Levi Jones will be joining INDYCAR as the new director of the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires series (Photo Courtesy of Penske Entertainment)

The Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires series, the top rung of the Road To Indy ladder, will have new leadership to start the new INDYCAR era of promotion. Today, the sanctioning body announced that veteran United States Auto Club driver and executive Levi Jones will be the director of Indy Lights.

“My entire career has been in racing, and moving to INDYCAR and Indy Lights is the perfect next step,” said the 39-year-old. “I look forward to the opportunity to continue to grow Indy Lights and expand its legacy and position as the ideal final step before the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

“It’s hard to put into words what joining an organization like INDYCAR really means. When you’re in racing, you always want to be a part of the biggest and the best. This is a dream come true.”

Jones, a winner of seven United States Auto Club (USAC) national championships – five Sprint car titles between 2005 & 2011 and two Silver Crown championships in 2010 & 2011 – will take over Indy Lights on November 1, 2021.

Most recently, Jones, who joined USAC in 2015, was the sanctioning bodies, executive vice president, working on all aspects of the day-to-day operation of the multitude of series, from maintaining and executing annual rule books, managing sponsorship for each series, negotiating sanctioning agreements, personnel management to working as race director for the Camping World SRX Series in its inaugural season in 2021

Kyle Kirkwood, who won the Indy Lights championship last week, will look to join the 34 Indy Lights grads that have won an Indy car race.

Those 34 drivers have won 262 total races since 1993, including ten of 17 during the 2021 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season.

Nine Indy Lights drivers have won Indy car championships, including four of the last five.

“Because of his broad experience in and out of the cockpit, Levi is the perfect choice to become the director of Indy Lights,” INDYCAR President Jay Frye said. “Levi is well respected in the racing industry and knows every angle of the sport as a driver, team owner, racetrack operator, and sanctioning body. We are excited to have Levi on board and look forward to the new era of INDYCAR operating Indy Lights.”

Welcome to the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires, Levi!