Innisfil, Ontario's Zack Meyer hits the streets of Long beach for the first time in an Indy Lights car this weekend.
Long Beach, California – After his debut race on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla., Canadian Zack Meyer moves on to the famed street circuit in Long Beach, Cali., for the second round of the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires season.
Meyer and his #2 TMR/DAMIS PARTNERS III/Innisfil Indy Karting/Xtreme Coil Drilling team are striving to improve from their run to eighth in St. Petersburg, hoping to put in a full weekend of work after the truncated schedule in the first round of the season.
Meyer, 21, from Innisfil, Ont., has never before been afforded the opportunity to race in Long Beach, which this weekend is celebrating its 40th running. "This is my first time here, and I have always wanted to race in Long Beach," explained Meyer. "To prepare for the race, I've been watching a lot of YouTube videos of the track, practicing online, and of course working out and staying fit."
While Meyer and his Team Moore Racing squad showed glimpses of speed during the St. Petersburg weekend, the goal for this weekend is to move further up the grid and display more consistent pace. "We have a good baseline setup and the car will be good here in Long Beach, I'm sure of that," Meyer confidently proclaimed. "As long as we get to qualify everything will be good, and we will figure out the car more and more starting with the first practice and progressing each session so that we can have both a fast qualifying setup and a fast race car. I'm excited to improve my finishing position and get some good points for the championship. Plus, I love California, so all in all I am excited to be here in Long Beach."
As Meyer prepares for his second race in the top rung of the Mazda Road to Indy ladder, he heads to the track leaving this final thought: "I'm happy to be living my dream, and I get a chance to drive a race car on the streets of California so I couldn't ask for more. Now it's time to go out there and drive hard, focus, keep pushing, and try to win. I'm going to do my best to keep improving every time I am out there."
The 21-year-old will have two practice sessions, qualifying, and the 45-lap Long Beach 100 on tap for the weekend. The Long Beach 100 is slated to take the green flag at 1:15 p.m. EDT. The television broadcast of the race will air on NBC Sports Network on a tape-delayed basis April 13 at 2:30 p.m. EDT, just prior to the broadcast of the Verizon IndyCar Series' Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
You can learn more about Zack Meyer by visiting ZackMeyer.ca, and you can also follow Zack on Twitter @ZackMeyer66 and Instagram @ZackMeyer66. If you are interested in supporting an up-and-coming Canadian racer in the Mazda Road to Indy, you may directly contact Zack Meyer to discuss sponsorship opportunities.
Long Beach 100 Fast Facts
The Track: 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary street course through downtown Long Beach
The Race: 45 laps, 88.6 miles
TV Broadcast: NBC Sports Network - Tape Delayed, Sunday, April 13, 2:30 p.m. EDT
Radio Broadcast: Live on IMS Radio Network on Sirius XM Satellite Radio, IndyCar.com, IndyCarRadio.com, and the INDYCAR app from Verizon, Sunda, April 13, 1:00 p.m. EDT
Schedule:
Friday Practice 1, 3:15-4:00 p.m. EDT
Saturday Practice 2, 10:45-11:15 a.m. EDT
Qualifying, 2:00-2:40 p.m. EDT
Sunday Race, 1:15 p.m. EDT
About Zack Meyer
A homegrown racer from Toronto, Ont., Meyer began his racing career in karting at Innisfil Indy Karting. Meyer's racing career blossomed under the tutelage of his driver coach and manager, Joe Launi. With both the support of his mother and Launi, Meyer went on to become one of the top karters for the ultra-competitive GP Racing Karts team, participating in and winning numerous KZ2 Shifter Kart events. Meyer claimed the championship for the Brian Stewart BSRKC-F125/ICC Shifter class in both 2009 and 2010, only to follow those up by claiming the championship in the KZ2 Class in the Florida Winter Tour in 2011 and 2012. Meyer made his debut in the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires in 2012 with JDC MotorSports before moving to the series full-time in 2013. Meyer posted a best finish of fourth in his home race, the Honda Indy Toronto, on his way to finishing the year as the highest-placed JDC MotorSports driver in the championship with sixth in the championship standings. For 2014, Meyer steps up to the top rung on the Mazda Road to Indy development ladder, Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, with race-winning Team Moore Racing.