Newton, Iowa – Will Owen returns to the #23 AMR Juncos Racing machine this weekend for the second oval race of the year in the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires. The young rookie will compete for the first time in his career at Iowa Speedway and will look to carry strong momentum on the ovals after finishing a close second at Lucas Oil Raceway in May.
Owen, who currently stands eighth in the championship with 161 points, finished fifth in the last free practice today at the .875-mile oval only one tenth behind his teammate Jose Gutierrez who was quickest. The 20-year-old driver will look to score his first career Pro Mazda victory this weekend with three events remaining in the 2015 season.
Qualifying for the Pro Mazda field at Iowa will take place tomorrow at 1:00pm CST with the race following at 4:15pm CST.
Will Owen
#23 AMR/Juncos Racing /Pro Mazda/Cooper Tires
“This is the seventh round of the championship and it's looking like it's going to be a pretty good weekend. I think the cars are strong and we have a good chance of doing well. I finished off my last oval really well so I feel confident going into this race, but my expectations are open and I'm ready to go."
For more information and up to the minute updates, images, and information you can follow Will at www.facebook.com/williamowenracing, www.twitter.com/wowen23, www.instagram.com/wowen23.
About Will Owen:
In 2014 Owen made a big impression within the IndyCar community after taking his first career victory at the Inaugural Grand Prix of Indianapolis, and also scored multiple top-10s during his rookie year. The Denver native now resides in Fort Worth and is a full time student at Texas Christian University (TCU) where he is currently pursuit a Bachelors of Business Administration Finance.
He began karting in 2010 at the age of 15 and quickly developed a passion for kart racing. After completing his first year racing local club races at the Track at Centennial, his home kart track, he developed a relationship with Brandon and Eric Jones of Kartsport North America and began competing in regional and national races. He quickly gained speed and racing experience over the next couple of years.
He has competed in the Rotax Challenge of the Americas, Florida Winter Tour, SKUSA Supernationals and many other series. He competed in a large number of races in 2011 and 2012 to gain vital experience he missed from starting karting later than most drivers. In 2012, Owen competed in 22 karting events including national, regional and local series earning a total of eight wins and several podium finishes. Most recently he was ranked 20th in the e-karting news Tag Senior national rankings.
Wanting to continue his racing career, he began testing in a Formula Mazda with Moses Smith of Texas Autosports late in 2012. Owen enjoyed the transition into open wheel racecars and over the course of the USF2000 season, he achieved four top ten finishes, including one win during the Indy Road Course. In 2015 Owen moved up to the Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires with Juncos Racing where he will take on his biggest challenge yet.