2014 Pro Mazda Championship Explained

The 2014 Pro Mazda Championship is the 16th season in series history.

The second season of Andersen Promotions' management of the series saw increased car counts with 20 or more cars in many races and 13 drivers competing in all 14 races compared to 2013's nine.

American Spencer Pigot won the title over Canadian Scott Hargrove in the final race weekend at Sonoma Raceway in controversial fashion. In the first race of the weekend, the two made contact on the fourth lap of the race with Pigot leading. Pigot's race was over while Hargrove went on to finish third. In the second race, Neil Alberico, Hargrove's teammate, made contact with Pigot on the first lap, although both were able to continue. On lap 12, Pigot's teammate Kyle Kaiser's car stopped on track bringing out a caution flag, allowing Pigot, who was running sixth at the time, to close up behind the leaders. After the restart, Hargrove, who was leading, began to experience mechanical trouble, and as he fell back to Pigot, made a move that forced Pigot to swerve around him. Hargrove's race was done while Pigot finished fifth and captured the title by 11 points. Pigot captured six race wins in the fourteen races, including the first four races of the season. With the championship Pigot won a Road to Indy scholarship to compete in Indy Lights in 2015.

Alberico finished third in points without a race win. Andretti Autosport's top challenger, Shelby Blackstock finished fourth in the championship, also without a win. Brazilian Nicolas Costa captured one win and finished fifth in points. Other race winners were Kaiser, Jose Guttierez, who won the wild Sonoma race 2, and Garett Grist who captured two wins but was inconsistent.

American Bobby Eberle captured the Expert Class championship for drivers over 35 years old largely by virtue of entering the most races among such entrants.

Drivers and teams

All teams are American-registered.

TeamDriversNotes
Andretti Autosport[1] 27 Garett Grist[2]
28 Shelby Blackstock
Cape Motorsports
w/ Wayne Taylor Racing
2 Neil Alberico[3]
3 Scott Hargrove
HAVOC Motorsport21 Brian LiftMid-Ohio only
JDC MotorSports11 Vicky PiriaSt. Pete & Barber only
19 Ryan Booth
54 Michael Johnson[4]
91 Kyle ConnerySkipped LOR, Houston & Sonoma
Clark ToppeHouston only
Juncos Racing5 Jose Gutierrez[5]
6 Julia Ballario[6]
7 Spencer Pigot[7]
18 Kyle Kaiser[8]
M1 Racing9 Felipe DonatoHouston, Mid-Ohio & Sonoma only
23 Carlos CondeMid-Ohio & Sonoma only
26 Parker NicklinSonoma only
29 Jason RabeIMS only
37 Jay HorakSt. Pete through IMS, Mid-Ohio
62 Jason Bedasse[9] St. Pete only
99 Nicolas CostaSt. Pete through IMS
Team Pelfrey80 Dalton Kellett[10]
81 Pipo Derani[11] St. Pete through IMS
Anders KrohnLOR only
Jack AitkenSonoma only
Brandon NeweyMid-Ohio only
82St. Pete through IMS
Nicolas CostaHouston onwards
99LOR only
World Speed Motorsports8 Stan KohlsSonoma only
13 Bobby EberleSkipped LOR & Milwaukee
14 Jeff HarrisonBarber & Houston only
16 Michele BumgarnerSkipped Mid-Ohio & Milwaukee
34 Joey BickersSonoma only
61 Alex KeyesSonoma only

Race calendar and results

The series schedule, along with the other Road to Indy series, was announced on October 24, 2013. Unlike previous seasons, all races were in support of the IndyCar Series except the race at Lucas Oil Raceway (lower tiers of INDYCAR race at Lucas Oil Raceway to gain oval experience at shorter tracks). All road and street course race weekends were double-headers.[12] All races were held in the United States.

RoundRndCircuitLocationDatePole positionFastest lapMost laps ledWinning driverWinning team
1Streets of St. PetersburgSt. Petersburg, FloridaMarch 29 Spencer Pigot Spencer Pigot Spencer Pigot Spencer PigotJuncos Racing
2March 30 Spencer Pigot Spencer Pigot Spencer Pigot Spencer PigotJuncos Racing
3Barber Motorsports ParkBirmingham, AlabamaApril 26 Spencer Pigot Spencer Pigot Spencer Pigot Spencer PigotJuncos Racing
4April 27 Scott Hargrove Spencer Pigot Spencer Pigot Spencer PigotJuncos Racing
5Indianapolis Motor Speedway road courseSpeedway, IndianaMay 9 Spencer Pigot Scott Hargrove Neil Alberico Scott Hargrove
6May 10 Spencer Pigot Scott Hargrove Scott Hargrove Scott Hargrove
7Lucas Oil Raceway at IndianapolisClermont, IndianaMay 24 Garett Grist Spencer Pigot Garett Grist Garett GristAndretti Autosport
8Reliant ParkHouston, TexasJune 28 Garett Grist Spencer Pigot Spencer Pigot Scott Hargrove
9June 29 Garett Grist Neil Alberico Spencer Pigot Spencer PigotJuncos Racing
10Mid-Ohio Sports Car CourseLexington, OhioAugust 2 Nicolas Costa Neil Alberico Nicolas Costa Nicolas CostaTeam Pelfrey
11August 3 Nicolas Costa Nicolas Costa Garett Grist Garett GristAndretti Autosport
12Milwaukee MileWest Allis, WisconsinAugust 16 Scott Hargrove
Spencer Pigot
Juncos Racing
13Sonoma RacewaySonoma, CaliforniaAugust 22 Scott Hargrove Spencer Pigot Kyle Kaiser Kyle KaiserJuncos Racing
14August 23 Scott Hargrove Scott Hargrove Scott Hargrove José GutiérrezJuncos Racing

Championship standings

Drivers' championships

PosDriverSTPBARIMSLORHOUMOHMILSONPoints
Overall
1 Spencer Pigot1*1*1*1*8839*1*461*215309
2 Scott Hargrove352211*2116632*318299
3 Neil Alberico66463*26172754212239
4 Shelby Blackstock10453217753319353235
5 Nicolas Costa81619815164251*2542224
6 Kyle Kaiser22351358815127101DSQ211
7 José Gutiérrez2099973978549111201
8 Garett Grist171787641*6991*12159199
9 Ryan Booth78710176101542127816173
10 Dalton Kellett9111011419DNS378811710160
11 Julia Ballario11720141071241015116108152
12 Kyle Connery51211171410119893
13 Michael Johnson151012201115111212171413181790
14 Pipo Derani436491888
15 Michele Bumgarner121314151613131311122079
16 Bobby Eberle14151819181214141316171466
17 Brandon Newey16181612514101363
18 Jay Horak131417181211181748
19 Felipe Donato10DNS1610201336
20 Jack Aitken9431
21 Alex Keyes6729
22 Jeff Harrison1516111329
23 Joey Bickers14622
24 Parker Nicklin131118
25 Anders Krohn517
26 Vicky Piria19DNS131317
27 Carlos Conde1418191517
28 Clark Toppe16616
29 Jason Rabe19913
30 Brian Lift19157
31 Stan Kohls16196
32 Jason Bedasse18194
Expert class
1 Bobby Eberle141518191812141413161714202
2 Jay Horak1314171814171817153
3 Jeff Harrison1516111388
4 Carlos Conde1418191566
5 Stan Kohls161937
6 Jason Rabe19923
7 Jason Bedasse181916
PosDriverSTPBARIMSLORHOUMOHMILSONPoints
ColorResult
GoldWinner
Silver2nd place
Bronze3rd place
Green4th & 5th place
Light Blue6th–10th place
Dark BlueFinished
(Outside Top 10)
PurpleDid not finish
RedDid not qualify
(DNQ)
BrownWithdrawn
(Wth)
BlackDisqualified
(DSQ)
WhiteDid not start
(DNS)
BlankDid not
participate
(DNP)
Not competing
In-line notation
BoldPole position
(1 point)
ItalicsRan fastest race lap
(1 point)
*|style="background:#F2F2F2;" align=center|Led most race laps
(1 point)|}|}|}
  • Drivers must complete 50% race distance to score main points, otherwise 1 point is awarded.

Teams' championship

PosTeamPoints
1Juncos Racing375
2Cape Motorsports w/ Wayne Taylor Racing346
3Team Pelfrey259
4Andretti Autosport238
5JDC MotorSports117
6World Speed Motorsports52
7M1 Racing45
8HAVOC Motorsport8

External links

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Notes and References

  1. http://chequeredflags.fr/usa/pro-mazda-garett-grist-et-shelby-blackstock-chez-andretti-16077 Pro Mazda – Garett Grist et Shelby Blackstock chez Andretti
  2. Web site: Allied Building Products Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Entry List. Pro Mazda Championship. IndyCar. March 25, 2014. March 26, 2014.
  3. http://www.eformulacarnews.com/news_info.php?n=13196&sid=b1c46bc98134af90aef07c89ae408267 Alberico Joins 2014 Championship Fight with Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing
  4. http://www.eformulacarnews.com/news_info.php?n=13143&sid=68bb0d0513421cab9691d94cb46de363 Johnson Moving Up Mazda Road to Indy Ladder with JDC MotorSports
  5. http://eformulacarnews.com/news_info.php?n=13341&sid=9fef7f08e544b45604a43ab811211c61 Gutierrez Joins Juncos Racing for 2014 Campaign
  6. http://eformulacarnews.com/news_info.php?n=13336&sid=42209be846d965dffb3977046d31fdcf Juncos Racing Announces Ballario
  7. http://www.eformulacarnews.com/news_info.php?n=13343 Pigot Joins Juncos Racing Title Fight
  8. http://promazdachampionship.com/news/juncos-racing-adds-kyle-kaiser-to-2014-line-up JUNCOS RACING ADDS KYLE KAISER TO 2014 LINE-UP
  9. News: Bedasse will be first Jamaican in Pro Mazda. IndyCar Series. IndyCar. March 20, 2014. March 20, 2014.
  10. http://eformulacarnews.com/news_info.php?n=13152&sid=923032f96919df362b1a5df4efb9a838 Kellett Joins Team Pelfrey for 2014 Campaign
  11. http://promazdachampionship.com/news/teams/2013/11/11-20-tpr.html Team Pelfrey Signs Brazilian Pipo Derani for 2014 Pro Mazda Championship
  12. http://indylights2014.com/2013/mazda-road-to-indy-2014-schedule-confirmed/ Mazda Road to Indy 2014 Schedule Confirmed