Michele Bumgarner will compete in the final two Pro Mazda races of the season -- the Allied Building Products Grand Prix of Houston in early October.

Bumgarner, a native of the Philippines, will enter the event as a tune-up for 2014. She plans to join the series for a full season of competition with support from Mazda Philippines.

"I am really excited that all of this has come together," said Bumgarner, who competed in a limited Star Mazda season in 2008. "I am looking forward to getting back in the seat and getting some laps in the car. To be able to have a race this season in preparation for next year is a real gift and I want to thank Mazda Philippines for that opportunity."

Bumgarner will race with Sonoma, Calif.-based World Speed Motorsports alongside the team's regular driver Kyle Kaiser. She tested her car with WSM at Sonoma Raceway on Sept. 11.

"Michele has an impressive racing background," noted World Speed Motorsports president Telo Stewart. "She has been very focused, and doing extremely well in preliminary testing in the updated Pro Formula Mazda, which is quite different from the car she raced in 2008. We are looking forward to helping her reach her goals on the Mazda Road to Indy.”

Cast your helmet votes

Andretti Autosport driver James Hinchcliffe is calling on fans to vote for the helmet design he’ll wear in the MAVTV 500 at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., on Oct. 19. Vote HERE.

Also, the helmet design that receives the most votes (click HERE to vote through Sept. 16) will be worn by Graham Rahal in the IZOD IndyCar Series finale.

Following the race, the Graham Rahal Foundation will auction the helmet at http://Celebrity.eBay.com to raise funds for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for Childhood Cancer and SeriousFun Children’s Network.

Josef Newgarden's softer sideOf note

There was a high “Awwwwww” factor last week as Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing driver Josef Newgarden is featured in an ad with a cat named Marc Jacobs. The ad is part of a Show Your Soft Side public service campaign aimed to combat animal abuse in the Baltimore area. . idegy, a Columbus, Ohio-based boutique merchandising agency, has signed an agreement to become the Official Promotional Merchandise Partner of Chip Ganassi Racing Teams. … An INDYCAR bulletin sent to teams said that any manufacturer test days during the remainder of the Firestone Indy Lights season in preparation for 2014 will not be charged against an entrant’s in-season allotment.