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/iRacing PALMETTO, Fla. (May 20, 2020 )– A virtual rendition of the tight 0.686-mile Lucas Oil Raceway oval in Brownsburg, Ind., provided a pair of thrilling races this evening for the TireRack.com Road to Indy iRacing eSeries Presented by Cooper Tires. Andre Castro (Legacy Autosport), Read More…
Story Credit: Road to Indy PR PALMETTO, Fla. – It is May and only appropriate that competitors in the TireRack.com Road to Indy iRacing eSeries Presented by Cooper Tires should be headed to an oval track for their next challenge. Tomorrow, Wednesday, May 20, a full field of drivers (plus a few team owners) representing Read More…
Story Credit: Road to Indy PRPhoto Credit: Road to Indy Photo/iRacing PALMETTO, Fla. (May 13, 2020) – Phillippe Denes is in a virtual class of his own when it comes to the TireRack.com Road to Indy iRacing eSeries Presented by Cooper Tires. The 21-year-old from Carmel, Calif., has been struggling to obtain the funding to Read More…
Story Credit: Road to Indy PR PALMETTO, Fla. (May 12, 2020) – The hotly contested TireRack.com Road to Indy iRacing eSeries Presented by Cooper Tires heads to more familiar territory for most of the drivers tomorrow, Wednesday, May 13, with a pair of 20-minute races at a virtual version of the popular and challenging WeatherTech Read More…
Story Credit: Road to Indy PRPhoto Credit: Road to Indy Photo/iRacing PALMETTO, Fla. (May 6, 2020) – The TireRack.com Road to Indy iRacing eSeries Presented by Cooper Tires began in spectacular style this evening at an impressively realistic virtual rendition of the World Wide Technology Raceway in Madison, Ill. Two sensational races each provided 20 Read More…
Story Credit: Road to Indy PR PALMETTO, Fla. (May 5, 2020) – With the regular Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires season still on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the globally acclaimed open-wheel racing development ladder will commence a second simulated racing series on iRacing beginning tomorrow at a virtual rendition of World Read More…
Story Credit: Road to Indy PR PALMETTO, Fla. (April 29, 2020) – Following the success and popularity of its first iRacing eSeries, the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires will continue in the virtual racing world with another five-round contest headlined by TireRack.com beginning May 6. The TireRack.com Road to Indy iRacing eSeries Presented Read More…
Story Credit: Road to Indy PRPhoto Credit: iRacing/Road to Indy Photo PALMETTO, Fla. (April 25, 2020) – There were a pair of deserving winners when the inaugural Ricmotech Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires iRacing eSeries wrapped up this afternoon at a virtual rendition of the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Braden Eves, last year’s Read More…
Story Credit: Road to Indy PR PALMETTO, Fla. (April 23, 2020) – While the regular Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires season is delayed due to the COVID-19 crisis, Phillippe Denes will attempt to clinch the inaugural Ricmotech Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires iRacing eSeries title this Saturday, April 25. The fifth Read More…
Story Credit: Road to Indy PR PALMETTO, Fla. (April 18, 2020) – Eduardo Barrichello had been knocking on the door to Victory Lane in each of the first three rounds of the Ricmotech Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires iRacing eSeries. Fittingly today at his Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship team Pabst Racing’s home track, Read More…