#90 Louis Foster, Exclusive Autosport, Copart.com, Novara Technologies IndyPro 2000. Road to Indy Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy
Indy Pro 2000 qualifying get started at 10:25 am and was slated for 20 minutes of green flag running within a 30 minute window – whichever comes first.
Drivers were reminded by race control to pay attention to local yellows – if they see a local yellow – their lap will be invalidated. Also we heard that the automated marshal system lights that weren’t all functioning for this morning’s practice are now all working for this session..
The track temp was 99.9F with the ambient at 83F when the session began.
The #2 of Jonathan Browne picked up an early penalty (missed what it was), but race control quickly said it had been served. After about 10 minutes we saw the #4 of Braden Eves stop down at pit in. He was pushed up the hill toward his own crew by a couple of INDYCAR mechanics – one from Rahal Letterman Lanigan and another from Andretti Autosport.
After everyone had made one sticker tire run – except Browne who had no official time with 8:00 to go – we had Nolan Siegel leading the session at 1:18.9232, followed by Yuven Sundaramoorthy, Jack William Miller and Louis Foster.
Drivers came out for their second runs and Louis Foster jumped to P1 at 1:18.8444, but was quickly displaced by Enaam Ahmed, who in turn lost the top spot to Louis Foster, with Siegel now P2 with most of the field going “green” with fast laps as we approached 3 minutes remaining in this session.
Foster bettered his lap time to 1:18.3306. Kiko Porto jumped to P2, with Siegel now in P3, followed by Wyatt Brichacek and Salvador De Alba.
As the checkered flew, Nolan Siegel goes quicker and moves to P2, but Foster – the points leader – keeps the pole position with a lap of 1:18.2678. I believe this is his first pole of the season.
Rece Gold – second in the standings – qualified just 8th – which should be something interesting to watch in the first race to see if he can make his way to the front.
Indy Pro 2000 Mid-Ohio Race #1 Qualifying Results:
Pos
Car #
Driver
Best Lap
Diff
Total Laps
Best Lap
Team
1
90
Louis Foster
1:18.2678
1:18.2678
12
11
Exclusive Autosport
2
8
Nolan Siegel
1:18.3576
0.0898
12
12
DEForce Racing
3
1
Kiko Porto
1:18.3912
0.1234
11
10
DEForce Racing
4
92
Wyatt Brichacek
1:18.5274
0.2596
12
10
Exclusive Autosport
5
6
Salvador De Alba
1:18.5564
0.2886
12
11
Jay Howard Driver Develpment
6
40
Jack William Miller
1:18.6282
0.3604
13
12
Miller Vinatieri Motorsports w/Exclusive Autosport
The Giltrap Group/Doric NZ/Miles Advisory Partners sponsored No. 18 of Pabst Racing leads the way at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy
By Patrick Stephan
Steve Wittich has only covered 45 sessions this weekend, so I’m going to take over this one while he’s talking to the driver’s from the just completed USF2000 race #3.
A nice crowd has already settled in to the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, with the smell of campfires hanging in the heavy/humid morning air. It’s already over 70 degrees today as this race gets ready to start.
Hunter-McElrea led the 12 car field to the green for the 25 lap race. They were nicely formed up in 6 rows of 2 when the green flag waved with McElrea taking the lead in to turn one. Lots of dicing a couple spots back resulted in McElrea leading the first lap followed by Petrov with Simpson moving up to third. Rasmussen, Gold and Abel rounded out the Top 6.
Reece Gold goes around the outside of point leader Rasmussen in Turn 5 to take over the 4th spot.
Manuel Sulaiman also picked up a spot on Lap 2, moving up to 7th.
McElrea is out to just a 0.9788 lead over Petrov who has Simpson right on his gearbox as they complete Lap 4.
Hunter Yeaney has to come down pit lane with a damaged nose wing. The front main plane is missing as he comes to get service from his Velocity Racing Development crew. He had moved up to 10th from 12th before having to pit for service. He is able to rejoin, but has lost a lap.
McElrea’s lead stays at just under 1 second over Petrov on Lap 5. Simpson is also still right there at just 1.36 off the lead in third.
The lead trio is just starting to get a bit of a gap over 4th place Reece Gold who is 1.3 seconds back of Simpson.
Point leader Rasmussen has settled in to 5th, followed by Abel, Sulaiman, Miller, Eves, Roe, Brichacek and Yeaney (-1 Lap).
Lap times continue to drop for most of the field as Lap 9 is completed, including McElrea turning a lap of 1:18.4863. Reece Gold also turned his quickest lap on the 9th circuit at 1:18.6637 as he closes the gap to third place Kyffin Simpson down to 0.6326 (as of Lap 10).
McElrea is out to a 1.4158 second lead now over Petrov on Lap 10, then grows that to 1.5361 on Lap 11.
Rasmussen is slowly catching Reece Gold with the gap down to 0.3911 on Lap 13 as we’ve now crossed over the halfway mark in this race.
Up front, McElrea continues to lead by about 1.5 seconds over Petrov.
Rasmussen closes to 0.2724 on Gold in Lap 14, but slips back to 0.7349 the next time by. That’s let Jacob Abel close to 0.510 on Rasmussen as the battle for 4th is quickly becoming a three way fight.
On Lap 16, Rasmussen finds his form again, cutting the gap to Gold to 0.4978 while extending his lead over Abel back to 0.8728.
The front trio of McElrea, Petrov, and Simpson remain nicely spaced about 1.2 second apart from each other, with that 4th, 5th, 6th battle drawing our attention right now.
Jacob Abel does his fastest lap of the race on the 17th go round at 1:18.4253 but he’s still 0.7 behind Rasmussen who is again closing on Gold (that’s now a 0.3590 second gap).
Further back, Jack William Miller has closed the gap to Manuel Sulaiman which is now bouncing from 0.3 to 0.5.
The fight for 4th closes up yet again as they are neatly spaced a few car lengths apart, but neither Abel or Rasmussen are quite close enough yet to make a move.
Lap 21 and McElrea leads by 1.3 over Petrov and it’s another 1.0208 back to Simpson who has solidly held down the 3rd spot since getting by Rasmussen on the start.
Wyatt Brichacek gets around James Roe on Lap 22 to move to the 11th spot.
Lap 23 the lead is down to 0.9715 as Petrov closes slightly on McElrea.
In that fight for 4th, point leader Rasmussen seems to have decided not to push Gold too hard and it looks like he will just settle in for a solid finish that will extend his points lead over Braden Eves who will finish 9th.
McElrea takes the win by 0.7498 over Petrov.
This is McElrea’s second win of the season to pair with a victory at Barber Motorsports Park.
Steve will follow up a bit later with more stats and driver comments. Next up here at Mid-Ohio is the 2nd Indy Lights of the weekend.
McElrea says in victory lane that he was just controlling the gap the entire race and he is “pretty pumped,” to pick up this win.
Unofficial Results Indy Pro 2000 GP of Mid-Ohio Race #2
Manuel Sulaiman – Photo credit: Gavin Baker Photography/Road to Indy
Qualifying for Indy Pro 2000 race #1 presented by Cooper Tires got underway at 1:45pm CT with the air temp at 83, the track at 108 and the humidity around 47%.
When the dust settled, Manuel Sulaiman, the 20 year old from Mexico City, Mexico took the pole for Junco Racing with a best lap of 2:04.5236. Second quick was Artem Petrov followed by Jacob Abel.
Sulaiman comes in to the weekend 6th in points.
Point leader Christian Rasmussen timed in just 6th, with his closest challenger Braden Eves all the way down in 9th. Third in points, Reece Gold was fourth quick and looks well positioned to chip away at that 35 point deficit in tomorrow’s first race at 12:10pm tomorrow.
Interesting in this session it seemed like almost everyone timed their best lap to come on their penultimate circuit. Just Reece Gold and Jack William Miller used their final circuit to get their quickest laps. That had us waiting on those final laps to see the leaderboard shuffle, but it just didn’t happen.
This is Sulaiman’s fourth career Indy Pro 2000 pole position.
Steve Wittich is attending to a family matter, so I will be pinch hitting on the TSOLadder.com side today. And unfortunately, I was on an airplane (and then in the rental car) from Denver to Milwaukee when the first three official sessions of the weekend were completed.
Here is a quick recap of those sessions (please note, I didn’t actually see them so I can’t comment on red flags, etc.)
I’ll be covering the rest of today’s Road to Indy action live (and more completely of course) now that I am here at beautiful Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
The first session of the day was Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship practice #1 at 8:00am.
That session was led by Matt Round-Garrido, followed by Prescott Campbell and Spike Kohlbecker.
Pos
Car
Driver
Best Time
Speed
Diff
Gap
Best Lap
Total Laps
1
92
Matt
Round-Garrido
02:11.4794
109.906
–.—-
–.—-
9
9
2
11
Prescott
Campbell
02:11.4888
109.898
0.0094
0.0094
4
9
3
5
Spike
Kohlbecker
(R)
02:11.4974
109.891
0.0180
0.0086
9
10
4
12
Kiko
Porto
02:11.5092
109.881
0.0298
0.0118
10
10
5
4
Michael
d’Orlando
02:11.5577
109.841
0.0783
0.0485
5
5
6
10
Nolan
Siegel
02:11.5648
109.835
0.0854
0.0071
10
10
7
2
Thomas
Nepveu
(R)
02:11.5964
109.808
0.1170
0.0316
9
9
8
22
Yuven
Sundaramoorthy
02:11.6383
109.774
0.1589
0.0419
10
10
9
29
Erik
Evans
(R)
02:11.7183
109.707
0.2389
0.0800
8
9
10
33
Josh
Green
02:11.7932
109.645
0.3138
0.0749
8
8
11
24
Josh
Pierson
02:11.8265
109.617
0.3471
0.0333
8
9
12
6
Bijoy
Garg
02:11.9036
109.553
0.4242
0.0771
8
8
13
34
Dylan
Christie
(R)
02:11.9388
109.524
0.4594
0.0352
8
8
14
23
Jace
Denmark
(R)
02:12.3850
109.154
0.9056
0.4462
9
9
15
1
Ely
Navarro
(R)
02:12.6691
108.921
1.1897
0.2841
4
4
16
99
Myles
Rowe
(R)
02:12.6802
108.912
1.2008
0.0111
9
9
17
19
Simon
Sikes
02:12.6832
108.909
1.2038
0.0030
3
8
18
91
Billy
Frazer
(R)
02:12.7994
108.814
1.3200
0.1162
9
9
19
8
Jackson
Lee
(R)
02:13.0741
108.589
1.5947
0.2747
8
8
20
9
Peter
Vodanovich
(R)
02:13.2325
108.460
1.7531
0.1584
7
7
21
3
Evan
Stamer
(R)
02:13.3902
108.332
1.9108
0.1577
8
9
22
44
Christian
Brooks
02:13.6922
108.087
2.2128
0.3020
2
3
23
16
Kent
Vaccaro
(R)
02:13.8744
107.940
2.3950
0.1822
6
6
24
63
Trey
Burke
(R)
02:13.9112
107.910
2.4318
0.0368
8
8
25
42
Michael
Myers
02:14.0283
107.816
2.5489
0.1171
9
9
The Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship would get back on the track at 11:30am for Race #1 Qualifying.
This time it was Kiko Porto, the 17 year old from Brazil, that picked up the pole position for DE Force Racing. He will start the race alongside his teammate Nolan Siegel, with Michael d’Orlando starting third.
Porto goes in to today’s 3:30pm Central Time race trailing 5th starting Yuven Sundaramoorthy by just 7 points (177-170). Spike Kohlbecker will start the race in 4th.
d’Orlando is tied for third in the points, with Christian Brooks, who will have to come from the 12th starting spot.
Porto has a win already this season on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
Pos
Car #
Driver
Best Time
Diff
Total Laps
Fast Lap
Team
1
12
Kiko
Porto
2:10.7892
6
3
DEForce
Racing
2
10
Nolan
Siegel
2:11.0411
0.2519
5
2
DEForce
Racing
3
4
Michael
d’Orlando
2:11.2916
0.5024
6
3
Cape
Motorsports
4
5
Spike
Kohlbecker
2:11.3259
0.5367
5
2
Ignite
Autosports
w/Cape
5
22
Yuven
Sundaramoorthy
2:11.3968
0.6076
5
2
Pabst
Racing
6
11
Prescott
Campbell
2:11.4094
0.6202
6
4
DEForce
Racing
7
24
Josh
Pierson
2:11.5483
0.7591
5
2
Pabst
Racing
8
33
Josh
Green
2:11.5819
0.7927
5
2
Turn
3
Motorsport
9
23
Jace
Denmark
2:11.6630
0.8738
5
2
Pabst
Racing
10
92
Matt
Round-Garrido
2:11.7005
0.9113
7
6
Exclusive
Autosport
11
6
Bijoy
Garg
2:11.7744
0.9852
6
2
Jay
Howard
Driver
12
44
Christian
Brooks
2:11.8479
1.0587
6
2
Exclusive
Autosport
13
2
Thomas
Nepveu
2:11.8565
1.0673
3
2
Cape
Motorsports
14
34
Dylan
Christie
2:11.9074
1.1182
5
3
Turn
3
Motorsport
15
1
Ely
Navarro
2:12.1118
1.3226
6
3
DEForce
Racing
16
19
Simon
Sikes
2:12.1244
1.3352
7
4
Legacy
Autosport
17
8
Jackson
Lee
2:12.2632
1.4740
5
5
Jay
Howard
Driver
18
29
Erik
Evans
2:12.3180
1.5288
7
4
Velocity
Racing
Development
19
99
Myles
Rowe
2:12.3203
1.5311
6
3
Force
Indy
20
63
Trey
Burke
2:12.4888
1.6996
7
5
Joe
Dooling
Autosports
21
9
Peter
Vodanovich
2:12.5592
1.7700
5
4
Jay
Howard
Driver
22
91
Billy
Frazer
2:12.7529
1.9637
6
6
Exclusive
Autosport
23
3
Evan
Stamer
2:12.7715
1.9823
7
6
Ignite
Autosports
w/Cape
24
16
Kent
Vaccaro
2:13.7131
2.9239
8
4
Miller
Vinatieri
Motorsports
25
42
Michael
Myers
2:14.2880
3.4988
7
5
Michael
Myers
Racing
IndyPro 2000 presented by Cooper Tires took to the track at 9:45am, and Artem Petrov just bested his Exclusive Autosport teammate Braden Eves by 0.0333 of a second. Reece Gold was third quickest.
Point leader Christian Rasmussen was 5th quick, but is only 0.0849 off the fast time. In fact, the Top-5 are within a tenth of a second and 11 of the 12 cars here are within a single second. That’s amazingly close, especially for a 4.014 mile 14 Turn race course.
These same drivers will be back out at 1:45pm Central Time for their first qualifying session.
Pos
Car #
Driver
Best Time
Diff
Total Laps
Best Lap
Gap
Team
1
42
Artem
Petrov
2:05.3626
8
6
0.000
Exclusive
Autosport
2
91
Braden
Eves
2:05.3959
0.0333
9
4
0.0333
Exclusive
Autosport
3
55
Reece
Gold
2:05.4019
0.0393
8
8
0.0060
Juncos
Racing
4
22
Manuel
Sulaiman
2:05.4268
0.0642
9
7
0.0249
Juncos
Racing
5
1
Christian
Rasmussen
2:05.4475
0.0849
6
4
0.0207
Jay
Howard
Driver
Development
6
40
Jack William
Miller
2:05.6263
0.2637
9
6
0.1788
Miller
Vinatieri
Motorsports
7
21
Kyffin
Simpson
2:05.7644
0.4018
9
9
0.1381
Juncos
Racing
8
51
Jacob
Abel
2:05.8131
0.4505
9
7
0.0487
Abel
Motorsports
9
3
James
Roe
2:05.9182
0.5556
9
3
0.1051
Turn
3
Motorsport
10
18
Hunter
McElrea
2:05.9571
0.5945
10
10
0.0389
Pabst
Racing
11
5
Wyatt
Brichacek
2:06.1943
0.8317
8
5
0.2372
Jay
Howard
Driver
Development
12
11
Hunter
Yeany
2:06.4782
1.1156
10
4
0.2839
Velocity
Racing
Development
The drivers in the incredibly tight Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires points battle made it’s way on to the track at 10:30am this morning, but it was 9th in the season standings Robert Megennis that topped the practice session over Alex Peroni and Toby Sowery.
Point Leader Linus Lundqvist was 7th quick. Trailing him by just a single point coming in to this weekend is David Malukus, who was 9th. Third (by 4 points) Kyle Kirkwood was 4th quickest.
The Indy Lights drivers will be back on the track at 2:30pm for their first qualifying session of the weekend.
Posted by Steve Wittich on Sunday, October 20th 2019
By Steve Wittich
Consider tonight’s writings the first of two updates from the ninth annual Chris Griffis Memorial Test. For the seventh time, the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway played host to all three steps on the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires ladder.
TSO Ladder has made this point each time we’ve covered this event, but we’re going to make it again and go one step further. We won’t call testing times meaningless, but we will reiterate that they are one of the last things that we look at when the two days of testing are done.
Need proof? If you take nine previous years of the Chris Griffis Memorial Test and multiply it by three, you come up with 27 drivers that have led the annual end of season test. Of those 27 drivers, only five (that’s 18.5%) have won the championship the next year.
So, what do we pay attention to?
How well does the driver progress from day to day and session to session? How does a driver that is new to the Road To Indy acclimate themselves to the car and tires? How does a driver fit in well with a new team? How ready is a driver that makes the jump to the next level? How does a driver interact with their teammates? How seriously does a driver take the test? These are all questions we attempt to answer before looking at the timesheets.
We will be back with notes from each day along with timesheets tomorrow, but for now, here is a notebook of some of the other things we learned this weekend.
The ninth annual Chris Griffis Memorial Test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway was blessed with wonderful fall weather (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)
If you haven’t yet, make sure you watch Road To Indy TV Episode 11 from the finale at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca.
So, why is Rinus van Kalmthout (VeeKay) testing with Belardi Auto Racing?
It’s a win-win situation for all involved.
From the team side, the experienced VeeKay piloting the team’s car during the test makes sense on two fronts. First, the Dutchman helped move the Juncos Racing program forward last year and should help the Brownsburg, Ind. based team do the same. Second, VeeKay is the perfect driver to showcase how competitive your cars will be against Andretti Autosport.
Rinus VeeKay provides feedback to Belardi Auto Racing engineer Kent Boyer at the 2019 Chris Griffis Memorial Test (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)
From the driver’s side, testing is so limited in modern racing that any extra seat time is beneficial.
VeeKay is coming off his second successful test with Ed Carpenter Racing. From all accounts that TSO Ladder has heard, the day-long outing at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course was very successful.
Look for news on the Dutch teenager’s future sooner than later.
Experienced newcomer?
TSO had a chance to chat with experienced newcomer Raoul Hyman, who is testing in Indy Pro 2000 with Exclusive Autosport.
Hyman was impressed with the PM-18’s torque and enjoyed the welcoming atmosphere in the paddock and especially with Exclusive Autosport. He hasn’t entirely made up his mind on where he will be racing next year but did tell us that he was leaning towards a switch to the U.S.A.
Raoul Hyman relaxes at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway before getting in an Exclusive Autosport Indy Pro 2000 car for the Chris Griffis Memorial Test (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)
Hyman spent this past season in the FIA Formula 3 Championship, finishing a disappointing 22nd in the championship. TSO doesn’t put much stock into that result. Last year was the first year for the new Dallara F3 2019 car, and the South African’s Sauber Charouz Racing System team didn’t have a handle on a car they’ve never run before.
The 23-year-old won the 2018 F3 Asian Championship, finished fourth in the 2019 Toyota Racing Series, and was a race winner in GP3 and BRDC Formula 4 Championship.
He’d be a great addition to the Road To Indy.
Lights car count and another test for the top rung of the Road To Indy
We’ve had some questions about why the Lights field is only five cars for the Chris Griffis Memorial Test. There are several factors. Brand new team Exclusive Autosport is still prepping their cars. HMD Motorsports is focusing on getting their restarted USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000 programs sorted.
Unfortunately, the FIA Formula 3 Championship post-season test is taking place at the same time in Valencia, Spain. That series, with a similar budget to Indy Lights, has 31 drivers entered across the three-days of testing.
Also, there will be another official Indy Lights test in a few months. The top level of the Road To Indy will join the Global MX-5 Cup and the Lucas Oil School of Racing Karting Shootout for a two-day test.
With surface changes, bumps, heavy braking zones, and 90-degree turns, the 1.6-mile, 11-turn short course does a great job of mimicking a street circuit.
Safety addition for the ‘kids’
Before next season, the USF-17, PM-18 and IL-15, will all be fitted with the Advanced Frontal Protection device. The AFP is designed to keep debris from the cockpit of the car and was added to the cars of the NTT IndyCar Series before the Indianapolis 500 last year.
IndyCar driver sighting
NTT IndyCar Series championship contender Alexander Rossi was in the USF2000 paddock on Sunday. Pieter Rossi, the 7-time IndyCar race winners father, helps guide the careers of several Road To Indy drivers. This weekend, the Rossi’s were working with Pabst Racing’s Yuven Sundaramoorthy.
The Oconomowoc, Wisc. is coming off a successful first year of USF2000 action where he was one of only three drivers to complete every lap.
At last year’s Chris Griffis Memorial Test, Igor Fraga spent Saturday wrenching on the Exclusive Autosport program in exchange for an opportunity to get behind the wheel of the Canadian team’s Indy Pro 2000 car.
This year, the Brazilian was at Autodromo Nazionale Monza, where he won the final two races of the 2019 Formula Regional European Championship season. Fraga won four races and stood on the podium in ten races on the way to finishing third in the series that utilizes the Tatuus F3 chassis mated to a 265+ HP Alfa Romeo power plant.
Fraga earned his seat by winning the FIA Gran Turismo Nation’s Cup along with the McLaren Shadow Project by beating over 500,000 contestants around the world.
Fraga, who just turned 21-years-old spent the 2018 racing season with Exclusive Autosport, collecting three podiums and finishing fourth in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship.
New Town of Speedway denizen
Juncos Racing, A.J. Foyt Racing, and Dallara will soon have more racing company in the town of Speedway. The walls are currently going up on the new home of Abel Motorsports. The building is being built by ABEL Construction and is a partnership between team owner Bill Abel and Bob Lazier.
Speaking of Laziers
Third-generation racer Flinn Lazier spent the test in the second Abel Motorsports PM-18 alongside Jacob Abel. The Vail, Colo. native experienced mechanical gremlins on Saturday but rebounded to turn a lap within one-second of the quickest lap of the weekend on Sunday.
The Chris Griffis Memorial Test was the first time the 20-year-old had been behind the wheel of an Indy Pro 2000 car, but he is not short of open-wheel experience. Lazier joined his grandfather Bob as a Formula B/Atlantic champion at the SCCA Runoffs, winning at Virginia International Raceway last weekend. The elder Lazier won the 1971 Formula B championship Road Atlanta in 1971.
Joining Lazier at the historic track where his grandfather, the 1981 Championship Auto Racing Teams Rookie Of The Year and his father Buddy, the 1996 Indianapolis 500 champion.
Third-generation racer Flinn Lazier on pit road at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the ninth annual Chris Griffis Memorial Test (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)
That’s it for us tonight. I’ll be back with more tomorrow.
Posted by Steve Wittich on Saturday, September 21st 2019
The 15 Indy Pro 2000 cars took to the 2.258-mile, 11-turn road course immediately following the third NTT IndyCar Series session, guaranteeing that the track would have plenty of grip.
That proved to be accurate when championship contender Rasmus Lindh grabbed the pole bonus point and a new track record with a late flyer. The Swede’s lap timed at 79.899 seconds broke an 11-year-old track record by Richard Kent, who was driving for Andersen Racing.
It is Lindh’s fifth pole of the season and 8th of Road To Indy career.
Kirkwood, who saw his 20-point lead shrink to 19-points, will start on the outside of the front row.
Race #1 pole sitter Sting Ray Robb will start behind his Juncos Racing teammate on the second row alongside Exclusive Autosport rookie Danial Frost.
The entire session ran green, and with five minutes remaining, the top five were Robb, Kirkwood, Lindh, Frost, and Petrov.
Lindh and Kirkwood were both able to surpass Robb in the last quarter of the session, and DEForce Racing’s Kory Enders was able to knock Petrov out of the top five.
Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires Race #2 Qualifying Results
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Posted by Steve Wittich on Thursday, September 12th 2019
By Steve Wittich
An increased scholarship and award fund of 2.7 million dollars will await the winners on each of the three steps on the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires ladder after an 18-race 2020 season.
The schedule looks similar to 2019 with a few minor changes. Last year, the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires joined the NTT IndyCar Series in their debut at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas. This year, the top-level open-wheel series in the United States will be joined by the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship.
The April doubleheader will be the first race appearance for the lowest rung of the ladder on the 3.41-mile, 20-turn road course. The Indy Pro 2000 series has made one previous appearance at the Austin, Texas track, starting their 2013 season with a pair of races.
In 2020, the Indy Lights returns to Barber Motorsports Park to contest a pair of races on the tricky and undulating 2.3-mile, 17-turn natural terrain road course. The series has contested 14 previous races at the Birmingham, Alabama circuit.
“I am very happy with our calendar for next season,” said Dan Andersen, Owner, and CEO of Andersen Promotions. “We’ve managed to eliminate the large break we have had in April with a return to Barber Motorsports Park for Indy Lights and the addition of Circuit of The Americas for Indy Pro 2000 and USF2000. Now all three series are racing monthly from March through September.”
2020 Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires schedule
ROUNDS
DATE
TRACK
CITY
STATE
Open Test
March 9
Homestead-Miami Speedway Road Course
Homestead
Florida
1-2
March 14/15
Streets Of St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg
Florida
3-4
April 4/5
Barber Motorsports Park
Birmingham
Alabama
Open Test
May 7
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course
Indianapolis
Indiana
5-6
May 8/9
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course
Indianapolis
Indiana
Open Test
May 18
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval
Indianapolis
Indiana
7
May 22
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Oval
Indianapolis
Indiana
8-9
June 20/21
Road America
Elkhart Lake
Wisconsin
10-11
July 11/12
Streets Of Toronto
Toronto
Ontario, CANADA
Open Test
August 12
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Lexington
Ohio
12-13
August 15/16
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Lexington
Ohio
Open Test
August 20
World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway
Madison
Illinois
14
August 22
World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway
Madison
Illinois
15-16
September 5/6
Portland International Raceway
Portland
Oregon
17-18
September 19/20
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
Monterey
California
2020 Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires schedule
ROUNDS
DATE
TRACK
CITY
STATE
Open Test
March 7/8
Homestead-Miami Speedway Road Course
Homestead
Florida
1-2
March 14/15
Streets Of St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg
Florida
Open Test
April 23
Circuit of The Americas
Austin
Texas
3-4
April 25/26
Circuit of The Americas
Austin
Texas
Open Test
May 7
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course
Indianapolis
Indiana
5-6
May 8/9
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course
Indianapolis
Indiana
Open Test
May 11
Lucas Oil Raceway Oval
Indianapolis
Indiana
7
May 22
Lucas Oil Raceway Oval
Indianapolis
Indiana
8-9
June 20/21
Road America
Elkhart Lake
Wisconsin
10-11
July 11/12
Streets Of Toronto
Toronto
Ontario, CANADA
Open Test
August 12
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Lexington
Ohio
12-13
August 15/16
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Lexington
Ohio
Open Test
August 20
World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway
Madison
Illinois
14
August 22
World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway
Madison
Illinois
Open Test
September 3
Portland International Raceway
Portland
Oregon
15-16
September 5/6
Portland International Raceway
Portland
Oregon
17-18
September 19/20
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
Monterey
California
Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship schedule
ROUNDS
DATE
TRACK
CITY
STATE
Open Test
March 7/8
Homestead-Miami Speedway Road Course
Homestead
Florida
1-2
March 14/15
Streets Of St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg
Florida
Open Test
April 23
Circuit of The Americas
Austin
Texas
3-4
April 25/26
Circuit of The Americas
Austin
Texas
Open Test
May 7
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course
Indianapolis
Indiana
5-6
May 8/9
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course
Indianapolis
Indiana
Open Test
May 11
Lucas Oil Raceway Oval
Indianapolis
Indiana
7
May 22
Lucas Oil Raceway Oval
Indianapolis
Indiana
8-9
June 20/21
Road America
Elkhart Lake
Wisconsin
10-11
July 11/12
Streets Of Toronto
Toronto
Ontario, CANADA
Open Test
August 12
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Lexington
Ohio
12-13
August 15/16
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Lexington
Ohio
Open Test
August 20
World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway
Madison
Illinois
14
August 22
World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway
Madison
Illinois
Open Test
September 3
Portland International Raceway
Portland
Oregon
15-16
September 5/6
Portland International Raceway
Portland
Oregon
17-18
September 19/20
WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca
Monterey
California
We’ll be back more on some cost saving initiatives in a while.
Posted by Steve Wittich on Wednesday, September 11th 2019
By Steve Wittich
Since 2011, the Chris Griffis Memorial Test has introduced several notable names to the Road To Indy as well as the NTT IndyCar Series.
The temperatures were brisk, but the skies were sunny during that first test held in late October in honor of Chris Griffis, Sam Schmidt Motorsports Indy Lights team manager who passed away suddenly that September.
Making their U.S debut during the two days of testing were a pair of future NTT IndyCar Series drivers.
Carlos Munoz, an IndyCar race winner, and two-time Indianapolis 500 runner-up took part in the Indy Lights portion of the test.
In Indy Pro 2000, it was Jack Hawksworth, who made his first appearance on American Soil. The 2012 Indy Pro 2000 champion has made 49 IndyCar starts and is currently wheeling a Lexus RC F GT3 in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Hawksworth has won twice this year and is now third in the season-long championship.
Jack Hawksworth during his first test on U.S. soil at the Chris Griffis Memorial Test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2011. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)
“It was my first time in the (United) States for motor racing,” explained Hawksworth to TSO Ladder when asked about that test. “Indianapolis – the famous circuit known all over the world – so going there and going through the gates was very cool.”
“I had a lot of fun — it what effectively sparked my interest in the US. The test went quite well and helped me get a deal done with Team Pelfrey, and set me on my way. I raced (Star) Mazda the next year, and I’ve been racing over here ever since.”
Also appearing in the 2011 test was Nicolas Latifi, who was making his first appearance in cars before moving to Europe to chase his Formula 1 dream. The 24-year-old Canadian has won four times in the FIA Formula 2 Championship this season and is currently second in the championship table.
IndyCar drivers Kyle Kaiser and Jack Harvey made their Road To Indy debuts at the Chris Griffis Memorial Test in 2012 and 2013 respectively. Between them, the pair of drivers have ten Indy Lights wins.
Also making their Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires debuts in 2013 were:
Aaron Telitz, 2019 Indy Lights race winner, IndyCar hopeful and endurance driver for Lexus RC F GT3 program in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Jacob Edison, a professional sports car driver.
Nico Jamin, a professional sports car driver, piloting an LMP2 for Duqueine Engineering in the European Le Man Series.
In 2014, reigning Indy Lights champion Patricio O’Ward took the reins of a Team Pelfrey Indy Pro 2000 machine. The then 15-year-old led the test, using that momentum to put together a full season effort for 2015.
Patricio O’Ward gets instruction during the 2014 Chris Griffis Memorial Test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)
Also making their debut in Indianapolis that weekend was perennial championship contender Parker Thompson. In 76 Road To Indy starts, the Canadian has a dozen wins to go along with 31 career podiums.
The following year, the annual end of season test moved to Circuit of The Americas, where a quartet of familiar names made their Road To Indy debuts. Current Indy Lights drivers Rinus van Kalmthout (VeeKay) and Robert Megennis were joined by Indy Pro 2000 front-runners Kyle Kirkwood and Sting Ray Robb, who all tested USF2000 machinery.
In 2016, it was presumptive 2019 Indy Lights champion Oliver Askew who impressed in his Road To Indy debut.
Current USF2000 and Indy Pro 2000 championship contenders Hunter McElrea and Rasmus Lindh took part in their first official Road To Indy tests during the 2017 Chris Griffis Memorial Test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2017.
The test, scheduled for October 19 and 20 should fit perfectly for drivers from around the world to have a chance to drive across the famous yard of bricks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Unfortunately, in the past, the test that was held in September often coincided with other worldwide series. This year, there is no conflict with the following worldwide junior open-wheel series FIA Formula 3 Championship – Euroformula Open Championship – Formula Renault Eurocup – BRDC British Formula 3 Championship – F3 Americas Championship – F3 Asian Championship – Japanese Formula 3 Championship – Italian F4 Championship – ADAC Formula 4 Championship – Formula 4 United States Championship – F4 Spanish Championship – China Formula 4 Championship- SMP F4 Championship- F4 Danish Championship – F2000 Championship Series -Australian Formula Ford Championship – F1600 Championship Series- Ontario F1600 – Quebec F1600 and BRSCC Formula Ford.
Friday will consist of an educational summit, and each series will have 4.5 hours of track time on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course throughout Saturday and Sunday.
If you are driver looking for a seat for the two-day test, you can find the team contact info at the links below.
These are two of my favorite days of the racing season. I relish the chance to meet young drivers that are possibly embarking on their Road To Indy journey . It’s a relaxed atmosphere, but a the same time, it’s still serious business. It’s a little like being able to watch a first date as drivers and teams both work hard to make an excellent first impression on each other. Is that a little creepy? Yes, but I can’t deny that it’s entertaining and informative.
Current Indy Pro 2000 points leader Kyle Kirkwood made his Road To Indy debut at the 2015 Chris Griffis Memorial Test at Circuit of The Americas (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)
Posted by Steve Wittich on Saturday, August 24th 2019
Kyle Kirkwood’s incredible run of results that started two months ago at Road America continued as the middle rung of the Road To Indy took on their second oval of the season. But, it wasn’t as easy as leading 50 of 55 laps would appear to be.
The Soul Red No. 28 from the RP Motorsport stable turned in a qualifying lap quick enough to start on the outside of the front row, but the team made an illegal adjustment in the qualifying line, and the reigning 2018 USF2000 champion started on the tail of the 12-car field.
Kirkwood took only five laps to grab the lead, and for much of the race, it appeared that the 20-year-old might head to Portland with the points lead.
“No. Nowhere near that,” explained Kirkwood to TSO after the race. “Honestly, if we had no cautions, I realistically thought a top-five would be a good finish because it’s not very easy to pass around here.
“Every situation I came across was incredible. I went to the outside and people got bottled-up on the inside and I was able to have a massive run to the next corner. I kept doing that and doing that, and it kept working and kept working. Fortunately, the top three or four got together when I was in fifth or sixth, and it created a massive run for me, and I got three or four cars going into Turn 3 and all of a sudden I was passing for the lead. I was passing for the lead, and I was like ‘how did I get here.’
“Everything that could have went right, did for us.”
Polesitter and points leader Lindh spent most of the race running in the fourth spot, but with 15 laps remaining decided it was time to go. The 18-year-old made up one spot with 15 laps remaining and made an aggressive final-lap pass to grab the second sport in the final two corners of the last lap.
After the race, Lindh told us that he didn’t have the speed to win, but was satisfied with his second-place finish.
“I want to win this championship,” said Lindh, who still has a six-point championship lead. “It’s going to end very soon, and we have to get every point we can right now.
The dozen Elite 2.0L engines were fired at 1:41 pm, and after two pace laps, the front row of Lindh and Enders brought the field to the green flag on the World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway front straight.
Outside front row starter Enders got a slower start allowing his DEForce Racing teammate de la Vara to move into second and put pressure on Lindh.
Lindh crossed the line first followed by de la Vera, Enders, Robb, Comeau, Frost, Petrov, Kirkwood, Thompson, Abel, Lastochkin and Finelli.
On Lap 2, the top three went down the front straight three-wide with de la Vara grabbing the lead. Kirkwood had already made up seven spots and was running fifth. Kirkwood made up one spot on each of the next two laps and completed his run from last to first on Lap 5.
Things settled in for the next few laps with Kirkwood leading de la Vera and Enders. By Lap 10 Enders was on his teammate’s gearbox with the pair going side-by-side for Lap 13 and Lap 14 before de la Vara was able to take control of the second spot.
Lap 18 was a busy one. Enders was finally able to get past de la Vara, and Lindh was able to grab back the fourth spot from Comeau.
Two laps later, Enders turned the quickest lap of the race to that point, taking off after Kirkwood upfront. On lap 20, the lead was 1.9 seconds. Texan Enders started to methodically eat into Kirkwood’s lead, dropping the gap to 1.3 seconds with 30 laps remaining.
Behind the front pair, de la Vara was facing immense pressure from Lindh and Comeau, with Frost right there. On lap 27, Frost was able to move into the top five, getting past Comeau.
With 25 laps remaining, Kirkwood’s lead was down to 0.7 seconds. The front two were over six seconds ahead of the train forming behind de la Vara.
On lap 32, Enders washed wide in Turn 3 and Turn 4, and the gap grew to 1.1 seconds when they crossed the line to start lap 33.
With 18 to go, Lindh and Frost went side-by-side through Turn 1 and 2. The championship leader was able to hold onto the spot as the Exclusive Autosport driver dropped in behind the Juncos Racing rookie.
With 15-laps remaining Lindh went to the outside of de la Vara in Turn 1 and the Swedish driver was the only one to exit Turn 2. de la Vara’s UAG / I.E.P. / MOTUL / JUMEX / Oil Depot sponsored No. 6 appeared to be carrying too much speed and spun 90 degrees making hard contact with the SAFER Barrier in the middle of the two turns at the south end of the track.
The running order under yellow was Kirkwood, Enders, Lindh, Frost, Comeau, Robb, Petrov, Thompson, Lastochkin, Finelli, de la Verra and Abel. 28 7 10 68 3 2 5 8 90 83 6 51
Kirkwood got a good jump on Enders when the green flag came back out with seven laps remaining. Lindh immediately started to put pressure on Enders, looking to get by the DEForce Racing driver in Turn 3 on the first two laps under green. Enders was able to hold him off, but that allowed Kirkwood to build a comfortable lead upfront.
With four laps remaining, Kirkwood’s lead was 0.7 seconds. With two laps left, the lead had dropped to 0.5 seconds.
But, Lindh was not done trying to grab as many points as possible. The driver of the Chicago Pneumatic / PWR Junior Team / SKF sponsored No. 10 got a great run through Turn 1 and Turn 2, carrying enough momentum to go two-by-two with Enders in Turn 3 and 4 with Lindh beating Enders to the start/finish line by a slim 0.09-second margin.
Cooper Tires Indy Pro 2000 Oval Challenge of St. Louis Race Results
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A pair of DEForce Racing drivers, Kory Enders, and Moisés de la Vara sandwiched current points leader Rasmus Lindh at the top of the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires timing screen after the first and only practice session.
Parker Thompson and Kyle Kirkwood, who are also in championship contention had the fourth and fifth quickest laps.
The air temperature when the lone 30-minute practice session for the Cooper Tires Indy Pro 2000 Oval Challenge of St. Louis was 84F. The track temperature of the 1.25-mile egg-shaped oval was 115F.
Each entry received two new sets of Cooper Tires and were allowed to carry over one set from the recent World Wide Technology Raceway At Gateway test. Drivers have to start the race on the same set of Cooper Tires they qualify on.
The leader at the half-way point of the sessions was Moisés de la Vara. The DEForce Racing driver’s quick lap was 143.177mph. The rest of the top five were points leader Lindh, Kory Enders, Parker Thompson and Danial Frost.
With ten minutes remaining in the session, newcomer Artem Petrov moved into the top three.
With eight minutes remaining, Lindh went to the top of the timing screens with a lap at 143.514mph.
With five of 30 minutes, remaining times started to drop as drivers made qualifying simulations. Lindh was the first driver to go quicker, but the Swede was quickly supplanted on the top of the timing screens by Enders.
The entire 30-minute session was run under green flag conditions, and the dozen drivers turned a total of 423 laps. Nikita Lastochkin was the busiest pilot, turning 49 laps.
Cooper Tires Indy Pro 2000 Oval Challenge of St. Louis practice #1 results
RANK
CAR NO.
DRIVER
FASTEST LAP (mph)
TOTAL LAPS
1
7
Kory Enders
143.786
35
2
10
Rasmus Lindh
143.780
36
3
6
Moises de la Vara
143.665
34
4
8
Parker Thompson
143.000
37
5
28
Kyle Kirkwood
142.741
30
6
51
Jacob Abel
142.637
36
7
68
Danial Frost
142.270
34
8
5
Artem Petrov
141.668
30
9
2
Sting Ray Robb
141.598
26
10
90
Nikita Lastochkin
139.899
49
11
3
Antoine Comeau
138.488
32
12
83
Charles Finelli
137.703
44
The middle rung of the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires will be back for qualifying at 6:30 pm (Central).
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