Not so long ago, teenaged Mexican Patricio “Pato” O’Ward was looking like an odds-on favorite for this year’s Pro Mazda championship and a substantial Mazda scholarship to assist in the graduation to Indy Lights, the next step on the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires, in 2017. But how quickly things can change.

Today, Cooper Tires increases its support by becoming the presenting sponsor of the highly acclaimed driver development ladder which will now be known as the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires.

Mazda Scholarship driver Jamin heads to the site of last year's USF2000 sweep

The 48-year-old competitor turned in his best performance to date, running wheel-to-wheel in the pack with the Championship class drivers, en route to winning the National category on both Saturday and Sunday.

All three levels of the acclaimed Mazda Road to Indy – Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda – will converge on Indianapolis Motor Speedway on October 8/9 for the sixth annual Chris Griffis Memorial Open Test.