#2: Jonathan Browne , Turn 3 Motorsport, Human Centred Movement, CRPS Awareness. Photo: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy

By Tony DiZinno

Heading into the third weekend of the 2022 Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires, just 24 points cover the top six drivers. Nolan Siegel leads Louis Foster by five (96-91), with Braden Eves third (83) ahead of Reece Gold, Enaam Ahmed and Josh Green. 

These six drivers represent five different teams, with Siegel leading DEForce, Foster running with Exclusive Autosport, Eves with Jay Howard Driver Development, Gold and Ahmed teammates at Juncos Hollinger Racing and Green with Turn 3 Motorsport. With three races ahead on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, this weekend has the potential to jumble that order. 

The 15 drivers that competed at Barber Motorsports Park continue at the IMS road course, joined by a 16th car as Exclusive Autosport adds an entry for Lindsay Brewer in her series debut. Jack William Miller’s Miller Vinatieri Motorsports program has also entered into a technical alliance with Exclusive Autosport, which should only help enhance Miller’s further growth and development. 

Gold led the only official practice session on Thursday ahead of Kiko Porto (DEForce Racing) and Colin Kaminsky (Pabst Racing).

Halfway through the 20-minute session, Foster and Miller were the top two and only ones in the 1:21 bracket with Siegel third, Sundaramoorthy fourth and Gold fifth. Only 1.1 seconds covered the top 15 drivers.

Siegel and Sundaramoorthy shot ahead of Miller for second and third, while Foster’s 1:21.695 looked unbeatable for the rest of the session.

That was until Jonathan Browne uncorked a 1:21.677 lap for Peter Dempsey’s Turn 3 Motorsport which beat Foster by just 0.017 of a second for a surprise pole position. The Irishman had not started better than 11th in four races this year in the No. 2 Tatuus PM-22. 

The polesitter has won 11 of 19 total Indy Pro 2000/Pro Mazda races at the IMS road course, although last year the three races were won from third, ninth and third on the grid.

Foster has been on the podium three times in four races to start the year, he hadn’t qualified better than fourth until this race. He’ll start second. Siegel, Miller and Sundaramoorthy complete the top five on the grid.

Gold, Porto, Kaminsky, Ahmed and Eves round out the top 10. But those 10 drivers were only separate by 0.4905 of a second. 

The first of three Indy Pro 2000 races this weekend goes green at 2:45 p.m. ET and local time, with coverage via the Road to Indy TV App.

Indy Pro 2000 GP of Indianapolis – Qualifying Results

P No Name Team FTime Diff
1 2 Jonathan Browne Turn 3 Motorsport 1:21.6771 1:21.6771
2 90 Louis Foster Exclusive Autosport 1:21.6946 0.0175
3 8 Nolan Siegel DEForce Racing 1:21.7445 0.0674
4 40 Jack William Miller Miller Vinatieri Motorsports 1:21.7837 0.1066
5 18 Yuven Sundaramoorthy Pabst Racing 1:21.7990 0.1219
6 55 Reece Gold Juncos Hollinger Racing 1:21.8401 0.1630
7 1 Kiko Porto DEForce Racing 1:21.9145 0.2374
8 27 Colin Kaminsky Pabst Racing 1:22.0823 0.4052
9 47 Enaam Ahmed Juncos Hollinger Racing 1:22.1373 0.4602
10 4 Braden Eves Jay Howard Driver Development 1:22.1676 0.4905
11 19 Jordan Missig Pabst Racing 1:22.3421 0.6650
12 6 Salvador De Alba Jay Howard Driver Develpment 1:22.3543 0.6772
13 3 Josh Green Turn 3 Motorsport 1:22.4076 0.7305
14 5 Wyatt Brichacek Jay Howard Driver Development 1:22.4109 0.7338
15 93 Lindsay Brewer Exclusive Autosport 1:22.8089 1.1318
16 83 Charles Finelli FatBoy Racing 1:25.0726 3.3955