By Tony DiZinno

Sometimes surprises occur at Road America and while it’s only practice, a welcome surprise occurred at the top of the timesheets in the second Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires session of the weekend.

As on Friday, HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing was on top of the charts. But it was thanks to its two least expected drivers excelling on fresh sticker sets of Cooper Tires late in the session. 

Series sophomores Christian Bogle and Antonio Serravalle finished 1-2 in the second practice, the best session results of both drivers’ Indy Lights careers by far, after posting the first two laps in the 1:54 bracket around the 4.014-mile Road America this weekend. Bogle is in the No. 7 Pelican Energy adorned blue and white entry with Serravalle in the traditional black and white HMD colors and his traditional No. 11. 

Unlike Friday’s lone practice, Saturday’s second practice saw drivers out early and often to gain laps and get track time ahead of qualifying later today, which is scheduled from noon to 12:25 p.m. 

Temperatures of 65 degrees ambient and 67 track greeted the 13 drivers under cloudy skies. 

But in a sign this was going to be an unusual session, things got nutty almost from the off.

On his out lap, Benjamin Pedersen went on the grass driver’s left exiting Turn 3, and then went deep off course and through the gravel trap in his No. 24 Global Racing Group with HMD entry. He avoided the tire barrier though and got back going on the grass before returning to the track.

It appeared as though Pedersen was suffering from braking issues because a lap later, he locked the left front on entry into Turn 5.

Friday pacesetter Linus Lundqvist was first into the 1:55 bracket ahead of Danial Frost, Jacob Abel, Christian Rasmussen and Ernie Francis Jr.

Francis Jr. was another to test the limits of his machinery with a heavy lockup a little bit later.

With 26 minutes left in the session though, Rasmussen’s session came to an early end with the team reporting a mechanical issue it needed to diagnose. 

McElrea dropped the hammer with a lap more than half a second faster than Lundqvist, down to 1:55.1136. The driver raised in Australia, born in California is sporting a new sponsor this weekend and the rest of the season in the form of Smart Motors Toyota aboard his No. 27 Andretti Autosport entry. That’s linked to former USF2000 competitor JR Smart. 

The moments continued with Brabham having a pair, first exiting Turn 14, and a second one a little bit later exiting Turn 13 where he ran wide over the rumble strips but caught up. He shot up the charts though as a result of his pushing.

And then the final surprises of the session occurred when first Serravalle, then Bogle, emerged atop the charts with significantly quicker times. TSO Ladder was able to confirm the new tire runs as the times dropped.

Serravalle’s first flyer launched him up to third and his second, occurring on his 12th lap of the session, moved him to the top of the charts at 1:54.9198.

That time on top was short-lived with Bogle going even quicker at a 1:54.7706.

McElrea’s earlier time held stood for third, best of the Andretti brigade and the only non-HMD with DCR car in the top five. Lundqvist was fourth, Frost fifth, with Brabham falling to sixth ahead of Francis Jr.

Robb, Rasmussen and TJ Speed Motorsports’ Kyffin Simpson completed the top 10. Pedersen’s troublesome session with the aforementioned braking issues left him P13 and last despite completing nine laps.

Indy Lights GP at Road America – Practice #2

P	No	Name	Team	FTime	Diff	Laps
1	7	Christian Bogle	HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing	1:54.7706	1:54.7706	11
2	11	Antonio Serravalle	HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing	1:54.9198	0.1492	12
3	27	Hunter McElrea	Andretti Autosport	1:55.1136	0.3430	13
4	26	Linus Lundqvist	HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing	1:55.3357	0.5651	11
5	68	Danial Frost	HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing	1:55.6128	0.8422	12
6	83	Matthew Brabham	Andretti Autosport	1:55.6269	0.8563	13
7	99	Ernie Francis Jr.	Force Indy	1:55.6368	0.8662	11
8	2	Sting Ray Robb	Andretti Autosport	1:55.7948	1.0242	11
9	28	Christian Rasmussen	Andretti Autosport	1:56.5233	1.7527	5
10	21	Kyffin Simpson	TJ Speed Motorsports	1:56.6049	1.8343	11
11	51	Jacob Abel	Abel Motorsports	1:56.6941	1.9235	12
12	12	James Roe	TJ Speed Motorsports	1:57.6908	2.9202	13
13	24	Benjamin Pedersen	Global Racing Group with HMD	1:57.8961	3.1255	9

By Steve Wittich

Linus Lundqvist (HMD Motorsports w/Dale Coyne Racing) matched a dominant morning qualifying session with a flag to flag victory in the first of two Indy Lights Detroit Grand Prix races in Detroit, Mich. The 23-year-old has now scored ‘max points’ in three of five races to start the 2022 season and has a substantial 58-point lead heading into tomorrow’s race.

“We’re here to win races, which this is the best way to try to win it (the championship), explained Lundqvist. “At this stage, it’s perfect for both me and the team.

“We had great qualifying and were able to win the race today. They (HMD Motorsports w/Dale Coyne Racing team) gave me a good car, and, yeah, I tried to stay out of trouble.

“But, yeah, it was a good day!”

The most significant margin of victory (3.7232 seconds) in an Indy Lights race on Belle Isle is the Swede’s third Indy Lights win of the season and the sixth in his 25-race old career.

The win increases Lundqvist’s North American win percentage to 50% (21 wins in 42 races across Indy Lights and Formula Regional Americas Championship Powered By Honda.

It’s the 15th Indy Lights win for HMD Motorsports w/Dale Coyne Racing. Fourteen of those have come in the past two seasons.

Lundqvist is the eighth driver in 13 Indy Lights races held on the 2.35-mile, 14-turn Raceway at Belle Isle Park street circuit to get a flag by flag win.

Global Racing Group veteran Benjamin Pedersen is still looking for his first career Indy Lights win, but his consistency has led to his seventh podium in his last 13 Indy Lights starts.

“Yeah, good day,” said Pedersen. “It was fun to do the ‘push to pass’ system. I was getting used to that. We’re definitely going to look at how to optimize that better for the future. Really good points. Happy with that.

“Yeah, just looking forward to tomorrow.”

In the second qualifying, Pedersen broke a drive shaft, meaning he’ll start tomorrow’s 30-lap main event in the 13th spot.

The podiums for Linus Lundqvist and Benjamin Pedersen are the 49th and 50th for HMD Motorsports w/Dale Coyne Racing/Global Racing Group. They now have five podiums on bucolic Belle Isle.

Matthew Brabham (Andretti Autosport) took advantage of some other driver’s misfortune to grab his second podium of the 2022 season. It’s his sixth Indy Lights podium, and the number 36 in 58 Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires starts.

“It was a wild race but obviously, to come home P3 from where we started in sixth was great,” said Brabham. “Obviously, it’s a bumpy track, and there were a lot of people having issues out there, so I was just able to capitalize on those and bring it home safely. We have so much speed, and it’s disappointing we’re starting so far back because I think we have a car to run up the front, if not be the fastest car on track, so great job by the Andretti team, Master Mine, all of my sponsors and everyone for the result and we’ll get them tomorrow.”

It’s Andretti Autosport’s fourth podium at this event.

Christian Bogle, who was making his 25th career Indy Lights start, finished the 25-lap race in the fourth spot. The best career finish for the 21-year-old who didn’t begin racing until he was 18.

Kyffin Simpson, a TJ Speed Motorsports rookie, has had a sneaky solid start to his 2022 season. It’s his second top-five of the year, and

The front row of Lundqvist and Pedersen brought the field to the green flag for the first of 25 laps on the 2.35-mile, 14-turn Raceway at Belle Isle Park street circuit.

The field got cleanly through the first lap, with Jacob Abel (Abel Motorsports) and Ernie Francis, Jr. (Force Indy) both gaining one spot on the first lap.

The running order after the first lap was Lundqvist, Pedersen, Sting Ray Robb (Andretti Autosport), Danial Frost (HMD Motorsports w/Dale Coyne Racing), Hunter McElrea (Andretti Autosport), Abel, Brabham, Christian Rasmussen (Andretti Autosport), Francis, Jr., James Roe, Jr. (TJ Speed Motorsports), Christian Bogle (HMD Motorsports w/Dale Coyne Racing), Simpson, Antonio Serravalle (HMD Motorsports w/Dale Coyne Racing) and Ryan Phinny (Abel Motorsports).

The field got cleanly through the first two laps, but as they completed the second lap, race control announced that Francis, Jr. must give back a spot to Simpson after being penalized for blocking.

On Lap 3, in Turn 7, the Crosley sponsored No. 51 was in the tires at the exit of Turn 7. Upon replay, Rasmussen got loose and made contact with Abel. The reigning Indy Pro 2000 champion was penalized for avoidable contact and took the restart at the back of the pack.

When the caution came out, Lundqvist’s lead was already a comfortable 2.8 seconds.

The race restarted on Lap 6, with Lundqvist getting a good jump over Pedersen and Robb. Meanwhile, just outside the podium, McElrea made a brave outside pass, getting by Frost for fourth.

Ernie Francis, Jr., from eighth, came to pit road, dropping down to 13th.

Frost and Brabham had an incident in Turn 7 on Lap 7 that came under a review from race control. They decided that no action was necessary.

Rasmussen had gained three spots in the first two laps after the restart, moving to eighth.

Unlike the start of the race, Lundqvist could not pull as big of a gap, holding a 1.5-second lead over Pederson after ten laps. Pedersen’s gap over Robb was a half-second. McElrea and Frost rounded out the top five.

On Lap 11, Bogle and Rasmussen got around Roe, who was quickly under attack from Simpson.

On the next lap, the pair were battling in Turn 3, with Roe getting loose at the corner exit and moving quickly to cover

At the halfway flags, Robb attempted a move around the outside Turn 7. Unfortunately, the No. 2 got loose, with the left rear smacking the tire barrier at the exit of the left-hand turn. He got back to pit road, and the Andretti Autosport was able to get him back on track to salvage a few more points.

“Well, Race One done here at Detroit,” explained the Idahoan, who had a three-race podium streak come to an end. “Man, we had a really fast race car. I was going for P2 around Pedersen down in Turn 7 and got a little loose on the exit and touched the wall. It had a little damage to the left rear, but the team got it back together and got it back out on track. We made up a few positions but obviously not the day that we could’ve had. Definitely one of the fastest cars on the racetrack, and had we kept it together, we may have had a shot at the win, so we’re going into tomorrow starting P2. Looking to get a good jump on the start, hopefully, go into P1 and just lead the whole race.”

With ten laps remaining, the running order was Lundqvist, Pedersen, McElrea, Frost, Brabham, Rasmussen, Bogle, Simpson, Roe, Phinney, Serravalle, Robb, Francis, Jr., and Abel.

Lundqvist’s lead was a comfortable 4.4 seconds over Pedersen. The Swede also held a 50-second push-to-pass advantage.

On Lap 16, McElrea, who was in the final podium position, locked the rear tires in the braking zone at the end of The Strand in Turn 7. The car inexplicably turned left into the wall, damaging the rear wing and forcing the Kiwi to pit road.

On Lap 17, the yellow flag flew from the timing stand for the second time. This time, it was for a heavily damaged No. 28 of Rasmussen, who stopped on track after pancaking the right side at the exit of Turn 5. His damaged machine came to a stop in Turn 6.

“I was really coming at it towards the end as I was catching the top three there for a little bit,” said the reigning Indy Pro 2000 champion. “I pushed a little too much and unfortunately put the car into the wall. It’s so unforgiving here at Detroit with the bumps and the walls, it’s such a little margin for error, but we’re starting P4 for tomorrow, so hopefully, we can turn that around and have a good result because I think the pace was good.”

The AMR INDYCAR Safety Team worked quickly to clear the debris and damaged car, and the green flag came out with four laps remaining.

The leaders had the following push-to-pass remaining.

Lundqvist – 70 seconds
Pedersen – 34 seconds
Frost – 50 seconds

Lundqvist got another significant jump, but Frost and Brabham were fighting for the final spot on the podium behind the front two.

They went side-by-side in Turn 7 before Brabham wisely dropped in behind Frost before they got to Turn 8.

Frost was slow through the final four corners on the second last lap, falling down the order and hitting pit road. TSO Ladder confirmed with the team that the Singaporean driver lost a drive shaft.

Lundqvist had a 3.4 second when he got the white flag, but Brabham wasn’t done, turning his quickest lap of the race on Lap 24 and putting pressure on Pedersen.

Indy Lights Detroit Grand Prix Results

RANK	CAR NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	QUICK LAP	DIFFERENCE
1	26	Linus Lundqvist	HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing	1:23.0122	25 LAPS
2	24	Benjamin Pedersen	Global Racing Group with HMD	1:23.2882	-3.7232
3	83	Matthew Brabham	Andretti Autosport	1:23.0768	-4.7936
4	7	Christian Bogle	HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing	1:24.3234	-10.2362
5	21	Kyffin Simpson	TJ Speed Motorsports	1:24.2220	-10.8649
6	11	Antonio Serravalle	HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing	1:23.3559	-11.4164
7	12	James Roe	TJ Speed Motorsports	1:27.3394	-16.481
8	61	Ryan Phinny	Abel Motorsports	1:25.9989	-20.8913
9	99	Ernie Francis, Jr.	HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing	2:07.7071	-1 LAP
10	68	Danial Frost	HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing	2:07.7071	-2 LAPS
11	2	Sting Ray Robb	Andretti Autosport	1:25.2442	-2 LAPS
12	27	Hunter McElrea	Andretti Autosport	1:25.0592	-3 LAPS
13	28	Christian Rasmussen	Andretti Autosport	1:22.8957	-8 LAPS
14	51	Jacob Abel	Abel Motorsports	1:27.4948	-23 LAPS

 

Indy Lights points standings after five races

RANK	DRIVER	TEAM		TOTAL
1	Linus Lundqvist	HMD Motorsports		229
2	Benjamin Pedersen	Global Racing Group w/HMD		171
3	Danial Frost	HMD Motorsports		161
4	Sting Ray Robb	Andretti Autosport		156
5	Matthew Brabham	Andretti Autosport		154
6	Christian Rasmussen – R	Andretti Autosport		130
7	Hunter McElrea – R	Andretti Autosport		123
8	Antonio Serravalle	Abel Motorsports/HMD Motorsports		121
9	Kyffin Simpson – R	TJ Speed Motorsports		121
10	Jacob Abel	Abel Motorsports		118
11	Ernie Francis, Jr. – R	Force Indy		114
12	Christian Bogle	HMD Motorsports		112
13	James Roe, Jr. – R	TJ Speed Motorsports		94
14	Ryan Phinny	Abel Motorsports		58
15	Manuel Sulaiman	HMD Motorsports		48

 

By Steve Wittich

HMD Motorsports veteran Linus Lundqvist put together a dominant qualifying session to grab his fourth and fifth consecutive poles of the season and sixth and seventh of his Indy Lights career.

The first track activity on Belle Isle on a sunny but brisk Saturday morning was a split Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires qualifying. When the 7:45 am session got underway, the ambient temperature was cool 59F, and the track temperature was 63F.

With only 12 minutes available for the first portion of qualifying, the track was quickly busy with the sound of the turbocharged 2.0L AER power plants.

After two laps, Robb was the quickest of the 14 drivers, but times were changing quickly with the cold tires on the cold track.

The only incidents during the session were several cars in the run-off in Turn 7. Christian Bogle (HMD Motorsports w/Dale Coyne Racing), Kyffin Simpson (TJ Speed Motorsports), Ryan Phinny (Abel Motorsports), Ernie Francis, Jr. (Force Indy)

After five laps, with three minutes remaining, Lundqvist held the provisional pole, but the timing screen was lit up purple as drivers continued to get faster as their tires came up to temperature.

Christian Rasmussen received a drive-thru penalty for a pit exit violation with one minute remaining. However, the No. 28 Andretti Autosport machine did not serve the penalty, and his last few laps were invalidated.

Lundqvist lowered the provisional pole on his eighth of eight laps, turning a lap of 83.1190 seconds, almost a half-second ahead of his long-time teammate Pederson. The only other drivers within a second of Lundqvist

The second portion of qualifying was on hold as race control reviewed several incidents and the potential invalidation of laps. Simpson, Robb, Brabham, Frost, and Phinny had laps invalidated.

Indy Lights Detroit Grand Prix Race #1 unofficial qualifying results

RANK	CAR NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	QUICK LAP	DIFFERENCE
1	26	Linus Lundqvist	HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing	1:23.1190	——
2	24	Benjamin Pedersen	Global Racing Group with HMD	1:23.6137	0.4947
3	2	Sting Ray Robb	Andretti Autosport	1:24.0186	0.8996
4	68	Danial Frost	HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing	1:24.0519	0.9329
5	27	Hunter McElrea	Andretti Autosport	1:24.4305	1.3115
6	83	Matthew Brabham	Andretti Autosport	1:24.5219	1.4029
7	51	Jacob Abel	Abel Motorsports	1:24.9774	1.8584
8	28	Christian Rasmussen	Andretti Autosport	1:25.5000	2.3810
9	12	James Roe	TJ Speed Motorsports	1:26.1672	3.0482
10	99	Ernie Francis Jr.	Force Indy	1:26.1930	3.0740
11	7	Christian Bogle	HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing	1:26.7774	3.6584
12	21	Kyffin Simpson	TJ Speed Motorsports	1:26.7893	3.6703
13	11	Antonio Serravalle	HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing	1:27.2299	4.1109
14	61	Ryan Phinny	Abel Motorsports	1:28.7357	5.6167

The second 12-minutes of qualifying got the green flag at 8:09 am, and the exit of the pit lane was a mess as everybody tried to get on the 2.35-mile 14-turn Raceway at Belle Isle Park street circuit first. As a result, Bogle, Brabham, and Abel were all given drive-through penalties for missing the pit exit commit line.

Fresh Cooper Tires and minor adjustments were the order during the break.

The first car to go under 84 seconds and grab the provisional pole was Race #1 pole-winner Lundqvist. He dropped a second off that lap, going 82.8592 seconds, over a half-second ahead of the next best driver.

The top five on the timing screens were Lundqvist, Brabham, Pedersen, Brabham, and Robb, with five minutes remaining.

With three minutes remaining, the red flag came out for Pedersen’s No. 24 Global Racing Group machine, which stopped between Turn 11 and Turns 12. As a result, the Dane was penalized his fastest lap and will start 13th.

That became a red and checkered flag when it was determined that there was not enough time to restart the session.

Indy Lights Detroit Grand Prix Race #2 unofficial qualifying results

RANK	CAR NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	QUICK LAP	DIFFERENCE
1	26	Linus Lundqvist	HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing	1:22.6778	——
2	2	Sting Ray Robb	Andretti Autosport	1:23.1821	0.5043
3	27	Hunter McElrea	Andretti Autosport	1:23.3252	0.6474
4	28	Christian Rasmussen	Andretti Autosport	1:23.5284	0.8506
5	83	Matthew Brabham	Andretti Autosport	1:23.5505	0.8727
6	51	Jacob Abel	Abel Motorsports	1:24.0160	1.3382
7	68	Danial Frost	HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing	1:24.1850	1.5072
8	11	Antonio Serravalle	HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing	1:24.6432	1.9654
9	99	Ernie Francis Jr.	Force Indy	1:24.7694	2.0916
10	21	Kyffin Simpson	TJ Speed Motorsports	1:24.9442	2.2664
11	12	James Roe	TJ Speed Motorsports	1:26.1648	3.4870
12	7	Christian Bogle	HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing	1:26.5316	3.8538
13	24	Benjamin Pedersen	Global Racing Group with HMD	1:27.0708	4.3930
14	61	Ryan Phinny	Abel Motorsports	1:27.7294	5.0516

By Steve Wittich

Sting Ray Robb, an Andretti Autosport veteran who has a current string of three straight Indy Lights podiums, led the lone practice session on Belle Isle, leading teammate Matthew Brabham and Hunter McElrea by 0.1067 and 0.2408 seconds, respectively.

Also within a half-second of Robb’s fast lap were HMD Motorsports / Global Racing Group teammates Linus Lundqvist and Benjamin Pedersen.

The lone 50-minute Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires got underway at 2:25 pm. The ambient temperature was 79F, and the track temperature was 96.6F. The sky was sunny, with significant cloud cover blowing over the track from the west.

Veteran teammates Linus Lundqvist and Benjamin Pedersen, along with Sting Ray Robb (Andretti Autosport) and Jacob Abel (Abel Motorsports), were the drivers at the top of the timing screens early, quickly turning laps within a half-second of Kirkwood’s best practice time in 2021.

The broadcast spent quite a bit of time riding on board with Lundqvist, and it quickly became evident how hard it was to keep control on the bumpy street circuit with mixed surfaces.

The first driver to break 84 seconds was Lundqvist, besting the top lap of 84.2423 seconds in the first practice last year.

The following driver to go quicker on used Cooper Tire slicks was Robb, who led after 20-minutes of action. Lundqvist, McElrea, Rasmussen, and Brabham rounded out the top five.

Lundqvist went back to the top of the timing screens with 20-minutes left in practice. A pair of Andretti Autosport drivers followed the HMD Motorsports driver.

Lundqvist lowered the top time to less than a tenth of a second off Kirkwood’s pole from last year and over a second ahead of his practice time.

Robb was the first driver to go under Kirkwood’s pole time from 2021. However, his Andretti Autosport teammate Brabham quickly surpassed him.

The wind was blowing hard as we heard an unusual call from race control. The surface flag call is typical, but the reason – a tree branch in the racing line – was different.

With five minutes remaining, Robb was the first driver to break the 83-second mark, going over two-tenths of a second quicker than Brabham.

With just under minutes remaining, Ryan Phinny missed Turn 11 but didn’t hit anything, continuing on his lap after backing up.

After the session, Brabham told Ryan Myrehn on the INDYCAR Radio Network that he was happy with his No. 83 and that the track had a lot of grip. The American-born Aussie has plenty of laps in Stadium Super Trucks on the 2.35-mile, 14-turn Raceway at Belle Isle Park street circuit, but this is his first appearance in a formula car.

Indy Lights Detroit Grand Prix practice results

RANK	CAR NO.	DRIVER	FTime	QUICK LAP	DIFFERENCE	LAPS
1	2	Sting Ray Robb	Andretti Autosport	1:22.8943	——	27
2	83	Matthew Brabham	Andretti Autosport	1:23.0010	0.1067	28
3	27	Hunter McElrea	Andretti Autosport	1:23.1351	0.2408	28
4	26	Linus Lundqvist	HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing	1:23.2477	0.3534	25
5	24	Benjamin Pedersen	Global Racing Group with HMD	1:23.4802	0.5859	25
6	28	Christian Rasmussen	Andretti Autosport	1:23.5328	0.6385	27
7	68	Danial Frost	HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing	1:23.6350	0.7407	27
8	51	Jacob Abel	Abel Motorsports	1:23.8370	0.9427	24
9	21	Kyffin Simpson	TJ Speed Motorsports	1:23.9909	1.0966	27
10	11	Antonio Serravalle	HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing	1:24.2715	1.3772	27
11	7	Christian Bogle	HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing	1:24.5233	1.6290	26
12	99	Ernie Francis Jr.	Force Indy	1:24.9614	2.0671	29
13	12	James Roe	TJ Speed Motorsports	1:25.1723	2.2780	31
14	61	Ryan Phinny	Abel Motorsports	1:27.5213	4.6270	20

The Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires series first visited the bucolic Belle Isle in 1992, and the weekend’s doubleheader will be the 13th and 14th races. Driving for John Martin Racing, Adrian Fernandez went flag-to-flag in the first race in 1992.

Previous Indy Lights winners on Belle Isle

YEAR	DRIVER	TEAM
2021 Race #2	Kyle Kirkwood	Andretti Autosport
2021 Race #1	Kyle Kirkwood	Andretti Autosport
2012	Gustavo Yacaman	Team Moore
2000	Jonny Kane	Team Green
1999	Derek Higgins	Team Mexico Herdez
1998	Airton Dare	Tasman Motorsports
1997	Tony Kanaan	Tasman Motorsports
1996	Tony Kanaan	Tasman Motorsports
1995	Robbie Buhl	Dorricott Racing
1994	Steve Robertson	Tasman Motorsports
1993	Steve Robertson	Tasman Motorsports
1992	Adrian Fernandez	John Martin Racing

Last year, eventual champion Kyle Kirkwood used a pair of wins on the 2.35-mile, 14-turn Raceway at Belle Isle Park street circuit to turn a 27 championship deficit into a more manageable four-point gap to the title lead.

Race weekend basics

The baker’s dozen Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires drivers will have three more opportunities to explore the 2.35-mile, 14-turn Raceway at Belle Isle Park street circuit.

Qualifying is bright and early at 7:45 am on Saturday, and will have a new format for the double header. The half-hour window will be split into a pair of 12 minutes sessions. The first 12 minutes will set the grid for Saturday afternoon’s Indy Lights Detroit Grand Prix #1, and after a five-minute break, the second 12 minutes will set the grid for Sunday’s Indy Lights Detroit Grand Prix #1.

Saturday’s 11:30 am race is set for 25 laps, while Sunday’s 12:10 pm race will be 30 laps.

Push-to-pass returns for the first time this season and will be the same as the NTT INDYCAR SERIES utilizes and will look like this:

• 150 total seconds
• Minimum use is 1 second
• Max use is 15 seconds at any time
• A boost of 50 HP
• It becomes active on starts/restarts when a driver hits the alt start/finish line.

Something else that is beginning this weekend is that Indy Lights is in the same paddock as the NTT INDYCAR SERIES, giving the drivers, teams, and their guests a bigger-time feeling. One team owner, who has several guests attending, told TSO Ladder that the extra buzz is beneficial to their entertaining.

As the weekend starts, 28.6% of the possible points Indy Lights points have been distributed. HMD Motorsports veteran Linus Lundqvist has collected 81% of the possible points available to the drivers and holds a 34-point lead over Danial Frost.

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires points standings

RANK	DRIVER	TEAM		TOTAL	BACK
1	Linus Lundqvist	HMD Motorsports		175
2	Danial Frost	HMD Motorsports		141	-34
3	Sting Ray Robb	Andretti Autosport		137	-38
4	Benjamin Pedersen	Global Racing Group w/HMD		131	-44
5	Matthew Brabham	Andretti Autosport		119	-56
6	Christian Rasmussen – R	Andretti Autosport		113	-62
7	Hunter McElrea – R	Andretti Autosport		105	-70
8	Jacob Abel	Abel Motorsports		102	-73
9	Antonio Serravalle	Abel Motorsports/HMD Motorsports		93	-82
10	Ernie Francis, Jr. – R	Force Indy		92	-83
11	Kyffin Simpson – R	TJ Speed Motorsports		91	-84
12	Christian Bogle	HMD Motorsports		80	-95
13	James Roe, Jr. – R	TJ Speed Motorsports		68	-107
14	Manuel Sulaiman	HMD Motorsports		48	-127
15	Ryan Phinny	Abel Motorsports		34	-141

Indy Lights Heads into A Pivotal Three-Race Stretch Before Halfway Point of 2022 Season

By Tony DiZinno

Many times in racing it’s not if you win, but when you win, that determines your future going forward.

The next two weeks could be a very pivotal time frame for the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires field. With NTT INDYCAR Series silly season already heating up, driver changes anticipated, team owners watching, and an avalanche of top rung of Road to Indy graduates making their mark in the pre-eminent North American open-wheel series, two races in Detroit and one at Road America over eight days could change careers. 

The NTT INDYCAR Series comes off its month of May with 20 of its 33 starters in the 106^th Indianapolis 500 presented by Gainbridge having graduated from Indy Lights, dating from the late 1990s all the way through 2021. 

That shows the legacy, importance and frankly, necessity, of succeeding in this series before advancing up the ladder. 

The top two of seven finishing rookies were Indy Lights graduates in the form of David Malukas and Kyle Kirkwood, the pair who traded blows throughout 2021 and won 17 of the 20 races between them. 

It was in Detroit one year ago where Malukas and Linus Lundqvist had won five of the first six races between them, before Kirkwood swept Detroit to kickstart his season and win five of the next six races. 

Kirkwood and Malukas are the latest combatants who have graduated simultaneously. Prior to that, it was longtime Road to Indy rivals Rinus VeeKay and Oliver Askew. Even earlier, it was Pato O’Ward and Colton Herta. While Askew’s gone on a different racing path, the other five are making waves in IndyCar. Herta (seven wins), O’Ward (three) and VeeKay (one) have already combined for 11 wins while Kirkwood (best finish of 10^th in six starts) and Malukas (11^th) are making inroads for some of IndyCar’s longest standing teams in A.J. Foyt Enterprises and Dale Coyne Racing with HMD Motorsports.

Where the 2022 Indy Lights field is different is that it isn’t necessarily just two dominant forces at the top. It’s realistically half of the 14 drivers that enter most Indy Lights races, even if the points gap at the top is larger than it probably could be.

Linus Lundqvist is the only two-time winner from four races this year, and he’s in a much stronger position as a series sophomore than he was as a rookie last year up against Kirkwood and Malukas. The Swede’s second season with the HMD Motorsports with Dale Coyne Racing has borne better fruit in the form of wins on the Barber road course and Indianapolis road course, both in abnormal conditions needing to handle tricky conditions – either starting wet and ending dry in Barber, or going from fully wet and staying wet at Indy. He leads the championship by 34 points, a big enough gap to feel confident but not big enough to feel comfortable. One or two bad races in the next two weeks could easily swing the title.

Lundqvist has several teammates he needs to beat in order to claim the title and the career advancement scholarship that comes with it. First up is Danial Frost, the Singaporean sophomore who became a first-time winner last month at the Indy road course. The driver known as “Frosty” has been a Road to Indy regular with sporadic victories and success, but never a fully sustained championship challenge. Perhaps the confidence boost of his first win will push him forward.

One driver who does know how to win a championship in the Road to Indy is Payette, Idaho’s Sting Ray Robb. He’s known for having the most memorable name in the Road to Indy but even more than that, the now 21-year-old has the consistency of results he’d mostly lacked over the majority of previous years. A change in teams has done him wonders and at Andretti Autosport, he’s banked three third-place finishes and a fourth as one of four cars. For reference, he didn’t finish better than fifth in all 20 of his 2021 starts owing to some extenuating circumstances in the technical department. He is an Indy Pro 2000 champion in 2020 with Juncos Racing so he knows what the pressure of a title battle is like. He’s not the first driver you’d have pegged from the Andretti stable to be a title contender going into the year, but he’s impressed mightily from his opening salvo this season. Robb is four points behind Frost, and 38 behind Lundqvist. 

The next batch of four drivers have been either lucky but inconsistent or fast but unlucky in the opening four races, and their points positions reflect that.

Danish driver Benjamin Pedersen, in the Global Racing Group with HMD entry, seems on the brink of stardom if he can break down the doors to his elusive first series win. Pedersen was second at St. Pete and second at Barber, the latter result after giving Lundqvist a run for his money. But 11^th and fourth in Indy dropped him to fourth in the championship. With a total of eight podiums without a win, Pedersen is Indy Lights’ “nearly man” of the moment and seems due to finally break through soon. He’s six points behind Robb, 44 behind Lundqvist.

Matthew Brabham’s return to Indy Lights with Andretti after a seven-year hiatus is proof positive of the series’ status increase in its first year under the Penske Entertainment umbrella. He was arguably the Road to Indy star of a decade ago, after securing back-to-back USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000 titles in 2012 and 2013. The twists and turns of his career though have taken him to some degree of Indy Lights, Stadium Super Trucks, sports cars, and even a pair of IndyCar starts for the Brett “Crusher” Murray-led PIRTEK Team Murray in 2016 including that year’s Indianapolis 500. But he’s never had that desired full-season IndyCar chance, so at 28, he made a comeback. It shows a degree of bravery to go up against peers nearly a decade younger but he’s done well; a fortunate St. Pete win on his return was the highlight of an up-and-down season thus far. Brabham is further back from the rest and sits 12 points behind Pedersen, and 56 behind Lundqvist. 

In sixth in the championship is Andretti’s Christian Rasmussen, who like Pedersen is a talented Dane just oh so due, and oh so close, for his first Indy Lights win. “Raz” has a title-winning pedigree having claimed the USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000 titles back-to-back – matching a feat achieved by the aforementioned Brabham and Kirkwood. If he wins the Indy Lights title, he’d match Kirkwood and secure his ticket to IndyCar. He clearly knows how to win, with 19 wins and 11 poles thus far in his Road to Indy career. He almost won on debut save for a fuel issue. He’s been hit by teammates. He’s got his first podium with second at the IMS road course. Like Pedersen, you get the sense that once the first win comes, more will follow. Rasmussen is six points behind Brabham and 62 behind Lundqvist at this stage. 

The last driver of the seven who has a similar story to tell is the fourth member of the Andretti quarter, Hunter McElrea. He’s got dual citizenship for the U.S. and New Zealand, eight career Road to Indy wins, and three front row starts from his first four races. Unfortunately, he’s only brought one of those home to a podium, that coming at the IMS road course. He’s got a great head on his shoulders and the support of many who’d like to see him enter winner’s circle. McElrea is eight points behind Rasmussen and 70 behind Lundqvist at this stage.

The depth of the field is strengthened by rookies Jacob Abel, Ernie Francis Jr., Kyffin Simpson and James Roe who have impressed at stages – Abel and Francis becoming passing stars in particular – while series sophomores Antonio Serravalle and Christian Bogle have improved adequately from their first go-‘rounds. 

Alas, it’s going to be one of the top seven that captures the Indy Lights title in 2022, and there’s good odds at least one or two others may join on the NTT INDYCAR Series in 2023. There’s even better odds you’ll see at least one or two of this group testing an IndyCar before the year is out.

The journey to see who begins now with this three-race stretch in the Midwest from the tight confines of Detroit’s Belle Isle Park for the final time, before the vast expanse of awesomeness at the 4-mile Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wis.