Mazda Road to Indy: Driver-by-driver preview in Indy Lights, Pro Mazda, USF2000 - MotorSportsTalk

The Mazda Road to Indy, now all under the Andersen Promotions umbrella for the second season, is overflowing with young talent in the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda.

While last year we looked at 10 drivers to watch – with more hits than misses – we look deeper in all series this year and give brief primers on each driver:

INDY LIGHTS

Spencer Pigot (No. 12 Juncos Racing): The Pro Mazda champion moves up to Indy Lights. He’s spent two years in each of USF2000 and Pro Mazda, and the Rising Star Racing-backed American driver hopes he’ll only have one season in Lights by comparison.
Kyle Kaiser (No. 18 Juncos Racing): Ended his 2014 Pro Mazda season with a win at Sonoma. Perhaps not an outright title contender, but should bank a few podiums and potentially score his first series win.
Ed Jones (No. 11 Carlin): Dubai-based driver is something of an unknown to the U.S. audience, but wouldn’t be in his position if Trevor Carlin’s team didn’t think highly of him.
Max Chilton (No. 14 Carlin): The ex-Marussia F1 driver looks set to be on a race-to-race plan for Carlin and as a relative bigger fish in a small pond instead of the opposite in F1, should be on pace from the off.
Scott Hargrove (No. 8 8Star Motorsports): The talented Canadian came up only just short of last year’s Pro Mazda title, but has two other titles banked (USF2000, Porsche GT3 Canada). Nice as they come outside the car, but an assassin in one. Only confirmed for St. Pete; we hope it’s the rest of 2015.
RC Enerson (No. 7 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports): Enerson makes the leap from USF2000 to Indy Lights this year with the new car. A rawer prospect compared to others, but has grown by leaps and bounds in last three years.
Jack Harvey (No. 42 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports): One of the few series veterans back for 2015, Harvey’s preseason hasn’t yet borne much in way of pace. Still must be considered a title contender, though.
Ethan Ringel (No. 71 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports): Ringel’s best thing going for him in 2015 is relatively minimal expectations, so if he pushes and beats his teammates regularly, he’ll be doing the job required of him.
Scott Anderson (No. 77 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports): Here’s my early sleeper pick to watch in Indy Lights. The Colorado native overachieved with Fan Force United last year, with the SPM equipment a sizeable upgrade.
Shelby Blackstock (No. 51 Andretti Autosport): A solid, dependable performer, Blackstock should bank several podium finishes, a win or two, and rank close to the top-five in points.
Matthew Brabham (No. 83 Andretti Autosport): Confirmed only for St. Pete at the moment, but is reflective and focused heading into the weekend. If he runs the season, he’s a title contender.
Felix Serralles (No. 4 Belardi Auto Racing): Puerto Rican driver was the first confirmed for 2015 but has flown relatively under the radar this winter. Has achieved some success in Europe and likely Belardi’s best threat this year.
Juan Piedrahita (No. 5 Belardi Auto Racing): Piedrahita returns for his second season, now with Belardi instead of Schmidt. Unlikely to trouble the top runners too much, but may sneak a podium or two.

PRO MAZDA

Neil Alberico (No. 2 Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing): With Pigot finally winning last year’s Pro Mazda title, Alberico may well be the most talented veteran driver in the Mazda Road to Indy who’s missed a title up to this point. The Rising Star Racing driver is a good contender in ’15.
Daniel Burkett (No. 3 Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing): The personable, orange-haired Canadian has his best opportunity yet in Mazda Road to Indy with the Capes. Provided he’s on pace with teammates Alberico and Latorre, he’ll be in good shape.
Florian Latorre (No. 10 Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing): The USF2000 champion will look to match Matthew Brabham in following up with a Pro Mazda title the following year. A quiet but focused, fast Frenchman.
Garett Grist (No. 5 Juncos Racing): It was a tough Winterfest for the Canadian, who should fare a bit better in the regular season.
Timothe Buret (No. 6 Juncos Racing): The Mazda Road to Indy has been good to Frenchmen in the past, and Buret could well be the surprise French driver to note in 2015.
Jose Gutierrez (No. 7 Juncos Racing): The Mexican returns to the team for his second full season and looks to build on his Sonoma win to end 2014.
Will Owen (No. 23 Juncos Racing): Here’s my sleeper to watch in Pro Mazda this season. Overachieved in USF2000 and joins the Pro Mazda title-winning team.
Alessandro Latif (No. 14 World Speed Motorsports): The English driver has made an intriguing choice in going down the open-wheel path after racing some with Audi in sports cars.
Michael Johnson (No. 54 JDC Motorsports): The paralyzed driver remains one of racing’s best stories, but year two in the series needs some better results.
Weiron Tan (No. 22 Andretti Autosport): An early title contender who was one of the two stars of Winterfest. The Malaysian should win early and often.
Dalton Kellett (No. 28 Andretti Autosport): Smart kid, a MRTI veteran and a driver who should improve with Andretti in his second season.
Raoul Owens (No. 19 JDC Motorsports), Parker Nicklin (No. 26 JDC Motorsports), Kyle Connery (No. 91 JDC Motorsports): Respectable talents who could surprise with a team that has won titles in the past.
Santiago Urrutia (No. 81 Team Pelfrey), Pato O’Ward (No. 82 Team Pelfrey): They’re on board with the Winterfest-winning Team Pelfrey, but may find the going tougher in the regular season.
Bobby Eberle (No. 13 World Speed Motorsports), Jay Horak (No. 37 M1 Racing): Series veterans round out the field.

USF2000

Nico Jamin, Aaron Telitz (Nos. 2 and 3, Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing): It’s hard to pick against either of these two for the championship, at USF2000’s powerhouse team.
Keyvan Andres Soori, Max Hanratty, James Dayson (Nos. 5, 6 and 16, ArmsUp Motorsports): Andres Soori figures to be the best results-wise in this trio, with the other two learning and developing as the year goes on.
Augie Lerch (No. 12 JAY Motorsports): The 18-year-old moves up from F1600 and figures to develop in the single-car team throughout 2015.
Victor Franzoni (No. 17 Afterburner Autosport): A championship contender in his sophomore season.
Jake Eidson, Yufeng Luo (Nos. 22 and 23, Pabst Racing): Series sophomore Eidson figures to contend for the title while Luo will grow as the year progresses.
Anthony Martin, Jordan Lloyd (Nos. 33 and 94, John Cummiskey Racing): A very solid team, with the open-wheel veteran training two quick Australian rookies.
Andrew List (No. 61 D2D Motorsport), Santiago Lozano (No. 79 M2 Autosport): Second-year drivers who will continue to learn in 2015.
Parker Thompson (No. 80 JDC Motorsports): Another in the “talented and will learn throughout his rookie season” camp, in JDC’s lone USF2000 car.
Ayla Agren, Luke Gabin, Garth Rickards, Nikita Lastochkin (Nos. 81, 82, 83, 84 Team Pelfrey): A strong quartet of series newcomers who figure to come on later in the season. Watch the inter-team competition here.

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Vicki Golden has earned a career worthy of a thousand stories and 805 Beer tells at least one of them, as “Inverted Perspective” premiered March 30 on the company’s website and YouTube channel.

Golden did more to break the glass ceiling in SuperMotocross than she ever thought possible. She knows this because riders have never felt the need to explain any of her accomplishments with the disclaimer, “for a girl”.

At this point in Golden’s career, she’s been the first woman to finish top 10 in AMA Arenacross Lites, the first woman to qualify in the Fast 40 in Monster Energy AMA Supercross and the first woman to compete in freestyle Moto X competition, earning a bronze medal by doing so.

Her love for moto came from childhood while she watched her dad and brother ride. By seven she was on her bike and making waves throughout Southern California.

Golden, 30, is still madly in love with the sport and has no plans on moving away but her career is already one to talk about. 805 Beer’s film series wanted to do exactly that.

“I’m taken aback by it all,” Golden told NBC Sports about the documentary. “It’s just crazy to see your story, it’s one thing to live your life and battle everything that comes about but it’s another to just sit there and talk about it.”

805 approached Golden about the feature by asking, “Do you even realize that what you do, and your story is special?”

Golden took the question as a blank canvas to map out the highs and lows of her career and life.

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The title “Inverted Perspective” came from a brainstorming session with Dominick Russo and it highlights Golden’s outlook on the sport of SuperMotocross and her life in general.

“My whole life, my whole career was thinking differently and looking at things that shouldn’t be done and aren’t there, while being able to make a place for myself, where no one thought there should be a place,” Golden said. “It’s inspiring someone to think in different ways. It sums up my life.”

*Vicki Golden is not “fast for a girl”; she’s just fast. – 805 Beer*

While Golden is no stranger to the spotlight, this was the first time she’s been fully involved with the storytelling and creation of a feature about herself.

“It’s not like a full new experience,” Golden said. “Obviously, you get your standard questions about your upbringing and accomplishments, but I’ve never really put into perspective things that happened in my past with my dad and putting that to light. Also, certain other things that maybe got overlooked in previous interviews or films. I wanted to touch on these and Dom wanted to create a story. It’s just cool to see it come to light, it’s a nearly impossible thing to tell somebody’s life story in 40 minutes.”

Golden’s father was left paralyzed after an ATV accident, robbing him the opportunity to ride again. This happened a few months before the father-daughter duo was set to compete in the Loretta Lynn’s Amateur Nationals when Vicki was 12. While she might have been unable to grasp the severity at the time, it’s something she carries with her. Golden continues to ride in his honor.

Years later, an accident in 2018 nearly sidelined the then 25-year-old Vicki when a freestyle accident almost resulted in the amputation of her lower leg.

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Golden 805 Beer — *Vicki Golden has ridden a variety of disciplines in SuperMotocross, which gives her a unique perspective. – 805 Beer*

“Inverted Perspective” highlights her father’s diligence in helping Vicki continue with her career and the kindness and strength he carried while fighting his own battle.

“My dad was the entire reason that I started riding in the first place,” Golden said. “So, to honor his memory and to honor what we went through and how hard he pushed to keep our dream alive and keep everything going – in that sense then, it was really special to be able to honor him and talk about him.”

The 40-minute feature was filmed entirely in black and white, a stark contrast from the oversaturated world of motocross where the brighter the suit the easier it is for fans to find their rider and follow him in the race. By filming in monochrome Russo and Golden had the chance to focus on the race and track from a different perspective.

“It was cool to be able to film it differently,” Golden said. “It created a challenge in the sense of what was going to be more visually impactful for the film.

“I couldn’t be here without the companies that back me but at the same time, it’s not like the logos or colors disappeared, it’s just different lights shed on different spots. It’s just a cool way to do it and to take color away and still be impactful. When you think of black and white, you think of old school, the OG way of doing things.”

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