Kirkwood, 19, from Jupiter, Fla., the reigning US F4 champion, qualified second behind young Mexican Jose Sierra (DEForce Racing) but took the lead at the first corner and never looked back on his way to an impressive debut victory in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda

Cooper Tire and Mazda continue their efforts to assist young drivers in developing their brand and message with platforms that include the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires Hashtag Program, which rewards drivers and teams for utilizing the #MRTI and #TeamCooperTire hashtags on Twitter and Instagram.

Fans attending the St. Petersburg Grand Prix this weekend will be given a unique opportunity to test their skills against some of the biggest names in the sport as well as rising stars in the Mazda Road to Indy “Beat the Pros Challenge” presented by Andersen RacePark to benefit Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital.

All three levels of the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires open-wheel development ladder will hit the ground running in Florida this coming weekend, March 9-11, in support of the headline Verizon Indy Car Series as part of the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg.

Rookies Kyle Kirkwood and Rasmus Lindh laid down a marker over the past two days by posting the fastest times among 23 drivers from the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda who took advantage of the annual Spring Training test on the 2.21-mile Homestead-Miami Speedway road course.