The balance of power in this year’s Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda – step one on the acclaimed Mazda Road to Indy which provides Mazda scholarships to assist talented drivers in moving from the grassroots of the sport to the Verizon Indy Car Series and the Indianapolis 500 – shifted during the two most recent races.

Michael Scott, 21, from Te Puke, New Zealand, became the first of a projected 20 drivers from around the globe to earn an invitation to the inaugural end-of-season Mazda Road to Indy $200K Scholarship Shootout.

The competitive racing world knows Joel Miller as the driver of the No. 70 Mazda Prototype in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. But outside the car, the 27-year-old Californian acts as the Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda driver coach and mentor, helping to train the series’ young drivers on what it takes to succeed on the Mazda Road to Indy and beyond.

Canada’s Parker Thompson secured a clean sweep of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix of Alabama, capitalizing on his maiden victory yesterday and winning again this afternoon for Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing to take the championship lead

Second-year driver Parker Thompson blitzed the field today in the first of two races which will comprise the Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix of Alabama this weekend at Barber Motorsports Park