Archives for Indy Lights News/Results

MRTI Update #5 from Road America – O’Ward, Telitz and Herta lead Indy Lights practice

Posted by  on Friday, June 22nd 2018     

By Steve Wittich

The seven Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires entries began their lone practice session at 9:15 AM. When the checkered flag fell at 10 PM, it ended two straight hours of Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires action to begin the Kohler Grand Prix weekend.

With carry-over tires from the test at Road America, last week drivers did not use fresh sets of Cooper Tire slicks, instead of saving them for qualifying.

At the one-third point of the 45-minute session, Wisconsin born driver Aaron Telitz had the quickest lap with Patricio O’Ward, Santi Urrutia, Colton Herta and Victor Franzoni making up the rest of the top five.

With two-thirds of the session complete, O’Ward had taken over the top spot on the timesheet. The five quickest drivers were all within a half-second of the Andretti Autosport rookie.

The ADVANCE Auto Parts Radio network reported that drivers were trying out differing downforce levels and shock adjustments in an attempt to find more pace. Urrutia explained that the track was quite a bit different than the track was during their test on the 4.014-mile, 14-turn natural terrain road course last week.

Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires practice #1 timesheet

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER QUICK LAP DIFFERENCE TOTAL LAPS
1 27 Pato O’Ward 1:53.781 –.—- 14
2 9 Aaron Telitz 1:53.876 0.0954 14
3 98 Colton Herta 1:54.049 0.2676 15
4 23 Victor Franzoni 1:54.234 0.4532 15
5 5 Santi Urrutia 1:54.358 0.5775 14
6 28 Dalton Kellett 1:54.686 0.9054 14
7 48 Ryan Norman 1:55.205 1.4237 17

Don’t miss any of the action:

Indy Lights will be back on track at 4:55 PM for the first qualifying session.

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Indy Lights at Road America – 2018 – Steve’s preview

Posted by  on Wednesday, June 20th 2018     

By Steve Wittich

When writing about racing, it’s always better to let a story develop and tell itself, instead of pushing your own narrative. With the short fields that the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires series is seeing this year, pushing a pre-determined story would have been an easy trap to fall into.

Thankfully, a second-generation racer and son of a previous Indy Lights champion who drives for two of the most iconic names in American sports history, his high-energy rookie teammate who is looking for a little Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires redemption, and a still fiery but much wiser two-time series vice-champion, are writing their own epic tail.

Colton Herta (Andretti Steinbrenner Racing), Patricio O’Ward (Andretti Autosport) and Santi Urrutia (Belardi Auto Racing) have average finishes of 2.7, 2.9 and 3.0 respectively and are separated by a scant 21 points headed into the eighth of 17 rounds.

Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires points headed to Road America

RANK DRIVER POINTS POINTS BACK
1 Colton Herta 189
2 Patricio O’Ward – R 183 6
3 Santi Urrutia 168 21
4 Victor Franzoni – R 139 50
5 Ryan Norman 128 61
6 Dalton Kellett 122 67
7 Aaron Telitz 121 68
8 Shelby Blackstock 42 147
9 Neil Alberico 31 158
10 Alfonso Celis, Jr. 27 162
11 Davey Hamilton, Jr. 21 168

Of the three Verizon IndyCar Series ladder series, Indy Lights has the longest history on the 4.014-mile, 14-turn natural terrain road course. Mike Groff started second and won the first Indy Lights (American Racing Series) race in 1986.

While it might be the longest history, Indy Lights has also contested the fewest Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires races at Road America, making their ninth and tenth starts in 2018. The iconic road course played host to a single race four times between 1986 and 1990 before a 25-year break in the action, and a pair of doubleheaders in 2016 and 2017.

Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires winners at Road America

YEAR DRIVER TEAM
2017 Race #2 Zachary Claman DeMelo Carlin
2017 Race #1 Matheus Leist Carlin
2016 Race #2 Santi Urrutia Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
2016 Race #1 Zach Veach Belardi Auto Racing
1990 Paul Tracy Landford Racing
1989 Tommy Byrne Landford Racing
1988 Juan Fangio II Leading Edge Racing Team
1986 Mike Groff Groff Motorsports

Watch Zachary Claman DeMelo win his first Indy Lights race at Road America last year.

 

What a difference a year makes for Herta.

Last year, the second generation driver was coming off a miserable “Month of May” that saw a 16 point advantage turn into a 22 point deficit after three races at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

This year, the 18-year-old came to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway 27 points in arrears of O’Ward, but three straight wins have turned that disadvantage into a six-point advantage.

Driver Colton Herta and team owner George Steinbrenner celebrate after winning the Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Herta will be making his second visit to Road America, with last year’s first visit featuring a mixed bag of results.

A fuel leak kept the No.98 Andretti Steinbrenner Racing Mazda/Dallara from taking to the track for practice which leads to a disappointing 13th place start and a forgettable race that included a spin and ended in 12th.

The Valencia, Calif. native rebounded to take the pole for the second race and ended up on the podium, starting a string of good results to end his rookie season.

Herta finished last weeks test sixth on the time chart and will have to find some speed in his No. 98 Andretti Steinbrenner Racing machine during practice.

“After a crazy month of May, I’m super excited to get back in the car this weekend,” explained Herta. “We’re carrying a lot of momentum and had a good test in Road America last week. We will have a bit of a challenge ahead of us as we have a new tire compound coming into the weekend. As long as keep doing what we’ve this year, we should be right up in the fight for the win!”

Herta will hope that percentages since the two Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course races were added continue to play out for him. Since 2014, the points leader after the trio of “Month of May” races has gone on to win the championship three times, including the last two. The lone outlier was 2015 when eventual champion Spencer Pigot left Indianapolis, Ind. in third, 24 points behind Jack Harvey.

O’Ward, who has led at least one lap in all seven races this so far in 2018, will hope to channel his IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship visit to Road America in 2017, and not his 2016 Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire visit.

Last year, the 19-year-old teamed with local driver James French to win the Prototype Challenge class during the IMSA weekend.

In 2016, the Monterey, Mexico born pilot entered the Road America rounds of the Pro Mazda championship with a 55 point lead over Team Pelfrey teammate Aaron Telitz. But, a pair of disappointing fourth place finishes coupled with dominating wins for Telitz was the beginning of a depressing run of results for O’Ward.

O’Ward, who finished the recent test at Road America with the second quickest time currently leads or is tied for the lead in the following series statistics:

  • Wins – 3 (tied with Colton Herta)
  • Poles – 4
  • Races Led – 7
  • Laps Led – 141
  • Bonus Points – 8
  • Average Starting Position – 1.9
  • Quickest Average Race Lap – 2.3

Accomplished veteran Urrutia, who is the only driver NOT from the Andretti Autosport stable to win a race this year, starts the weekend 21 points adrift of Herta and the top of the points table.

That’s the closest the “second-half” driver has been to the championship lead when leaving the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and is a testament to how much he’s grown as a driver over the course of his Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires career.

Santi Urrutia celebrates a win at Road America in 2016 (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Last year, the Uruguayan had six drivers in front of him and was 46 points out of the lead, and in 2016 he was also third, but 39 points behind the leader.

The 21-year-old will need to continue to make smart decisions behind the wheel, but his Belardi Auto Racing team will also need to make some strides to find some more pace to give him a chance to fight straight-up for wins.

Reigning Pro Mazda champion Victor Franzoni led the series open test at Road America last week with a lap of 112.7325 seconds. That’s under the race track record on what was reported to be a slick and green track.

A pair of wins would bring the 22-year-old back into championship contention, but more importantly they would help Franzoni honor his friend, patron and former teammate Jeff Green.

It was in Wisconsin last year that Ryan Norman first exhibited the pace to prove that he belonged in Indy Lights. This year’s trip north gives the 20-year-old a chance to show he can regularly fight for podiums. Despite a pair of what he would classify as dissapointing fifth place finishes on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, Norman showed he was willing to fight for positions, battling Franzoni, Urrutia and O’Ward.

The fourth member of the Andretti Autosport, Dalton Kellett, is coming off a podium in the Freedom 100, but has shown a surprising lack of pace on the road and street courses so far in 2018. The Canadian’s test last week at Road America featured an off-track excursion, so he will have to rebuild some confidence during practice on Friday.

Aaron Telitz heads to his home race in desperate need of a repeat performance from 2016. That year, the Rice Lake, Wisc. native dominated both Pro Mazda races to start a run for the championship.

The 26-year-old began that weekend trailing O’Ward by 55 points and ended up winning the championship by 28 points, an 83 point swing. Telitz currently trails Herta by 68 points but needs to start winning races now.

Random notes:

  • Andretti Autosport and Juncos Racing are looking for their first Indy Lights wins at Road America. Since the series returned in 2016, two races were won by Carlin and one each by Schmidt Peterson Motorsports and Belardi Auto Racing.
  • You don’t need to start on pole to win on the 4.014-mile, 14-turn natural terrain road course, but starting in the first couple of rows certainly helps. Only two of the eight winners have started inside the front row. Five victories have been won from the outside of row one and Claman DeMelo won from fourth on the grid last year.
  • The pole-sitter has finished outside of the top ten more times four times, and only finished on the podium three times.
  • Mike Groff (1986) and Zach Veach (2016) are the only Americans to win at Road America. Argentina, Brazil, Canada (twice), Ireland, and Uruguay have also provided winners.

Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires weekend schedule

Friday

9:15 AM – 10 AM – Practice
12:20 PM – 12:50 PM – Autograph Session
4:55 PM – 5:25PM – Qualifying #1

Saturday

8 AM – 8:30 AM – Qualifying #2
Noon – 12:45PM – Race #1

Sunday

9:50 AM – 10:50 AM – Race #2

Don’t miss any of the action:

 

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Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires – Freedom 100 test session #2, 4:30 p.m. – Rain delays start; Windom withdrawn

Posted by  on Monday, May 21st 2018     

By Tony DiZinno

Rain only 10 minutes before the start of the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires session has put running on hold.

With threatening skies to the southwest of the track and coming up, it is uncertain whether we will be able to run.

—

Windom’s damaged No. 33 car. (INDYCAR Photo by Mike Young)

More unfortunate news comes from Belardi Auto Racing, which confirms Chris Windom’s No. 33 Baldwin Brothers/Central Abrasives Dallara IL-15 Mazda will be a scratch for the Freedom 100 following his incident in the first morning test session.

The team wrote on Twitter, “It is unfortunate, but following the incident this morning involving @WindomChris , he will not be able to participate in the Freedom 100 due to the damage on his No. 33 car. We hate to see it for Chris, but know he will bounce back!”

Windom adds, “The ups and downs of racing. Can’t thank everyone on the team enough for their support and getting me to this point. We will be back.”

Windom was meant to add the Freedom 100 to the rest of his “Windom’s Wild Week,” where together with Jonathan Byrd’s Racing he would have six races in seven days at six racetracks.

This is an unfortunate bit of news because Windom had impressed the Belardi team and oval observers during his running this morning.

It also leaves one of the two Freedom 100-only entries on the sideline, and puts the field back down to eight cars.

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Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires – Freedom 100 test session #1 – Kellett leads – Belardi teammates collide

Posted by  on Monday, May 21st 2018     

By Steve Wittich

Veteran Andretti Autosport Indy Lights driver Dalton Kellett led both the tow and no-tow lap speeds during an Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires test session at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that was interrupted by moisture and a multi-car incident.

The first of two 90-minute Indy Lights test sessions in preparation for the Carb Day Freedom 100 began at 10 AM. The skies were overcast, the ambient temperature was 71 F, and the track temperature was 88F.

After only a half-hour of installation laps and solo runs, the group running began. With an iffy weather forecast for the afternoon, finding out how your Mazda powered Dallara handles in traffic was more important than finding speed for qualifying.

One group quickly formed with cars running two-wide through Turn 1.

With 27-minutes left in the 90-minute session the yellow flag came out for moisture, and the track remained down for approximately 12-minutes.

The green flag came out with around 15-minutes remaining, but five minutes later the yellow came out for an incident in Turn 2 involving a pair of Belardi Auto Racing cars.

Rookie Belardi Auto Racing w/ Byrd & Baldwin driver Chris Windom, who is making his first Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires start told TSO that he had a moment in Turn 1 and then snapped in Turn 2.

Santi Urrutia tried to avoid his spinning teammate, but could not avoid his spinning teammate.

The cars of Chris Windom (#33) and Santi Urrutia (#5) are brought back to the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires paddock after an on track incident for the Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (TSO Photo by Tony DiZinno)

Both drivers were taken to the IU Health Medical Center and were checked, released and cleared to drive.

The session was extended by until 11:45 AM and the green flag came back out with six minutes remaining.

The four Andretti Autosport, one Team Pelfrey and one Juncos Racing car all went out on track for qualifying simulations.

Here is the timesheet at the end of the session

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM QUICK LAP QUICK NO-TOW LAP TOTAL LAPS
1 28 Dalton Kellett Andretti Autosport 198.005 195.071 46
2 27 Pato O’Ward Andretti Autosport 196.190 194.032 41
3 23 Victor Franzoni Juncos Racing 195.910 193.375 41
4 48 Ryan Norman Andretti Autosport 194.793 194.793 43
5 33 Chris Windom Belardi Auto Racing w/ Byrd & Baldwin 194.730 189.739 35
6 2 Davey Hamilton Jr Team Pelfrey 194.181 191.497 59
7 5 Santi Urrutia Belardi Auto Racing 191.609 191.609 9
8 98 Colton Herta Andretti Steinbrenner Racing 191.405 191.403 29
9 9 Aaron Telitz Belardi Auto Racing 188.989 15

The Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires series will be back on track on Thursday, May 24, 2018, for a 45-minute practice session at 10:00 am and will qualifying the same day at 1:30 pm. The Freedom 100 will roll off at 12:30 pm on Friday, May 25, 2018.

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Saturday – MRTI Update #10 – IMS Road Course – Herta delivers encore comeback performance in second Indy Lights thriller

Posted by  on Saturday, May 12th 2018     

By Tony DiZinno

—

Herta delivers encore comeback performance in second Indy Lights thriller

On a weekend where the low car count in Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires created a bit of chatter, the full field still delivered an encore of a great race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on Saturday afternoon.

For the second straight day, Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing’s Colton Herta completed a comeback drive of his own to pull off the win, and promptly swept the Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Grand Prix of Indianapolis Supporting the Lupus Foundation of America weekend.

Herta emerged from a back-and-forth battle with Santiago Urrutia during the 35-lap race. Urrutia and polesitter Patricio “Pato” O’Ward both saw their win hopes evaporate on a day when clouds also took over from the sun in the Indianapolis skies.

The leaders got away cleanly after yesterday’s hectic start and at the end of the first lap it’s O’Ward, Urrutia, Telitz, Herta, Franzoni, Norman and Kellett.

Action begins on Lap 2 as Herta and Telitz collide at Turn 1 battling over third, and Telitz falls down to last briefly behind Norman and Kellett. Meanwhile Urrutia goes down O’Ward’s inside at Turn 7 to take over the lead.

This changes the order to Urrutia first, O’Ward second, Franzoni up to third with Herta, Kellett, Telitz, then Norman.

Telitz began his comeback with a pass of Kellett in an over-under move at Turn 1, and Kellett also lost a spot to Norman.

By Lap 5 it’s still Urrutia, O’Ward, Fraznoni, Herta, Telitz, Norman and Kellett.

On Lap 7, O’Ward set the fastest lap and was within just 0.7089 of a second of Urrutia. Meanwhile Herta pulled a second on Franzoni, who was 1.6 seconds clear of Telitz.

O’Ward continued to close after Turn 7 through the back portion of the course. By Turn 12, he was right behind Urrutia’s gearbox, which set up him nicely for a proper pass attempt on the frontstraight.

Herta closed further on the top two to just over three seconds behind.

At this stage, the order left the points standings with O’Ward only six ahead of Urrutia, 156-150, and Herta third on 136.

By Lap 10, O’Ward was down to eight seconds of push to pass remaining, while Urrutia still had 16 seconds available. The gap stabilized between 0.6 and 0.7 of a second from there, although O’Ward continued to close under braking.

Herta slowly has crept up, getting to within 2.3 seconds of the top two on Lap 12 of 35. Telitz closed on Franzoni as he was within 0.7 of a second, and trailed his gearbox. Telitz made it past at Turn 7 on the inside for fourth place, getting past Franzoni cleanly. Franzoni tried to get him back on the outside at Turn 1but was unable to do so, which brough them within Norman’s clutches.

Herta’s stealth drive has continued. He’s now just over 1 second behind O’Ward for second and 1.9 off Urrutia for the lead.

By Lap 15 of 35 it’s a pair of three-car groups, with Urrutia, O’Ward and Herta covered by 1.9 seconds and Telitz, Franzoni and Norman covered by just 0.8 of a second.

Herta is now on O’Ward’s gearbox by Lap 19, just over four tenths of a second behind his teammate.

At Lap 20 it’s Urrutia, O’Ward and Herta within 1.4 seconds, then Telitz now 1.1 seconds clear of Franzoni for fourth, Norman just over 1.7 seconds behind Franzoni and Kellett further back after a quick off-and-on at Turns 7 and 8.

On Lap 22 O’Ward makes a major lockup at Turn 1 to his left front Cooper Tire and that opens the door for Herta to grab second place easily on the inside, and begins to set sail to catch Urrutia.

Urrutia now leads Herta by 1.3 seconds with O’Ward third, 2.9 seconds back and almost out of push-to-pass and with a flat-spotted left front, then Telitz fourth but 6.8 seconds back.

It’s fully game on between Urrutia and Herta from here, and at the moment it shifts the “points as they run” number to O’Ward 153, Urrutia 150 and Herta 139.

Herta increases the pressure by setting the fastest lap of the race on Lap 23, at 1:17.2706, and immediately cuts the gap two more tenths to 1.1253 of a second.

The gap is under a second on Lap 24, with Herta now just 0.9315 of a second behind. Just 10 laps to go and Herta is just 0.8705 of a second back.

It may come down to who has more push-to-pass left, and at this stage, Herta has only 11 seconds while Urrutia still has 16.

Herta closed to 0.6420 of a second on Lap 26 and 0.4869 of a second on Lap 27. Herta has the aero wash, but locks up under braking into Turn 1 and avoids hitting the Uruguayan’s rear wing.

O’Ward goes off and on, loses time and positions, and then pits with a left rear tire that appeared to be down and then replaced by his Andretti Autosport team.

Meanwhile the potentially decisive moment of the race occurs at Lap 30. Urrutia defended to the inside of Turn 1 as Herta went to the outside, then Urrutia washed out wide at Turn 1, and Herta had no choice but to follow him into the grass!

Norman and Kellett had a back-and-forth dice for what is now fifth place after O’Ward hits the pits.

Herta regained a couple tenths by Lap 31 to only 0.5690 of a second, after falling from 0.7654 back on Lap 30.

The drama reached its fever pitch on Laps 32 and 33. Urrutia defended to the inside of the backstraight into Turn 7 with Herta behind him by the end of Lap 32 by just 0.2101 of a second.

On Lap 33, Herta was right behind Urrutia. Urrutia again chose the inside line to defend but Herta went to the outside. He almost got past at the exit of Turn 1, but with Urrutia not ceding an inch, the two collided at Turn 2. Herta’s right front caught Urrutia’s left rear and pitched the Belardi driver into a spin. The contact came after a hard fought battle but did not trigger any further action from Race Control.

Herta held on from there to lead the final three laps and beat Telitz by 4.1968 of a second. Franzoni finished third to complete the podium.

“Man that was incredible!” Herta told the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network’s Ryan Myrehn.

“I thought I couldn’t top yesterday but I had more fun today. I was fully focused the whole 35 laps.

“Rubbing’s racing. Sometimes it happens. Just like last year I had contact and didn’t finish.”

Urrutia fell to fourth ahead of Norman and Kellett, with O’Ward ending seventh after a very frustrating weekend.

This leaves the points incredibly tight after six races, where O’Ward has three wins, Herta two and Urrutia one.

Unofficially, O’Ward still leads the points standings but by only one point over Herta (145-144). Urrutia falls to third with 139 points. Franzoni (119), Norman (102), Telitz (98) and Kellett (87) are in the next tier.

The Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires series resumes with the Freedom 100 on Carb Day, Friday, May 25. Testing for the race on the 2.5-mile IMS oval takes place on Monday, May 21.

Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires – Race #2 Unofficial Results

P No Name Laps Diff
1 98 Colton Herta 35
2 9 Aaron Telitz 35 4.1968
3 23 Victor Franzoni 35 4.8512
4 5 Santi Urrutia 35 19.7081
5 48 Ryan Norman 35 20.2648
6 28 Dalton Kellett 35 21.3713
7 27 Pato O’Ward 34 1 LAPS

—

After raising $6,000 during the Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Grand Prix of Indianapolis Supporting the Lupus Foundation of America last year, the Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires paddock hopes to raise double that amount over the next few days. You can do your part by donating here —>please make a donation in the #RaceToEndLupus

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Saturday – MRTI Update #7 – IMS Road Course – Indy Lights second qualifying, and Friday paddock notebook

Posted by  on Saturday, May 12th 2018     

By Tony DiZinno

Good morning from Saturday at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, to cap off the weekend for the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires and the Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Grand Prix of Indianapolis Supporting the Lupus Foundation of America.

Here is a reminder of today’s schedule. Qualifying is complete for Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires’ second race later this afternoon, and racing will be underway shortly for all three series.

Saturday, May 12th

TIME EVENT
7:30 AM Public Gates Open
8:30 AM – 9 AM Indy Lights Qualifying #2
9:15 AM – 9:55 AM USF2000 Race #2
10:10 AM – 11 AM Pro Mazda Race #2
11:15 AM – 11:45 AM IndyCar Warm-Up
1:15 PM – 2:25PM Indy Lights Race #2
3 PM – 3:30 PM Bronze Badge Grid Walk
3:50 PM Green Flag – INDYCAR Grand Prix (85 Laps)
7 PM Public Gates Close

—

—

O’Ward vaults from fourth to first on final lap for pole

Qualifying on Saturday morning for the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires’ second race of the weekend at the 2.439-mile, 14-turn Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course played out like most sessions have in 2018: close throughout the field, with improvements on the second runs on new Cooper Tires, and an Andretti Autosport driver on the pole.

Patricio “Pato” O’Ward grabbed his second pole in as many days, but this one was by the slimmest of margins.

Driving the No. 27 Dallara IL-15 Mazda, O’Ward scored his fourth pole of the year by just 0.0007 of a second over teammate and Friday race winner Colton Herta in the No. 98 Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing car.

O’Ward’s best time was 1:15.8647, only just ahead of Herta’s 1:15.8654. This means it will be the same front row as it was yesterday, but neither was able to make it through Turns 1 and 2 OK.

As O’Ward took the pole on his 15th and final timed lap, it ruined a potential grid that would have identically matched the finishing order of Friday’s first race.

“Yeah usually whenever you go out on new tires, you have one shot, then it falls off. I did it flat and was fourth. I need to pull out something! That last lap I did everything I had to do to try to go quicker, and I’m super happy. Yesterday we got snowplowed into one, and then our oil pump in the gearbox failed so I had to nurse the car home,” O’Ward told the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network’s Ryan Myrehn.

With seven minutes to go in the 30-minute session, it was Victor Franzoni on provisional pole at 1:16.2320, ahead of O’Ward, Aaron Telitz, Herta, Santiago Urrutia, Ryan Norman and Dalton Kellett. All seven cars were separated by just 0.3268 of a second.

Then the times began to drop. Urrutia went to pole, then Herta did with his best time of the session.

Once Norman got ahead of Franzoni for fifth, it left the provisional grid identical to Friday’s finishing order: Herta, Urrutia, Telitz, O’Ward, Norman, Franzoni and Kellett.

But O’Ward pulled out that final lap of magic to vault from fourth to first, but to score his fourth pole.

The second race of the weekend goes green at 1:15 p.m. ET this afternoon.

Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires – Second Qualifying Results

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 27 Pato O’Ward 1:15.865 –.—- 15
2 98 Colton Herta 1:15.865 0.0007 20
3 5 Santi Urrutia 1:15.925 0.0606 18
4 9 Aaron Telitz 1:16.000 0.1353 18
5 48 Ryan Norman 1:16.062 0.1978 18
6 23 Victor Franzoni 1:16.141 0.2766 18
7 28 Dalton Kellett 1:16.396 0.5311 19

—

Here’s a recap of notes from Friday’s races, as each series head into their second race of the weekend today.

Indy Lights notes

Herta all smiles. (Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Race winner Colton Herta was riding a more emotional high than he has in some time. The usually quiet, calm and collected 18-year-old seemed relieved as well as emotionally invested in his victory, which was a forceful comeback drive after getting trapped in a Turn 1 bottleneck to start the race. Staying on track saved him from picking up any debris, and he said it was key to his eventual comeback.

Herta made his ultimate winning pass on Santi Urrutia stick thanks to use of his second-to-last push-to-pass.

The win Friday came after Herta’s otherwise sensational start to his rookie season – where he won twice and finished second in three of the first four races – came crashing back to Earth in a big way last year at the IMS road course. With 12th and 10th place finishes, Herta got his first taste of what it meant to face adversity, and he would learn how to recover from it.

Between a strong Chris Griffis Memorial Mazda Road to Indy Test outing here in October and successful setup tweaks made by engineer Doug Zister to his No. 98 Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing car, Herta looked more at ease with his car and surroundings this go-around.

“I said it last year but this was where we had our worst race car last year,” Herta told TSO Ladder. “I think we had a good qualifying car but in race we were nowhere. Today we proved that statement wrong. We had the race pace, we found some good things at Griffis test and even more (Thursday). Yeah, we made the car a lot better, and I’m as happy at that as I about winning.”

—

O’Ward’s race never really got going. (Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Polesitter Patricio “Pato” O’Ward never had the chance to regain the top spot after his race did come unglued at the first corner. Luckily for the Mexican teenager, a fourth place finish proved an important result with an ailing race car.

O’Ward got contacted from the rear by Victor Franzoni entering Turn 1 and dropped down the order. O’Ward later told TSO Ladder after the race the contact wasn’t the worst thing that happened to him during the race. He drove most of the race with a failing oil pump that progressively worsened during the 30-lap race.

“To be honest with you, I’m really happy with fourth, because we were lucky to finish at all,” a relieved O’Ward said.

O’Ward’s primary race engineer is also back this weekend after missing Barber Motorsports Park.

—

Urrutia and Telitz got onto the podium for Belardi. (Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Belardi Auto Racing has not had a wealth of success at the IMS road course, so scoring two opportunistic and well-judged podium finishes on Friday proved a pleasant surprise.

In six prior IMS road course races with the Dallara IL-15 Mazda car, Urrutia was the only Belardi driver to stand on the podium, second in the second race last year. On Friday, he was second and teammate Aaron Telitz third.

Urrutia told TSO Ladder his No. 5 team gambled on a low downforce setup which helped early to get them to the front, but then left him vulnerable once Herta came within striking distance. Urrutia said there was nothing he could do to hold Herta back as the American was faster.

Telitz, who was running with slightly more downforce than Urrutia, then looked faster than his Uruguayan teammate through the corners but couldn’t get as close on the straights. He said he took Turn 1 cautiously and would have advanced further than just one spot up had it not been such a logjam among Urrutia, Franzoni and the pair of temporarily delayed Andretti cars of O’Ward and Herta. He made it out of the corner third, briefly made it to second, fell back to third, but finally stood on the podium for the first time this year.

Also of note: we spotted Bruno Junqueira, the several-time Champ Car World Series runner-up finisher and 2002 Indianapolis 500 polesitter, here this weekend at the Belardi transporter. Junqueira is assisting Urrutia this weekend under the Belardi tent.

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Pro Mazda notes

Scott won while Askew and VeeKay could only ponder what might have been. (Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Behind race winner Harrison Scott, Oliver Askew and Rinus VeeKay were left to take somewhat welcome yet somewhat disappointing lower steps on the podium in race one.

Usually in USF2000 last year, when one of them won, the other one was second or third. It marked a rare occasion when both of last year’s USF2000 title rivals were staring up at someone else. Only at St. Petersburg race one (Robert Megennis) and Toronto race two (Parker Thompson) did a driver win with both Askew and VeeKay also on the podium, but not on the top step.

That made it a bit weird for both drivers to reflect on the day where the win was possible, but lost.

“Just broke too deep, which is easy to do here after the long straightaway,” Askew told TSO Ladder of his first and second turn off course excursion that left him playing catch-up from seventh at the end of the first lap. “I knew I had the fastest car in the field and fought back.”

VeeKay, who led twice for a race high 13 laps before falling to third, summarized his race with a new metaphor.

“After starting second, taking the lead in Turn 1 and having my teammate behind me, it felt really nice. But, racing is not always about flowers!” the likable Dutch teenager laughed.

Admittedly, the result was still needed for both drivers. Askew had endured a somewhat tough start to the season through the opening two weekends where he was not a realistic win or pole factor. VeeKay turned poor qualifying efforts into strong race results but was left perplexed after Barber when he had his first podium-less weekend of his MRTI career. That made having a strong weekend in Indy all the more important.

“Today was really good,” Askew said. “It was really hard for us to be running outside the top seven at Barber. It’s kind of a reset. This was our strongest track of the year. We’re really good at the Chris Griffis test, and we found the balance for the qualifying. Both poles today; it’s definitely a restart for the year.”

—

Prior points leader Parker Thompson had a crazy day in Indy. (Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Parker Thompson and Exclusive Autosport had a highly abnormal Friday. It began with an engine expiration in first qualifying, shifted to an engine change in-between first and second qualifying (with only two hours, 50 minutes in-between sessions), witnessed with an engine cowling fly off the car in the race, and ended with a fifth place result after starting 11th.

Results like the one today may not mean much today, but may mean more by the end of the year if driver and team win the Pro Mazda championship. Thompson described his roller coaster day, and thanked some key people you might not be expecting to be working on his car.

“We had a technical error today, and at no fault of Elite Engines we lost the motor,” Thompson told TSO Ladder. “It was a tough start to the day because we thought we’d be battling for pole and instead we ended up 11th. Luckily it’s a track like Indy where a lot of stuff can happen! Had it not been for the engine cowling coming off, we were in podium contention.

“I was told to go talk to the officials, and ask, ‘If we didn’t make pre-grid, how would we get in qualifying halfway through? So to run a 45-minute race with a motor that got put in within an hour turnaround with no problems is not only a hat off to Elite Engines and the Exclusive Autosport crew.

“After all the engine builders I’ve had I saw something today I’ve never seen in a series engine builder. I’ve never seen an engine builder in his white shirt and slacks grind with our team to get this new one in today. Steve Knapp and Logan did that for us today. I really owe them for what they did for us today.”

—

Five drivers who ended between sixth and 11th, Nikita Lastochkin, Ludovico Laurini, Antonio Serravalle, Kris Wright and Charles Finelli, all had their best finishes of the season in race one.

—

USF2000 notes

Baron on IMS podium. (Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Race winner Alex Baron was lucky to even be present in Indianapolis for this weekend’s race after waiting until the eleventh hour to hear about his visa status. The French driver, who holds dual French and English citizenship, still lives in his home country and commutes to the U.S. This meant the Swan-RJB Motorsports team entered the weekend unsure whether it would have its team veteran, albeit one who’s had a stop-and-start MRTI career since 2013, present this weekend alongside series debutante James Roe.

“The last two weeks have been very difficult for me, mentally,” Baron told TSO Ladder. “People that have been through this will understand. If not, you won’t.

“It’s very nerve wracking. The last two days I’ve not been able to sleep very much. I needed to be at places at certain times. I had literally six hours of sleep getting here, in 48 hours. So I’ve run two sessions on Thursday, as I was lucky to enough to participate. Two days ago I was still in Paris, wondering if I would get my visa.”

Baron, who raced here in Indy Lights in 2014 in the previous generation car, finished fifth and third there in two starts. He’ll go for the weekend sweep today.

Teammate Roe has made steady progress all weekend; the Irishman will finish his duties today, and then jet straight to Watkins Glen International where he’ll compete with ArmsUp Motorsports in F2000 competition there. Swan-RJB’s driver coach Alex Barron – the past IndyCar race winner and Atlantic champion – is, like at St. Petersburg, not here this weekend owing to other commitments elsewhere.

—

Jose Sierra ended on the podium in third in a banner day for DEForce Racing, as all four of its cars finished in the top-10. Behind the young Mexican, its trio of American drivers ended fifth (Kory Enders), ninth (Colin Kaminsky) and 10th (Zach Holden).

Enders (No. 11), Kaminsky (No. 27) and Sierra (No. 12) at speed. Holden’s No. 10 car is not pictured, but is identical in livery to Enders and Sierra. (Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Sierra described his Friday, which like others in the USF2000 field had its ups-and-downs but ended on the podium.

“My start wasn’t the best! We avoided a crash, so it was good. But I lost two positions… so I was P6. We caught one of the BN cars, Caroline I think. I knew I was faster than him. I needed to send it, and I sent it!

“Then we were catching the two in front. I attempted to pass Kyle into Turn 7, but I wasn’t close enough, and I didn’t want to crash, or crash him, so I broke more.”

Sierra scored his second podium of 2018 at Indianapolis. (Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

To cap off DEForce’s banner day, they also got a podium with James Raven in the F4 U.S. Championship Powered by Honda first race at Road Atlanta. The English driver finished second behind race winner Benjamin Pederson, and ahead of Dakota Dickerson.

“I am very pleased to represent DEForce on the podium for the first time,” Raven said.

—

Contact between Lucas Kohl and Darren Keane took the two series veterans out of this race.

Meanwhile, another incident further in the pack between Oscar DeLuzuriaga and Michael d’Orlando appeared to flip d’Orlando’s car over, although it landed right side up. D’Orlando was at the track Saturday morning and ready to go for the second race.

category: Indy Lights News/Results, Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire - TSO

Friday – MRTI Update #4 – IMS Road Course – Herta rebounds, recovers to win Indy Lights race one

Posted by  on Friday, May 11th 2018     

By Tony DiZinno

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Herta recovers, rebounds from first lap fracas to win IMS race one

From getting shuffled out of contention to making a dramatic comeback to win, Colton Herta was the story of the day in the first Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires race of the Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Grand Prix of Indianapolis Supporting the Lupus Foundation of America weekend.

On paper, seeing that Herta started second and finished first in the No. 98 Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing Dallara IL-15 Mazda would make it seem like a fairly straightforward drive. But Herta and his polesitting teammate and points leader, Patricio “Pato” O’Ward in the No. 27 Andretti Autosport car, had a tougher race than they both anticipated.

Just past 1:30 p.m. ET, the command was given for the first of six Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires races to take place at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. The race was scheduled for 30 laps.

O’Ward and Herta’s expected battle for the lead from first and second on the grid got derailed off the start, when minor contact from Victor Franzoni sent O’Ward wide and off course at Turn 1. Herta, with nowhere to go except also off line directly behind him, also lost spots. They fell to fourth and fifth.

In the chaos, Santiago Urrutia advanced to the lead ahead of Franzoni, Aaron Telitz, with O’Ward and Herta.

Ryan Norman got past Dalton Kellett for sixth on Lap 2.

On Lap 4, Franzoni locks up on Urrutia going into Turn 1, after getting a run on him. But the Brazilian is unable to pass the Uruguayan.

By the end of Lap 5, O’Ward and Herta appear clearly faster than Telitz and are closing, trying to get past him.

Herta tried a run down the inside of O’Ward at Turn 1 on Lap 7 and got past, but overcooked it and ran wide, so he lost the position he just gained.

At Lap 7 it’s Urrutia leading Franzoni by 0.9365 of a second, with Telitz still third ahead of O’Ward, Herta, Norman and Kellett. At this stage, it’s the three non-Andretti Autosport cars that run first, second and third ahead of the four Andretti Autosport cars.

Herta tried again to the inside on Lap 9, and got past through Turns 1 and 2 to complete the gain of position for fourth. This pushes O’Ward down to fifth. Herta will now attempt to chase after Telitz for third.

The order at Lap 10 is Urrutia, up 0.5263 on Franzoni, with Telitz, Herta, O’Ward, Norman and Kellett in tow. Kellett has lost the lead draft, nearly 11 seconds behind sixth-placed Norman and just over 15 seconds off the leaders.

Quite a bit occurred on Lap 11. Franzoni tried around the outside of Urrutia at Turn 7 for the lead, but Urrutia defended and Franzoni lost all momentum. That left him vulnerable compared to Telitz, who tries a move to the inside at Turn 12. Franzoni runs wide on corner exit and drops to sixth.

However, despite Telitz making the move past Franzoni to make it a brief Belardi Auto Racing 1-2, Herta immediately caught him up. Herta tried around the outside of Telitz into Turn 1 and is past for second. Behind him, Norman tried to O’Ward’s inside for fourth, almost got him, but didn’t.

By the end of Lap 12, Urrutia now leads Herta by 1.3566 seconds and behind them, it’s now Telitz third, O’Ward fourth, Norman fifth, Franzoni sixth and Kellett seventh.

Herta closes the gap to just 0.6410 of a second on Lap 13, and is now fully in Urrutia’s rear view mirror for the lead.

On Lap 15 he tries his move into Turn 1, again to the outside as he did to Telitz,. Urrutia locks up defending but holds the lead… barely. Urrutia adjusts his line on the backstraight to hold off Herta, which he briefly does.

On Lap 16, Urrutia is unable to defend against Herta’s move – his third attempt on the outside of a Belardi car at Turn 1. This one sticks. Urrutia tries to defend to the inside but Herta is past, as Urrutia locks up, and within one lap Herta is already 1.1580 seconds ahead.

Herta has a fan in his former No. 98 number sake, Alexander Rossi, who now drives the No. 27 NAPA Auto Parts/CURB Honda for Andretti Autosport in the Verizon IndyCar Series.

On Lap 18, Herta’s lead is up to 1.83 seconds over Urrutia, who’s now trying to hold back his teammate, Telitz for second. O’Ward is stuck in fourth ahead of Norman, Franzoni, unable to recover, and Kellett.

Herta has significantly banked the gap. It’s 2.6778 seconds on Lap 19, and 3.2951 seconds on Lap 20, with 10 laps to go.

Telitz appears faster than Urrutia, but Urrutia continues in second ahead of his teammate. They’re more than four seconds behind Herta at the end of Lap 23. This has brought O’Ward to within two seconds of Telitz, his former teammate in Pro Mazda, with just four laps to go.

Herta brings it home by 5.1512 seconds over Urrutia, with Telitz on the podium for the first time this year in third.

O’Ward is fourth after defending against Norman most of the race. Franzoni ends sixth and Kellett completes the finishers.

This is Herta’s third Indy Lights win, first in more than a year since the 400th series race at Barber Motorsports Park in April 2017.

The race ran caution-free, with Herta and Urrutia each leading 15 laps. Herta gained the bonus point to break the tie, as he was the higher finishing driver.

This may be critical to note later this year, in terms of the championship. Unofficially, O’Ward still leads with 130 points, while Urrutia’s season-long consistency keeps him second on 119, just 11 back. Herta is third with 114. Franzoni (97), Norman (85), Telitz (73) and Kellett (72) are in the second tier.

Indy Lights will run its second race of the weekend at 1:15 p.m. ET on Saturday.

More to follow here once the drivers get out and reflect on their races.

Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires – Race #1 Unofficial Results

P No Name Laps Diff
1 98 Colton Herta 30
2 5 Santi Urrutia 30 5.1512
3 9 Aaron Telitz 30 5.7024
4 27 Pato O’Ward 30 7.9020
5 48 Ryan Norman 30 8.4853
6 23 Victor Franzoni 30 9.6682
7 28 Dalton Kellett 30 37.1633

—

After raising $6,000 during the Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Grand Prix of Indianapolis Supporting the Lupus Foundation of America last year, the Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires paddock hopes to raise double that amount over the next few days. You can do your part by donating here —>please make a donation in the #RaceToEndLupus

Don’t miss any of the action:

category: Indy Lights News/Results, Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire - TSO
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Friday – MRTI Update #3 – IMS Road Course – Indy Lights first qualifying, USF2000 and Pro Mazda second qualifying

Posted by  on Friday, May 11th 2018     

By Tony DiZinno

In case you missed it or need a quick refresher on this morning’s first two sessions, here’s a link to results from qualifying for the first Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda and Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tires races.

These races occur later this afternoon at 2:45 p.m. and 3:35 p.m. ET and local time, respectively. They are the second and third races of the day for the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires as part of the Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Grand Prix of Indianapolis Supporting the Lupus Foundation of America race weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Since our last update, Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires have qualified for its first race, and USF2000 and Pro Mazda have qualified for their second races. Indy Lights is the first race of the day at 1:30 p.m. ET. These session reports are below.

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O’Ward beats Herta to Race One Pole

A back-and-forth scrap between the two emerging Andretti Autosport rivals in Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires saw Patricio “Pato” O’Ward edge teammate Colton Herta in qualifying for Friday’s first race of the weekend.

While Herta in the No. 98 Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing car held the top spot for most of the session and looked set to secure the pole, O’Ward pipped him near the end of the 45-minute session in his bright green and white No. 27 car.

Andretti Autosport’s Rob Edwards congratulates Patricio “Pato” O’Ward after he scored pole for Indy Lights race one. (Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

O’Ward’s best time was just 0.032 of a second ahead of Herta (1:15.4255 to 1:15.4575).

This is O’Ward’s third pole of the season (Herta and Aaron Telitz have the other two), but fourth time in five races he’ll start from the top spot as he inherited P1 on the grid at St. Petersburg after Telitz’s pre-race accident.

“It was, man. I knew he’d be really fast and the Andretti team would give me a great car. I decided to bolt on new (sticker) Cooper Tires and think the grip would be there, and it was,” O’Ward told the Advance Auto Parts INDYCAR Radio Network’s Dave Furst.

“It was just good enough to put me on the pole. It’s hard to keep the same rhythm or procedure… sometimes it’s there and sometimes not. So this was a bit of a waiting game, but I’m super excited.”

O’Ward entered the weekend with a 16-point lead over Santiago Urrutia and 27 points over Herta, and will add to that with the bonus point for pole position.

Victor Franzoni will start third in the lone Juncos Racing entry ahead of the first of two Belardi Auto Racing drivers, Aaron Telitz. Urrutia completed the top five in the second Belardi car, yet was only 0.3863 of a second off the pace.

Franzoni (2017) and O’Ward (2016) swept Pro Mazda weekends here the last two years, with both drivers looking to add Indy Lights wins to their resumes at the 2.439-mile, 14-turn Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Today’s first race of the weekend goes green at 1:30 p.m. ET and local time.

Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires – First qualifying results

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 27 Pato O’Ward 1:15.425 –.—- 16
2 98 Colton Herta 1:15.457 0.0320 18
3 23 Victor Franzoni 1:15.636 0.2106 16
4 9 Aaron Telitz 1:15.739 0.3136 17
5 5 Santi Urrutia 1:15.812 0.3863 15
6 48 Ryan Norman 1:15.945 0.5200 18
7 28 Dalton Kellett 1:16.403 0.9770 19

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Same day qualifying double for Kirkwood at IMS

Friday’s two rounds of qualifying for Rounds 3 and 4 of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda was twice as nice for Kyle Kirkwood.

After scoring the pole in the morning session, Kirkwood followed up this afternoon with another pole on the same day.

As the temperatures increased the times slowed, so Kirkwood’s best time of 1:25.0252 was several tenths of a second slower than his morning time of 1:24.7694.

Kyle Kirkwood on track. (Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

The Cape Motorsports driver was still 0.4206 clear of the field though, a seriously impressive margin considering that only 0.214 of a second covered the top six in the morning.

Prior to Kirkwood’s flyer on his eighth of 10 laps this session, he had a razor thin margin over Alex Baron of Swan-RJB Motorsports. It had been only 0.0015 of a second.

Baron fell to third at the end as Lucas Kohl of Pabst Racing leapt up to second, at 1:25.4458.

BN Racing’s Jamie Caroline will start fourth for race two, with Rasmus Lindh the second Pabst car in the top five.

Like this morning, more than half the field was covered less than a second. The top 14 drivers were within 0.9857 of a second.

Saturday’s second race of the weekend will go green at 9:15 a.m. ET and local time.

Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship – Second Qualifying Results

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 8 Kyle Kirkwood 1:25.025 –.—- 10
2 22 Lucas Kohl 1:25.446 0.4206 12
3 19 Alex Baron 1:25.474 0.4489 10
4 28 Jamie Caroline 1:25.515 0.4900 10
5 23 Rasmus Lindh 1:25.526 0.5004 12
6 21 Calvin Ming 1:25.695 0.6693 7
7 10 Zach Holden 1:25.707 0.6814 11
8 12 Jose Sierra 1:25.729 0.7039 11
9 36 Darren Keane 1:25.759 0.7337 11
10 20 James Roe 1:25.806 0.7805 12
11 11 Kory Enders 1:25.859 0.8338 12
12 24 Kaylen Frederick 1:25.874 0.8488 7
13 27 Colin Kaminsky 1:25.955 0.9297 11
14 80 Julian Van der Watt 1:26.011 0.9857 10
15 91 Igor Fraga 1:26.027 1.0018 12
16 5 Mathias Soler-Obel 1:26.225 1.2001 12
17 81 Kyle Dupell 1:26.476 1.4508 10
18 82 Bruna Tomaselli 1:26.578 1.5525 11
19 14 Max Peichel 1:26.599 1.5738 9
20 37 David Osborne 1:26.635 1.6099 11
21 51 Michael d’Orlando 1:26.699 1.6739 11
22 90 Manuel Cabrera 1:26.710 1.6847 12
23 30 Keith Donegan 1:26.766 1.7408 11
24 29 Russell McDonough 1:26.777 1.7521 11
25 38 Oscar DeLuzuriaga 1:27.200 2.1747 12
26 31 Sabre Cook 1:27.322 2.2972 13

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—

Two quick Pro Mazda notes confirmed since our last update. As expected, David Malukas was assessed a penalty at the end of the session for staying out past the checkered flag. Pursuant to Rule 8.5.7, the BN Racing driver was penalized two starting positions, and will roll off fourth rather than second in race one. Exclusive Autosport’s Parker Thompson, meanwhile, was able to get back out running for the second session after an apparent mechanical issue limited him to two laps in session one.

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Askew withstands challenges for second pole of the day

Askew’s Soul Red Mazda will start first, twice, in Pro Mazda. (Photo: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

A frantic 20-minute qualifying session for the second Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tires race of the weekend sees Cape Motorsports’ Oliver Askew on pole for the second time.

But Askew withstood pressure from a number of challengers, as the top seven cars were separated by just 0.2147 of a second around the 2.439-mile, 14-turn Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

There wasn’t much running in the first 12 minutes in the 20-minute session, but track activity picked up after most teams bolted on fresh sets of Cooper Tires stickers in the final eight minutes.

Askew had a 1:20.5864, only 0.0371 ahead of Harrison Scott, heading into the final runs. Then things started changing rapidly.

Carlos Cunha was first to beat that time at 1:20.3830, but only briefly before Askew regained the provisional pole at 1:20.3376, 0.0454 of a second clear.

Rinus VeeKay got to within just 0.0081 of a second to slot up to P2, just behind Askew, which is where he’ll start race one.

Robert Megennis then went 1:20.2875 to go P1, but only briefly before David Malukas topped that time at 1:20.2612.

With just under two minutes left, the top seven are separated by only 0.1949 of a second.

Malukas went quicker still at 1:20.2289 but not for long, as Scott jumped to P1 with a 1:20.1936.

Askew answered with a 1:20.1683, which stood as the pole time by 0.0253 of a second.

The order after this chaotic changing of the leaderboard is Askew, Scott, Malukas, Megennis, VeeKay, Thompson and Cunha all covered by just over two tenths of a second. These seven drivers represent five teams: Cape Motorsports, RP Motorsport Racing, BN Racing, Juncos Racing and Exclusive Autosport.

The pair of Team Pelfrey cars, Andres Gutierrez and Sting Ray Robb, were eighth and ninth with the second RP Motorsport Racing entry of Ludovico Laurini completing the top 10.

The second Pro Mazda race of the weekend is at 10:10 a.m. ET and local time on Saturday.

Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tires – Second Qualifying Results

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 3 Oliver Askew 1:20.168 –.—- 12
2 10 Harrison Scott 1:20.194 0.0253 12
3 79 David Malukas 1:20.229 0.0606 12
4 9 Robert Megennis 1:20.287 0.1192 11
5 2 Rinus VeeKay 1:20.346 0.1774 9
6 90 Parker Thompson 1:20.366 0.1979 11
7 1 Carlos Cunha 1:20.383 0.2147 12
8 81 Andres Gutierrez 1:20.725 0.5570 11
9 82 Sting Ray Robb 1:20.791 0.6232 12
10 27 Lodovico Laurini 1:20.815 0.6464 10
11 8 Nikita Lastochkin 1:21.157 0.9887 12
12 78 Kris Wright 1:21.470 1.3018 12
13 91 Antonio Serravalle 1:21.814 1.6462 11
14 83 Charles Finelli 1:23.606 3.4376 13

—

After raising $6,000 during the Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Grand Prix of Indianapolis Supporting the Lupus Foundation of America last year, the Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires paddock hopes to raise double that amount over the next few days. You can do your part by donating here —>please make a donation in the #RaceToEndLupus

Don’t miss any of the action:

category: Indy Lights News/Results, Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire - TSO
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Thursday – MRTI Update #1 – USF2000, Pro Mazda and Indy Lights – first practice sessions, and some additional notes

Posted by  on Thursday, May 10th 2018     

By Tony DiZinno

Good evening, and welcome to TSO Ladder presented by Cooper Tires’ coverage of the Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

All three series, Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires, Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tires and the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda, are in action together for the first time since the St. Petersburg weekend back in March. Indy Lights and Pro Mazda both completed a pair of races at Barber Motorsports Park last month, but it’s been a long stretch since the drivers and teams of the USF2000 series have been in action.

All three series race under the same race name this weekend, the Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Grand Prix of Indianapolis Supporting the Lupus Foundation of America. You can find more information on that at the bottom of this and all other TSO Ladder posts this weekend; it is a good cause.

In case you missed Steve’s comprehensive race weekend previews, they are linked here:

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Here’s some quick paddock notes before the first official practice session. There have been some car count adjustments, with only seven Indy Lights cars, 14 Pro Mazda cars (more on both of these items below) and 26 USF2000 cars entered.

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Victor’s solo act… again

It would be fair to say Victor Franzoni was not expecting to be the only Indy Lights driver at Juncos Racing this weekend, in the wake of Alfonso Celis Jr. announcing his step up to the Verizon IndyCar Series starting at Road America. Celis made his Indy Lights debut at Barber Motorsports Park.

That being said, the Mazda Motorsports scholarship driver is still focused on this weekend in Indianapolis. Franzoni kickstarted his Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires championship charge at this race weekend last year, which came after a successful test at the Chris Griffis Memorial Mazda Road to Indy test the previous fall.

Franzoni is hoping for a similar result this go-around in his first Indy Lights weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. The ambient and track temperatures will be significantly higher in May than they were in October, and Franzoni told TSO Ladder that he hope that doesn’t significantly affect the balance of what was a really good car at the October test.

Juncos Racing won the second race of last year’s Indianapolis road course weekend with eventual champion Kyle Kaiser, who like Franzoni, used this weekend as the jump-off point to his title run.

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DEForce is strong at two venues

DEForce Racing stretches its team and resources across two places this weekend, with four USF2000 cars here at IMS and a single car for James Raven at the Formula 4 United States Championship Powered by Honda weekend at Road Atlanta.

The DEForce team expects Raven, who competed in Pro Mazda at the season opener at St. Petersburg, to focus on F4 for the rest of the year.

It remains to be seen whether DEForce’s Pro Mazda car will return this year, as after Raven was in the car at St. Petersburg, Kory Enders made his series debut at Barber Motorsports Park last month. Enders competes full-time in USF2000.

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Pelfrey down a car for the weekend

Unfortunately, Team Pelfrey will not have Rafael “Rafa” Martins in his No. 80 car for the rest of the weekend, although he was entered. A testing incident earlier this week at Putnam Park has sidelined the young Brazilian driver for the Indianapolis road course event.

Team Pelfrey and Martins will work together to restart their program after this weekend. Martins has a best finish of sixth place through four races.

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USF2000: Tight field in testing

It may only be testing, but the level of depth and tight times in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda was incredible to witness on Thursday.

Here’s an illustration from two drivers in the field, one series rookie and one series sophomore, of that point.

Swedish driver Rasmus Lindh of Pabst Racing tested here for Team BENIK in October at the Griffis test. He was seventh in the morning and third in the afternoon, just 0.0892 of a second off the fastest time of 1:25.902 set by Kyle Kirkwood.

“We were good in the morning and better in the afternoon,” Lindh told TSO Ladder, noting how small changes can make a big difference.

DEForce Racing’s Colin Kaminsky of Homer Glen, Ill., who ran here under the John Cummiskey Racing team operations last year, thought he was closer to the front than he otherwise was in the second session.

“So Peter (Dempsey) comes on the radio and says, ‘You’re half a second off,’” Kaminsky told TSO Ladder. “I’m thinking, ‘That’s great! Where are we at?’ And Peter says, ‘We’re 13th.’ That shows how deep this field is!”

—

Frederick’s new driver coach

Another Pabst USF2000 driver, Kaylen Frederick, has a new driver coach this weekend. Meyer Shank Racing with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Verizon IndyCar Series driver Jack Harvey is assisting Frederick here at the IMS road course. Harvey’s No. 60 AutoNation/SiriusXM Honda isn’t in the INDYCAR Grand Prix road course race but will be active next week in preparation for the 102nd Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil.

—

Thursday marked the first day of running, with each series having two test sessions before first official practice late in the afternoon.

USF2000 was up first, and as Cape Motorsports goes for its seventh straight victory here at the IMS road course, its single driver Kyle Kirkwood was top of the charts all day.

The driver of the No. 8 Tatuus USF-17 Mazda was fastest in the first test at 1:26.010, and in the afternoon went slightly quicker at 1:25.902.

In the heat of the afternoon’s first and only official 30-minute practice, Kirkwood stayed on top at 1:25.969, and was the only driver in that bracket this session.

Pabst Racing has all four of its cars in hot pursuit. Lucas Kohl, Rasmus Lindh, Calvin Ming and Kaylen Frederick were second, third, fourth and sixth, all within 0.4765 of a second of Kirkwood.

The lone interloper in the Cape and Pabst top-six was Darren Keane of Newman Wachs Racing, who was fifth. Keane tested well here at the Chris Griffis Memorial Mazda Road to Indy Test in October. This weekend marks the one-year anniversary of Keane’s debut in the USF2000 series, which was done with Team BENIK. He shifted to Newman Wachs Racing starting last June at Road America.

St. Petersburg race two winner Alex Baron was seventh for Swan-RJB Motorsports, ahead of Jamie Caroline (BN Racing), Julian van der Watt (Team Pelfrey) and Igor Fraga (Exclusive Autosport).

James Roe, the Irish driver, was 12th in his first official session with Swan-RJB, 0.647 of a second off the fastest time. The other series debutante – Max Peichel of ArmsUp Motorsports – was 22nd.

Times are below. Qualifying for race one is tomorrow morning at 8:05 a.m. ET and local time.

Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship – First Practice Results

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 8 Kyle Kirkwood 1:25.969 –.—- 17
2 22 Lucas Kohl 1:26.203 0.2343 17
3 23 Rasmus Lindh 1:26.290 0.3213 18
4 21 Calvin Ming 1:26.373 0.4040 17
5 36 Darren Keane 1:26.400 0.4306 17
6 24 Kaylen Frederick 1:26.445 0.4765 17
7 28 Jamie Caroline 1:26.481 0.5118 14
8 19 Alex Baron 1:26.506 0.5368 15
9 80 Julian Van der Watt 1:26.526 0.5568 17
10 91 Igor Fraga 1:26.546 0.5774 17
11 12 Jose Sierra 1:26.592 0.6226 16
12 20 James Roe 1:26.643 0.6740 18
13 11 Kory Enders 1:26.654 0.6852 17
14 51 Michael d’Orlando 1:26.738 0.7689 15
15 10 Zach Holden 1:26.800 0.8310 10
16 81 Kyle Dupell 1:26.839 0.8703 15
17 82 Bruna Tomaselli 1:26.923 0.9541 16
18 30 Keith Donegan 1:26.944 0.9750 17
19 27 Colin Kaminsky 1:27.130 1.1610 11
20 37 David Osborne 1:27.294 1.3248 18
21 90 Manuel Cabrera 1:27.333 1.3640 19
22 14 Max Peichel 1:27.497 1.5284 16
23 5 Mathias Soler-Obel 1:27.517 1.5478 14
24 31 Sabre Cook 1:27.786 1.8174 16
25 29 Russell McDonough 1:27.990 2.0212 17
26 38 Oscar DeLuzuriaga 1:28.305 2.3365 19

—

A changing track and changing running order told the story of the day in Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tires on-track activity.

While Carlos Cunha and David Malukas led the morning and afternoon test sessions, it was Oliver Askew of Cape Motorsports that ended fastest in the 30-minute official practice session held late Thursday afternoon.

Askew’s best time of 1:20.899 in the No. 3 Tatuus PM-18 Mazda was several tenths off the best times from the morning and afternoon. Cunha took his No. 1 Juncos Racing car to 1:20.286 in the morning, with Malukas in his No. 79 BN Racing car at 1:20.303 in the afternoon.

Behind Askew, points leader Parker Thompson was second in his No. 90 Exclusive Autosport car, at 1:20.924. Malukas was third, with Sting Ray Robb (Team Pelfrey) and Robert Megennis (Juncos Racing) making it five different teams in the top five.

Two issues occurred within the final five minutes of the 30-minute practice session.

A red flag flew for Thompson’s teammate, Antonio Serravalle, going off course at Turn 1.

Megennis’ car meanwhile was brought back to the paddock on a flatbed after a suspension issue going through Turn 13. Having hit the curbs the wrong way, Megennis’ sustained damage to the left rear wishbone and needed to get picked up and towed in.

Pro Mazda qualifies for its first race of the weekend starting at 8:40 a.m. ET and local time on Friday.

Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tires – First Practice Results

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 3 Oliver Askew 1:20.899 –.—- 14
2 90 Parker Thompson 1:20.924 0.0252 17
3 79 David Malukas 1:21.063 0.1640 7
4 82 Sting Ray Robb 1:21.079 0.1799 16
5 9 Robert Megennis 1:21.104 0.2050 15
6 1 Carlos Cunha 1:21.111 0.2122 15
7 2 Rinus VeeKay 1:21.157 0.2579 17
8 10 Harrison Scott 1:21.178 0.2797 15
9 81 Andres Gutierrez 1:21.209 0.3106 13
10 27 Lodovico Laurini 1:21.684 0.7853 15
11 78 Kris Wright 1:21.803 0.9045 15
12 8 Nikita Lastochkin 1:21.862 0.9633 14
13 91 Antonio Serravalle 1:22.434 1.5349 10
14 83 Charles Finelli 1:23.660 2.7610 18

—

In the inter-team battle shaping up at Andretti Autosport, Colton Herta led the first official 45-minute practice late Thursday afternoon over teammate Patricio “Pato” O’Ward.

Herta, in the No. 98 Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing Dallara IL-15 Mazda, posted a best time of 1:16.603, which was just ahead of O’Ward’s time in the No. 27 car at 1:16.641.

Belardi Auto Racing teammates Aaron Telitz and Santi Urrutia were third and fourth.

Dalton Kellett, Ryan Norman and Victor Franzoni were next.

Qualifying for race one is at 10:20 a.m. ET on Friday.

Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires – First Practice Results

P No Name FTime Diff Laps
1 98 Colton Herta 1:16.603 –.—- 18
2 27 Pato O’Ward 1:16.641 0.0383 12
3 9 Aaron Telitz 1:16.789 0.1857 20
4 5 Santi Urrutia 1:16.910 0.3075 22
5 28 Dalton Kellett 1:16.988 0.3855 21
6 48 Ryan Norman 1:17.000 0.3969 22
7 23 Victor Franzoni 1:17.028 0.4248 22

—

After raising $6,000 during the Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Grand Prix of Indianapolis Supporting the Lupus Foundation of America last year, the Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires paddock hopes to raise double that amount over the next few days. You can do your part by donating here —>please make a donation in the #RaceToEndLupus

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Previewing the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires doubleheader on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course

Posted by  on Wednesday, May 9th 2018     

By Steve Wittich

For the second time in three years, Patricio O’Ward heads to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course as a Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires championship leader.

In 2016, O’Ward came to Speedway, Ind. having just swept a pair of races at Barber Motorsports Park, after winning one of two races during the season-opening event in St. Petersburg, Fla. If that scenario sounds familiar, it is. O’Ward, who just turned 19 earlier this week, swept the last two Indy Lights races at Barber Motorsports Park after taking one of two races in the season-opening event in Florida.

“Coming into Indy as the championship leader is obviously not a negative,” explained the native of Monterey, Mexico. “But, there is a long way to go, so I will approach this weekend the same way as I’ve been doing. If I know I have a winning machine, I will go for the win, but if I’m struggling for pace, which I hope I won’t be, then I’ll be smart and settle for as many points as I can get.

“I know the Andretti team will give me a rocket ship, as they have been the past couple race weekends, so I’m definitely going to try and continue this good winning streak. I know it won’t be easy, but it can definitely be done. I will be on my A game.”

O’Ward has made five previous starts on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, all in Pro Mazda, and has two wins, two poles and finished in the top six in all five races.

A driver from O’Ward’s Andretti Autosport team has visited the top step of the podium in one of the two races at this event the last two years, so the team should have the pace to be competitive.

Santi Urrutia, who has finished as the Indy Lights vice-champion the past two seasons, heads to the three races that make up the “Month of May” in a much better position than the previous two years. In 2016, the Uruguayan was fourth in points and last year was 11th.

The 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course is a track that the 21-year-old has had some success at winning once in Pro Mazda and finishing second three times in Indy Lights.

Urrutia’s next win, his eighth in Indy Lights, will move him into a tie for fifth on the all-time wins list, tied with Wade Cunningham, Bryan Herta and Townsend Bell. Pretty darn good company.

Second generation driver Colton Herta led the Indy Lights points table headed to the “Month of May” in 2017, but had a forgettable three races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, finishing 12th, 10th and 13th to drop behind eventual champion Kyle Kaiser.

The 18-year-old had the type of weekend at Barber Motorsports Park that he will need more of if he wants to win the title. It’s tough to tell a quick 18-year-old hot shoe not to push 110% on every single lap, but taking what the race weekend gives him is precisely what Herta needs to do. The Californian has the speed, now he needs to prove that he has thinking game to go along with the pace.

Here is a great interview that “Humans of Racing” did at Long Beach with Colton and Brian Herta

Herta’s next pole moves him ahead of his dad Brain, and into a tie for fifth with Greg Moore, Wade Cunningham, and Thiago Maderios

Victor Franzoni heads to “Indy” after collecting his first Indy Lights podium and looking forward to the event that helped kickstart his 2017 run to the Pro Mazda Presented By Cooper Tire championship.

Of the eight drivers entered in the Indy Lights doubleheader, the 22-year-old has the most experience on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and will be making his ninth and 10th start. His results on the 2.439-mile circuit include two wins, two poles, five podiums and four races led.

Ryan Norman and Dalton Kellett have not had ideal starts to their seasons.

Norman was super quick during pre-season testing and scored what looked like a possible breakthrough podium in St. Petersburg, Fla., but the 20-year-old fell back to mid-pack and Barber Motorsports Park and will need to up his qualifying game to improve his results.

Kellett will be making his ninth and 10th starts on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Like Norman, the Canadian needs to step up his qualifying game against such a deep and talented field of drivers.

Aaron Telitz, a two-time winner in Indy Lights last year, finally completed his first lap of competition during a fourth-place driver in Sunday’s damp race at Barber Motorsports Park. The Rice Lake, Wisc. native has stood on the second or third step of the podium four times in USF2000 and Pro Mazda competition at this circuit but will have to overcome a Belardi Auto Racing past results on this circuit if he wants to make inroads on the drivers further up the points table.

The Brownsburg, Ind. based team has zero wins, zero poles, zero laps led and only a pair of podiums on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

TSO is curious to see what kind of progress Alfonso Celis, Jr. will make again this weekend. The former Formula 1 test driver got more comfortable in each session in his first event at Barber Motorsports Park, and even though he made a few mistakes in the wet on Sunday, was able to turn the fourth quickest lap.

Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires points standings headed into the “Month of May.”

RANK DRIVER POINTS
1 Patricio O’Ward 110
2 Santi Urrutia 94
3 Colton Herta 83
4 Victor Franzoni 82
5 Ryan Norman 68
6 Dalton Kellett 58
7 Aaron Telitz 51
8 Shelby Blackstock 42
9 Neil Alberico 31
10 Alfonso Celis, Jr. 27

 

Seeing Purple

For the second straight year, Royal Purple will team up with the Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires to raise money and awareness about lupus.

The difficult to diagnose chronic autoimmune disease has no cure, and the silent illness impacts the daily lives of 1.5 Million Americans, including some people close to the Mazda Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires paddock.

“My mom has lupus, and it really does impact your life,” said Pro Mazda driver Oliver Askew. “Not many people understand the disease so to use racing to raise awareness by having the Lupus Foundation of America as part of the INDYCAR GP weekend is so important. I’ll be doing my part to help spread the word. Last year was the first year that Royal Purple joined with the Foundation for this weekend to promote what they do and we saw a huge involvement, so if we can build on that and keep spreading the word about this disease, it will really help us fight it.”

Belardi Auto Racing, spearheaded by team owner Brian Belardi and team manager John Brunner, has been a staunch supporter of the Lupus Foundation of America for some years.

“It’s awesome to be able to bring the awareness of lupus to racing,” explained Brunner. “That’s how I got involved. The daughter of a friend in racing, Dave Hunt, was diagnosed and I had no idea what it was. From that moment on, I tried to educate myself. Brian (Belardi) has a connection as well, and we ran a decal for the Lupus Foundation of America on our cars years ago. To see the relationship between Royal Purple and the Lupus Foundation of America last year was great and we look forward to continuing that and growing.

“We raised over $6,000 last year, and I think we can double that this year. Our hope is that this brings awareness and needed funds – it’s a mystery disease, but it’s amazing how many friends I have who have a personal connection, with family members or friends who have been diagnosed with this disease. We’re proud to do what we can to help.”

Watch for all of the entries across the three series to have this special on the nose of their race cars this weekend.

You can show your support by using the #RaceToEndLupus hashtag this weekend, or better yet you can donate at this special page on the Lupus Foundation of America website.

 

Previous winners

Amazingly, 12 different drivers have won the 12 Indy Lights races across two iterations of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course that the series has raced on. With no former winners entered in this year’s doubleheader, the number will at a bare minimum, reach lucky number 13 races without a repeat visitor to victory circle.

Andretti Autosport is the only active team with more than a single victory on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway infield circuit. Juncos racing’s lone win came last year with eventual Indy Lights champion Kyle Kaiser at the wheel, and Belardi Auto Racing is still searching for their first win in the road course portion of the “Month of May.”

Indy Lights race winners on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course

Year Driver Team
2017 Race #2 Kyle Kaiser Juncos Racing
2017 Race #1 Nico Jamin Andretti Autosport
2016 Race #2 Dean Stoneman Andretti Autosport
2016 Race #1 Ed Jones Carlin
2015 Race #2 Sean Rayhall 8Star Motorsports
2015 Race #1 Jack Harvey Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
2014 Race #2 Luiz Razia Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
2014 Race #1 Matthew Brabham Andretti Autosport
2007 Race #2 Bobby Wilson Brian Stewart Racing
2007 Race #1 Hideki Mutoh Panther Racing
2006 Alex Lloyd AFS Racing
2005 Marco Andretti Andretti Autosport

Current Chip Ganassi Racing driver Ed Jones gets interviewed after his 2016 Indy Lights win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2016 (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

 

Pole sitters

Pole sitters Nico Jamin and Kyle Kaiser won their respective races in 2017, and the pole sitter has won eight of the dozen races.

Dean Stoneman, who won the second race in 2016 from the inside of the third row is the furthest back that a winner has started.

Andretti Autosport pilots have started on pole on three occasions and are currently tied at three poles with Carlin and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, a pair of inactive teams.

Kaiser’s pole last year while driving for Juncos Racing is the only other pole that can be claimed by an active team. Once again, Belardi Auto Racing has a goose egg.

Other nuggets

  • Last year was the first time that both races of an Indy Lights doubleheader on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course has gone caution free.
  • There has never been more than one caution, and caution-free and single-caution races sit at six each.
  • All 12 races have finished under green conditions.
  • The widest margin of victory in an Indy Lights race on an Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course came during the Liberty Challenge in 2005. Marco Andretti crossed under the checkered flag 12.705 seconds ahead of Wade Cunningham. The inaugural event was held on the original 2.6-mile, 13-turn Formula 1 circuit.
  • Luiz Razia beat his Schmidt Peterson Motorsports teammate Jack Harvey by 0.6414 in 2014’s second race to score his lone Indy Lights victory.
  • Friday’s first race in 2017, with an average speed of 114.063 mph is the fastest Indy Lights race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
  • The longest Indy Lights race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course race was 97.56 miles (40 laps), and the shortest race was 46.89 miles (18 laps).

Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires schedule

Friday, May 11

TIME EVENT
10:20 AM – 10:50 AM Indy Lights Qualifying #1
NOON – 12:25 PM Indy Lights Autograph Session (Fan Village)
1:30 PM – 2:30 PM Indy Lights Race #1

Sautrday, May 12

TIME EVENT
8:30 AM – 9 AM Indy Lights Qualifying #2
1:15 PM – 2:25PM Indy Lights Race #2

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category: Indy Lights News/Results, Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire - TSO
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