Indianapolis, Ind. – Team Pelfrey announced today that current Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda driver, TJ Fischer, will move up to the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires for the rest of the 2016 season.

“Moving up to Team Pelfrey Pro Mazda is something that I’ve thought about for a while now,” said the 22 year-old Californian. “For me, it’s more than just about the opportunity to race with the defending champions and their experience, but to do so alongside guys like Aaron Telitz and Pato O’Ward will really help me develop and grow my career.”

Fischer’s 2016 rookie campaign in USF2000 has been one of consistency. The Vacaville, Calif.-native has recorded three top-10 finishes in the six contested rounds at St. Petersburg, Birmingham and at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. The move to Pro Mazda will also be one of comfort in the cockpit.

“We are delighted to have TJ graduate to our Pro Mazda program and stay within the Team Pelfrey family,” said Jonny Baker, director of team operations for Team Pelfrey. “ With the NO. 81 car opening up, it was simply too good an opportunity to pass up and with his experience in Europe and expectations for the future, we all agreed that such a move made a lot of sense. He will fit in very well with our current drivers and team members, of that I have no doubt, and I expect him to learn a lot from them and deliver promising results.”

“I’ve enjoyed the Team Pelfrey atmosphere and the team over on the USF2000 side, but I was never physically comfortable behind the wheel because the cockpit is very tight and I was experiencing pain and discomfort” said Fischer.

Fischer is a former collegiate football player and one of the tallest drivers on the Mazda Road to Indy, standing at 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighing in around 185 lbs.

“I’m excited to begin testing tomorrow with the entire crew and to learn from Pato and Aaron. We have a great team and being able to record my first laps in the Pro Mazda car at Mid-Ohio will be a great start to the rest of my season.”

Team Pelfrey drivers Pato O’Ward and Aaron Telitz have won every race this year and lead the championship in first and second place respectively. The team won the 2015 Pro Mazda Championship with Santiago Urrutia, who currently drives for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires.

For more information about Team Pelfrey and today’s announcement, please visit team-pelfrey.com and follow us on Twitter @TeamPelfrey.