petersburg this coming weekend. As if the Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda didn’t have a large enough field already, AcceleRace will be adding at least one more car to the grid. It’s uncertain right now just what type of car they will enter. The team does have a Championship class car as well as FC and FE cars. Which they run, I think, will depend upon the driver they sign.…
Read MoreIndyCar – Graduates Talk About their Mazda Road to Indy Experience
USF2000 – Sebring Race 2 Recap
Two races are now in the books for the 14-race Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda 2012 season. Race 2 at the Sebring International Raceway took place this morning right before lunch with all 36 entries from yesterday taking to the track again today. The starting line-up for Race 2 was determined by the fastest race laps in Race 1. Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing driver and Race 1 winner Matthew Brabham (@MattyBrabs) started on pole alongside his teammate Spencer Pigot (@SpencerPigot). ArmsUp Motorsports pilot…
Read MoreUSF2000 – Sebring Race 1 Marred by FCYs
A record-setting field, 36 cars in all, took to the grid to contest the opening round of the 2012 Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda took place this afternoon at the Sebring International Raceway. As Mike and I discussed on the podcast (Ep 129) last night, dealing with traffic and the congested track was going to be key to success, and we were not wrong. ArmsUp Motorsports Luigi Biangardi took the pole position in this morning’s qualifying and lined up along side Cape Motorsports with Wayne…
Read MoreUSF2000 – Sebring Field Shatters Record and Expectations
I’ve been saying for a while now that the Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda was going to have some great fields this season, but even my overly-optimistic fan-boy predictions were short of the mark! I had thought that we’d see mid- to high-twenties, which I thought was a bit of a stretch. Turns out, it was a gross underestimate! A total of 35 cars are signed up to contest the opening round at Sebring International Raceway this Thursday and Friday. This shatters the previous record…
Read MoreMRTI – USF2000 and Star Mazda TV Deal Announced
We’ve been talking about the possibility of a television package for Star Mazda and perhaps more in 2012 for some time now, but now the deal has finally been announced. The Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear, the Cooper Tires presents the USF2000 National Championship powered by Mazda, and the Playboy MX-5 Cup will be featured on 24-episodes of the Mazda Motorsports Hour on Discovery’s Velocity TV beginning this April. “Hardcore fans know that some of the most intense action can be found in the Playboy MX-5 Cup, Star Mazda…
Read MoreMRTI – USF2000 and Star Mazda Grids Continue to Grow
While we still wait anxiously for announcements of more driver signings in the Firestone Indy Lights series, the Cooper Tires Presents the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda and the Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear continue to add new drivers and grow their grid sizes. This past week, two new drivers were announced, Henrik Furuseth for USF2000 and Ryan Tveter for Star Mazda. Let’s take a look at these two new Mazda Road to Indy drivers. Ryan Tveter Joins Team GDT in the Star Mazda Championship Ryan Tveter isn’t…
Read MoreMazda Road to Indy – Juncos Racing Showing the Way
A few years ago, Tony George, Jr. and Jason Penix worked on building a clear and proper ladder system, the Mazda Road to Indy, that would enable young drivers to move up through the formula car ranks in the US and Canada, and eventually become one of the lucky 33 drivers to compete in the Greatest Spectacle In Racing. Once a young driver is in the Mazda Road to Indy program, talent combined with business acumen (an unfortunate necessity in motorsports today) have allowed many to rise up through the…
Read MoreInside The Helmet – Jason Penix, King of the Mazda Road to Indy
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Podcast: Play in new window | DownloadWe had the opportunity to speak with INDYCAR’s Jason Penix. Jason was instrumental in the development of the Mazda Road to Indy Program which has grown by leaps and bounds, both in participation and in popularity. Now Jason serves as Director of Grassroots Initiatives, formally, but has been dubbed by Anders Krohn as the “Mazda Road to Indy King” during this year’s WinterFest. He gives us some insight into the history of the program, how it got started, and who the major players were…
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