INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.  – There is no better place to up your game than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

For Rising Star Racing, it was another big day at the epicenter of the sport on Saturday as Pro Mazda driver Neil Alberico took a repeat podium finish in Round 6 of the Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tires championship.

Following up his third place finish in Race 1 at Indianapolis on Friday, Alberico went one better in Race 2 to take the runner-up result after staging a massive comeback in the 20-lap race. Fellow Rising Star Racing pilot Spencer Pigot suffered a frustrating weekend, but also fought back to emerge from the event holding on to his lead in the championship.

The second place finish wasn’t easy for Alberico, who started seventh on the 19-car grid. Alberico’s No. 2 Bondurant School/eFormulaCarNews.com/J&M Trophy/Rising StarRacing Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing car was caught up in a multi-car incident in the first turn which saw Alberico fighting back from the tail end of the field.

On the restart, Alberico was setting lap times on pace with those of the leaders and quickly worked his way forward. He moved into the sixth position within five laps as he masterfully maneuvered around his fellow Pro Mazda competitors through the green flag run. Another full course caution slowed the action on Lap 12. But when the field went back to green, Alberico took full advantage of some dicing on the restart and leapfrogged up the order to run third in line.

A caution late in the race set up a three-lap dash to the checkered flag as Alberico restarted third. He put the lessons learned in Race 1 to good use as he made a perfect pass through Turn 1 to take over the second position.

“The race was definitely a battle against adversity, but the guys at Cape Motorsports were on the radio telling me to keep pushing because I was fast,” said Alberico. “So I was able to make the right moves and some calculated moves. I obviously wanted to finish the race, but I also needed as many points as I could get. So I caught up to my teammate Scott (Hargrove) for second. So it was a great job for the team and for Rising Star Racing and the whole weekend went great so we are looking forward to the oval in a couple of weeks.”

Meanwhile, for the second race in a row, his Rising Star Racing teammate Spencer Pigot once again faced frustration in Indianapolis.

After starting from the pole in the No. 7 Doug Mockett & Company/Rising Star Racing/Vitamin-DPro App/California Scents/Juncos Racing machine, Pigot ran second through the opening 14 laps of the race. He looked poised to take a podium finish in the second race of the Grand Prix of Indianapolis weekend, only to get spun from behind on a Lap 15 restart.

Pigot was able to continue, but found himself in nearly the same situation as the day before which saw him fighting his way back through the field as he set lap times equivalent to those of the lead pack of cars. He managed to make his way up to 11th prior to the final restart, making a final surge in the closing laps to score eighth at the finish and valuable points toward the Pro Mazda championship.

The result sees Pigot remain at the top of the championship standings heading into Round 7 at Lucas Oil Raceway which marks the first oval race of the season and the big ‘Night Before the 500’ race event.