Archives for 2021 Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires Coverage

Practice #1 – Indy Lights – Kirkwood’s Mid-O dominance continues

The Road to Indy/Cooper Tires/Construction Contractors Club sponsored No. 28 of Kyle Kirkwood navigates “The Corkscrew” at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy

By Steve Wittich

Championship leader Kyle Kirkwood, who has won all of his Road To Indy appearances at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, led the final Indy Lights practice session of the 2021 season, turning a lap timed at 72.2884 seconds.
The 22-year-old also led the lone practice session before winning both races at the same circuit in July.
The second championship contender, HMD Motorsports veteran David Malukas had the fifth quickest lap, over six-tenths of a second behind Kirkwood.
The Juncos Hollinger Racing duo of Sting Ray Robb and Rasmus Lindh was a welcome addition to the pointy end of the grid during practice, with the pair within three-tenths of a second of the leader.
Also in the top five was Global Racing Group w/HMD rookie Benjamin Pedersen, who is riding a streak of six straight top-five finishes.
The 45-minutes of practice in preparation for the VP Racing Fuels Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Presented by Cooper Tires got the green flag at 3 pm. There were zero clouds in the sky, and the ambient temperature was a comfortable 70F.
Each entry received four sets of sticker Cooper Tire slicks for the weekend and one carryover set from WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, to be utilized during the first practice session.
The majority of the drivers spent all but a few laps of the session on the carryover tires, moving to slicks to end the session.
It didn’t take long for the championship contenders Kirkwood and Malukas to move to the top of the timing screens, with the Road to Indy/Cooper Tires/Construction Contractors Club Dallara No. 28 of Kirkwood leading Malukas, Robb, Pederson, and Devlin DeFrancesco (Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport) in the top five.
The Sekady Capital/Goodheart-Firehouse Animal Centers sponsored No. 2 of Robb was a welcome addition to the pointy end of the grid for the entire 45-minute practice.
Late in the session, the reigning Indy Pro 2000 champion was joined by his Juncos Hollinger Racing teammate Lindh near the top of the timing screens.
The 12 drivers completed 276 circuits of the 2.258-Mile, 13-Turn Mid-Ohio Road Course.

VP Racing Fuels Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Presented by Cooper Tires  practice #1 results 

RANK NO. NAME TEAM FAST TIME DIFFERENCE TOTAL LAPS
1 28 Kyle Kirkwood Andretti Autosport 1:12.2884 —— 23
2 2 Sting Ray Robb Juncos Hollinger Racing 1:12.4807 0.1923 24
3 51 Rasmus Lindh Juncos Hollinger Racing 1:12.6006 0.3122 24
4 24 Benjamin Pedersen Global Racing Group w/HMD Motorsports 1:12.7907 0.5023 22
5 79 David Malukas HMD Motorsports 1:12.9037 0.6153 24
6 17 Devlin DeFrancesco Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport 1:12.9169 0.6285 25
7 27 Robert Megennis Andretti Autosport 1:13.1207 0.8323 26
8 68 Danial Frost Andretti Autosport 1:13.1474 0.8590 25
9 26 Linus Lundqvist Global Racing Group w/HMD Motorsports 1:13.2307 0.9423 24
10 7 Christian Bogle Carlin 1:13.4633 1.1749 19
11 59 Manuel Sulaiman HMD Motorsports 1:13.6704 1.3820 24
12 11 Antonio Serravalle Pserra Racing 1:13.8133 1.5249 16

In case you missed our finale preview, you can read it here –>

Preview – Indy Lights – VP Racing Fuels Championship Weekend Presented by Cooper Tires

The remainder of the weekend’s Indy Lights schedule is as follows:

Saturday, October 2

  • 9:25am – 10:05am – Indy Lights Qualifying #1
  • 1pm – 1:50pm – Indy Lights Race #1

Saturday, October 3

  • 8:45am – 9:15am – Indy Lights Qualifying #2
  • noon – 12:50pm – Indy Lights Race #2

Don’t miss any of the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires action:

Preview – USF2000 – VP Racing Fuels Championship Weekend Presented by Cooper Tires

A full field of USF2000 machines, led by championship contenders Kiko Porto and Michael d’Orlando stream in front of the Cooper Tires Tower to start a race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in July Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy

By Steve Wittich

With Kiko Porto on the brink of winning the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship, the next big Brazilian star is on their way to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES.

With Helio Castroneves and Tony Kanaan winding down their outstanding careers, the 18-year-old from Recife, Brazil, is poised to grab the torch from the legends.

Is USF2000 championship leader Kiko Porto the next great Brazilian NTT INDYCAR SERIES star? Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy

When the series left the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on Independence day, DEForce Racing sophomore Porto’s lead was a slim 19 points; however, a stellar weekend at the New Jersey Motorsports Park where he outscored chaser Michael d’Orlando (Cape Motorsports) by 30 points means his lead is an almost insurmountable 49 points.

The difference between the two drivers is their consistency and ability to avoid a disastrous result, or as we like to call it, avoiding the single digits.

Porto has not finished below 10th in the first 16 races of the season, meaning the lowest point total he’s scored in a single race is 11. Conversely, d’Orlando has finished outside the top ten on three occasions, scoring only six points combined in those three races.

USF2000 Tale Of The Tape

KIKO PORTO MICHAEL D’ORLANDO
Recife, Brazil Hometown Hartsdale, NY
18 Age 19
5’6″ Height 6’3″
119lbs Weight 150lbs
368 Points 319
4 Wins 3
6 Poles 3
8 Podiums 7
13 Top Fives 12
16 Top Tens 13
9 Races Led 5
113 Laps Led 113
100% % Laps Completed 95.4%
3.8 Average Finish 6.4
3.7 Average Start 4.7
5.0 Fastest Lap Avg. 7.9

One thing that d’Orlando has going for him is his past results on the 2.258-Mile, 13-Turn Mid-Ohio Road Course. In nine previous USF2000 starts, the Cape Motorsports driver has three wins, six podiums an average finish of 3.3.

Over those same nine races, Porto has one win, two podiums, and an average finish of 8.0.

The championship, Hyperco Rookie Of The Year, and Team Championships (see below for the latter pair) are the main prizes, but finishing strong and setting the tone for next season can be just as important.

Much like fellow veteran d’Orlando, Pabst Racing’s Yuven Sundaramoorthy lacked the consistency to challenge for the championship, but that shouldn’t take away from an outstanding season that saw the University of Wisconsin freshman prove he’s ready for the next step on the Road To Indy.

The 18-year-old’s three wins and four poles trail only Porto, and his eight podiums equal the series-best with the points leader.

Sundaramoorthy’s Pabst Racing teammate has done everything but win a race during his sophomore season of USF2000 action. Still only 15-years-old, the Oregonian is one of six drivers to complete every lap, has stood on five podiums, and could still grab third in the championship with a good weekend at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Josh Green, a Team USA Scholarship winner and Turn 3 Motorsport sophomore, has had a consistent season and is coming off his first podium of the season at the New Jersey Motorsports Park.

Championship leader Porto’s DEForce Racing teammates, Prescott Campbell and Nolan Siegel, each have one win and three podiums this season and are ready to make a move up the ladder.

2021 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship points standings

RANK DRIVER TOTAL BACK
1 Kiko Porto 368
2 Michael d’Orlando 319 -49
3 Yuven Sundaramoorthy 295 -73
4 Josh Pierson 266 -102
5 Christian Brooks 257 -111
6 Josh Green 229 -158
7 Spike Kohlbecker – r 210 -158
8 Jace Denmark – r 203 -165
9 Prescott Campbell 197 -171
10 Thomas Nepveu – r 192 -176
11 Nolan Siegel 187 -181
12 Billy Frazer – r 167 -201
13 Simon Sikes 136 -232
14 Myles Rowe – r 119 -249
15 Matthew Round-Garrido 116 -252
16 Dylan Christie – r 111 -257
17 Ely Navarro – r 94 -274
18 Peter Vodanovich – r 63 -305
19 Jackson Lee – r 61 -307
20 Erik Evans – r 54 -314
21 Evan Stamer – r 53 -315
22 Christian Weir – r 44 -324
23 Bijoy Garg 43 -325
24 Michael Myers 42 -326
25 Trey Burke – r 41 -327
26 Grant Palmer – r 38 -330
27 Kent Vaccaro – r 38 -330
28 Andre Castro – r 27 -341
29 Nathan Byrd – r 10 -358
30 Chase Hyland – r 3 -365

Interesting USF2000 finale note: The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is the fifth different venue to play host to the USF2000 finale in the past five seasons, joining St. Petersburg Street Course (2020), WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (2019), Portland International Raceway (2018), and Watkins Glen International (2017). If you go back to 2010 and the rebirth of the series, only WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca has hosted multiple finales (2015, 2016, and 2017). Also hosting a single finale was Road Atlanta (2010), Baltimore Street Circuit (2011), Virginia International Raceway (2012), Houston Reliant Park (2013), and Sonoma Raceway (2014).


Hyperco Rookie Of The Year

The championship battle between the veterans at the top of the points table isn’t the only title that will conclude on Sunday. Four drivers still have a chance to take home the prize for the top newcomer, with the leading trio separated by only 18 points.

Ignite Autosport w/Cape Motorsports rookie Spike Kohlbecker has accomplished what every rookie should; the 18-year-old has been consistent and clean all season long and brings a seven-point lead to the final pair of races.

The native of St. Louis, Mo., is one of six drivers to complete all 349 laps contested so far this season and has not finished worse than 11th in the first 16 races of the season.

Pabst Racing rookie Jace Denmark is riding a string of ten straight top-ten finishes to move to within seven points of Kohlbecker as the best newcomer.

The 17-year-old is coming off his best event of the year at the New Jersey Motorsports Park and has outscored Kohlbecker by 22 points in the last two events at NJMP and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Denmark has also completed all 349 laps contested in 2021.

Montreal, Canada’s Thomas Nepveu trails Kohlbecker by 18 points and will need to rebound from disappointing results in the Garden State last time out.

The 17-year-old Cape Motorsports newcomer is one of two rookies to win this year, standing on the top step of the podium at Road America.

Cape Motorsports rookie Thomas Nepveu celebrates his USF2000 victory at Road America in June Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy

Eighteen-year-old Billy Frazer will need some bad luck to befall his competitors to erase the 43 point deficit that he has to Kohlbecker.

The Kiwi scored the second-most points over the last two events among the rookie drivers and had some success when he visited the 2.258-Mile, 13-Turn Mid-Ohio Road Course in July.

The Exclusive Autosport rookie finished a season-best fourth and collected two of his six top tens at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Other rookies we are watching include:

The reigning Lucas Oil Formula Car Race Series champion Ely Navarro is coming off his best race weekend at the New Jersey Motorsports Park and is one of six drivers who complete 100% of the laps contested this season.

Race winner in the wet at New Jersey Motorsports Park Myles Rowe. The Force Indy finally broke through with a good result after showing strong pace all season long.

Trey Burke, a rookie for Joe Dooling Autosports, has continued to get quicker all season and scored his best two results of the season the last time he was in a car. The open-wheel standout is returning to a track for the first time and has a chance to show that his learning curve is continuing at a steep pace.

Christian Weir, at only 14-years-old, made his USF2000 debut at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with Turn 3 Motorsport in July and was impressive in his second event a month later, twice finishing in the top ten at New Jersey Motorsports Park. Weir recently competed in the F4 United States Championship Powered By Honda series at Virginia International Raceway, scoring a podium with Gonella Racing.

Jackson Lee returns to Jay Howard Driver Development after missing the last round of the series. The rookie, an F1600 Championship Series winner at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, set the fastest lap race in the weekend’s second race.

2021 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship rookie standings

RANK DRIVER TOTAL BACK
1 Spike Kohlbecker – r 210
2 Jace Denmark – r 203 -7
3 Thomas Nepveu – r 192 -18
4 Billy Frazer – r 167 -43
5 Myles Rowe – r 119 -91
6 Dylan Christie – r 111 -99
7 Ely Navarro – r 94 -116
8 Peter Vodanovich – r 63 -147
9 Jackson Lee – r 61 -149
10 Erik Evans – r 54 -156
11 Evan Stamer – r 53 -157
12 Christian Weir – r 44 -166
13 Trey Burke – r 41 -169
14 Grant Palmer – r 38 -172
15 Kent Vaccaro – r 38 -172
16 Andre Castro – r 27 -183
17 Nathan Byrd – r 10 -200
18 Chase Hyland – r 3 -207

 


Team bragging rights

Team points are distributed as follows to a teams top two finishers in each race – 1st is 22 points, 2nd is 18 points, 3rd is 15 points, 4th is 12 points, 5th is 10 points, 6th is 8 points, 7th is 6 points, 8th is 4 points, 9th is 2 points, and 10th+ is 1 point.  

DEForce Racing, led by the championship favorite Kiko Porto, is on the cusp of winning their first Road To Indy team championship.

The Angleton, Texas team lead by David and Ernesto Martinez – the D and E in DEForce – leads in the win (six), pole (seven), and podium (tied at 14) categories with the two races remaining at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. In addition, the family-run team is the only squad that has had three different drivers win a race.

DEForce Racing team owner David Martinez celebrates Nolan Siegel’s first USF2000 win at the New Jersey Motorsports Park Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy

The following two teams on the championship table have won a dozen team championships. Pabst Racing, winners of three team championships in a row between 2017 and 2019, are trailing DEForce Racing by 40 points. A further 61 points adrift are last season’s team champions Cape Motorsports, who have won the team crown nine times.

2021 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship team championship standings

RANK TEAM TOTAL BACK
1 DEForce Racing 384
2 Pabst Racing 344 -40
3 Cape Motorsports 323 -61
4 Exclusive Autosport 238 -146
5 Turn 3 Motorsport 154 -230
6 Legacy Autosport 128 -256
7 Force Indy 101 -283
8 Joe Dooling Autosports 64 -320
9 Miller Vinatieri Motorsports 60 -324
10 Michael Myers Racing 52 -332
11 Velocity Racing Development 49 -335
12 Jay Howard Driver Development 45 -339

If DEForce Racing holds on to win their first championship, it will end almost a decade of dominance by Cape Motorsports and Pabst Racing, who have won the last nine team titles.

USF2000 team champions

YEAR TEAM
2020 Cape Motorsports
2019 Pabst Racing
2018 Pabst Racing
2017 Pabst Racing
2016 Cape Motorsports
2015 Cape Motorsports
2014 Cape Motorsports
2013 Cape Motorsports
2012 Cape Motorsports
2011 Andretti Autosport
2010 Andretti Autosport
2006 Cape Motorsports
2005 Aiken Racing
2004 Andersen Walko Racing
2003 PR1 Motorsports
2002 Cape Motorsports
2001 Key Motorsport
2000 Cape Motorsports
1999 Primus Racing
1998 Primus Racing

Double the celebration

In 33 seasons of USF2000 competition, the champion has won the season finale on 18 occasions.

The last driver to accomplish that feat was current Indy Lights championship contender Kyle Kirkwood, who won the final race of the season at Portland International Raceway, his 11th series win a row.

In 1990, Vince Puleo won his fourth race of the season on the one-mile oval at Phoenix International Raceway, the final race of the USF2000 season.

USF2000 champs that have won the final race of the year

YEAR DRIVER
2018 Kyle Kirkwood
2015 Nico Jamin
2014 Florian Latorre
2010 Sage Karam
2006 J.R. Hildebrand
2005 Jay Howard
2004 Bobby Wilson
2003 Jonathan Bomarito
2002 Bryan Sellers
1999 Dan Wheldon
1998 David Besnard
1996 Steve Knapp
1995 Jeret Schroeder
1993 USAC East Chris Simmons
1992 USAC West Greg Moore
1992 USAC East Chris Simmons
1991 Craig Taylor
1990 Vince Puleo

Current USF2000 team owner Jay Howard won the USF2000 championship along with the final race of the 2005 season Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy


Previously at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

  • Part of the VP Racing Fuels Championship Weekend Presented By Cooper Tires, the two races will be the 64th and 65th USF2000 races held at the central Ohio natural terrain road course.
  • There are 23 drivers on the entry list for the Cooper Tires USF2000 Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Presented by VP Stay Frosty doubleheader.
  • Thirty-eight drivers representing 23 teams have won USF2000 races at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Past USF2000 race winners at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

YEAR DRIVER TEAM
2021 Race #3 Michael d’Orlando Cape Motorsports
2021 Race #2 Kiko Porto DEForce Racing
2021 Race #1 Michael d’Orlando Cape Motorsports
2020 Race #6 Christian Rasmussen Jay Howard Driver Development
2020 Race #5 Reece Gold Cape Motorsports
2020 Race #4 Michael d’Orlando Cape Motorsports
2020 Race #3 Christian Rasmussen Jay Howard Driver Development
2020 Race #2 Christian Rasmussen Jay Howard Driver Development
2020 Race #1 Christian Rasmussen Jay Howard Driver Development
2019 Race #2 Hunter McElrea Pabst Racing
2019 Race #1 Christian Rasmussen Jay Howard Driver Development
2018 Race #3 Kyle Kirkwood Cape Motorsports
2018 Race #2 Kyle Kirkwood Cape Motorsports
2018 Race #1 Kyle Kirkwood Cape Motorsports
2017 Race #2 Parker Thompson Exclusive Autosport
2017 Race #1 Oliver Askew Cape Motorsports
2016 Race #3 Anthony Martin Cape Motorsports
2016 Race #2 Anthony Martin Cape Motorsports
2016 Race #1 Anthony Martin Cape Motorsports
2015 Race #3 Nico Jamin Cape Motorsports
2015 Race #2 Nico Jamin Cape Motorsports
2015 Race #1 Nico Jamin Cape Motorsports
2014 Race #3 Florian Latorre Cape Motorsports
2014 Race #2 Jake Eidson Cape Motorsports
2014 Race #1 RC Enerson Team E Racing
2013 Race #3 Garett Grist Andretti Autosport
2013 Race #2 Neil Alberico Cape Motorsports
2013 Race #1 Neil Alberico Cape Motorsports
2012 Race #2 Scott Anderson Belardi Auto Racing
2012 Race #1 Spencer Pigot Cape Motorsports
2011 Race #2 Petri Suvanto Cape Motorsports
2011 Race #1 Petri Suvanto Cape Motorsports
2006 Race #4 JR Hildebrand Cape Motorsports
2006 Race #3 JR Hildebrand Cape Motorsports
2006 Race #2 JR Hildebrand Cape Motorsports
2006 Race #1 JR Hildebrand Cape Motorsports
2005 Race #4 Jay Howard Aiken Racing
2005 Race #3 Joey Foster Cape Motorsports
2005 Race #2 Jay Howard Aiken Racing
2005 Race #1 Jay Howard Aiken Racing
2004 Race #4 Adam Pecorari Andersen Walko Racing
2004 Race #3 Adam Pecorari Andersen Walko Racing
2004 Race #2 Adam Pecorari Andersen Walko Racing
2004 Race #1 Andre Prendeville Andersen Walko Racing
2003 Race #4 Jonathan Bomarito PR1 Motorsports
2003 Race #3 Jonathan Bomarito PR1 Motorsports
2003 Race #2 Westley Barber Cape Motorsports
2003 Race #1 Tonis Kasemets Pabst Racing
2002 Race #3 Ross Fonferko Cape Motorsports
2002 Race #2 Bryan Sellers Cape Motorsports
2002 Race #1 Tonis Kasemets Pabst Racing
2001 Race #3 Jason LaPoint Richard Morgan Racing
2001 Race #2 Doug Bell Cape Motorsports
2001 Race #1 Tonis Kasemets Tonis Kasemets
1999 Race #2 Jeff Wright Cape Motorsports
1999 Race #1 Dan Wheldon Primus Racing
1998 Race #2 David Besnard Primus Racing
1998 Race #1 David Besnard Primus Racing
1997 Zak Morioka Hayes Motorsports
1996 Steve Knapp Miller Miling/Elite Engines
1995 Race #2 Jeret Schroeder
1995 Race #1 Memo Gidley Cape Motorsports
1993 Chris Simmons SOTARE Racing
  • With 32 victories, 28 pole starts, and 67 podiums, no team comes close to matching Cape Motorsports record at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
  • The averaging finishing position of the pole sitter is 1.6, and they have won 39 of the 63 previous races.
  • The average finish position of the pole-sitter at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is 3.7, and they have failed to finish the race six times.
  • Only twice in 63 previous races has the winner taken a yellow and checkered flag simultaneously.
  • The closest finish, 0.171 seconds, occurred in 2003 Race #2 when Westley Barber beat Charlie Kimball to the checkered flag.

USF2000 weekend schedule

Saturday, October 2

  • 8:40am – 9:10am – USF2000 Practice #1
  • 11:45am – 12:15pm – USF2000 Qualifying #2
  • 3:50pm – 4:30pm – USF2000 Race #1

Sunday, October 3

  • 8am – 8:30am – USF2000 Qualifying #2
  • 11am – 11:40am – USF2000 Race #2

Don’t miss any of the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires action:

Preview – Indy Pro 2000 – VP Racing Fuels Championship Weekend Presented by Cooper Tires

The Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires field gets the green flag at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in July Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy

By Steve Wittich

The battle for the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires trophy and the $718,065 scholarship that goes with it comes down to a two-race duel between the last two USF2000 champions, Christian Rasmussen (2020) and Braden Eves (2019).

Oh yeah, the champion also recieves an NTT INDYCAR SERIES test during the off-season, something else for Rasmussen and Eves to keep in the back of their minds.

Exclusive Autosport sophomore Eves, who returned to action from a season-ending incident on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course midway through last season, took the early lead, winning the first race of the season at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and leading the points after six fo the first seven races.

Rookie Rasmussen, with his Indy Pro 2000 rookie team, Jay Howard Driver Development, took control of the championship with a third to first driver in the Freedom 90 at the Lucas Oil Raceway Oval.

The JHDD, CSU | One Cure/Lucas Oil sponsored No. 1 of reigning USF2000 champion Christian Rasmussen on pit road Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy

The 21-year-old Dane built a 39 point lead as the series headed to World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway.

Twenty-two-year-old Eves held off a charging Rasmussen in the second oval race of the season, outscoring a faltering Rasmussen by 21 points in the last four races.

Indy Pro 2000 Tale-Of-The-Tape

CHRISTIAN RASMUSSEN BRADEN EVES
Copenhagen, Denmark Hometown Gahanna, Ohio
21 Age 22
5′ 11″ Height 5’9″
165lbs Weight 142lbs
392 Points 374
6 Wins 3
2 Poles 2
10 Podiums 8
11 Top Fives 13
14 Top Tens 16
8 Races Led 4
123 Laps Led 126
93.8% % Laps Completed 100%
4.4 Average Finish 3.6
4.1 Average Start 3.8
2.6 Fastest Lap Avg. 5.3

If you are going only on past results at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, it will be advantage, Rasmussen.

He has eight wins, five poles and ten podiums in a baker’s dozen starts across F4 United States Championship, USF2000, and Indy Pro 2000 on the 2.258-Mile, 13-Turn Mid-Ohio Road Course. Rasmussen’s average starting position is 2.2, and his average finishing position is 3.9.

Eves’ record at his home track is more spotty, with one win, two poles, and two top-five finishes in his ten previous starts across the F4 United States Championship, USF2000 Championship, and Indy Pro 2000 Championship.

Braden Eves celebrates a home-track Indy Pro 2000 win at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 2020 (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

Interesting note – the two championship contenders have only shared a podium six times in 31 shared Road To Indy races.

Unfortunately for McElrea, his less than ideal start to the season combined with the shorter field in the finale means the best he can do is second place in the championship.

The American-born, Australian-bred citizen of New Zealand was a winner the last time the middle rung of the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires visited central Ohio in July. McElrea’s average finish in nine previous USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000 races at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is 4.0, and he has won twice, started on the pole three times, and stood on the podium five times.

The Pabst Racing sophomore has been on a tear over the last three events, winning twice, starting on pole three times, standing on five straight podiums, and outscoring the championship contenders by 31 points since July.

McElrea recently moved past Juncos Hollinger Racing rookie Reece Gold and Exclusive Autosport sophomore Artem Petrov in the standings and still has them close in his mirrors.

Gold has a series-best five poles and recently won his first race of the year at the New Jersey Motorsports Park.

The highest-scoring driver across the 12 natural terrain road courses, Petrov is a past Indy Pro 2000 race winner at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course and has only finished outside the top five once in seven starts.

The top five points scorers on natural terrain road course in 2021 are:

  1. Artem Petrov – 262 points
  2. Braden Eves – 252 points
  3. Christian Rasmussen – 251 points
  4. Hunter McElrea – 246 points
  5. Reece Gold – 239 points

2021 Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires points standings

RANK DRIVER TOTAL BACK
1 Christian Rasmussen – r 392
2 Braden Eves 374 -18
3 Hunter McElrea 347 -45
4 Reece Gold – r 337 -55
5 Artem Petrov 329 -63
6 Jacob Abel 264 -128
7 Kyffin Simpson – r 230 -162
8 Manuel Sulaiman 214 -178
9 James Roe – r 200 -192
10 Wyatt Brichacek – r 187 -205
11 Jack William Miller – r 180 -212
12 Enaam Ahmed – r 100 -292
13 Colin Kaminsky 91 -301
14 Hunter Yeany – r 79 -313
15 Cameron Shields – r 43 -349
16 Flinn Lazier – r 37 -355
17 Nolan Siegel 26 -366
18 Enzo Fittipaldi – r 20 -372
19 Kory Enders 18 -374

 Hyperco Rookie Of The Year

Championship leader Christian Rasmussen, a Jay Howard Driver Development rookie, has locked up the top newcomer, holding a safe 55 point lead over Juncos Hollinger Racing rookie Reece Gold.

The pair that battled for the USF2000 championship last year have proven to be two of the quickest among the entire Indy Pro 2000 field.

Between them, they have seven poles (Gold has five and Rasmussen has two) and the quickest lap of the race in 11 (Rasmussen has eight and Gold has three) of the 16 races.

Other rookie stories we’re watching include:

Enaam Ahmed, who will pilot the No. 22 for Juncos Hollinger Racing, will return to the series after suspending his campaign earlier this season. The 2017 BRDC British Formula 3 Champion started the first seven races with RP Motorsport, finishing in the top five on three occasions.

“I am really happy and surprised to get a last-minute call from Ricardo Juncos to join the team for the final races of the season,” said Ahmed. “I have been out of the car for a while, so I am just going to enjoy the opportunity with no expectations.”

Jack William Miller is coming off his best weekend as an Indy Pro 2000 driver, just missing out on his first podium in a strong showing at New Jersey Motorsports Park. The second-generation racer is no stranger to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, making 16 starts across the F4 United States, USF2000, and Indy Pro 2000 series.

Indy Pro 2000 rookie and second generation racer Jack William Miller is coming off his best race weekend of the 2021 season at New Jersey Motorsports Park Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy

“Our goal is to finish the season strong and build some momentum towards 2022,” explained Team Co-Owner Jack Miller. “Our partnership with former NFL Superstar Adam Vinatieri will continue, and we are looking good for next season. We have another intense winter testing program on the horizon, but our goal this weekend is to finish strong.”

Exclusive Autosport veteran Christian Brooks, a race winner in USF2000, will be stepping up to Indy Pro 2000 with the Canadian team for the final races on the calendar. Brooks has made a dozen open-wheel starts at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, finishing in the top five on five occasions.

Debuting in the Road To Indy is Jordan Missig, a race winner at the most recent Formula Regional Americas Championship race at Virginia International Raceway.

2021 Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires rookie points standings

RANK DRIVER TOTAL BACK
1 Christian Rasmussen – r 392
2 Reece Gold – r 337 -55
3 Kyffin Simpson – r 230 -162
4 James Roe – r 200 -192
5 Wyatt Brichacek – r 187 -205
6 Jack William Miller – r 180 -212
7 Enaam Ahmed – r 100 -292
8 Hunter Yeany – r 79 -313
9 Cameron Shields – r 43 -349
10 Flinn Lazier – r 37 -355
11 Enzo Fittipaldi – r 20 -372

 


Team bragging rights

Team points are distributed as follows to a teams top two finishers in each race – 1st is 22 points, 2nd is 18 points, 3rd is 15 points, 4th is 12 points, 5th is 10 points, 6th is 8 points, 7th is 6 points, 8th is 4 points, 9th is 2 points, and 10th+ is 1 point.   

A pair of talented drivers have led Exclusive Autosport to the verge of their first Indy Pro 2000 championship, heading to the season’s final two races with an almost insurmountable 69 point lead over perennial powerhouse Juncos Hollinger Racing.

Jay Howard Driver Development leads the wins column, Juncos Hollinger Racing leads the poles column, but the Canadian team has the advantage in the podiums column.

Despite making 16 fewer starts than Juncos Racing, Exclusive Autosport drivers have stood on the podium three more times than their season-long rival for the team championship.

2021 Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires team championship standings

RANK TEAM TOTAL BACK
1 Exclusive Autosport 418
2 Juncos Hollinger Racing 349 -69
3 Jay Howard Driver Development 269 -149
4 Pabst Racing 260 -158
5 Abel Motorsports 180 -238
6 Miller Vinatieri Motorsports 105 -313
7 Turn 3 Motorsport 101 -317
8 RP Motorsport 54 -364
9 Velocity Racing Development 40 -378
10 DEForce Racing 39 -379
11 Legacy Autosport 17 -401

If they hold on, Exclusive Autosport will take home their first Indy Pro 2000 championship.

Team owners Michael and Kimberly Duncalfe congratulate Artem Petrov on an Indy Pro 2000 win at the New Jersey Motorsports Park Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy

If Juncos Hollinger Racing can pull out a miracle, the Speedway, Ind.-based team will win their sixth team championship overall and the fourth in a row.

Indy Pro 2000 team champions

YEAR TEAM
2020 Juncos Racing
2019 Juncos Racing
2018 Juncos Racing
2017 Team Pelfrey
2016 Team Pelfrey
2015 Juncos Racing
2014 Juncos Racing
2013 Andretti Autosport
2012 Team Pelfrey
2011 Team Pelfrey
2010 Andersen Racing
2009 JDC Motorsports
2008 Andersen Racing
2007 JDC Motorsports
2006 John Walko Racing

 


Double the sparkling grape juice

There have been 22 Indy Pro 2000 champions since 1999, and only six of those have won the season’s final race.

Joey Hand, who won his fourth race of the season in the finale at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 1999, was the first.

The last driver to win the championship and the season’s final race occurred in 2017 when Victor Franzoni won at the Watkins Glen International road course.

Indy Pro 2000 champs that have won the final race of the season

YEAR DRIVER
2017 Victor Franzoni
2016 Aaron Telitz
2013 Matthew Brabham
2009 Adam Christodoulou
2003 Luis Schiavo
1999 Joey Hand

 

The Team Pelfrey crew and driver Aaron Telitz pump their fists after winning the 2016 Indy Pro 2000 championship and the finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)


Previously at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

  • Part of the VP Racing Fuels Championship Weekend Presented By Cooper Tires, the two races will be the 27th and 28th Indy Pro 2000 races held at the central Ohio natural terrain road course.
  • A dozen drivers are on the entry list for the VP Racing Lubricants Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio Presented by Cooper Tires doubleheader.
  • At the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Indy Pro 2000 races have been won by 20 different drivers representing 13 unique teams.

Indy Pro 2000 winners at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

2021 Race #2 Hunter McElrea Pabst Racing
2021 Race #1 Christian Rasmussen Jay Howard Driver Development
2020 Race #5 Sting Ray Robb Juncos Racing
2020 Race #4 Manuel Sulaiman DEForce Racing
2020 Race #3 Sting Ray Robb Juncos Racing
2020 Race #2 Artem Petrov Juncos Racing
2020 Race #1 Braden Eves Exclusive Autosport
2019 Race #2 Kyle Kirkwood RP Motorsport
2019 Race #1 Kyle Kirkwood RP Motorsport
2018 Race #2 Rinus VeeKay Juncos Racing
2018 Race #1 Rinus VeeKay Juncos Racing
2017 Race #3 Anthony Martin Cape Motorsports
2017 Race #2 Victor Franzoni Juncos Racing
2017 Race #1 Anthony Martin Cape Motorsports
2016 Race #2 Nico Jamin Cape Motorsports
2016 Race #1 Nico Jamin Cape Motorsports
2015 Race #2 Neil Alberico Cape Motorsports
2015 Race #1 Santi Urrutia Team Pelfrey
2014 Race #2 Garett Grist Andretti Autosport
2014 Race #1 Nicolas Costa Team Pelfrey
2013 Race #2 Matthew Brabham Andretti Autosport
2013 Race #1 Matthew Brabham Andretti Autosport
2006 Ryan Justice Northwest Autosport
2005 Rafa Matos Ocean Tomo Racing
2004 Michael McDowell Star Race Cars
2002 Guy Cosmo Racers Edge Motorsports
  • In the seven races over the last two seasons, five different teams have visited victory lane at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
  • Juncos Hollinger Racing has six wins, four poles, and 25 podiums to lead all teams in those categories.
  • The average starting spot of the winner is 1.9 and a driver starting on the front row in 20 of the 26 previous races has gone on to victory.
  • The average finishing spot of the pole sitter is 3.2, and only once have they failed to finish.
  • Only five of the previous 26 Indy Pro 2000 races at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course have had a first-lap caution.
  • Only twice has an Indy Pro 2000 race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course finished under caution.
  • The margin of victory was less than one second in ten of the 24 races that have finished under green.
  • The closest margin of victory came in 2013 Race #2 when Matthew Brabham crossed the line only 0.155 seconds ahead of Diego Ferreira.
  • In 2017 Race #3, Anthony Martin beat Victor Franzoni to the checkered flag by 13.9957 seconds, the widest gap between first and second.

Indy Pro 2000 weekend schedule

Friday, October 1

  • 4pm – 4:30 pm – Indy Pro 2000 Practice #1

Saturday, October 2

  • 10:20am – 10:50am – Indy Pro 2000 Qualifying #1
  • 2:05pm – 2:50pm – Indy Pro 2000 Race #1

Sunday, October 3

  • 9:30am – 10am – Indy Pro 2000 Qualifying #2
  • 1:10pm – 2pm – Indy Pro 2000 Race #2

 


Don’t miss any of the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires action:

Preview – Indy Lights – VP Racing Fuels Championship Weekend Presented by Cooper Tires

The Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires field at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in July 2021 Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy

By Steve Wittich

After 18 races, 623 laps, and 1314.215-miles of back and forth Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires action, the championship and the $1,289,425 scholarship that goes to the winner comes down to a pair of races at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Andretti Autosport’s Kyle Kirkwood and HMD Motorsports’ David Malukas, the two combatants for the coveted championship and guaranteed NTT INDYCAR SERIES ride that comes with it, have been waging a season-long battle for the ages.

Malukas led the way with five races to go, but a late surge and three-race winning streak leave Kirkwood with a 15-point lead with the final two races at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course remaining.

Kyle Kirkwood (left) and David Malukas (right) on the podium together at Portland International Raceway. The championship duo have shared 10 podiums this season Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy

Indy Lights championship tale-of-the-tape

KYLE KIRKWOOD DAVID MALUKAS
Jupiter, Florida Hometown Chicago, Illinois
22 Age 20
5’9″ Height 5’9″
150lbs Weight 146lbs
9 Wins 7
6 Poles 6
13 Podiums 14
16 Top Fives 16
17 Top Tens 17
10 Races Led 8
306 Laps Led 250
99.4% % Laps Completed 95.8%
2.8 Average Finish 3.0
2.8 Average Start 2.1
2.2 Fastest Lap Avg. 3.3

Kirkwood’s nine wins are one win away from Greg Moore’s season record. The popular Canadian won ten times during his 1995 Indy Lights championship season.

Kyle Kirkwood has had just a “touch” of success at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. In 19 race starts across the F4 United States Championship, Formula Regional Americas Championship, USF2000, Indy Pro 2000, and Indy Lights championships, his superlatives read as follows:

  • 12 wins
  • 11 wins in a row dating back to 2017
  • wins in all seven Road To Indy starts
  • ten pole starts
  • 17 podiums
  • led at least a lap in 15 races
  • only one DNF

The just-turned 20-year-old Malukas has not quite had the same success as his rival on the undulating central Ohio road course, but he’s also been no slouch in his ten starts.

Malukas is still looking for his first win at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Still, he does have five podiums and nine top-six finishes across his starts in USF2000, Indy Pro 2000, Indy Lights, and Formula Regional Americas. His lone finish outside the top ten came when a mechanical issue thwarted a sure win after a pole win in Indy Pro 2000.

With the championship so close, the drivers hold most of their future in their own hands, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t love some help from their teammates.

For points leader Kirkwood, that help will most likely come from Danial Frost. The Singaporean finished twice and ahead of Malukas in both races in July, and he has six top-five finishes across a dozen American open-wheel starts at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

Malukas could use some help from his teammate Linus Lundqvist, who finished fourth in both Indy Lights races at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in July but does have a pair of wins from the pole in the Formula Regional Americas Championship.

Below the championship twosome, Global Racing Group w/HMD rookie Linus Lundqvist, the only other driver to win an Indy Lights race this season, has locked down third place in the championship. With that, the Swede has earned himself an important NTT INDYCAR SERIES test.

Behind the top three, only 37 points separate Benjamin Pedersen (Global Racing Group w/HMD), Danial Frost (Andretti Autosport), Devlin DeFrancesco (Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport), and Robert Megennis (Andretti Autosport) in the battle for fourth.

Pedersen, a Dane who calls Washington State, was ninth in the points standings when the series left the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course three months ago, but an impressive run of a half-dozen races with three podiums and six top-five finishes has moved the 22-year-old into fourth place, 18 points ahead of the Frost, whose stellar Mid-Ohio results we’ve already mentioned.

Only 10 points behind his teammate Frost is Canadian DeFrancesco, who stood on two Indy Pro 2000 podiums at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course last year.

2021 Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires points standings

RANK DRIVER TEAM TOTAL BACK
1 Kyle Kirkwood – r Andretti Autosport 488
2 David Malukas HMD Motorsports 473 -15
3 Linus Lundqvist – r Global Racing Group w/HMD 403 -85
4 Benjamin Pedersen – r Global Racing Group w/HMD 322 -166
5 Danial Frost – r Andretti Autosport 304 -184
6 Devlin DeFrancesco – r Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport 294 -194
7 Robert Megennis Andretti Autosport 285 -203
8 Toby Sowery Juncos Racing 236 -252
9 Alex Peroni – r Carlin 228 -260
10 Sting Ray Robb – r Juncos Hollinger Racing 218 -270
11 Christian Bogle – r Carlin 207 -281
12 Antonio Serravalle – r Pserra Racing 157 -331
13 Nikita Lastochkin – r HMD Motorsports 123 -365
14 Rasmus Lindh – r Juncos Hollinger Racing 57 -431
15 Manuel Sulaiman – r HMD Motorsports 51 -437

 

Hyperco Rookie Of The Year

Championship leader Kyle Kirkwood has this one locked up, and it’s not even close.

2021 Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires rookie standings

RANK DRIVER TOTAL BACK
1 Kyle Kirkwood – r 488
2 Linus Lundqvist – r 403 -85
3 Benjamin Pedersen – r 322 -166
4 Danial Frost – r 304 -184
5 Devlin DeFrancesco – r 294 -194
6 Alex Peroni – r 228 -260
7 Sting Ray Robb – r 218 -270
8 Christian Bogle – r 207 -281
9 Antonio Serravalle – r 157 -331
10 Nikita Lastochkin – r 123 -365
11 Rasmus Lindh – r 57 -431
12 Manuel Sulaiman – r 51 -437

Team Bragging Rights

Team points are distributed as follows to a teams top two finishers in each race – 1st is 22 points, 2nd is 18 points, 3rd is 15 points, 4th is 12 points, 5th is 10 points, 6th is 8 points, 7th is 6 points, 8th is 4 points, 9th is 2 points, and 10th+ is 1 point.  

Between them, HMD Motorsports/Global Racing Group (70 starts) and Andretti Autosport/Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport (72) have 142 starts in 2021 and only have 39 points separating them with eight starts each remaining.

The pair of four-car powerhouse squads each have nine wins and nine poles, but where HMD/GRG stands out is their 29 to 21 advantage in podiums.

However, the last time the top rung of the RTI visited the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in July, Andretti Autosport/Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport outscored HMD Motorsports/Global Racing Group by an 80 to 54 margin, making the final doubleheader that much more interesting.

2021 Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires team championship standings

RANK TEAM TOTAL BACK
1 HMD Motorsports 597
2 Andretti Autosport 558 -39
3 Juncos Hollinger Racing 286 -311
4 Carlin 233 -364
5 Pserra Racing/AS Promotions 102 -495

The Indy Lights team championship debuted in 2014. If Andretti Autosport/Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport were to pull off the improbable comeback, it would be the team’s third team championship and third in a row.

If HMD Motorsports/Global Racing Group holds one, it will be their first team title in only their second year of competition.

Indy Lights team champions

YEAR TEAM
2019 Andretti Autosport
2018 Andretti Autosport
2017 Belardi Auto Racing
2016 Carlin
2015 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
2014 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports

Sam Schmidt is presented the Indy Lights team championship trophy in 2014 (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)


Double the bubbly

Only ten of the previous 34 Indy Lights champions has won a race in the final weekend of the championship.

The first was Fabrizio Barbazza, the inaugural champ, who won one of his five races of 1986 on the Tamiami Park street course in Miami, Fla., on the way to the title.

The last was Pato O’Ward, who won both races on the way to his 2018 Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires title at the Portland International Raceway.

Indy Lights champions that won the finale

YEAR DRIVER
2018 Pato O’Ward
2015 Spencer Pigot
2005 Wade Cunningham
2004 Thiago Medeiros
2002 A. J. Foyt IV
2001 Townsend Bell
2000 Scott Dixon
1995 Greg Moore
1993 Bryan Herta
1986 Fabrizio Barbazza

Sam Schmidt Motorsports driver Thiago Medeiros celebrates winning a race and championship at Texas Motor Speedway in 2004 (Photo Courtesy of Penske Entertainment)


Previously at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

  • Part of the VP Racing Fuels Championship Weekend Presented By Cooper Tires, the two races will be the 32nd and 33rd Indy Lights races held at the central Ohio natural terrain road course.
  • A dozen drivers are on the entry list, with Antonio Serravalle and Pserra Racing/AS Promotions returning to action after sitting out the trip to the west coast.
  • Indy Lights graduates have won seventeen of the last 22 Indy car races at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
  • At the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Indy Lights races have been won by 23 different drivers representing 14 unique teams.

Indy Lights winners at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course

YEAR DRIVER TEAM
2021 Race #2 Kyle Kirkwood Andretti Autosport
2021 Race #1 Kyle Kirkwood Andretti Autosport
2019 Race #2 Oliver Askew Andretti Autosport
2019 Race #1 Oliver Askew Andretti Autosport
2018 Race #2 Patricio O’Ward Andretti Autosport
2018 Race #1 Patricio O’Ward Andretti Autosport
2017 Race #2 Nico Jamin Andretti Autosport
2017 Race #1 Santi Urrutia Belardi Auto Racing
2016 Race #2 Santi Urrutia Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
2016 Race #1 Santi Urrutia Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
2015 Race #2 Sean Rayhall 8Star Motorsports
2015 Race #1 RC Enerson Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
2014 Race #1 Jack Harvey Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
2014 Race #2 Jack Harvey Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
2013 Gabby Chaves Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
2010 Martin Plowman Andretti Autosport
2009 James Davison Vision Racing
2008 Race #2 James Davison Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
2008 Race #1 Rafa Matos Andretti Autosport
2007 Richard Antinucci Cheever Racing
2001 Townsend Bell Dorricott Racing
2000 Townsend Bell Dorricott Racing
1994 Andre Ribeiro Tasman Motorsports
1993 Bryan Herta Tasman Motorsports
1992 Robbie Groff Groff Motorsports
1991 Brian Till Cole Performance
1990 Paul Tracy Landford Racing
1989 P.J. Jones PIG Enterprise Racing
1988 Jon Beekhuis PIG Enterprise Racing
1987 Juan Manuel Fangio II TeamKar International
1986 Steve Millen Truesports
  • Andretti Autosport has won seven straight races going back to 2017 and nine of 31 previous races.
  • Andretti Autosport has nine poles, 25 podiums, and 308 laps led, leading all teams.
  • The average starting spot of the winner is 1.8 – the pole-sitter has won 21 of 31 67.7% of races.
  • The average finishing spot of the pole sitter is 3.6, and they have failed to finish only twice.
  • The closest Indy Lights finish occurred in 1991 when Brian Till beat Mark Smith to the checkered flag by 0.215 seconds.
  • Eleven of the 31 Indy Lights races held at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course have gone caution-free.
  • Race #2 in 2008, a wet affair, had five cautions for ten laps, the most for both categories for any Indy Lights race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
  • That same water-logged race in 2008 had ten drivers fail to finish the 20-lap race, the most DNFs in any Indy Lights race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
  • Sticking with that chaotic race won by James Davison, it’s the only Indy Lights race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course to finish under the yellow flag.
  • That was also the race that  Jonny Reid gave away when he pulled into the pits instead of taking the checkered flag.

Indy Lights weekend schedule

Friday, October 1

  • 3pm – 3:45pm – Indy Lights Practice #1

Saturday, October 2

  • 9:25am – 10:05am – Indy Lights Qualifying #1
  • 1pm – 1:50pm – Indy Lights Race #1

Saturday, October 3

  • 8:45am – 9:15am – Indy Lights Qualifying #2
  • noon – 12:50pm – Indy Lights Race #2

Don’t miss any of the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires action:

Andersen Promotions Announces USF Juniors Presented by Cooper Tires

PALMETTO, Fla. – Andersen Promotions today announced a new series that will help drivers prepare for the highly acclaimed Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires driver development platform, a clear-cut path to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES. USF Juniors Presented by Cooper Tires will launch in 2022 offering a prize package exceeding $325,000 including a scholarship valued at more than $200,000 to advance to the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship – the first official step on the ladder to the pinnacle of U.S. motorsports.
The new series will be sanctioned by USAC with a schedule that will be announced in the next few weeks comprising six road-course race weekends, most with triple-header rounds for a total of 16-18 races. For 2022, the popular Ligier JS chassis and HPD powerplant will be utilized with long-time series engine builder Elite Engines performing all new builds and rebuilds. Cooper Tires will develop a series-specific tire for the triple-header events with two sets of tires allocated for each event weekend. Budgets are expected to be in the $120,000 to $150,000 range, and the series will be open to drivers as young as 14 years of age.
“There are numerous routes into the Road to Indy, but it has become apparent that one additional entry level step was needed,” said Dan Andersen, Owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions. “Our current first step – the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship – has become extremely more competitive from a global scale of driving talent than what used to be considered as entry level.
“Our goal with USF Juniors is to provide a true entry level series that is professionally managed where drivers, teams and parents can focus on training and racing via shorter, more economical events, while also lowering the spotlight on young drivers that often occurs on INDYCAR race weekends. Our entry level drivers will learn the skills needed for them to move onto the Road to Indy, with less pressure. The new series will be choreographed with our current programs and tremendous partnership with Cooper Tires. The feedback I have received from team owners has been nothing but positive.”
In addition to a team from Andersen Promotions’ current staff, former Indy Lights race winner and sports car talent Gustavo Yacaman will fill the role of series manager. An accomplished driver coach, Yacaman now leads the YACademy Winter Series, a highly regarded training ground for drivers looking to make the move from karts to cars. Andersen Promotions will work closely with the YACademy as a pre-season testing opportunity for USF Juniors as well as USF2000 and the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires.
“I am really excited to get this program off the ground together with Dan Andersen,” said Yacaman. “Our successful strategies in place at the YACademy Winter Series will be brought to this new series with all the support and resources that Andersen Promotions has to offer. Huge thanks to Cooper Tires for believing in this project from Day 1. Without their support, none of this would be possible.
“We will be very focused on driver training and making sure that young drivers really learn the right way of racing an open-wheel car in a highly competitive environment.”
Current Indy Pro 2000 and USF2000 Race Directors Johnny Unser and Joel Miller will oversee race control and will work directly with USF Juniors official driver coach Gabby Chaves, the 2014 Indy Lights champion, in preparing drivers to take the next step on the ladder.
“We’re enjoying an increasing number of drivers coming to USF2000 from assorted junior programs each year, so creating this new platform will only pay dividends when it comes to properly training the young racers who want to move into the Road To Indy,” offered Rob Howden, Road to Indy Series Development Director. “The USF Juniors program will immerse these young drivers in our culture and our approach to training and race direction. I believe that this will only serve to further increase the quality of the competition in USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000 in the coming years. The drivers will learn the Road to Indy approach and atmosphere, which I believe sets us apart from other programs.”
Registration for USF Juniors Presented by Cooper Tires will open in November. The USF Juniors website can be found at http://usfjuniors.com/ and is currently in development. Social media platforms include @USFJuniors on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

 

Kirkwood caps off dominant weekend with ninth win of the Indy Lights season

Kyle Kirkwood in the Road to Indy/Cooper Tires/Construction Contractors Club sponsored No. 28 on track at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy

By Steve Wittich

Dominant, on-rails, championship altering and effortless are all words and phrases that describe Kyle Kirkwood’s weekend at the iconic WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

“I have to give it to the team,” said the 22-year-old on the peacock broadcast after his 26+ second Sunday drive. “Andretti Autosport has been on it all weekend, and our cars have been absolutely phenomenal.

“We came here testing, and what we found here has been good. It’s given me a car where I can go out, drive my pace and focus on my driving and not have any big moments or slides, which is pretty rare for a place like this with how low grip it is and how much elevation there is.

“I couldn’t be any happier. Big thanks to all of the Andretti guys. They’ve done a super job all weekend making sure the car – even when the track changes with the NTT INDYCAR SERIES – we still got faster and faster. ”

The dominant sweep of all 64 points available during the Indy Lights Grand Prix of Monterey Presented By Cooper Tires Race equates to a 20 point shift and a 15 points championship lead headed to the scholarship decider at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course the first weekend in October.

Kirkwood’s ninth win of the season moves him to within one win of the Indy Lights single-season record of ten, set by Greg Moore in 1995.

The phenom from Jupiter, Fla., has now won 30 Road To Indy races in 48 starts, giving him an RTI win percentage of 62.5%!

Kirkwood is the 14th pole-sitter to win in 24 Indy Lights races at the iconic Monterey, Calif. road course.

Coming home in second place after spending most of the 35-lap race by himself on the track was HMD Motorsports veteran David Malukas, the Chicago, Ill. driver’s 14th podium of the year and 23rd of his Road To Indy career.

“In the beginning, he took off like a rocket, said the driver, who turns 20-years-old in a week, to peacock’s Georgia Henneberry. “I was looking at his line and said, ‘wow, he carried a lot of speed through there, I’m going to try it,’ and I almost went off in (Turn) 9.

“I had to back it off. I was at 90% on the tires because I didn’t want to lose the car and make a mistake like I did yesterday. So I kept the car at 90%, and sooner or later, I was by myself, and it was almost like a test day for me.

“I think we got everything we could out of it. We had a big gap over my teammate Linus (Lundqvist), so that’s a big plus.

“In the end, we’re still close, and hopefully, going into Mid-Ohio, we can get something done.”

Scoring the tenth podium of his rookie Indy Lights season was Global Racing Group w/HMD’s Linus Lundqvist, who locks himself into third place on the championship table, guaranteeing the Swede will get an NTT INDYCAR SERIES test.

Rounding out the top five were Danial Frost (Andretti Autosport) and Benjamin Pedersen (Global Racing Group w/HMD), the two drivers who are fighting for fourth in the championship. Pedersen has an 18 point gap to Frost with the two races at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course remaining.

The command to fire the 2.0L turbocharged AER engines came at 10:15 am from Mike White, the AER Engine Indy Lights program manager.

A light mist/marine layer covered the 2.238-mile, 11-turn road course as the cars pulled onto the track.

On the first pace lap, Christian Bogle came to the attention of the Carlin crew on the pit road, but he was able to rejoin, almost catching the rear of the field before the start.

After two laps behind the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires pace car, a front row of Kirkwood and Malukas brought the field to green for the sixth time in 2021.

Kirwood, in the Road to Indy/Cooper Tires/Construction Contractors Club Dallara, sponsored No. 28, got a slight jump on Malukas, who could not drop in behind the pole-sitter because his teammate Lundqvist had filled that gap.

Malukas remained to the outside of Kirkwood and Lundqvist and was able to slot into second place.

Frost, who started fourth, locked up his front brakes going into the Andretti hairpin but held off Pedersen for fourth.

In Turn 10, Robb took a look around the outside of DeFrancesco but dropped all four tires into the dirt, losing a spot to his teammate Lindh.

The running order after the first lap was Kirkwood, Malukas, Lundqvist, Frost, Pedersen, Megennis, DeFrancesco, Lindh, Robb, Sulaiman and Bogle.

On Lap 2, Lundqvist had his mirrors full of Frost and Pedersen.

Kirkwood’s dominance at the front of the field carried over from Saturday, pulling a 5.6-second gap over Malukas after ten laps. The gap between Malukas in second and Lundqvist in third was over two seconds.

Further back, Lindh, who had to start ninth after a penalty in qualifying, moved up to the seventh spot after getting around DeFrancesco.

After 15 laps, Kirkwood’s lead over Malukas was 8.6 seconds, with the 22-year-old the only driver to turn a lap under 77 seconds.

At this point of the 35-lap, Sunday feature ran laps over a half-second quicker than Malukas, the only driver not named Kyle turning laps in the 77-second range.

Forst, in fourth, was within push-to-pass range of Lundqvist for the final spot on the podium, but he had his mirrors full of the other orange and black Global Racing Group machine of Pedersen.

Further back in the field, Lindh behind Megennis was the only driver that was within push-to-pass.

On Lap 19, Malukas dropped two wheels off at the exit of Turn 4 but kept his HMD Trucking sponsored No. 79 pointing in the right direction.

Kirkwood’s gap to second place Malukas had grown to a massive 16.9 seconds with ten laps remaining.

Malukas was also on his own, running 8.2 seconds ahead of Lundqvist.

Behind the podium runners, the action was much closer, with the drivers running third through ninth covered by only 13 seconds.

The gap had grown to 21.3 seconds with five laps remaining, but he did have a slight tick of excitement on that lap.

In the Pelican Energy, sponsored No. 7, Bogle went for a wild ride in the second half of The Corkscrew, bounding through the gravel and reentering the track not too far in front of the leader.

While not exciting upfront, Lundqvist, Frost, and Pedersen were all close for the final spot on the podium, also, Megennis had Lindh, DeFrancesco, and Robb within 1.5 seconds of him.

Kirkwood crossed under the checkered flag 26.0555 seconds ahead of Malukas, a series largest gap in 24 races at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

In 2019 Race #1, Rinus VeeKay bested Toby Sowery by 9.8874 seconds, the largest previous gap at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Indy Lights Grand Prix of Monterey Presented By Cooper Tires Race #2 Results

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM DIFFERENCE
1 28 Kyle Kirkwood Andretti Autosport 35 LAPS
2 79 David Malukas HMD Motorsports -26.0555
3 26 Linus Lundqvist Global Racing Group w/HMD Motorsports -39.3152
4 68 Danial Frost Andretti Autosport -40.8857
5 24 Benjamin Pedersen Global Racing Group w/HMD Motorsports -41.7672
6 27 Robert Megennis Andretti Autosport -48.0055
7 51 Rasmus Lindh Juncos Hollinger Racing -48.5498
8 17 Devlin DeFrancesco Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport -49.531
9 2 Sting Ray Robb Juncos Hollinger Racing -50.1593
10 59 Manuel Sulaiman HMD Motorsports -54.303
11 7 Christian Bogle Carlin -2 LAPS

The Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires series will decide who wins the $1,289,425 scholarship to move to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on October 2nd and 3rd.

‘Effortless’ performance gives Kirkwood the Indy Lights points lead

Kyle Kirkwood celebrates his eighth Indy Lights win of 2021 with a young fan Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy

By Steve Wittich

How to turn a five-point championship deficit into an eight (nine) point lead in only 24 hours by Kyle Kirkwood is the title of the first chapter of the Indy Lights weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.

Kirkwood, a champion in USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000, moved one race closer to becoming the first driver to win all three Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires scholarships with a dominating 24 hours that included two pole wins and the most effortless win this year. His words, not ours.

“We came into this weekend knowing we needed to be fast, and we are just that,” said Andretti Autosport, rookie to Georgia Henneberry, on the Peacock broadcast. “I was unsure of our race pace coming in, but we were even faster at the end than we were in the beginning.

“I can’t believe it. I have no words right now. It was probably the most effortless race that I’ve had all season. For it to happen this weekend is so crucial for our championship.

“I’m stoked. It’s awesome!!”

It’s the eighth win of the season for Kirkwood, giving him one more trip to the top step of the podium than his championship rival David Malukas. In addition, Kirkwood extends his Road To Indy leading wins total to 29.

The win is the first in Indy Lights at the iconic 2.238-mile, 11-turn road course for Andretti Autosport. The team now has 67 wins as an Indy Lights team.

Coming home second, after holding off an early charge from his championship-leading teammate David Malukas was Linus Lundqvist. The podium is the 22-year-olds ninth this season, 25th in his American Open Wheel career, and 70th across all junior open-wheel categories.

“We’re here to win, but on days you can’t win, it’s good to be second,” said the driver, who is third in the season-long points battle. “We have a bit of work overnight to try to catch Kyle, but tomorrow’s a new day. It’s a long way down into Turn One; hopefully, we can figure something out, but it’s good to have another shot at it. This track is one of the places we tested at, so it’s good to come back somewhere familiar. Huge thanks to the team, who has worked night and day to get the car we have. Hopefully, we can get one more spot tomorrow.”

Making it three podiums and five top-fives in the last five races was Lundqvist’s Global Racing Group w/HMD teammate Benjamin Pedersen, who stood on a podium for the fifth time during his rookie Indy Lights season.

“It was a really tricky race in terms of tire management, especially the rear tires once we hit the halfway point,” explained Pedersen after the 30-lap race. “I tried my best to pressure Linus, but it’s hard to stay close here. We’re happy with the result, sitting a strong fourth in the championship and our fifth straight (top-four). We’ll try to make the car better overnight, help the rears last longer, and see how I can make myself better for tomorrow.”

It gives the 22-year-old a more comfortable twenty-point gap to a trio of Andretti Autosport drivers whom he is battling for fourth in the championship.

For the fifth time in 2021, Kirkwood led the field to the green flag, with Lundqvist joining him on the front row.

Kirkwood got a slight jump, with Lundqvist also getting a decent jump. In the Utah Airguns/HPD/Global Racing Group/FX Airguns/ Paytrim/JULA, sponsored No. 26, Lundqvist was side-by-side with Kirkwood at the corner entry. But, by the apex of the Andretti Hairpin, he had fallen behind the No. 28, slotting in behind the leader.

A chaotic start to the first of two Indy Lights Grand Prix of Monterey Presented By Cooper Tires races at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy

Malukas wisely let the two front-row starters fight for the top spot, easily holding back his teammate Pedersen and holding third.

Further back, the Telcel/Anahauc/WBC Store/Ambiental/MultiQuip No. 59 of Manuel Sulaiman went for a wild ride through the dirt at the exit of Turn 4 after making wheel-to-wheel contact with DeFrancesco in the right-hander.

The running order at the end of the first lap was Kirkwood, Lundqvist, Malukas, Benjamin Pedersen (Global Racing Group w/HMD), Danial Frost (Andretti Autosport), Rasmus Lindh (Juncos Hollinger Racing), Devlin DeFrancesco (Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport), Robert Megennis (Andretti Autosport), Sting Ray Robb (Juncos Hollinger Racing), Christian Bogle (Carlin) and Manuel Sulaiman (HMD Motorsports).

On Lap 2, Lindh, a winner at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca in Indy Pro 2000, was able to get by Frost for the fifth spot.

After five laps of action, Kirkwood’s lead over Lundqvist was 2.19 seconds, meaning that push-to-pass was not available. Behind Lundqvist, his teammate Malukas was lapping a little quicker but could not get around the Swedish driver.

On Lap 6, Megennis came to pit road for repairs by the Andretti Autosport crew, with what Georgia Henneberry reported was a suspension issue.

On Lap 8, the points leader lost the rear of the HMD Trucking No. 79 at the apex of Turn 3 and went for a wild ride through the dirt. He kept his car pointed in the right direction but lost one spot to his teammate Pedersen.

Benjamin Pedersen leads David Malukas at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy

After ten laps, Kirkwood’s lead over Lundqvist was 4.0 seconds. Lundqvist’s teammate Pedersen was within push-to-pass range of the No. 26. The running order behind the podium runners was Malukas, Lindh, Frost, DeFrancesco, Robb, Sulaiman, Bogle, and Megennis.

As Kirkwood began Lap 17, he had a 7.6 second lead over Lundqvist erased when the yellow flag came out for Bogle, who appeared to have a mechanical issue and dropped fluid on the track, coming to a stop in the gravel on the outside of Turn 2.

The running order under the yellow flag was Kirkwood, Lundqvist, Pedersen, Malukas, Lindh, Frost, DeFrancesco, Robb, Sulaiman, Bogle, and Megennis.

The AMR INDYCAR Safety Team got the car and fluid cleaned up, with the green flag coming with
nine laps remaining.

As the field exited the final corner, DeFrancesco and his teammate, Frost, were side-by-side, with the Dan-Jet sponsored No. 68 running wide and losing three spots, falling to ninth. Race control announced that move was under review, with DeFrancesco eventually being penalized five seconds.

At the front, Kirkwood got a significant jump, quickly pulling out of push-to-pass range and driving away from the Global Racing Group/HMD Motorsports trio.

Kirkwood was running laps almost a second quicker than Lundqvist, and with five laps remaining, had pulled to a 4.7-second lead.

Lundqvist had Pedersen within push-to-pass range in the fight for second. However, Pedersen had his teammate and championship leader Malukas within a half-second.

Over the last five laps, Kirkwood pulled out another two seconds, getting the checkered flag 6.6 seconds ahead of Lundqvist.

Malukas continued to put pressure on Pedersen but was not able to get around the Danish driver.

DeFrancesco was putting pressure on Lindh for fifth place but couldn’t get around the Juncos Hollinger Racing newcomer, meaning that the following three drivers were within the five seconds DeFrancesco was penalized, and he ended up finishing ninth.

Indy Lights Grand Prix of Monterey Presented By Cooper Tires Race #1 results

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM DIFFERENCE
1 28 Kyle Kirkwood Andretti Autosport 30 LAPS
2 26 Linus Lundqvist Global Racing Group w/HMD Motorsports -6.6515
3 24 Benjamin Pedersen Global Racing Group w/HMD Motorsports -9.1243
4 79 David Malukas HMD Motorsports -9.7218
5 51 Rasmus Lindh Juncos Hollinger Racing -12.0328
6 2 Sting Ray Robb Juncos Hollinger Racing -14.3389
7 59 Manuel Sulaiman HMD Motorsports -15.4639
8 68 Danial Frost Andretti Autosport -16.5291
9 17 Devlin DeFrancesco Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport -17.4696
10 27 Robert Megennis Andretti Autosport -4 LAPS
11 7 Christian Bogle Carlin -14 LAPS

The final Indy Lights race of the weekend at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca will get the green flag at 9:45 am (PT) or 12:45 pm (PT).

Some big changes in store for Indy Lights in 2022

By Steve Wittich

TSO has learned from numerous sources that INDYCAR, the owners of the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires championship, will be bringing the top rung of the Road To Indy back in-house for the 2022 season.

Andersen Promotions, the owner and promoter of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship and Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires series, has been the promotor of Indy Lights since the 2014 season.

After taking over the promotion of Indy Lights, Andersen Promotions introduced a new car, the popular IL-15, which has proved itself as a great training tool for future NTT INDYCAR SERIES drivers.

Since 2014, Indy Lights has graduated 19 drivers to the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, including recent race winners Pato O’Ward, Colton Herta, and Rinus VeeKay.

The top junior open-wheel series, which began life as the American Racing Series in 1986, was promoted by Championship Auto Racing Teams from 1986 through 2001 and the Indy Racing League/INDYCAR from 2002 through 2013.

TSO Ladder has reached out to both Andersen Promotions and INDYCAR for comment, and will update this story when we hear back from those entities.

More details of the change are forthcoming in the next week.

 

Kyle Kirkwood grabs second straight pole – Malukas and HMD Motorsports make gains

 

The Road to Indy/Cooper Tires/Construction Contractors Club sponsored No. 28 of Kyle Kirkwood navigates “The Corkscrew” at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy

By Steve Wittich

After a second straight dominant qualifying session that yielded his sixth pole of the 2021 Indy Lights season, Andretti Autosport rookie Kyle Kirkwood has closed the gap to championship leader David Malukas to three points with four races remaining.

The 22-year-old saved a set of sticker Cooper Tires and was still able to beat his closest rival to the all-important pole and bonus point that goes with it at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, a track that can be difficult to overtake on.

“Our car is absolutely on rails this weekend,” explained Kirkwood to Rob Howden to the INDYCAR Radio Network. “We came here and tested in February, and whatever we did, we figured it out. I’m really happy with the car right now.”

The pole by Kirkwood is Andretti Autosport’s 78th start from the pole in an Indy Lights race, matching Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, on top of the all-time leader board. Andretti Autosport’s first Indy Lights pole came with Marco Andretti behind the wheel on the 1.8-mile, 14-turn St. Petersburg, Fla. street circuit in 2005.

Championship leader and HMD Motorsports veteran Malukas will start beside his rival, the sixth time the pair have started on the front row together this season.

Malukas and his engineer Yancy Diotalevi did make some gains overnight, qualifying within 0.25 seconds of Kirkwood after ending yesterday’s qualifying session 0.45 seconds adrift.

“We had a good gain from yesterday,” explained the 19-year-old to the INDYCAR Radio Network. “We found those two or three tenths we needed; we just missed the peak zone. The car was much better, and I wasn’t used to the car being at that level, so I had to change my line a little bit. Because of that, even at the end of the run, we were getting quicker and quicker, and we missed zone to get those extra two-tenths to be with Kyle.

“At the same time, hat’s off to them (Andretti Autosport and Kyle Kirkwood). They found something for sure, but I think we gained on them, and I think it will be more even in the longer runs.

This track isn’t the easiest to pass, so it will be interesting.

Starting behind the championship leader are Linus Lundqvist (Global Racing Group w/HMD) and Danial Frost (Andretti Autosport).

“We always want a bit more,” said the Swede Lundqvist. “We’re here to win and get poles. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to fight for it today. I know that the team will come back strong, and the race is where the points are handed out. Hopefully, we’ll have a chance in Turn 1. I have confidence we’ll bounce back in the race.

When the green flag came out to start the 30-minute qualifying session, ten of the 11 drivers quickly took to the 2.238-mile, 11-turn road course. The lone driver still on pit road was the pole winner for the first Indy Lights Grand Prix of Monterey Presented By Cooper Tires, Kyle Kirkwood. There were no problems with the Road to Indy/Cooper Tires/Construction Contractors Club No. 28; the team held him to save a set of Cooper Tires. The driver that is second in the championship standing took to the track with 20 minutes remaining.

After ten minutes of action, the majority of the field had turned five or six laps. The quickest of the group was Frost, with his teammates DeFrancesco and Megennis, also among the fastest drivers.

Megennis, on fresh Cooper Tire slicks, on his seventh lap of the session, went to the provisional pole with a lap of 75.7661 seconds. Kirkwood, who was on scuffed Coopers, was the third quickest driver, barely over a tenth-of-a-second behind his teammate.

With 14 minutes remaining, Kirkwood was the only driver on track, and with a lap at 75.6353 seconds, took over the provisional pole.

With all drivers on pit road for new sticker Cooper Tires, the running order on the timing screen was Kirkwood, Megennis, Frost, DeFrancesco, Lindh, Malukas, Lundqvist, Robb, Bogle, Sulaiman, and Pedersen.

The field got back on track with just under ten minutes remaining, giving them only five or six laps to improve their previous lap times.

Championship leader Malukas led the field onto the iconic road course, giving him clean air to improve his sixth-place standing.

As drivers were juggling for space, Lundqvist was the first driver to improve, grabbing the provisional pole with a lap of 75.5475 seconds.

With three minutes remaining, Frost, Malukas, and lastly, Kirkwood blitzes the field again, turning a lap at 74.8317 seconds, four-tenths of a second ahead of Malukas.

Kirkwood and Malukas went quicker on their last laps, with Malukas coming within 0.2504 seconds of Kirkwood.

Addendum:

Lindh and the SKF/PWR Racing/Husvarden sponsored No. 51 had his best lap time violated for violating rule 8.5.6, and will start the race from the ninth spot. That rule states:

8.5.6. Interference – If a Car has a problem, the Driver made a mistake, is on an out lap or for any other reason is not fully up to speed, Drivers must pay attention not to interfere with another Cars lap. Interference as determined by the Race Director may result in a penalty. If the situation warrants a penalty, the penalty will be loss of fastest lap of the session.

Indy Lights Grand Prix of Monterey Presented By Cooper Tires Qualifying #2 Results

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM FAST LAP DIFFERENCE
1 28 Kyle Kirkwood Andretti Autosport 1:14.6939 ——
2 79 David Malukas HMD Motorsports 1:14.9443 0.2504
3 26 Linus Lundqvist Global Racing Group w/HMD Motorsports 1:15.0414 0.3475
4 68 Danial Frost Andretti Autosport 1:15.2521 0.5582
5 24 Benjamin Pedersen Global Racing Group w/HMD Motorsports 1:15.3813 0.6874
6 27 Robert Megennis Andretti Autosport 1:15.5721 0.8782
7 2 Sting Ray Robb Juncos Hollinger Racing 1:15.5987 0.9048
8 51 Rasmus Lindh Juncos Hollinger Racing 1:15.6881 0.9942
9 17 Devlin DeFrancesco Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport 1:15.6895 0.9956
10 59 Manuel Sulaiman HMD Motorsports 1:15.8342 1.1403
11 7 Christian Bogle Carlin 1:16.4630 1.7691

Race #1 is scheduled for a 12:45 pm (PT) or 3:45 pm (ET) green flag on Saturday afternoon. Race #2 is set for 10:15 am (PT) or 1:15 pm (ET).

Kirkwood grabs fifth pole of the season, points Leader Malukas will start 3rd

Kyle Kirkwood celebrates his fifth pole of the 2021 Indy Lights season Photo credit: Patrick Stephan – TSO

By Steve Wittich

For the fifth time this season and the 16th time in his Road To Indy career, Andretti Autosport rookie Kyle Kirkwood will start a race from the pole.

Starting from the preferred spot on the grid isn’t the only benefit for the 22-year-old. Kirkwood left Portland with a five-point deficit to points leader David Malukas, but the pole win means that gap has decreased by 20% to four points.

“We had a test here (WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca) before the season, and we thought that everything was going to be great, and it translated,” said the Jupiter, Fla. native. “We got the set-up perfect. Our car is absolutely amazing in qualifying.”

“But we haven’t really done any long runs to know where our race car is, but we’re pretty confident with what we have. So it’s a good way to start the weekend.”

An Andretti Autosport driver will start on the pole for the 77th time since 2005, leaving the Michael Andretti-owned team only one behind Schmidt Peterson Motorsports on the all-time Indy Lights pole list.

Global Racing Group w/HMD rookie Linus Lundqvist, who is making his first visit to the California track, turned in the second quickest lap time, and for the sixth time this season, will start outside of the front row.

With two-tenths of a second of Lundqvist is his HMD Motorsports/Global Racing Group teammates David Malukas and Benjamin Pedersen, along with Andretti Autosport rookie Danial Frost.

Points leader Malukas will start somewhere other than the front row for only the fourth time in fifteen races this season.

Indy Lights qualifying got underway a little late after cleaning up an incident involving a pace car and a former Formula 1 driver. When the green flag came out at 1:34 pm, the sky was bright blue after the marine layer had burned off and the ambient temperature was 64F.

All 11 drivers quickly got on to the 2.238-mile, 11-turn road course with fresh Cooper Tire slicks.

After five minutes and all of the drivers had completed three laps, Kirkwood held the provisional pole, but lap times were getting quicker and were below the morning’s times on the used tires.

At 75.6009 seconds on his third lap, Kirkwood’s lap was a half-second quicker than Lundqvist, who set his quickest lap on his fifth lap of the qualifying session.

Most drivers remained on the track, completing an average of nine or ten laps before coming to pit road for adjustments and fresh Cooper Tire slicks. All 11 drivers turned their quickest lap on their third, fourth, or fifth lap after the start of the 30-minute session.

With two-thirds of the half-hour session complete, the drivers started to get up to speed for the final pole shootout.

It took the drivers at least three laps to get back up to speed, with Sulaiman and Robb the first drivers to go quicker.

On his 12th lap of the session, Malukas moved to with four-tenths of a second of Kirkwood, as the timing screens started to light up green as lap times improved.

Lundqvist knocked Kirkwood from the provisional pole for only a few seconds before Kirkwood improved the provisional pole to 75.3525 seconds, besting the Swede by just over a hundredth of a second.

Kirkwood wasn’t done, though, with the American going even quicker on his next two laps, with the two-time Road To Indy champion saying:

“I’m very comfortable. Our Andretti Autosport No. 28 car is absolutely on rails. It seems almost effortless. I was able to get another lap time, and another lap time, and then another one, and I knew exactly where the tires were at just after that. I knew that was all we had.”

The Road to Indy/Cooper Tires/Construction Contractors Club sponsored No. 28 of Kyle Kirkwood navigates “The Corkscrew” at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy

Only Pederson could go quicker on his last lap, going a little quicker than Frost and moving up to fourth.

Indy Lights Grand Prix of Monterey Presented By Cooper Tires Qualifying #1 Results

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM FAST LAP DIFFERENCE
1 28 Kyle Kirkwood Andretti Autosport 1:15.0235 ——
2 26 Linus Lundqvist Global Racing Group w/HMD Motorsports 1:15.4015 0.3780
3 79 David Malukas HMD Motorsports 1:15.4821 0.4586
4 24 Benjamin Pedersen Global Racing Group w/HMD Motorsports 1:15.5815 0.5580
5 68 Danial Frost Andretti Autosport 1:15.5953 0.5718
6 51 Rasmus Lindh Juncos Hollinger Racing 1:15.9109 0.8874
7 17 Devlin DeFrancesco Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport 1:16.0095 0.9860
8 27 Robert Megennis Andretti Autosport 1:16.1641 1.1406
9 59 Manuel Sulaiman HMD Motorsports 1:16.6593 1.6358
10 2 Sting Ray Robb Juncos Hollinger Racing 1:16.7524 1.7289
11 7 Christian Bogle Carlin 1:17.0608 2.0373

The first of two Indy Lights Grand Prix of Monterey Presented By Cooper Tires races gets the green flag at 12:45 pm (PT) or 3:45 (ET) on Saturday. But, first, the top rung of the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires is back on track for another qualifying session at 9:45 am (PT) or 12:45 pm (ET).

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