Clermont, Ind. - Spencer Pigot arrived in Indianapolis on a mission. The 18-year-old from Orlando, Fla., has his sights set firmly on a career in the IZOD IndyCar Series with an ultimate goal of winning the Indianapolis 500. This week, during the lead-up to the 96th running of the Memorial Weekend classic, Pigot took part in various activities put on by the Mazda Road to Indy Development Ladder, including pacing the field for Friday's Freedom 100 Indy Lights race in his USF2000 Van Diemen-Mazda; but what he wanted more than anything was to win Saturday night's fifth round of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda which was held as part of the traditional "Night Before the 500" at Lucas Oil Raceway in Indianapolis.
Pigot realized that goal -- in style. He qualified second, behind Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing teammate Matthew Brabham, but emerged ahead of his rival after a tense, wheel-to-wheel battle that saw them running side-by-side around the 0.686-mile oval for eight consecutive laps. Pigot then controlled the remainder of the race to claim his fourth victory of the season. He now holds a six-point advantage, 146-140, over Brabham in the championship standings.
"Wow, that was an awesome race," said an ecstatic Pigot. "I haven't raced that hard and that close ever in my life, so I've got to thank Matt. It was really hard but we both gave each other room. I ran some of my fastest laps when we were together like that, so we were both pushing really hard. He was edging me out some laps; I was edging him out some laps, but eventually I got by him and was able to slowly pull away. I really wanted to win this race here in Indianapolis, so I have to thank everyone at Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing, Team Pelfrey, Doug Mockett & Company, E-merging Technologies, Parathyroid.com, California Scents, Mazda, Cooper Tires and everyone who has made this possible for me.
"This was like our own mini Indy 500," he continued. "We've been here for almost a week and all the media events and doing the pace laps at the Speedway before the Indy Lights race has been awesome. I can't imagine going around there another 150 mph faster but hopefully one day I'll get to try. It's been an incredible week and I'm just glad it's all over and we got the win."
ABOUT SPENCER PIGOT:
Spencer Pigot, 18, won numerous state and national karting championships before graduating to cars in 2009. He won the 2010 BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Powered by Mazda, earning a scholarship via the MAZDASPEED Driver Development Program to contest the 2011 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda. Pigot finished second in the title-chase with three wins, four poles and a track record to his name, and won five of six races to claim the 2012 Cooper Tires Winterfest mini-series. He also won prestigious Team USA Scholarships both in 2010 and 2011. His goal is to compete in the IZOD IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500. Follow Spencer at www.spencerpigot.com or on Facebook (Spencer Pigot Racing) and Twitter (@spencerpigot).
For more information, please email: spencer@spencerpigot.com.