Royal Purple Synthetic Oil to Headline Mazda Road to Indy Rounds at Indianapolis Three Tiers of Ladder System to Support Lupus Foundation of America and the Indiana Chapter PALMETTO, Fla. (May 4, 2017) – Royal Purple Synthetic Oil – the Official Oil of the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires – will take its partnership with the driver development ladder system one step further. The world’s leading lubricant company will title all six rounds of competition at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 12 and 13. All races will be in support of the Lupus Foundation of America. Royal Purple Synthetic Oil continues to expand its role within the Mazda Road to Indy. Last year the company debuted the Royal Purple Synthetic Oil “Slickest Pass” Award where a season-ending honor and $5,000 cash prize is given to competitors in each of the following series: •Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda •Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires •Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires “We are extremely proud of our partnership with the Mazda Road to Indy and look forward to helping young talent outperform the competition as they journey through major milestones in their careers, while also being able to help raise funds in the fight against lupus,” said Davey Hamilton, Director of Sponsorships at Royal Purple Synthetic Oil. “The color purple represents lupus awareness and this is a perfect partnership for the Royal Purple brand.” May is Lupus Awareness Month, and Royal Purple Synthetic Oil and the Mazda Road to Indy have joined forces to help bring attention to this mysterious chronic autoimmune disease which sees 16,000 new cases reported each year. All 50-plus cars across the three series will carry a decal in support of the Lupus Foundation of America, and a special hashtag – #RaceToEndLupus – will be utilized throughout the event. Fans can show their support by donating on behalf of their favorite drivers via a special page on the national Lupus Foundation of America’s website: www.lupus.org/racing Belardi Auto Racing, spearheaded by team owner Brian Belardi and team manager John Brunner, has been a staunch supporter of the Lupus Foundation of America and its Indiana Chapter. “When a close friend of our team, Emilee Hunt, was diagnosed with lupus, we decided to put the Lupus Foundation of America decals on our Indy Lights cars to help raise awareness each May,” said Brunner. “That was 2014, and when we heard many other competitors commenting about how Lupus affected someone in their lives as well, we at Belardi Racing contacted our partners at the Mazda Road to Indy to propose a much bigger campaign that highlights this disease during the Indy Grand Prix weekend. Since the official color of lupus awareness is purple, the folks at Royal Purple Synthetic Oil saw an opportunity and stepped up to share their sponsorship of the [MRTI Indy GP] with the Lupus Foundation of America and the local Chapter.” The Grand Prix of Indianapolis Presented by Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Supporting the Lupus Foundation of America and its Indiana Chapter will open with a test day for all three series on Thursday, May 11, followed by a pair of races for each level on May 12 and 13. In addition to enjoying a trackside suite, guests from Royal Purple and the Lupus Foundation of America’s Indiana Chapter will participate in an array of activities including waving the green and checkered flags, trophy presentations and pace car rides. The Lupus Foundation of America, Indiana Chapter will host a booth in the IndyCar fan village on May 12th and will disseminate educational materials and branded merchandise out to visitors. “We are so pleased David Hunt approached us about this exciting partnership to honor Emilee’s fight with lupus. Emilee has been a past Indiana Chapter volunteer and we are hopeful these efforts will bring much needed support for increased research on lupus and greater interest in our Chapter activities in Indiana,” said Morgan E. McGill, CEO, Lupus Foundation of America, Indiana Chapter. “We are delighted to see our partnership with Royal Purple Synthetic Oil continue to grow,” said Dan Andersen, Owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions. “Royal Purple is an enthusiastic partner in addition to providing our three series with high-quality products. We are proud to support their efforts to bring awareness to the Lupus Foundation of America and the Indiana Chapter, and we hope that drivers, teams and fans will donate to help eradicate this disease.” As a preamble to the event, highlights from the Royal Purple Synthetic Oil “Slickest Pour Race” held at Barber Motorsports Park with a handful of drivers in the Mazda Road to Indy will be distributed on social media as a teaser for the weekend. Live streaming of the Grand Prix of Indianapolis Presented by Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Supporting the Lupus Foundation of America will be available on the series’ respective websites, at indycar.com, on the Road to Indy TV App and Xbox One. Saturday’s Indy Lights race will air on NBCSN on May 21 at 2:00 am EDT. ### About Royal Purple: Royal Purple is the world’s leading lubricant company: The Performance Oil That Outperforms®. Its product portfolio includes a complete line of premium synthetic lubricants and performance chemicals for automotive, commercial trucking and industrial applications. With its proprietary Synerlec® technology serving as the cornerstone for most of the company’s products, Royal Purple lubricants excel in head-to-head performance tests by outperforming the competition. For additional information about Royal Purple, visit www.royalpurple.com or call toll-free 888-382-6300. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter/Instagram. About the Lupus Foundation: The Lupus Foundation of America is the only national force devoted to solving the mystery of lupus, one of the world’s cruelest, most unpredictable, and devastating diseases, while giving caring support to those who suffer from its brutal impact. We envision a life free of lupus. Our mission is to improve the quality of life for all people affected by lupus through programs of research, education, support and advocacy. For more information, visit lupus.org. About Mazda, Mazda Motorsports: Mazda Motorsports boasts the most comprehensive auto racing development ladder system of any auto manufacturer in the world. The Mazda Road to 24 program offers a number of scholarships to advance drivers up the sports car racing ladder, beginning with the Global MX-5 Cup series and culminating with the Mazda Prototype team. The Mazda Road to Indy is a similar program that includes Mazda-powered categories of USF2000, Pro Mazda and Indy Lights. In grassroots road racing, more Mazdas race on any given weekend in North America than any other manufacturer. Mazda is also the title sponsor of the renowned Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif. Follow all of the latest news at MazdaMotorsports.com, @MazdaRacing on Twitter, and MazdaMotorsports on Instagram and Facebook. About Cooper Tire & Rubber Company: Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is the parent company of a global family of companies that specializes in the design, manufacture, marketing and sale of innovative, great-performing tires that you can count on to last for thousands of miles, getting you where you need to go, and back again. Cooper is proud to be the spec tire for all three levels of the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires, a development program within the IndyCar racing series. Cooper tires can also be seen on the track as a sponsor in the short course off-road TORC Series. Headquartered in Findlay, Ohio, Cooper, with its subsidiaries, has manufacturing, sales, distribution, technical and design operations in more than one dozen countries around the world. To connect with Cooper, visit www.coopertire.com, www.facebook.com/coopertire or www.twitter.com/coopertire. Contacts: Tamy Valkosky, Public Relations 949.842.3946 Cellular [email protected] Diane Swintal, Public Relations Coordinator 949.439.7871 Cellular [email protected] Brian Alexander JMPR Public Relations (for Royal Purple) [email protected] Mike Donnelly, Communications Director Lupus Foundation of America 202-349-1155 Morgan E. McGill, JD CEO, Lupus Foundation of America, Indiana Chapter 317.225.4400 or [email protected] .