W. ALLIS, Wis. – A decisive victory for Spencer Pigot in Saturday’s Allied Building Products Pro Mazda Oval Challenge enabled the talented youngster to claim a 19-point lead in the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires with just two races remaining next week at Sonoma Raceway in California.

Pigot, 20, from Orlando, Fla., was the man to beat all weekend on the historic Milwaukee Mile – one of the oldest permanent race tracks in the world. Fastest in both Friday test sessions, Pigot’s #7 Doug Mockett & Company/Rising Star Racing/Vitamin-DPro App/California Scents/OMP car also set the pace during the pair of half-hour practice sessions on Saturday. He entered the single-car qualifying session in confident form but couldn’t quite maintain his perfect record and had to settle for the fourth fastest time and a place on row two of the extremely competitive grid.

“Qualifying didn’t go as we were expecting but if you miss the setup, or anything, by a little bit, it’s so close here that it can cost you quite a few positions,” related Pigot. “Luckily we still started on the second row but we knew the important thing was the race and it was a long race and that’s where the majority of the points are paid out.”

Pigot lost no time in working his way forward. Tucked in behind main series rival Scott Hargrove, who qualified fractionally ahead of Pigot in third, the pair was up onto first and second by Lap 3. Pigot looked in vain for a way past during the opening stages of the 90-lap race before deciding to tuck in behind and wait for a clear opportunity to make his move. It came following a restart on Lap 47, when Pigot dived to the inside on the entry to Turn One.

“I just put my nose down low and kept my foot in it until I saw heard ‘clear’ on the radio and then I just tried to take care of it from there,” related Pigot. “It was a good pass; he left me room – not much room, just enough.”

Once in clean air Pigot quickly eked out an advantage which stretched to over two seconds before another full-course caution which left enough time for merely a four-lap, four-mile dash to the checkered flags.

“I really didn’t need that last restart,” said Pigot. “I knew it was quite a long way down to Turn One so it’s easy to get a run. I knew if he got to the inside it would be tricky because that’s how I got past him so I just tried to leave him the bad lane, and luckily he got a bit of aero wash when I was tracking out (of Turn Two) and that was that.”

Pigot duly reeled off the remaining laps to secure his sixth win of the season. He now leads Hargrove by 289 points to 271 going into the final weekend of the season.

“We made some great changes after qualifying and as always the Juncos guys gave me a car capable of winning the race, so I’m happy I could do that for them,” said Pigot. “As always it was tough racing with Scott but very clean, aggressive racing. I had one opportunity on a restart and was able to get it done and I just put my head down from there. I have to say a big thanks to the team, Doug Mockett & Company, Vitamin-DPro App, Rising Star Racing, California Scents, The Stutz, OMP America, RaceLite Protection and everyone else who has made it possible for me. We have two races to go. I’m very confident going into Sonoma. It’s been a great season, we’ve been fast all year so I don’t see that changing and I’m much more confident with the win here instead of being second.”

ABOUT SPENCER PIGOT:
Spencer Pigot, 20, won numerous state and national karting championships before moving to cars in 2009. He won the 2010 BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Powered by Mazda, earning a MAZDASPEED Driver Development scholarship to contest the 2011 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda. After dominating the Cooper Tires Winterfest, winning five of six races, Pigot finished second in the “regular season” with three wins and four poles to his name. He also finished second in 2012, winning eight of the 14 races. Pigot was awarded Team USA Scholarships both in 2010 and 2011, and this year has been invited to join the new Rising Star Racing program, also designed to help fund deserving young drivers. His goal is to compete in the Verizon IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500. Follow Spencer at www.spencerpigot.com or on Facebook (Spencer Pigot Racing) and Twitter (@spencerpigot).