Team Pelfrey Teammates Pigot and Costa Round Out Podium
Houston, Texas – While Andretti Autosport’s Matthew Brabham locked up the Pro Mazda Championship Powered by Cooper Tires title prior to this weekend’s season-ending pair of Allied Building Products Grand Prix of Houston races, it didn’t stop the 19-year-old from continuing his winning ways. Brabham was solid out-of-the-gate on the 1.634-miles, 10-turn temporary street circuit, starting on pole and claiming another victory to break his own records of most wins (12) and podiums (14) in a single season. He has now added one more record to his sensational season, besting 2012 champion Jack Hawksworth for most fastest race laps with 12.
Spencer Pigot of Team Pelfrey, who qualified third, was able to pass Brabham’s teammate and front row starter Shelby Blackstock on Lap 2 to finish second and claim his fifth podium of the season – which included a debut win at the Canadian Tire Motorsports Park – and valuable points. Pigot is now two markers shy of Blackstock, who is currently third in the standings heading into the finale tomorrow.
Nicolas Costa made a return appearance with Team Pelfrey after a partial season of six races, which included two third-place drives. Costa, who last competed at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in August, had no problem dusting off the cobwebs. After qualifying sixth, he quickly made his way up to fifth before a slight mishap sent him back to seventh. He rebounded, making his way through the field to a third-place drive.
Blackstock was relegated to fourth with Diego Ferreira of Juncos Racing in fifth – his first time off the podium in the past six races. With his result today and season tally of one win and 11 top-three finishes, Ferreira has solidified his runner-up finish in the championship.
Jay Horak of M1 Racing picked up his first Expert Class win today to take the championship lead heading into tomorrow’s finale.
Contingency awards included the Quarter Master Hard Charger Award which went to Costa for a gain of three positions, the Staubli Award to Michael Whelden of World Speed Motorsports, and the PFC Award to the winning team of Andretti Autosport.
Race 2 of the Allied Building Products Grand Prix of Houston will be green at 7:45 am CT.
Matthew Brabham, #83 MAZDASPEED/AFS Racing/Team Andretti Autosport (Andretti Autosport) – First: “I think the person that had the least pressure on him this weekend is my dad. Last year, when it came to the wire between Spencer and myself for the championship, he was wearing the bottom of his shoes off. I just went with the flow this weekend. I am having fun and enjoying it while it lasts. This is a great track. I find it a lot of fun and it is very challenging with the bumps and how the track is – it really separates the really good drivers from the good drivers.”
Spencer Pigot, #81 Doug Mockett & Company/Gap Guard/Parathyroid.com/California Scents/OMP (Team Pelfrey) – Second: “At the beginning of the race, I was able to get by Shelby on Lap 2 and I was trying to catch up to Matt. This is the first weekend in a long time that we have been this competitive and it is good to be up here fighting for podium positions. Overall, it was a good race and I am happy to be back on the podium.”
Nicolas Costa, #82 Pelfrey Performance/GetGapGuard.com/Alufama/Inova Mkt. (Team Pelfrey) – Third: “The race was quite hard in every sense, but especially physically. For me to struggle with heat is really hard because I come from a really hot city. Today was the toughest race physically for me because it was so humid. The track is great. It was a fun race. I exchanged positions a lot of times with several drivers. In the end, I was able to carry good momentum and close up on Shelby and finish on the podium. I am very pleased for the podium especially because we were never in the top three in practice. To charge for the podium is unbelievable and I have to thank everyone who helped me come back to Pro Mazda and Team Pelfrey.”
Jay Horak, #37 AutoEnginuity (M1 Racing) – First Expert: “This circuit was a little hard for me. I have done street circuits but I didn’t have the confidence to really get in deep in some of these corners with a lot of speed. I started building it up at the end there and feel a little more comfortable. This is definitely a race I will remember; it was one heck of a race. It was very challenging.”