New Orleans, La. – Will Owen returns to NOLA Motorsports Park this weekend for the second round of the 2015 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, the same track where he scored his first career Pro Mazda podium finishes during the Cooper Tires Winterfest championship in February.
The Juncos Racing driver has impressed the Mazda Road to Indy community by being an immediate front-runner as a rookie during the first events of the year. Owen began his climb up the ladder last year when he competed in the USF2000 Championship presented by Cooper Tires and in 2015 made the next step up to the highly competitive Pro Mazda Championship.
The beginning of the season saw Owen score consistent eighth-place finishes during the first two rounds on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., but the 20-year-old TCU student is looking to get back to the front of the pack and repeat his podium performances at NOLA.
It will be a challenging weekend for all the young drivers of the Pro Mazda grid as the weather forecast suggests non-stop rain throughout the event.
The Pro Mazda cars will hit the track for the first time for the Mazda Grand Prix of Louisiana Thursday for a promoter's test and the two official practice sessions will take place this Friday. Qualifying will be Saturday at 10:40am CST followed by race #1 at 5:50pm CST. Race #2 will begin on Sunday at 12:50pm CST.
Live timing and results can be found at www.promazdachampionship.com. 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.
Will Owen
Driver
#23 Juncos Racing /Pro Mazda/Cooper Tires
“I’m pretty excited for round two of the championship here in New Orleans. The weather is obviously not going to be the best over the weekend but I'll just have to keep in mind that it’s not something I can control and I’ll do my best with the conditions because it will be the same for everyone.
"Last time we were at NOLA we were very strong so I have a lot of confidence coming back here. Regardless of the weather I know the Juncos team will give me a great car and that they’ll be able to help me adapt to the conditions. I’m looking forward to another podium finish here!”
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.