INDIANAPOLIS – Pato O’Ward claimed an unprecedented sixth win in the 2016 Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires season in what has become typical domination fashion.
The Mexican driver dominated the 90-lap Carb Night Classic at Lucas Oil Raceway, leading every lap on the 0.686-mile oval and facing only a small challenge at the end from Juncos Racing’s Garrett Grist.
Grist managed to cut a few tenths of a second off O’Ward’s lead toward the end, but it wasn’t enough as O’Ward kept him at bay and crossed the line by a margin of 0.4117 of a second.
“This race was definitely not easy at all,” said O’Ward, the Team Pelfrey driver who turned 17 on May 6. “I had pressure on the 90 laps and at the end I really couldn’t really feel my toes. I’m just really stoked for the Team Pelfrey guys.”
O’Ward has won five straight races, finishing second in the only race he hasn’t won in 2016. He holds a 55-point lead over Telitz after seven events.
Grist led a 2-3-4 finish for Juncos Racing, followed by Nicolas Dapero and Jake Parsons. Team Pelfrey’s Aaron Telitz completed the top five.
Martin outduels teammate for USF2000 win
Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing competed a picture-perfect month of May as Anthony Martin claimed his first win on an oval at Lucas Oil Raceway in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda.
The Aussie driver pressured teammate and pole sitter Parker Thompson most of the 75-lap race, Martin’s car coming to life as the leaders navigated lapped traffic. Martin overtook Thompson for good on Lap 61 and survived a brief fight with the lapped car of Garth Rickards to take the win.
“My car was quite good behind the cars, a little bit better than Parker’s,” Martin said. “As soon as he got in the wash of the car in front of him, that’s when I really caught up to him quickly.
“I was able to get the move done and pass both cars and pull away a little bit.”
Victor Franzoni finished third for Arms Up Motorsports. Thompson leads the USF2000 championship by 26 points over Martin after seven of 16 races.