Mazda Road to Indy 2014 schedules released, will only race with IndyCar - MotorSportsTalk

Andersen Promotions confirmed Thursday its desire to see all three of the Mazda Road to Indy divisions run in front of IndyCar, and only IndyCar, for 2014.

Schedules for Indy Lights, Pro Mazda and USF2000 were all released and the schedules sync up with the recently released IndyCar schedule.

All Indy Lights races will feature same-day coverage on NBCSN with international rights held by ESPN International. Pro Mazda and USF2000 will also be featured on NBCSN with a minimum of four highlight shows, which will also be broadcast on Motors TV in Europe.

Indy Lights has a 14-race slate with four doubleheader weekends on the four road course races at Barber, Indianapolis, Mid-Ohio and Sonoma. The doubleheaders will feature a 40-minute sprint race on Saturday and a 60-minute feature race Sunday just prior to the IndyCar race.

Barber and Mid-Ohio are holdovers while Indy Lights returns to the IMS road course for the first time since 2007. The series returns to Sonoma for the first time since 2010.

The remaining six races are split three apiece between street courses (St. Petersburg, Long Beach, Toronto) and ovals (Indianapolis, Pocono, Milwaukee). Fontana has been dropped for 2014.

Pro Mazda and USF2000 also will have 14-race schedules. All Pro Mazda road and street races will be doubleheaders (six weekends) and standing starts. Oval races will occur at Lucas Oil Raceway Park in Indianapolis the night before the Indianapolis 500, and at Milwaukee in August.

USF2000’s 14 races will come on just seven weekends. All road and street races will be doubleheaders with the exception of Mid-Ohio, which will be a tripleheader as it was this year.

These two series also have the previously announced Cooper Tires Winterfest Championship to look forward to.

Here’s a breakdown of all dates and schedules:

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires 2014 Schedule of Events

• 14 races
• Three street circuits, four road courses, three ovals
• Doubleheader rounds at all road courses

Round	Date	Track	Venue
1	March 30	Streets of St. Petersburg	1.8-mile street circuit
2	April 13	Streets of Long Beach	1.968-mile street circuit
3/4	April 26/27	Barber Motorsports Park	2.38-mile road course
5/6	May 9/10	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	2.434-mile road course
7	May 23	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	2.5-mile oval
8	July 6	Pocono Raceway	2.5-mile oval
9	July 20	Streets of Toronto	1.75-mile street circuit
10/11	August 2/3	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	2.258-mile road course
12	August 17	The Milwaukee Mile	1-mile oval
13/14	August 23/24	Sonoma Raceway	2.385-mile road course

Series Test Sessions

December 9/10	Barber Motorsports Park	2.38-mile road course
January 7/8	Sebring International Raceway	1.7-mile road course
February 21/22	NOLA Motorsports Park	2.75-mile road course
February 25/26	Barber Motorsports Park	2.38-mile road course
May TBA	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	2.5-mile oval
June 3	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	2.258-mile road course

Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires 2014 Schedule of Events

• 14 races
• Two street circuits, four road courses, two ovals
• Doubleheader rounds at all road and street circuits
• Standing starts on all street circuits

Round	Date	Track	Venue
1/2	March 29/30	Streets of St. Petersburg	1.8-mile street circuit
3/4	April 26/27	Barber Motorsports Park	2.38-mile road course
5/6	May 9/10	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	2.434-mile road course
7	May 24	Lucas Oil Raceway	0.686-mile oval
8/9	June 28/29	Streets of Houston	1.634-mile street circuit
10/11	August 2/3	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	2.258-mile road course
12	August 16	The Milwaukee Mile	1-mile oval
13/14	August 23/24	Sonoma Raceway	2.385-mile road course

Series Test Sessions

December 9/10	Barber Motorsports Park	2.38-mile road course
May 3	Lucas Oil Raceway	0.686-mile oval
June 4/5	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	2.258-mile road course

Cooper Tires Winterfest Championship (four races)

February 21/22	NOLA Motorsports Park	2.75-mile road course
February 25/26	Barber Motorsports Park	2.38-mile road course

Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda 2014 Schedule of Events

• 14 races
• Two street circuits, four road courses, one oval
• Doubleheader rounds at all road and street circuits with one tripleheader road course event

Round	Date	Track	Venue
1/2	March 29/30	Streets of St. Petersburg	1.8-mile street circuit
3/4	April 26/27	Barber Motorsports Park	2.38-mile road course
5/6	May 9/10	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	2.434-mile road course
7	May 24	Lucas Oil Raceway	0.686-mile oval
8/9	July 19/20	Streets of Toronto	1.75-mile street circuit
10/11/12	August 2/3	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	2.258-mile road course
13/14	August 23/24	Sonoma Raceway	2.385-mile road course

Series Test Sessions

December 9/10	Barber Motorsports Park	2.38-mile road course
May 3	Lucas Oil Raceway	0.686-mile oval
June 4/5	Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	2.258-mile road course

Cooper Tires Winterfest Championship (six races)

February 21/22	NOLA Motorsports Park	2.75-mile road course
February 25/26	Barber Motorsports Park	2.38-mile road course

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The biggest race of the NTT IndyCar Series season (and in the world) is over, and NBC Sports’ power rankings look very similar to the finishing results in the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.

Pole-sitter Alex Palou entered the Indy 500 at the top and remains there after his impressive rebound to a fourth after a midway crash in the pits. Top two Indianapolis 500 finishers Josef Newgarden and Marcus Ericsson also improved multiple spots in the power rankings just as they gained ground during the course of the 500-mile race on the 2.5-mile oval. Though Alexander Rossi dropped a position, he still shined at the Brickyard with a fifth place finish.

Santino Ferrucci, the other driver in the top five at Indy, made his first appearance in the 2023 power rankings this year and now will be tasked with keeping his A.J. Foyt Racing team toward the front as the IndyCar circuit makes its debut on a new layout..

Heading into the Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix on the streets of downtown, here’s NBC Sports’ assessment of the current top 10 drivers through six of 17 races this year (with previous ranking in parenthesis):

Alex Palou (1): Three consecutive top 10 finishes at the Indy 500, and yet the 2021 IndyCar champion still seems slightly snake-bitten at the Brickyard. A few different circumstances and a dash of experience, and Palou could have three Indy 500 wins. But he at least has the points lead.
Marcus Ericsson (4): Some want to say the Indy 500 runner-up’s unhappiness with IndyCar race control was sour grapes, but the Swede had a legitimate gripe about the consistency of red flag protocols. Still a magnificent May for Ericsson, especially while the questions swirl about his future.
Josef Newgarden (7): Strategist Tim Cindric and team did a fantastic job catapulting Newgarden from 17^th into contention, and the two-time series champion did the rest. Particularly on a late three-wide pass for the lead, it can’t be overstated how brilliant the Team Penske driver was in his finest hour.
Alexander Rossi (3): He winds up being the best Arrow McLaren finisher in a mostly disappointing Indy 500 for a team that seemed poised to become dominant. With a third in the GMR GP and a fifth in the Indy 500, this easily was Rossi’s best May since his second place in 2019.
Pato O’Ward (2): Unlike last year, the Arrow McLaren star sent it this time against Ericsson and came out on the wrong side (and with lingering bitterness toward his Chip Ganassi Racing rival). The lead mostly was the wrong place to be at Indy, but O’Ward managed to be in first for a race-high 39 laps.
Scott Dixon (5): He overcame brutal handling issues from a wicked set of tires during his first stint, and then the team struggled with a clutch problem while posting a typical Dixon-esque finish on “a very tough day.” The six-time champion hopes things are cleaner the rest of the season after the first three months.
Santino Ferrucci (NR): Pound for pound, he and A.J. Foyt Racing had the best two weeks at Indianapolis. Ferrucci said Wednesday he still believes he had “by far the best car at the end” and if not for the timing of the final yellow and red, he would have won the Indy 500. Now the goal is maintaining into Detroit.
Colton Herta (NR): He was the best in a mostly forgettable month for Andretti Autosport and now is facing a pivotal weekend. Andretti has reigned on street courses so far this season, and few have been better on new circuits than Herta. A major chance for his first victory since last year’s big-money extension.
Scott McLaughlin (6): Ran in the top 10 at Indy after a strong opening stint but then lost positions while getting caught out on several restarts. A penalty for unintentionally rear-ending Simon Pagenaud in O’Ward’s crash then sent him to the rear, but McLaughlin still rallied for 14th. Detroit will be a fresh start.
Rinus VeeKay (10): Crashing into Palou in the pits was less than ideal. But a front row start and 10^th-place finish in the Indy 500 still were 2023 highlights for VeeKay in what’s been the toughest season of his career. The Ed Carpenter Racing cars have been slow on road and street courses, so Detroit is another test.

Falling out: Will Power (8), Felix Rosenqvist (9), Romain Grosjean (10)

PAST NBC SPORTS INDYCAR POWER RANKINGS

PRESEASON: Josef Newgarden is a favorite to win third championship

RACE 1: Pato O’Ward to first; Newgarden drops out after St. Pete

RACE 2: O’Ward stays firmly on top of standings after Texas

RACE 3: Marcus Ericsson leads powerhouses at the top

RACE 4: Grosjean, Palou flex in bids for first victory

RACE 5: Alex Palou carrying all the momentum into Indy 500