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: Road to Indy PRPhoto Credit: Road to Indy Photo ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires yesterday officially crowned its 2020 series champions and additional winners in an abbreviated awards ceremony held trackside at the Mahaffey Theater. The event capped off an exciting end of the season for Read More…
Story Credit: Road to Indy PRPhoto Credit: Road to Indy Photo ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Hunter McElrea left his best until last during his rookie season in the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. After taking five podium finishes, the New Zealander took full advantage of a rare error by series champion Sting Read More…
Story Credit: Road to Indy PRPhoto Credit: Road to Indy Photo ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Christian Brooks has made tremendous progress throughout his rookie Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship campaign with the Exclusive Autosport team. Today in the USF2000 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by Cooper Tires, Brooks led confidently throughout the 20-lap season finale Read More…
Story Credit: Road to Indy PRPhoto Credit: Road to Indy Photo ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Sting Ray Robb tied up the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires earlier this month at New Jersey Motorsports Park and added another string to his bow with an emphatic performance in today’s Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix Read More…
Story Credit: Road to Indy PRPhoto Credit: Road to Indy Photo ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Brazilian rookie Kiko Porto claimed a well-deserved maiden Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship victory this afternoon in the USF2000 Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by Andersen RacePark. Porto’s emotional triumph capped a roller coaster year which began with him missing Read More…
Story Credit: Road to Indy PR PALMETTO, Fla. – Andersen Promotions today announced the calendar of events for the three series which comprise the highly acclaimed Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires driver development program – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and the Cooper Read More…
Story Credit: Road to Indy PR PALMETTO, Fla. – More than seven months after the 2020 Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires season was set to commence on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., the same challenging 1.8-mile, 14-turn street circuit will instead host the season finale this weekend, October 24-25. The Indy Pro Read More…
Story Credit: Road to Indy PRPhoto Credit: Road to Indy Photo MILLVILLE, N.J. – This weekend’s triple-header Cooper Tires Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix at New Jersey Motorsports Park provided three different race winners. But the most joyous of the threesome was series veteran Sting Ray Robb, from Payette, Idaho, who stood on all three Read More…
Story Credit: Road to Indy PRPhoto Credit: Road to Indy Photo MILLVILLE, N.J. – Christian Rasmussen today clinched the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship following an impressive sweep of the final two races of The Andersen Companies USF2000 Grand Prix at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Along with the championship will go a scholarship valued at over Read More…
Story Credit: Road to Indy PRPhoto Credit: Jared DePouw MILLVILLE, N.J. – Devlin DeFrancesco thoroughly dominated today’s Cooper Tires Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix at New Jersey Motorsports Park. The 20-year-old Italian-Canadian rookie was never seriously challenged during the 25-lap contest while wrapping up his second victory of the season for Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport. Juncos Read More…