Rising Star Racing Opens 2015 Season with Victory, Pole in St. Pete
 March 28, 2015| 
  • Team News

St. Petersburg, Fla.  – The IndyCar season opener in St. Petersburg started out with a strong taste of champagne for Rising Star Racing as Neil Alberico drove to victory in the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires.

Alberico led the charge to start the Rising Star Racing season in a big way on Saturday when he grabbed his very first-ever Pro Mazda Championship pole for the Allied Building Products Grand Prix of St. Pete after laying down a flying lap of 1:11.6765-seconds.

Dominating the day, Alberico led Race 1 from flag to flag, developing over a two-second gap, even after a late-race caution bunched the field back up with less than 10 minutes remaining to race. The win marks his first in Pro Mazda competition and the young driver hopes it is the first of many to come this season.

“On a street course like this, qualifying is half the battle,” said Alberico of his pole-winning effort. “So to qualify on pole made my job a little bit easier. A big thanks to the Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing guys. It couldn't have been better than pole today and then the first win so a big thanks to them. Thank you to MOBĒ, new associate sponsor D-A Lubricant Company, and also the guys at Rising Star Racing who put together a deal for me to be on the grid for this year which was huge. Without them I wouldn't be at this race. So to be on pole and then take the win is a huge testament to those guys. Thank you so much.”

The success tasted even sweeter for Alberico as he was pleased to host guests from key-sponsor MOBĒ as well as Olympic swimmer Tyler Clary.

Alberico looks for another successful day on Sunday as Pro Mazda Race 2 is set to go green at 9:50 AM ET ahead of the Verizon IndyCar Series Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg at 3:00 PM ET LIVE on ABC.

Fellow Rising Star Racing driver Josef Newgarden will start 10th in tomorrow's Firestone Grand Prix of St. Pete following Saturday's Verizon IndyCar Series qualifying.

  • Danny
     3.14.24| 
    • Team News
  • Dempsey
     3.12.24| 
    • Team News
  • mossman
     3.12.24| 
    • Team News
  • Sceats
     3.12.24| 
    • Team News
  • Johnson_1200x450
     3.10.24| 
    • Series News