News, views, and behind the scenes coverage of the NTT INDYCAR Series and Road to Indy
Since its launch in 2010, the Road to Indy ladder system has attracted competitors from around the globe. Drivers from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Finland, France, Ireland, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Spain, United Kingdom, Venezuela and Zimbabwe have been part of the grids, showcasing their talents at premier venues on a mix of road courses, temporary street circuits and ovals.
From “The World’s Fastest Spring Break Party” in St. Petersburg, Fla., to the famed Brickyard – the Indianapolis Motor Speedway – drivers compete on the NTT IndyCar Series stage in front of large crowds and television cameras as well as team owners, sponsors and media.
Sanctioned by INDYCAR, the Road to Indy provides drivers, teams and sponsors an opportunity to gain valuable experience on and off the track while following a clear-cut path of progression through three development series: Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship, the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires.
Spencer Pigot, 25, exemplifies the success of the Road to Indy platform.
Pigot, who began karting at age 9, made the move into car racing in 2009, winning the Skip Barber Shoot-Out Top Scholarship Award and a season of competition in the 2010 BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Series Presented by Mazda as an official Mazda Development driver. He claimed the title as a rookie to secure another Mazda scholarship prize and ensure his graduation onto the first step of the Road to Indy, the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship, in 2011.
After consecutive runner-up finishes in the USF2000 title-chase, Pigot capped another two years in the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires by winning the crown and another scholarship prize in 2014 which enabled him to move on to Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires in 2015.
Pigot earned his fourth scholarship – a prize valued at $1M with a guaranteed three-race program in IndyCar including the Indianapolis 500 – by claiming the 2015 Indy Lights title and made his NTT IndyCar Series debut with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing and Ed Carpenter Racing in 2016. He now drives full-time for Ed Carpenter Racing.
Story Credit: INDYCAR PRPhoto Credit: INDYCAR Photo INDIANAPOLIS (November 21, 2019) – For the past three seasons, rising talents Oliver Askew and Rinus VeeKay have been rivals in the Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires. The pair dominated INDYCAR’s three-tier, developmental ladder series during that period, combining to win three driver’s titles, nearly two-thirds Read More…
Story Credit: Road to Indy PRPhoto Credit: Road to Indy Photo PALMETTO, Fla. – The tires and engines have barely cooled down after a rousing final weekend for all three open-wheel development racing series that comprise the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires on the West Coast, yet an intriguing mix of veteran and Read More…
Story Credit: Road to Indy PRPhoto Credit: Road to Indy Photo MONTEREY, Calif. – Another exciting season of Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires competition, featuring the future stars of North American open-wheel racing, was highlighted at a well-attended Road to Indy Championship Celebration yesterday evening. The Monterey Plaza Hotel, overlooking Monterey Bay on Read More…
Story Credit: Road to Indy PRPhoto Credit: Road to Indy Photo MONTEREY, Calif. – The good news for Kyle Kirkwood is that he needed only to start today’s Cooper Tires Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix Presented by Allied Building Products in order to clinch the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and a Read More…
Story Credit: Road to Indy PRPhoto Credit: Road to Indy Photo MONTEREY, Calif. – Braden Eves had only one thought on his mind entering this morning’s Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship season finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca: He needed to win. Eves, 20, from New Albany, Ohio, trailed New Zealander Hunter McElrea by 12 points. Read More…
Story Credit: Road to Indy PRPhoto Credit: Road to Indy Photo MONTEREY, Calif. – Rinus VeeKay might not have won this year’s Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires championship trophy but he certainly demonstrated his class during this weekend’s Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix Presented by Allied Building Products. VeeKay, 19, from Hoofddorp, Netherlands, Read More…
Story Credit: Road to Indy PRPhoto Credit: Road to Indy Photo MONTEREY, Calif. – Kyle Kirkwood is an unstoppable force in this year’s Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. The 20-year-old from Jupiter, Fla., overcame a deficit of more than three seconds to polesitter Sting Ray Robb in this afternoon’s Cooper Tires Indy Read More…
Story Credit: Road to Indy PRPhoto Credit: Road to Indy Photo MONTEREY, Calif. – The first rung on the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires open-wheel development ladder provided some of the best entertainment this afternoon at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca and ensured that the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship will remain undecided until tomorrow’s Read More…
Story Credit: Road to Indy PRPhoto Credit: Road to Indy Photo MONTEREY, Calif. – There were two winners in today’s Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix Presented by Allied Building Products at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Teenaged Dutchman Rinus VeeKay drove a flawless race from the pole position to secure a sixth race win of Read More…
Story Credit: Road to Indy PR PALMETTO, Fla. (September 12, 2019) – The 2020 schedule for the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires – the only driver development program of its type in the world with a scholarship-funded path to the pinnacle of the sport – was announced today by Andersen Promotions. All three Read More…