Premium synthetic lubricant and performance chemical manufacturer, Royal Purple®, awarded one driver in each of the three Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires series with the Royal Purple “Slickest Pass,” Award, a $5,000 check to aid them in reaching their goal of racing in the Indy 500. Royal Purple presented Felix Serralles, Will Owen and Parker Thompson with the check at the September 12 Road to Indy awards banquet.
As part of their participation in the Mazda Road to Indy Series, all drivers were qualified to participate in the “Slickest Pass” competition. For the Pro Mazda and the USF2000 series, each driver submitted a video clip of their best pass in the series to Royal Purple for a chance to be considered. Owen received the “Slickest Pass” for the Pro Mazda Series and Parker Thompson received the bonus check for the USF2000 Series. Felix Serralles was the winner of the Indy Lights Series and won as a result of a vote held on Royal Purple’s social media channels.
Royal Purple serves as the official oil of the Mazda Road to Indy.
“Mazda Road to Indy gives young riders and teams a variety of great opportunities to gain experience both on and off the track,” said Debby Neubauer, Royal Purple’s Vice President of Marketing. “We are honored to be a part of the experience for the cars and the drivers while having the chance to watch each of the drivers grow their individual racing careers.”
For more information on Royal Purple and its full line of synthetic lubricants and performance chemical additives, please visit www.RoyalPurple.com.
With a total of 317 points, 21-year old Owen ended his second year of the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires in fourth place. Every race, with one 11th place finish as the exception, was in the top 10of the field with eight of those finishes being on the podium. His entry for the Royal Purple "Slickest Pass" Award comes from race two at Mid-Ohio in July of 2016 (view pass).
"I would like to thank Royal Purple for hosting this competition," said Owen. "I think it was a really good idea. The video I entered was from race two in Mid-Ohio on the first lap. I felt like this pass would be a good contender in the competition for a few different reasons.
"First, I was able to pass two people which is pretty unusual in open-wheel racing. Plus, it was on the outside, which adds to the originality. The third reason I thought the judges would like it is because of how close we all got to making contact. There was just enough room to squeeze by and I used all of the track.
"For those reasons I felt like it was a unique enough pass to deserve the award and I'm very thankful for the opportunity to submit it into the contest. The prize money from Royal Purple is special to me because it is some of the first prize money I have ever won in my racing career."
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About Will Owen:
Will Owen began karting in 2010 at the age of 15 and quickly developed a passion for racing. After completing his first year competing for local clubs, he moved up to regional and national races. He quickly gained speed and racing experience over the next couple of years, competing in the Rotax Challenge of the Americas, Florida Winter Tour, SKUSA Supernationals and many other series.
Continuing his racing career, Will began testing in a Formula Mazda and by August of 2013 had competed in five Formula Mazda events finishing 1st in three of the races. In 2014 Will completed a full season of USF2000, part of the Mazda Road to Indy series. He ended up achieving four top ten finishes, including one historic win at the Inaugural Indianapolis Grand Prix.
In 2015 he added to his MRTI resume moving up to the Pro Mazda Championship with series winning team, Juncos Racing. His rookie season brought him a rewarding six podiums and 14 top ten finishes.
Before starting his second season of the Pro Mazda Championship with Juncos Racing in 2016, Owen took on the challenge of his first international racing endeavor. The Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand, consisting of five straight weekends spanning the country with a total of 15 races.
Will is also a student at Texas Christian University in Ft. Worth, Texas where he is currently pursing his undergrad in Finance.