Archives for Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire – TSO

Indy Lights at Iowa Speedway – 2017 preview – a circular look at the title fight, a familiar name and more

Posted by  on Thursday, July 6th 2017     

The Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire series heads to the Iowa Speedway short-oval for the 10th time with a wide open completion for the title. With the 2017 season reaching just past it’s halfway point, eight of the 13 full-time pilots are within only 59 points of the the top of the points table, and they all still have a very realistic shot at winning the championship.

With a $1 million Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarship on the line, and only seven races remaining on the calendar, nobody would blame current points leader Kyle Kaiser if he started to “points race” in the second half of the campaign.

“No. I’m taking chances,” was the emphatic answer when TSO asked him about his approach to points racing with the lead. “We’ve talked about it as a team, and they don’t want me to feel reserved out there, they don’t want me to put myself at risk by not being defensive and not being aggressive. I’m staying aggressive, and I’m trying to move forward. That’s mentality I’m going to try and maintain for the rest of the year.”

Current points leader, Juncos Racing veteran Kyle Kaiser is focused on getting the best possible result each time his Mazda powered No. 18 Juncos Racing Dallara hits the track (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

If the two most recent roller-coaster championship battles are any indication, keeping your foot on the accelerator all the way until the checkered flag falls on the finale during Labor Day Weekend at Watkins Glen International is the prudent decision.

With seven races left in the 2016 season, Ed Jones held a 23 point lead over Dean Stoneman and 30 point lead over Santiago Urrutia. However, with a series of middling results during the dogs days of summer, Jones saw his lead evaporate, and turn into a 16 point deficit headed into the final two events of the year. The current Verizon IndyCar Series rookie was able to recover and able to out score his rival Urrutia by two points in the final two events of the year, but not before a real scare.

With seven races left in the 2015 season, Jack Harvey held an 18 point lead over Spencer Pigot and 20 point lead over Ed Jones. This time, however, the leader with seven left to go couldn’t hold on, and the double Indy Lights vice-champion was outscored by 158 to 113 by eventual champion Pigot, who used two wins at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to clinch the 2015 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire crown.

Kaiser, who currently holds a season high 27 point lead over second place Matheus Leist, has a fourth and sixth place finish in two races at the ⅞th of a mile Iowa Speedway oval. However, Kaiser’s Juncos Racing squad is still looking for it’s first win or podium in The Hawkeye State.

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire race winners at Iowa Speedway

Year Driver Team
2016 Felix Serralles Carlin
2015 Max Chilton Carlin
2013 Sage Karam Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
2012 Estaban Guerrieri Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
2011 Josef Newgarden Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
2010 Sebastian Saavedra Bryan Herta Autosport
2009 Ana Beatriz Schmidt Peterson Motorsports
2008 Dillon Battistini Panther Racing
2007 Alex Lloyd Schmidt Peterson Motorsports

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire podiums by team at Iowa Speedway

Rank Team Total
1 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports 14
2 Carlin 4
3 Andretti Autosport 3
4T Panther Racing 2
4T Team Moore 2
6T Bryan Herta Autosport 1
6T Belardi Auto Racing 1

The 21 year-old Kaiser does have a win on the short-oval at Phoenix International Raceway in 2016, and is hoping that his experience over the quartet of rookies chasing him for the title will give him the advantage this weekend.

“All the short ovals are pretty difficult,” explained Kasier to TSO Ladder. “I think these younger guys may be a little aggressive out of the gate, but once they have a moment they’ll start getting nervous. That place (Iowa Speedway) can really catch you off guard. I had a little accident last year in practice and that was wake up call. You have to respect these short ovals. I like the short ovals, I got my first win at Phoenix, and I think we’ll have a good set up and we’ll be up front again.”

The brilliant blue foursome from Carlin arrive in Newton, Iowa as not only the hottest team in the series, but also at Iowa Speedway.

The Delary Beach, Fla. based squad has won the last three races in the 2017, and is also riding a two race win streak at Iowa Speedway. Max Chilton took home an emotional win a day after his former Formula 1 teammate Jules Bianchi passed away  in 2015, and last year it Felix Serralles who used lapped traffic to his advantage to best Belardi Auto Racing’s Zach Veach with a second to last lap pass. The Trevor Carlin and Colin Hale led team has led 181 of the last 200 laps of Indy Lights competition at Iowa Speedway.

Max Chilton and Carlin engineer Geoff Fickling celebrate an emotional win at Iowa Speedway in 2015 (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Nobody is hotter than Carlin rookie Matheus Leist. The Brazilian has won two of the last three races, and moved from 10th to second in the standings since May. The 18 year-old reigning BRDC British Formula 3 champion went to victory lane in the only other oval race of the year, scoring the pole and leading every lap of the Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Leist’s teammate Neil Alberico and Zachary Claman DeMelo had forgettable Indy Lights debut outings at Iowa Speedway last year, but both drivers have shown that they have made improvements in their oval games so far in 2017, finishing fourth and sixth respectively in the Freedom 100. Both drivers are still in championship contention, but far enough back that they’ll need to be aggressive to collect as many points as possible. TSO wouldn’t be surprised to see both drivers fighting for the podium on Sunday afternoon.

Outside of Leist, the fourth Carlin pilot, Garth Rickards, will have the steepest learning curve of the quartet, as the Mechanicsburg, Pa. native is making only his third career left-turn only start. Rickards had his best finish of the season, a seventh place finish, in the year’s only other oval race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, so don’t be surprised if he runs in the top half of the field at Iowa.

A number of sources in the Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire (MRTI) paddock informed TSO that it was Carlin and Andretti Autosport that were at the top of the time-sheets during last weeks test.

“We just came off a good test at Iowa Speedway,” explained Andretti Autosport sophomore Dalton Kellett. “Our cars had good balance in qualifying and race trim, and we were pretty quick compared to the other teams there. We did some longer runs with the four Andretti cars and ran pretty well in a pack. I think that was a pretty positive test for us, despite the weather.”

Kellet, while not in championship contention, should be a popular dark-horse pick for a top result at Iowa Speedway. The 23 year-old will be making his second Indy Lights start at Iowa Speedway, and is coming off a third place finish in the only other oval event of the year, the Freedom 100. The Newton, Iowa “bullring” is also home to the Toronto, Ontario natives best MRTI finish, a second place finish in the 2015 Pro Mazda race.

Colton Herta’s third place finish in Sunday’s Indy Lights second race at Road America two weekends ago broke a string of four straight races with finishes of 10th place or worse. Despite the drought that began when the series visited the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May, the second generation driver is only 38 points behind Kaiser, and in third place. Well within striking distance of the title.

Instead of being impatient and outwardly upset with the run of poor results, the 17 year-old Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing pilot is wisely making the long bet on his career.

“It’s tough to find that balance,” explained the rookie when asked about whether the run of disappointing results had impacted him mentally. “I’m still young, I’ve still got a lot of time, so if we don’t make it this year, I’m sure we have a few more years to get there.”

Herta was quick during testing, practice and qualifying for the Freedom 100, the first oval of the year, but he made a mistake on the first lap, unfortunately ending his day early against the Turn 2 SAFER barrier.

“I’m really excited to see how the short oval is,” said Herta. “I didn’t really get to race on the super speedway, but I really like the ovals, and I think Iowa is going to be super-fun.”

A weekend long struggle with mechanical problems meant that the Road America weekend was a forgettable one for Nico Jamin. The double race winner, who fell from second to fourth in the standings, but is still only 40 points in arrears of Kaiser, will have to put the last three races out his mind and focus forward if he wants to remain in championship contention heading to Toronto and the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, two tracks he’s had plenty of success on.

The fourth and seventh place finishes achieved by Andretti Autosport rookie Ryan Norman at Road America, continued the 19 year-olds steady event-over-event progression, and allowed the Cleveland, Ohio area native to move into the top 10 in points. Norman’s only career oval start at the Freedom 100 in May was cut short when his Flipside sponsored No. 48 Mazda/Dallara was taken out in his teammates first lap incident.

“I’m really excited to race at Iowa,” said the 19 year-old. “I loved the track during testing, and we have another fast oval car. We should be able to qualify toward the front and it’s a long race to make things happen, so I’m ready to continue my improvement and shoot for a podium.”

After a disappointing “home race” double-header weekend at Road America, Aaron Telitz is likely happy to be headed to an oval event. The reigning Pro Mazda champion finished second at the first oval event of the year, and in his five career MRTI oval events has one win, three podiums and a worst finish of fifth.

Make sure you take the time to read this great story by Arni Sribhen about Telitz’s link to the National Anthem.

Teltiz is currently tied with Alberico for fifth in the championship standings, and both drivers need to start piling up top five finishes, and more importantly, they both need to finish ahead of Kaiser to make the gap to the leader a little more manageable.

Santiago Urrutia, who won four races on the way to the Indy Lights vice-championship in 2016, is still looking for his first win in 2017, and also his first career MRTI oval victory. The Colombian driver will making his third start at Iowa Speedway, finishing fifth in both Pro Mazda (2015) and Indy Lights (2016).

“I think Iowa will be very important for us, because we need to make up ground in the championship,” explained the 20 year old who is currently eighth in points, 59 points behind Kaiser, but also only 21 points behind Herta for the third spot. “It will be important to win and it would be very positive for the team and me. We continue to work together to get top results and I think Iowa is going to be a good place for us. Right now, every race is going to be a final. If I want to win the championship, I need to win races. That is my goal for the weekend…to win. I’m very positive on my team.”

Also, TSO would never count out the almost 30 races of oval experience shared by Juan Piedrahita and Shelby Blackstock.

Piedrahita, the experienced Team Pelfrey Colombian pilot has made a total 16 MRTI ovals starts, and while he’s still looking for his first win, has collected 4 oval podiums and 14 oval top 10s.

Making his 13th MRTI oval start, Belardi Auto Racing’s Blackstock has two oval podiums and six oval top 10s during his career.

Kaiser’s Juncos Racing teammate Nicolas Dapero, will be making his third career oval start. After an impressive podium in his first oval start at Indianapolis Raceway Park in Pro Mazda in 2016, the young Argentinian rookie struggled finding speed for the Freedom 100 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, starting the race 14th and finishing in 12th. Dapero is working with engineer and former driver Peter Dempsey, who finished fourth in his only start at the Iowa Speedway in 2013.

For the first time since Barber Motorsports Park, the field will have a 15th entry.

Belardi Auto Racing announced last week that they would be fielding a fourth car for second generation driver Chad Boat at the final two oval events of the year at Iowa Speedway and Gateway Motorsports Park.

“We’re extremely pleased to announce the addition of Chad Boat to our stable of drivers for the Iowa and Gateway Indy Lights oval races this summer,” offered Belardi Auto Racing owner Brian Belardi. “It’s exciting to have a second-generation driver running with us, and we’re certainly looking forward to getting Chad on track in Iowa.”

“I grew up watching my dad race Indy cars, so having the opportunity to run Indy Lights this year is absolutely surreal,” said Boat. “I have to thank Belardi Auto Racing for giving me a shot behind the wheel of the No. 84 Dallara, as well as Pristine Auction for their continued support in my racing career. I can’t wait to get to Iowa Speedway.”

Boat’s father, Billy, made 63 Indy car starts (one win and 12 top-five finishes) between 1997 and 2003, including seven starts in the Indianapolis 500. Boat made four of those starts with A.J. Foyt Racing, and they included a pole in 1998, and a third place finish in 1999.

“If you asked anybody in this pit area (at the USAC Midget event at Lincoln Speedway in Lincoln, Ill.) they would all say that’s a goal of theirs,” said the younger Boat to USAC reporter Georgia Henneberry. “Just the opportunity to run (the) Indy (500) would be something special, and that’s definitely what we’re working towards.”

In 1997, as a five-year old, Boat started his racing career in quarter midgets, before moving up to dirt karts, 600CC modified midgets and finally fully blown midgets and sprint cars. After honing his craft in Arizona, Boat made the move to the national USAC ranks in 2008, becoming the youngest ever driver to win a USAC Sprint Car race on dirt with a victory at Hagerstown Speedway. The young driver took home both the USAC Sprint Car and Midget Rookie of the year honors that year.

In 2011, Boat made the move to tin-tops, spending 2011, 2012, and 2013 contenting partial seasons in the K&N Series and ARCA Stock Car series, before contesting partial NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series season the next two years.

Boat with the help of long-time midget co-owner Corey Tucker made the move back to the national USAC scene, contesting the USAC National Midget Championship.

Boat had a successful return to the open wheel ranks, collecting his first ever USAC National midget win at Jefferson County Speedway in Fairbury, Neb. in early August, and winning two more races at the Bellville High Banks in Belleville, Kan. On the strength of 15 top tens, nine top fives, and six top three finishes, Boat ended up in fourth place in the championship.

Boat completed his first test in Indy Lights machinery last week, turning over 200 laps at Iowa Speedway. TSO heard from multiple sources, and it sounds like the 25 year-old had no problem getting acclimated to a rear-engine formula car, getting up to speed smoothly and quickly.

“I have some asphalt experience,” said Boat to Hannebery. “I’ve run some heavier cars. But getting in the (Indy) Lights Car is definitely different. I got my first taste of it last week at Iowa (Speedway). I think there is definitely a transition, and those guys that do it every week, road course and ovals, that have more seat time have a little bit of a leg up on us. But, I think if we can go out their and run all of the laps, and maybe come away with a strong showing.”

Boat is no stranger to the Iowa Speedway “bullring”, making a total of eight starts across the K&N, ARCA, and Xfinity Series, where his best result was a pair of third place finishes in ARCA equipment in 2012, and 2013.

Pristine Auction, a premier online sports memorabilia (and other collectibles) auction site, will be the primary sponsor for both of Boat’s Indy Lights races.

———-

There are a few storylines that we’ll be following throughout the weekend.

1) An oval win vs. championship points.

While having oval wins on your resume isn’t the end-all-and-be-all when it comes to looking for a Verizon IndyCar Series ride, it sure can’t hurt to show the team owners that you can win on a variety of different tracks. With only three ovals on the calendar, each one carries more importance to a drivers future.

Only two of the 15 drivers entered currently have oval wins; Kaiser, and Leist, who coincidently are also at the top of the championship table, are the only drivers to score wins by only turning left. Kaiser won at Phoenix International Raceway in 2016, and Leist won the Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May.

That leaves a gaggle of hungry drivers looking for that coveted first oval victory, and two drivers who are looking to protect their positions in at the top of the championship table. The drivers behind Kaiser and Leist have the easy decisions to make, they have to go for it if they have a chance at victory. For Kaiser and Leist, the choice whether to take a chance on making a risky move to win become far more complicated.

2) Managing your tires
and
3) Dealing with lapped traffic

As we saw with last year’s finish, where Zach Veach was caught out by lapped traffic, and was passed by Felix Serralles for the win, managing lapped traffic can make or break your race.

In many case, a driver and his car become lapped traffic, because they have failed to adequately manage their Cooper Tire slicks throughout the 100 lap race. If your team misses the set-up, if you spend too much time on the extreme low line, or if you slide your tires causing unnecessary wear too early, you are likely to become lapped traffic.

Your tires are going to wear, but having fresher tires for late in the race can help you hold off a charging opponent, or allow you to be more aggressive during a late race restart.

Telitz summed it up succinctly: “It’ll be all about whoever’s car lasts all race and who can make passes at the end, as we saw last year!”

Dean Stoneman and Zach Veach demonstrate two of the many ways to get around the ⅞ths of a mile Iowa Speedway (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

The Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire series has two half-hour practice sessions on at 1:15pm and 5:30pm. The 15 drivers qualify at 10:15am on Sunday morning and the green flag for the Mazda Iowa 100 Presented by Cooper Tires flies at 2pm.

The race will have same day coverage on NBC Sports Network, with the broadcast set to air at 3pm (CDT) or 4pm (EDT)

Don’t miss any of the action:

category: Indy Lights News/Results, Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire - TSO
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MRTI from Road America – Sunday – Indy Lights Race #2 – quick recap and results

Posted by  on Sunday, June 25th 2017     

Zachary Claman De Melo became the sixth winner in eight Indy Lights races, when he was able to get by pole-sitter Colton Herta on the fifth lap of the race.

The victory is the third straight for the Trevor Carlin led, Delary Beach, Fl. based squad.

Points leader Kyle Kaiser was able to snag his sixth podium in the last seven races, and extend his point lead to 27 points over the Road America race one winner Matheus Leist.

Herta, a second generation driver, was able to hold on for the bottom step of the podium, ending a streak of four straight finishes in double digits.

The Mazda turbo-charged 2.0L engines powering the 14 Indy Lights entries fired for the final MRTI race of the KOHLER Grand Prix weekend at 8:50am and after one pace lap, the front row of Herta and Leist brought the field to the green flag.

Herta got a great jump on the field, leaving room for Kaiser, who started in third room to get around Leist in Turn 1. Urrutia, who started fifth was immediately on the charge and after going by Leist and Claman De Melo, was able to move to the second spot, passing Kaiser in Turn 5. Kaiser wasn’t going to give up that second spot so easily, making an aggressive move into Turn 6, and holding onto second.

The busy first lap also saw Shelby Blackstock go wide at Turn 5, and the silver and red No. 27 Andretti Autosport car of Nico Jamin come to a stop on track. The Frenchman who tested an IndyCar at Road America last week, was able to recycle the machine and bring it back to pit road, but was forced to retire. The championship contender told IndyCar Radio that he was having problems with the gearbox and said, “it’s a big bummer to lose the points, but we’ll try and fight back at Iowa.”

At the end of the first lap, the top 10 were Herta, who had a 1.8 second lead Kaiser, Urrutia, Claman De Melo, Leist, Alberico, Telitz, Kellet, Norman and Piedrahita.

On Lap 2, Claman De Melo was able to get by both Urrutia, and Kaiser and immediately began to put pressure on leader Herta.

De Melo told IndyCar Radio that he could see that Herta was burning up his tires, and coached himself to be patient. The 19 year-old finally pounced, going around the outside of Herta in Turn 1.

De Melo made a mistake in Turn 3 on Lap 6 and was forced to defend against Herta going down the Kettle Moraine to Turn 5. De Melo was warned for blocking by Race Control, but didn’t make any more mistakes and was able to pull away for a 10.5 second victory.

Just before the half way point Kaiser was able to get around Herta, who was immediately under pressure from Leist.

At the half-way point of the race Claman DeMelo, who had just run his quickest lap of the race had seen his lead grow to 4.6 seconds, while a further 10 seconds behind the leader, Belardi Auto Racing teammates Urrutia, and Telitz were battling for fifth place. The 2016 Pro Mazda champion was able to get by the 2015 Pro Mazda Champion around the outside of Turn 1.

The race settled in after that with the Kaiser, Herta and Leist battle for the final spot on the podium being the closest.

The action picked up for the final two laps when a pair of twosomes, Piedrahita and Alberico (Turn 1), and Norman and Urrutia (Turn 6), made contact while they were battling for position.  Both incident were going to be reviewed after the race, and we’ll update the results of those reviews in our post-race Monday notebook.

Urrutia, who was running in sixth had a scary moment on the final lap of the race, when his left rear tire exploded while he was going through the high speed Kink. The Uruguayan driver was able to keep control and immediately parked the Arrow sponsored, black and gold No. 5 as he crossed the finish line in 11th.

Mazda Indy Lights Grand Prix of Road America Presented by Allied Building Products Race #2 Results

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM GAP
1 13 Zachary Claman De Melo Carlin 20 LAPS
2 18 Kyle Kaiser Juncos Racing 10.5479
3 98 Colton Herta Andretti Steinbrenner Racing 12.7612
4 26 Matheus Leist Carlin 15.1694
5 9 Aaron Telitz Belardi Auto Racing 17.5908
6 51 Shelby Blackstock Belardi Auto Racing 24.6336
7 48 Ryan Norman Andretti Autosport 26.0311
8 22 Neil Alberico Carlin 28.3206
9 28 Dalton Kellett Andretti Autosport 28.9308
10 2 Juan Piedrahita Team Pelfrey 45.2029
11 5 Santi Urrutia Belardi Auto Racing 57.6546
12 31 Nicolas Dapero Juncos Racing 102.6810
13 11 Garth Rickards Carlin -2 LAPS
14 27 Nico Jamin Andretti Autosport -19 LAPS
category: Indy Lights News/Results, Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire - TSO
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MRTI at Road America – Saturday – Indy Lights Race #1 – quick notes and results

Posted by  on Saturday, June 24th 2017     

The turbo-charged Mazda 2.0L engines of the 14 entries for the first Indy Lights race of the weekend were fired just after noon.

The all blue front row of Carlin teammates Leist and Alberico that matched the bright blue skies of Central Wisconsin, lead the field to the green flag to begin the 20 lap “sprint” race.

The green flag flew early, and Alberico pulled in behind his teammate before the field got to the start/finish line to try and draft him in the long run down to Turn 1. Ryan Norman, who started the race in a career best third took that as invitation to fill in the gap, and the three drivers ended up three wide when they got to the brake zone of Turn 1.

That was never going to work, and it was Alberico, who was in the middle of the trio, that ended up losing. The No. 22 made contact with the black and orange No. 48 of Norman, and fell down to ninth place with a damage front wing.

The Los Gatos, Calif. driver was able to recover two positions, finishing the race in seventh.

At the end of the first lap, the top 10 were: Leist, Norman, Kaiser, Urrutia, Jamin, Dalton Kellett, Juan Piedrahita , Shelby Blackstock, Alberico, Aaron Telitz.

On the second lap of the race, Urrutia, who had moved from his 10th starting spot to fourth by the end of the first lap, made an outstanding pass of both Norman and Kaiser in Turn 5. The No. 18 of Kaiser was able to get by Norman by out dragging him down the front straight and into Turn 1. Norman fought back going down the Moraine Sweep, and the two drivers were side by side into the braking zone of Turn 5. Urrutia saw an opening and dove down the inside of the second and third place cars, out braking both of them and still making the corner.

Kaiser fought back against Urrutia, passing him into Turn 1 on the next lap, but losing the position again at the bottom of hill when Urrutia pushed him wide.

At the half-way point of the 20 lap race, Leist had pulled out to a 3.89 second lead over Urrutia. The 2016 Indy Lights vice-champion had the familiar Juncos Racing white, green and orange livery of Kaiser filling his mirrors. Kaiser had a decent gap to his closest championship competitor Jamin, who had a charging Norman coming quickly.

With five laps remaining, Leist had grown his lead to 4.87 seconds over Urrutia who had pulled a slight one second gap Kaiser. Four seconds behind that battle for the final two spots on the podium, Norman, Jamin, and Piedrahita were waging a battle for the fourth spot. Jamin held that position beginning the 15th laps, but by the time the threesome crossed the under the flag stand, he had fallen to sixth place.

With two laps to go, Leist had checked out, but Kaiser had pulled back to within a half-of-a-second of Urrutia for the second step on the podium, and continued to pressure the black and gold Belardi Auto Racing No. 5, crossing the line only seven hundredths of second ahead of Kaiser.

Outside of the spotlight out front, Zachary Claman DeMelo, Aaron Telitz and Colton Herta, had a back and forth battle for the 11th position. Claman DeMelo held off Telitz for 11th. Herta ended up spinning on the final lap, but kept going and was able to finish 13th.

Cooper Tires Grand Prix of Road America Powered by Mazda Race #1 Results

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM GAP
1 26 Matheus Leist Carlin 20 laps
2 5 Santi Urrutia Belardi Auto Racing 6.1667
3 18 Kyle Kaiser Juncos Racing 6.2446
4 48 Ryan Norman Andretti Autosport 9.5155
5 2 Juan Piedrahita Team Pelfrey 10.7724
6 27 Nico Jamin Andretti Autosport 13.2025
7 22 Neil Alberico Carlin 14.5976
8 51 Shelby Blackstock Belardi Auto Racing 16.7010
9 28 Dalton Kellett Andretti Autosport 18.9077
10 13 Zachary Claman De Melo Carlin 20.1144
11 9 Aaron Telitz Belardi Auto Racing 22.1026
12 98 Colton Herta Andretti Steinbrenner Racing 38.1412
13 11 Garth Rickards Carlin 38.3932
14 31 Nicolas Dapero Juncos Racing – 1 LAP

We’ll be back with driver reactions and more after the next two MRTI races.

category: Indy Lights News/Results, Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire - TSO
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MRTI at Road America – Saturday – Indy Lights Q2 – Herta rides roller coaster weekend to Race #2 pole

Posted by  on Saturday, June 24th 2017     

After a disappointing “Month Of May” and a Friday full of mechanical issues, Colton Herta needed a boost to get his season back on track. The second generation drivers third pole of the season and track record lap of 1 minute, 52.003 seconds is a good start.

When Herta got out of his Deltro Energy sponsored Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing No. 98, he exclaimed to IndyCar Radio’s Rob Howden: “Wow, what a roller coaster ride this weekend.”

The provisional pole changed hands between Herta and current championship leader Kyle Kaiser a total of four times in the final five minutes of the session. Kaiser will end up starting directly behind Herta on the inside of the second row.

Matheus Leist backed up his race #1 pole with another impressive run to the outside of the front row.

After having a mechanical issues during yesterday’s qualifying session, and not turning a lap, Zachary Claman DeMelo will start directly behind his Carlin teammate Leist on the outside of the second row.

Whether they were ready for it or not, the throngs of campers surrounding the 14-Turn, 4.014-mile Road America road course had a chorus of turbo-charged Mazda 2.0L power plants of the Indy Lights series serve as their alarm clock.

The 14 entries took to the Road America circuit at 7:50 a.m for their second 30-minute qualifying session of the weekend. The ambient temperature was a mild 62F and the track temperature was 74F, which were drastically different conditions than the first qualifying session which occurred at 2:30 p.m. yesterday afternoon.

At the half-way point of the session, the majority of drivers were on pit road making adjustments before putting on new Cooper Tire slicks. The provisional pole sitter was Alberico, who’s quickest lap of 1:52.9181 was under the track record set by Zach Veach last year. The Carlin veteran was followed closely by his two teammates Zachary Claman DeMelo and Matheus Leist. The Andretti Autosport duo of Ryan Norman and Colton Herta rounded out the top five at the half-way point.

With 10 minutes left in the session, all 14 cars were back on track to attempt to try and improve their positions.

It took the drivers a couple of laps to get heat in their fresh Cooper Tire rubber, but with five minutes left in the session the lap times started to drop drastically.

A dozen of the 14 drivers were able to best the track record set by Zach Veach last year.

Mazda Indy Lights Grand Prix of Road America Presented by Allied Building Products Qualifying Results for Race #2

RANK CAR NO DRIVER TEAM QUICK LAP GAP
1 98 Colton Herta Andretti Steinbrenner Racing 1:52.003 –.—-
2 26 Matheus Leist Carlin 1:52.026 0.0223
3 18 Kyle Kaiser Juncos Racing 1:52.109 0.1051
4 13 Zachary Claman De Melo Carlin 1:52.333 0.3294
5 5 Santi Urrutia Belardi Auto Racing 1:52.404 0.4003
6 22 Neil Alberico Carlin 1:52.466 0.4621
7 9 Aaron Telitz Belardi Auto Racing 1:52.479 0.4756
8 27 Nico Jamin Andretti Autosport 1:52.484 0.4805
9 31 Nicolas Dapero Juncos Racing 1:52.555 0.5521
10 51 Shelby Blackstock Belardi Auto Racing 1:52.627 0.6233
11 2 Juan Piedrahita Team Pelfrey 1:52.853 0.8499
12 28 Dalton Kellett Andretti Autosport 1:52.883 0.8794
13 11 Garth Rickards Carlin 1:53.007 1.0033
14 48 Ryan Norman Andretti Autosport 1:53.129 1.1255

The first Indy Lights race of the weekend rolls off at high noon. Here is the starting line-up for that race:

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM
1 26 Matheus Leist Carlin
2 22 Neil Alberico Carlin
3 48 Ryan Norman Andretti Autosport
4 18 Kyle Kaiser Juncos Racing
5 27 Nico Jamin Andretti Autosport
6 28 Dalton Kellett Andretti Autosport
7 51 Shelby Blackstock Belardi Auto Racing
8 2 Juan Piedrahita Team Pelfrey
9 31 Nicolas Dapero Juncos Racing
10 5 Santi Urrutia Belardi Auto Racing
11 9 Aaron Telitz Belardi Auto Racing
12 11 Garth Rickards Carlin
13 98 Colton Herta Andretti Steinbrenner Racing
14 13 Zachary Claman De Melo Carlin

 

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category: Indy Lights News/Results, Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire - TSO
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MRTI at Road America – Friday – USF2000 and Pro Mazda Qualifying – Indy Lights Practice

Posted by  on Friday, June 23rd 2017     

Qualifying notes and results for the first of two Cooper Tires Grand Prix of Road America Powered by Mazda

Parker Thompson, Oliver Askew, Rinus Van Kalmthout and David Malukas were all on point during a hectic five minutes of qualifying, and in a somewhat of a surprise it was Malukas’ lap of 2 minutes, 12.797 seconds that ended up being the quickest of the session.

After starting on pole in four straight races, championship leader Oliver Askew had to settle with an outside front row, but it could have been much worse. Askew was one of the last drivers to get a timed lap in before the checkered flag, and started that lap down in seventh place.

Rinus Van Kalmthout, who is in second place in the championship will start the race in third, and DEForce Racing rookie Moisés de la Vara rounds out a front two rows comprised completely of first year drivers. The fourth place start is the best of de la Vara’s MRTI career.

If they weren’t already awake, the early arriving campers for the KOHLER Grand Prix received an 8 a.m. wake-up call when the buzzing Mazda 2.0L engines of the USF2000 took to the 14-Turn, 4.014-mile Road America road course for their first qualifying session.

After heavy overnight rains there were still some damp spots, especially around Turn 3 and on the backside of the course through the Kettle Bottoms and Canada Corner, forcing the drivers to be cautious. There were still some early spinners, but the drivers were able to keep the engines lit and there were no red flags.

At the half-way point of the session, the top five were Kaylen Frederick, Parker Thompson, Robert Megennis, Rinus Van Kalmthout, and Moisés de la Vara.

Early lap times were in the 2 minute, 25 second range, but quickly began to fall, and with five minutes left in the times had fallen into the 2 minute, 16 second range, before dropping another four seconds on the drying track in the final four minutes.

Qualifying results for the first Cooper Tires Grand Prix of Road America Powered by Mazda

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM QUICK LAP GAP
1 79 David Malukas BN Racing 2:12.797 –.—-
2 3 Oliver Askew Cape Motorsports 2:13.698 0.9005
3 21 Rinus VeeKay Pabst Racing 2:14.078 1.2812
4 12 Moises de la Vara DEForce Racing 2:14.363 1.5657
5 23 Lucas Kohl Pabst Racing 2:14.404 1.6070
6 80 Robert Megennis Team Pelfrey 2:14.487 1.6899
7 90 Parker Thompson Exclusive Autosport 2:14.733 1.9362
8 7 Devin Wojcik ArmsUp Motorsports 2:15.276 2.4784
9 92 Dev Gore Exclusive Autosport 2:15.489 2.6920
10 11 Kory Enders DEForce Racing 2:15.511 2.7132
11 82 Jacob Loomis Team Pelfrey 2:15.564 2.7663
12 81 Kaylen Frederick Team Pelfrey 2:15.654 2.8569
13 36 Darren Keane Newman Wachs Racing 2:15.829 3.0322
14 27 Colin Kaminsky John Cummiskey Racing 2:17.074 4.2771
15 22 Calvin Ming Pabst Racing 2:17.127 4.3293
16 93 Jayson Clunie Exclusive Autosport 2:17.744 4.9463
17 2 Ricky Donison Cape Motorsports 2:18.226 5.4292
18 20 Chandler Horton RJB Motorsports 2:19.076 6.2784
19 97 Bruna Tomaselli ArmsUp Motorsports 2:20.356 7.5591

 

Qualifying notes and results for the second Pro Mazda Grand Prix of Road America Presented by Allied Building Products

The second Pro Mazda qualifying session the KOHLER Grand Prix weekend at Road America was a great reminder of why waiting to go out to set a quick lap in qualifying is a smart policy.

Reigning Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda Champion Anthony Martin will start on the pole for the third time this year, and for the 10th time in his three season MRTI career.

Martin, who started the weekend six points behind championship leader Victor Franzoni but fell seven points behind after the Juncos Racing Brazilian earned one point for scoring an easy pole in yesterday afternoon’s qualifying session.

However, Franzoni will have a lot of work to do in Saturday’s second Pro Mazda race, as the 21 year-old was not able to turn a hot lap during the session.

With ten-minutes left in the session, Frazoni had just took to the 14-Turn, 4.014-mile Road America road course, but during Franzoni’s out lap, Bob Kaminsky spun in Turn 3, bringing out the red flag. At just past the half-way point of the qualifying session the top five were Martin, TJ Fischer, Nikita Lastochkin, Carlos Cunha, and Max Hanratty.

The track went green again with only five-and-a-half minutes left, giving Franzoni just enough time for one out lap and one flyer. However, just before Franzoni passed the timing line on what would have been a pole winning pole lap that of 2 minutes, 8.452 seconds, Kris Wright spun and hit the tire barriers in the tricky Turn 3. Therefore, Fraznoni’s lap didn’t count, and he will start dead last in the 15 car field.

TJ Fischer, who made his Pro Mazda debut on this weekend last year, will start on the outside of the front row for the third straight race.

Fisher’s two Team Pelfrey teammates, rookies Carlos Cunha and Nikita Lastochkin will start on the second row.

Qualifying results for the second Pro Mazda Grand Prix of Road America Presented by Allied Building Products

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM QUICKEST LAP GAP
1 8 Anthony Martin Cape Motorsports 2:08.586 –.—-
2 82 TJ Fischer Team Pelfrey 2:09.418 0.8318
3 80 Nikita Lastochkin Team Pelfrey 2:09.960 1.3743
4 81 Carlos Cunha Team Pelfrey 2:10.051 1.4648
5 6 Max Hanratty ArmsUp Motorsports 2:13.210 4.6242
6 14 Sting Ray Robb World Speed Motorsports 2:13.521 4.9346
7 13 Bobby Eberle World Speed Motorsports 2:13.594 5.0082
8 60 Jeff Green Juncos Racing 2:15.023 6.4367
9 12 Kris Wright JDC Motorsports 2:15.355 6.7687
10 57 Bob Kaminsky Kaminsky Racing 2:16.702 8.1156
11 31 Brendan Puderbach FatBoy Racing 2:17.699 9.1129
12 2 Dave Zavelson Unfair Advantage Motorsports 2:18.708 10.1214
13 5 Kevin Bury Unfair Advantage Motorsports 2:24.273 15.6867
14 83 Charles Finelli FatBoy Racing 2:35.078 26.4915
15 23 Victor Franzoni Juncos Racing 5:08.698 3:00.1114

 

A quick note from yesterday’s Pro Mazda qualifying session. A total of seven drivers were penalized two grid positions for doing an extra lap after getting the checkered flag. Those drivers were Bobby Eberle, Sting Ray Robb, Bob Kaminsky, Jeff Green, TJ Fischer, and Charles Finelli. While this might seem harsh, when you have six different series running between 8am through 5:40pm with short breaks, keeping on schedule can be a challenge and “blowing the checkered” on a 4.014 mile road course steals three or four minutes from schedule.

The new starting order for the first Pro Mazda race that will roll off later this afternoon is.

  1. Victor Franzoni – Juncos Racing
  2. Anthony Martin – Cape Motorsports
  3. Carlos Cunha – Team Pelfrey
  4. Nikita Lastochkin – Team Pelfrey
  5. Kris Wright – JDC Motorsports
  6. TJ Fischer – Team Pelfrey
  7. Brenden Puderbach – Fat Boy Racing
  8. Sting Ray Robb – World Speed Motorsports
  9. Max Hanratty – ArmsUp Motorsports
  10. Bob Kaminsky – Kaminsky Racing
  11. Bobby Eberle – World Speed Motorsports
  12. Jeff Green – Juncos Racing
  13. Dave Zavelson – Unfair Advantage Motorsports
  14. Kevin Bury – Unfair Advantage Motorsports
  15. Charles Finelli – Fat Boy Racing

USF2000 is next on track for their first race of the weekend at 11:45am (Central), and Pro Mazda is next on track at 1:35pm (Central) for their first of two races doing the KOHLER Grand Prix.

Practice notes and results for the Mazda Indy Lights Grand Prix of Road America Presented by Allied Building Products

Current championship leader Kyle Kaiser, with a lap of 1 minute, 53.876 seconds, led the lone Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire practice before the highest rung of the MRTI qualifies for their first race of the weekend later this afternoon.

Carlin sophomore Zachary Claman DeMelo, who did his first Verizon IndyCar Series test with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports at Road America last week, had the second quickest lap, and his Carlin teammate Neil Alberico had the third quickest lap. Wisconsin driver Aaron Telitz and Freedom 100 winner Matheus Leist rounded out the top five.

Championship contender and two-time race winner Colton Herta was not able to turn any laps during the 45 minute session after his Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing crew found a fuel leak on the Deltro Energy sponsored No. 98.

Practice times for the Mazda Indy Lights Grand Prix of Road America Presented by Allied Building Products

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM QUICK LAP GAP
1 18 Kyle Kaiser Juncos Racing 1:53.876 –.—-
2 13 Zachary Claman De Melo Carlin 1:54.001 0.1249
3 22 Neil Alberico Carlin 1:54.098 0.2220
4 9 Aaron Telitz Belardi Auto Racing 1:54.200 0.3234
5 26 Matheus Leist Carlin 1:54.387 0.5106
6 2 Juan Piedrahita Team Pelfrey 1:54.547 0.6710
7 48 Ryan Norman Andretti Autosport 1:54.642 0.7660
8 31 Nicolas Dapero Juncos Racing 1:54.646 0.7703
9 27 Nico Jamin Andretti Autosport 1:54.654 0.7783
10 28 Dalton Kellett Andretti Autosport 1:54.766 0.8899
11 11 Garth Rickards Carlin 1:55.080 1.2042
12 51 Shelby Blackstock Belardi Auto Racing 1:55.101 1.2247
13 5 Santi Urrutia Belardi Auto Racing 1:55.196 1.3201
14 98 Colton Herta Andretti Steinbrenner Racing No Time —

The Indy Lights drivers will be back on track at 2:30pm for their first qualifying session.

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category: Cooper Tires USF2000 powered by Mazda - TSO, Indy Lights News/Results, Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire - TSO, Pro Mazda News/Results, Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire - TSO, USF2000 News/Results
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More Notes from Freedom 100 !

Posted by  on Saturday, May 27th 2017     

By Patrick Stephan (@TSO_Patrick)

Ok, I still owe everyone some more notes from the Freedom 100 – and here they are. I especially like some of the stuff Trevor Carlin said about wanting to make the move to the Verizon IndyCar Series. He is a team owner that does things “right” and I believe he’d be highly successful in the big cars. With Harding Racing, Juncos, and Michael Shank participating now (at least part time) and Carlin seriously looking at it, this could be the infusion of new owners that the series really needs to take that next step forward.

“Well, I mean that’s obviously our ambition,” said Carlin. “This is a very big moment for us to win the Freedom 100 at Indianapolis. My next target obviously has to be to try to win the main race. I’m constantly working on trying to put the funding together to put a package together, because I believe I’ve got an amazing team, a bunch of guys. I’ve got access to some of the best drivers in the world. So at some stage we want to be here and lift that Borg-Warner trophy if it’s not too heavy, of course.”

Said Carlin of how he first came to know the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, “I can’t remember exactly the year. It was either 1986 or 1987, I was actually living in California and I watched the Indy 500. I think it was the year maybe Danny Sullivan spun — ’85, OK. Danny spun and won the race. I thought, oh, my God, how can that happen? It’s incredible. So since then I followed the race, I watch it every year on TV. Now, you know, I thought I would love to enter a team here at Indianapolis. And this is the first step on that journey. I’m very proud of Matheus and the team that we’ve now won here. But you know, the job isn’t finished, it’s just one step on the way to hopefully winning the great prize. We know it’s impossibly difficult to do, but realistic. And if you don’t try, you have no chance. We will try and the luck might go our way.”

Looking back on the Freedom 100, one of the more interesting aspects was the high line, and passes attempted there. Aaron Telitz said of the high side pass, “I like it. I think when you’re entering from the high side, you feel more confident to turn in, flat out, if you’re on the light side. The Lights cars don’t obviously have as much speed entering the corners as the Indy cars do, so we can run that groove high. The high side is the best way to pass. You use less wheel to turn the car, hopefully not have to slow it down as much.

Kellett of course had that contact with Herta – who was on the high side – at the start of the race. He reported that the car wasn’t damaged and the crew did check it out, “After the contact, I was on the radio going down the back straight, kind of giving them the rundown of what happened. Just had a light contact, I was in front. When we came by on the front straight, the mechanics were there on the pit wall to have a look at the front wing, and they deemed everything looked fine so we kept going.”

Kellett also noted later that when passing on the outside, “…when you’re on the outside, you have control of the corner. So you know, there’s a car inside and you can dictate how tight or how wide you want to go through there.”

That’s kind of interesting in that many times the car on the inside has “control of the corner” but it does make sense for here that the car to the outside is really the one dictating the line.

Race winner Matheus Leist clearly had a fast car. Telitz provided a few thoughts on that, “I’m pretty sure Matheus had less wing in his car, so they were more trimmed out. They started at the front, so they weren’t too worried having to pass a lot of cars, so they can do that. Where we started in sixth, we knew we were going to have to pass cars and have a little extra downforce. But when I would pull out of the draft to get past Matheus, my car would stall out as I pull up to go around him. He had more speed in a straight line, and that’s how he could hold me off.”

Kellett also noted, “I think to shed some light on what you were seeing, what we find here is, and with any car really, is when you’re in a draft you can definitely suck up to guys. You always feel like you’re quicker than the car ahead of you. For the guy out front, he has clean air on his wings, so of course he’s easy to go flat out around and around the whole track, whereas we’re going to get a monster run, be 10 miles an hour up going into the corner and have to lift, and then pick up some understeer, get some clean air in those and get some more rotation. So that might have been a little bit of what was going on there.”

So, what did Leist think of his first experience at Indy?

“I think we had just a perfect car today,” said the 18 year old Brazilian. “And I thought that I would have hardest race definitely. But anyway, we managed to drive the whole race and I’m very happy. The car was just perfect, you know, throughout the whole race, so we managed to keep in front.”

He noted that at one time, he wasn’t sure would wind up in Victory Lane as he battled with Telitz. “Yeah, it was a tough battle. I thought he would overtake me actually and he didn’t manage to do it. But anyway, I was just trying to kept relax you know and do my job. So I just managed to keep in front of him and he didn’t manage to overtake me, and I led the whole race. That was it.”

Leist only ever oval experience was testing in Homestead, and then the testing on Monday here at IMS. His thoughts on the 2.5 oval and his race today, “It was just amazing. This was actually my first time here as well. So, yeah, it was everything new for me. Track is amazing and just so fast. I’ve never been so fast as I have been here, so it was amazing. And to win here in this track is just, it’s unbelievable, you know. So I’m looking forward and hope one day winning the Indy 500 here.”

Oh, so what was the plan for celebrating last night?

Trevor Carlin’s afternoon didn’t sound that exciting, though the evening would be fun, “I’m going to help the guys load the truck, which isn’t very glamorous. After that I’m sure we’ll have a few beers, go out into town tonight and have a good dinner and celebrate. The atmosphere here is just incredible. There’s nothing like it in motor racing in the world, and I’ve been to pretty much every motor race in the world and this is number one by far.”

Leist said, “Yeah, I think we’re going to have beers, so looking forward to it. I would like to have some dinner with my team as well and celebrate with them.” (perhaps someone needs to inform Matheus of the drinking age around here 🙂 ).

Aaron Telitz is actually 25, but he had a similar plan, “I’m going to go have good time with my friends and family from here. I’m from Wisconsin, so probably a few beers later.”

Kellett got in a bit of a dig, quipping, “and some cheese!” Notably, Telitz did not deny that and Kellett continued, “My family is here, my cousins and everyone, my girlfriend, so probably hanging out at the trailer and watching action and getting ready for Sunday.”

Following the Freedom 100, here are the Indy Lights points standings:

Pos. Driver Points
1 Kyle Kaiser 151
2 Nico Jamin – R 137
3 Colton Herta – R 129
4 Aaron Telitz – R 122
5 Neil Alberico 122
6 Matheus Leist – R 121
7 Santiago Urrutia 105
8 Zachary Claman DeMelo 102
9 Shelby Blackstock 90
10 Dalton Kellett 86
11 Nicolas Dapero – R 84
12 Ryan Norman – R 78
13 Juan Piedrahita 68
14 Garth Rickards – R 68
15 Pato O’Ward – R 58

 

 

 

category: Indy Lights News/Results

Freedom 100 Race Spoiler from Carb Day at IMS

Posted by  on Friday, May 26th 2017     

By Patrick Stephan (@TSO_Patrick)

Welcome to Carb Day here at IMS. We’re covering all the activities at both TrackSideOnline.com and of course the MRTI focused coverage here of the Indy Lights Series presented by Cooper Tires.

The race got off to a tough start. Pole sitter Matheus Leist brought the well formed field down to the green at what looked to be a bit of a slow pace. But, as soon as the green waved, everyone jumped out of position and started battling down to Turn 1. The field made it through the first turn ok, but over in Turn 2, we saw second place starter Colton Herta get sideways right in front of the pack.

The Lights cars are able to run side by side through the turns here at times and it looked like Herta didn’t know that Dalton Kellett was still underneath him as they ran through Turn 2. Herta’s car turned sideways and slid for quite a while as some drivers stuck to the low line.

Unfortunately, Herta’s car slid backwards toward the wall around the exit of Turn 2 as the laws of physics took over and pushed him wide, directly in to the path of Ryan Norman who wasn’t able to take the low line as he had cars to his inside. They made pretty solid contact as Norman’s left front hit the left rear of Herta’s sideways race car.

Both cars then slid across the track as the rest of the field scrambled to avoid hitting those spinning and disabled race cars. This was Norman’s best start of the year (4th) and he said after the accident that he was proud of that, and he’ll have to just now focus on being quick at Road America (the next race weekend for Indy Lights).

Herta wasn’t sure what happened and wanted to look at the data, but he did acknowledge the contact with Kellett (who started third).

The race restarted after 5 laps under yellow, with Leist still up front and leading his first laps of the season.

Things would settle out a bit as the race ran on. Kellett would get around Claman de Melo for second, and then around lap 18, Aaron Telitz would himself move to second as he passed Kellett.

On lap 21, the order was Leist, Telitz, Kellett, Alberico, Claman de Melo, Urrutia, Piedrahita, Rickards, Kaiser, Blackstock, Jamin, Dapero, Herta, Norman.

The lead on lap 26 was up to 0.355, but third place was another .06 back, giving us one of the most spread out fields we’ve seen for a while. Looked like the drivers up front were settling in and waiting for a bit later in the race to make a move.

Then on lap 31, Telitz attempted a move on the high side of Turn 1, but he wasn’t able to complete the pass on Leist. The top 6 were within about 2.1 seconds as Leist, Telitz, Kellett, Alberico, Claman de Melo and Urrutia had broken away from the rest of the field.

Lap 34 ad Telitz goes to the high side again in Turn 1 and stays there all the way through Turn 1 and most of the way through Turn 2. Leist got away from Telitz on the back stretch and Kellett himself tried the outside on Telitz. The move worked and Kellett then set his sights on Leist and the lead.

Urrutia then started to make a move himself, moving to fourth and on lap 36, the order was Leist, Kellett, Telitz, Urrutia, Alberico and Claman de Melo.

Lap 37 and Urrutia has brushed the wall in Turn 2, and he slows for a bit, dropping to 5th as Alberico takes 4th position.

The white flag waved over Leist and the field, with Kellett 0.4542 back at the line. Leist is able to make a clean lap and keep Kellett out of his draft, winning the race by 0.7760 seconds.

While the victory seemed fairly locked up as the field came off Turn 4, who would finish second – well, that was far from decided. Telitz followed Kellett off Turn 4 as they drifted back to the low line until Telitz was able to jump to the outside and pull side by side with Kellett as the duo approached the yard of bricks.

At the line, it was Telitz taking second by just 0.0641 seconds.

Patrick’s Opinion – that was a very good race, and I really liked that the winner had the best car – we saw some great moves and some great attempts that failed – but when the checkered flag fell it seemed like Leist was just a bit better today. And congrats to him for managing his Carlin Racing car and the race so well. Some of those side by side laps with Kellett were thrilling as was the action in the pack. But, it didn’t feel too “artificial” and the leader was only to be passed by a better car – I like that!

Ok, back with more in an little while. Here is the finishing order of the 2017 Freedom 100:

Pos Car # Driver Diff TL Comment
1 26 Matheus Leist — 40
2 9 Aaron Telitz 0.7760 40
3 28 Dalton Kellett 0.8401 40
4 22 Neil Alberico 2.3748 40
5 5 Santi Urrutia 9.9919 40
6 13 Zachary Claman De Melo 10.3970 40
7 11 Garth Rickards 12.4357 40
8 2 Juan Piedrahita 20.4610 40
9 18 Kyle Kaiser 25.1065 40
10 27 Nico Jamin 34.9961 40
11 51 Shelby Blackstock 35.1473 40
12 31 Nicolas Dapero 35.6239 40
13 98 Colton Herta 40 LAPS 0 Contact
14 48 Ryan Norman 40 LAPS 0 Contact
category: Indy Lights News/Results

Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Freedom 100 practice and qualifying – Leist beats Herta to maiden Indy Lights pole

Posted by  on Thursday, May 25th 2017     

 

Qualifying 

After a long weather delay, and only 20 minutes of practice, Matheus Leist, who is making his first ever oval start, put together a pair of consistent laps of 199.268mph, and 199.128mph. The 18 year-old rookie’s prize included a check for $3,000, but more importantly, Leist will start on pole for the Freedom 100, the most prestigious race of the Indy Lights season.

Carlin rookie Matheus Leist gets ready for Freedom 100 qualifying. The Brazilian who is making his first ever oval start, put together two consistent laps to take the pole for the 2017 Freedom 100 (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

The Brazilian’s fastest lap of 199.268mph, shattered the previous qualifying lap record of 197.866 mph, that was set by Ethan Ringel in 2015.

Leist, who was the seventh driver to take to the 2.5 mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, knocked Andretti Autosport veteran Dalton Kellett off the provisional pole with his consistent qualifying effort. Kellett, who after starting 14th, finished third in last year’s Freedom 100, also lost a spot to Herta, but will still start on the inside of the front row.

Herta, who had the quickest speed in testing on Monday, and the second quickest speed in the abbreviated pre-qualifying practice, will start his first Indy Lights and second MRTI oval race on the outside of the front-row. Despite a half-spin as he exited the pits to start his qualifying effort, the 17 year-old second generation driver was able to recover and post a two lap average speed of 198.648mph.

“I simply just lost it coming up on the track, my engineer (Doug Zister) kept telling me to put it down to second gear in practice, and see how it is, and I never did that, so it’s my fault,” explained Herta, who is currently third in the quest for the $1million Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarship. “Coming back up on the track, I lost it and went down into the pit entry, and then had to drive out of the pit entry. We lost some speed in that, but I don’t know how much. The Carlin guys had a good car today, so I don’t much we could have clawed back.”

Oval newbie and Andretti Autosport rookie Ryan Norman will start outside of his Andretti Autosport teammate Kellett after an impressive two lap qualifying average of 197.697mph.

“This place is amazing. I absolutely love this place, and this is definitely my favorite track so far,” exclaimed a very happy Norman.  “We have a great car and I think it’s a winning car. Qualifying went well today and I gave it everything I had. We used every inch of the track we could leaving little room to spare. We just have to time it right in the race tomorrow, keep the tires under me and we should we good. I can’t wait!”

Kellett, with nine MRTI oval starts is the lone veteran among the first two rows. Leist and Norman are making their first ever oval starts and Herta has only one USF2000 oval start on the 0.625 mile Lucas Oil Raceway.

MRTI veteran Dalton Kellett will start his second Freedom 100 from the inside of the second row. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Aaron Telitz, the reigning Pro Mazda Champion was the last car out on track, will start on the outside of the third row. The Rice Lake, Wisc. native told TSO that their were rain drops on his visor during his entire run, but was able to kept his foot in it and cross the “Yard of Bricks” to end his qualifying effort with his Soul Red No. 9 Belardi Auto Racing car in one piece.

Kyle Kaiser, and Nico Jamin – the two drivers currently sitting atop the championship standings, both had qualifying efforts to forget. Kaiser, who holds a 14 point lead over Jamin, will start his third Freedom 100 from the inside of the sixth row, while the 21 year-old Jamin will start directly behind him.

“Overall, it was a tough qualifying session. We had some engine issues when testing Monday, so we had it changed before today,” explained Jamin. “We’re not starting where I’d like to start, but we’ll see what we can do tomorrow. It’s a long race and I love drafting, so I’ll do what I can to work my way up there.”

2017 Freedom 100 qualifying results:

 

RANK DRIVER TEAM 2 LAP AVERAGE (mph)
1 Matheus Leist Carlin 199.198
2 Colton Herta Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing 198.648
3 Dalton Kellett Andretti Autosport 198.011
4 Ryan Norman Andretti Autosport 197.697
5 Zachary Claman De Melo Carlin 197.645
6 Aaron Telitz Belardi Auto Racing 197.216
7 Neil Alberico Carlin 196.938
8 Garth Rickards Carlin 196.741
9 Shelby Blackstock Belardi Auto Racing 196.417
10 Juan Piedrahita Team Pelfrey 196.246
11 Kyle Kaiser Juncos Racing 196.058
12 Santi Urrutia Belardi Auto Racing 195.861
13 Nico Jamin Andretti Autosport 195.661
14 Nicolas Dapero Juncos Racing 195.445

Practice notes:

After a delay of seven hours due to a persistent drizzle, the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire series finally took to the 2.5 mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval for practice and qualifying for the 15th Freedom 100.

The 20 minute practice session began promptly at 4:30pm, and it wasn’t long before a gloomy Speedway, Ind., was alive with the bubbling note of the Mazda 2.0L turbo-charged engines powering the 14 entries.

With conditions very different from when the series tested on Monday afternoon, most teams sent their drivers out for a qualifying simulation when the track opened for business. With a temperature of 61F and a slight breeze from the North, the temperatures were perfect for laying down quick lap speeds.

The quickest lap of the abbreviated session was a 201.032mph tow-aided lap by Carlin rookie Matheus Leist, who also had the fastest no-tow lap, a scorching 199.370mph laps. The 18 year-old Brazilian will be making his first ever oval start in tomorrow’s 40-lap race.

You can read our TSO Ladder Freedom 100 preview here – TSO Ladder Freedom 100 preview

Carlin rookie Matheus Leist gets ready for Freedom 100 qualifying. The Brazilian who is making his first ever oval start, put together two consistent laps to take the pole for the 2017 Freedom 100 (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

category: Indy Lights News/Results, Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire - TSO
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Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Freedom 100 preview

Posted by  on Wednesday, May 24th 2017     

 

With three of the last four Freedom 100’s being decided by mere thousandths of a second, the annual 40-lap (100 mile) Indy Lights race has become a must watch for the 100,000+ raucous fans that stream into the 560 acre Indianapolis Motor Speedway facility for the Carb Day party that kicks off the “Greatest Spectacle In Racing” weekend.

For the first two years of the event, the Freedom 100 was held on the Saturday of second week Indianapolis 500 qualifying. It moved to it’s present home, Carb Day, in 2005, when Indianapolis Motor Speedway moved the final IndyCar practice from Thursday to Friday.

With 24 of the 33 starters in the 101st Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil being Indy Lights graduates, the Freedom 100 provides fans a great opportunity to catch the Verizon IndyCar Series stars of the future.

Watch the 2016 Freedom 100

Not a race for novices

In 14 Freedom 100s, the race has only been won by rookies on four different occasions, and on only one occasion, has that rookie been making their first ever oval start.

Josef Newgarden, who finished third in last years Indianapolis 500, is the only driver to win the Freedom 100 in his first ever Indy Lights oval start. Jaime Camara (2005), Dillon Battistini (2008), and Dean Stoneman (2016) all won as Indy Lights rookies, but all three had made at least one oval start in the top level of the Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire.

Josef Newgarden celebrates his 2011 Freedom 100 win (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Of the seven rookies, two will be making their first ever starts on an oval. Carlin’s Matheus Leist, and Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Norman. Both drivers were able to test on the oval at Homestead-Miami Speedway in February, and both were quick in Monday’s Indy Lights test. Despite brushing the wall at the exit of Turn 2 late in the session, Leist had the third fastest lap overall, while Norman’s quickest lap speed was seventh best.

“When I first got out there, I thought ‘here I am, this is really big! We tested at Homestead back in March but this is very different,” explained the reigning 2016 BRDC British Formula 3, who is coming off his first Indy Lights podium two weekends ago. “It was very strange in the beginning, with the steering wheel not being straight and the speeds being so much faster than on a road course. I got the pace pretty quickly. We did some qualifying simulations early this afternoon and I set the fastest lap so that’s good. It still feels on the edge to me, with the car moving a lot, but I’m getting used to it. I’m a bit disappointed with my run in all the traffic late in the session but it’s my first day and I think I learned a lot – and brushing the wall is all part of the game.”

Nico Jamin, and Aaron Telitz will both be making their fourth turn left only starts, and both have had success, albeit only on the 0.625 mile Lucas Oil Raceway (LOR) flat oval.

Telitz is the only driver to have a win at LOR, coming from sixth place to take his first MRTI victory in a 75 lap USF2000 race in 2014.

“I won my first MRTI race on an oval in Indy, so I can’t wait for my first Indy Lights race on an oval. And not just any oval, but IMS! The Belardi guys have had lots of success here in the past so we have a lot to live up to this week. But I know that we are going to be fast and can hopefully be the first team to bring the Soul Red Mazda to victory lane in the Freedom 100.”

Jamin, also has a podium at LOR, starting second and fishing second in the 2015 USF2000 race.

Both drivers struggled in Pro Mazda at LOR in 2016, with Telitz finishing a disappointing fifth and Jamin finishing 7th in the series last visit to the Clermont, Ind. track.

Garth Rickards has two-top 10 finishes in his two USF2000 oval starts at LOR. The Carlin rookie finished ninth with Team Pelfrey in 2015, and improved to seventh with Pabst Racing last year.

Nicolas Dapero was impressive in his oval debut during the 90 lap Pro Mazda race at LOR in 2016. The 19 year-old Indy Lights rookie started second and finished third, his first MRTI podium.

Colton Herta, who led testing earlier this week with the only lap above 200mph, started 16th and finished fourteenth in his only MRTI oval outing, a Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda race at Lucas Oil Raceway in 2014.

Herta, who has raced in oval free Europe for the last two years, is aware that he needs to learn quickly if he wants to contend for the win in his first Freedom 100.

“The draft was the same in the straight-line everywhere. Obviously, it was a bit more here [rather than Homestead] since we’re going quicker at Indianapolis. The main thing is slipstreaming in the corners. It’s really different from anything I’ve experienced, especially when you’re right behind someone and you put half of a wing out or a quarter of the wing out,” explained Herta. “The balance shift is massive. That’s obviously going to be something all the rookies will have to get used to. I would say down the straights, it’s nothing too different. It’s really crazy when you pull out of the slipstream, how far your head will move down in the car. You get pushed down so much with the wind, and that’s probably the biggest difference I’ve felt. You feel like you’re going that fast the first few laps, but once you kind of get into it, the other cars around you move at a similar pace, so I don’t really think about it.

Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing rookie Colton Herta was the only driver to turn a lap faster than 200mph in testing for the 2017 Freedom 100 on Monday (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Despite his inexperience, Herta does have a few intangible assets on his side.

The first is his race engineer Doug Zister. The Canadian engineer has won the Freedom 100 four times; in 2006, 2009, and 2010 with Wade Cunningham and in 2011 with another oval novice, Josef Newgarden.

The second, is having the wisdom of his dad Bryan Herta, and team owner Michael Andretti. The elder Herta has been able to guide two of the last six Indianapolis 500 winners to victory as their strategist, and Andretti has led 431 laps on the 2.5 mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.

A struggle at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the championship leading team

Since the introduction of the IL-15 two years ago, the 2.5 mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval has not been kind to Juncos Racing.

In 2016: Kyle Kaiser, the current points leader started on the inside of the front row, but made hard contact with the wall at the exit of Turn 4 on the first green flag lap, and rookie Zachary Claman DeMelo finished 13th in his first Freedom 100.

In 2015: Kaiser did manage a top five finish, but clearly had nothing for the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports foursome that finished 1-2-3-4, and Spencer Pigot, the eventual 2015 title winner, was way off the pace, finishing a lap down and ninth of a 12 car field.

The Ricardo Juncos owned team will hope that the move from Brownsburg, Ind. to a new 44,000 square foot shop that is situated only half-a-mile south of the apex of the daunting Indianapolis Motor Speedway Turn 1, will change their luck at the 108 year-old speed-plant.

The current Juncos Racing duo, championship leader Kaiser and Nicolas Dapero, finished Monday’s test with the only 12th and 13th quickest speeds, but Kaiser does not seem worried by the team’s lack of pace in testing.

Juncos Racing veteran Kyle Kaiser gets ready to head on track in preparation for testing for the 2017 Freedom 100 (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

“We didn’t really run qualifying trim. Our focus has been working on the race car,” explained the 21 year-old after testing on Monday. “We had a lot of downforce so our trap speeds haven’t been the best, but we’re working on having a good balance in the car. Everyone wants to win this race, whether your last in points or the points leader. I’m just going in trying to build a good race car and we’ll see what happens from there.”

Under the radar????

If you were to look strictly at the current points table, it would be easy to exclude Shelby Blackstock (9th), Dalton Kellett (12th) and Juan Piedrahita (14th) as threats to win the Freedom 100. That would be a big mistake.

Veteran Shelby Blackstock has two podiums in his 13 oval MRTI starts, and will be making his third Freedom 100 start. The Nashville, Tenn. native had an impressive fourth place finish in 2016, after starting 10th.

“I’m really looking forward to our biggest race of the year, the Freedom 100! It’s by far the best race and the one I look forward to the most,” said Blackstock. “Testing has been going good so far, so I’m excited to get back out there and trim more. I want to thank the entire Belardi Auto Racing team for giving us a great starting car.”

Dalton Kellett, who finished third after starting 14th last year, is the highest placed returning driver, and will be making his ninth oval start as part of the MRTI.

Dalton Kellett, who finished third in last year’s Freedom 100, during testing for the 2017 event. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

“The best week in racing is here! I’m extremely excited to race in the Freedom 100 this week, and to get on track,” exclaimed the 23 year-old Canadian Kellett. “Indianapolis is a magical place, and as a driver it’s a special feeling running around the oval. Last year, we had quick cars. It was an exciting race, and we were able to run well in traffic. We didn’t get the chance to see our outright speed last year with qualifying rained out, but we’re hoping for good weather this year and hope to see what two laps trimmed out feels like on the speedway. It’s our first oval race of the season, and I know we’ve all been working hard to get to this point and see the team’s hard work pay off.”

Piedrahita, who made his 100th MRTI start during the INDYCAR Grand Prix weekend at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, is also the most experienced oval pilot in the 14 car field.

The Bogota, Colombia native will be making his 16th MRTI oval start and fourth in the Freedom 100. Piedrahita has four oval podiums and was poised to take his first victory during the 2016 Freedom 100. The 24 year-old had moved from his 13th starting spot to second place when the yellow flag came out on Lap 36. Piedrahita was balked by leader Dean Stoneman on the Lap 39 restart, almost hitting the pit attenuator, before falling to eighth place.

With an iffy weather forecast for Thursday, these three drivers will really be hoping that qualifying is not cancelled, and they get a chance to start close to the front of the 14 car field.

Three big question marks

The most pleasant surprise of the 2017 Indy Lights season so far? The performance of the Rising Star Racing sponsored Neil Alberico, who heads into the Freedom 100, in fourth place in the championship, only 37 points behind fellow points leader and fellow MRTI veteran Kaiser.

In 2016, Alberico battled engine related gremlins all season, but his seventh place finish (after starting 15th when qualifying was rained out) in the Freedom 100, that included the fastest race of the lap, was a highlight.

Neil Alberico during testing in preparation for the 2017 Freedom 100 (Photo Courtesy of IndyCar)

“Indianapolis is the Holy Grail,” said Alberico, who finished testing on Tuesday with the fourth quickest time. “You head to Indy always wanting a good result. The one race every driver wants to win is the Freedom 100 and we’re working towards that.

How Santiago Urrutia will perform on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval, is one of the big question marks heading into the Freedom 100. After a disappointing start to the his sophomore campaign, the 2016 Indy Lights vice-champion has moved into a tie for seventh. However, Urrutia’s results have been middling in his four oval events. The Uruguayan made his first oval start at Lucas Oil Raceway in Pro Mazda in 2015, and was only able to finish 15th.

After winning the 2015 Pro Mazda championship, the 20 year-old made the jump to Indy Lights, and was unable to finish in the top three in his three oval starts. That included a rough Freedom 100 in which Urrutia’s Soul Red car end the day with a mechanical issue after spin in the second half of the race.

“I am very much ready for the Freedom 100, it is the biggest race of the year,” said Urrutia. “I believe that it will be important for us to unload a good car from the hauler on Thursday, so that we can work on it and improve on it. We need a really good car so that I can be right at the top to get the crucial points we need for the championship.”

Which version of Carlin sophomore Zachary Claman DeMelo will show at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend?

The Claman DeMelo who drove mistake free races at Barber Motorsports Park (Race 1) and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course (Race 1), or the mistake prone driver that shows up on occasion. There is no question that the 19 year-old has the pace to be a factor for race wins, having top five quickest laps in five of six race so far this year, but need to find some consistency if he wants to be a constant threat for the podium.

DeMelo started his Freedom 100 weekend off on the right foot, scoring the sixth fastest lap in testing last Monday.

Who replaces Schmidt at the top of the heap?

In 14 tries, a Sam Schmidt owned entry has visited the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Victory Podium after taking the Freedom 100 checkered flag first. The Indianapolis, Ind. based team shuttered their Indy Lights team late in 2016, and for the first time won’t field a car in the race.

Among teams entered in this year’s Freedom 100 only Belardi Auto Racing and Andretti Autosport have collected Indy Lights Victories on the 2.5 mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.

Belardi Auto Racing’s two victories are the two most exciting finishes in Indianapolis Motor Speedway history. In 2013, Peter Dempsey, who is currently an engineer with the Juncos Racing Indy Lights program, won a four-wide drag race, beating Gabby Chaves to the line by a scant 0.0026 seconds to score the Brian Belardi’s first win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In 2014, it was Chaves turn to cross the yard of bricks first 0.0050 seconds ahead of Matthew Brabham in another photo finish.

A Michael Andretti owned entry made it’s first Freedom 100 appearance in 2005, when current Verizon IndyCar Series driver Marco Andretti finished 16th after starting tenth.

Over the course of the next decade, Andretti Autosport collected seven podiums at the Freedom 100 (Jaime Camara (2), Matthew Brabham, J.R. Hildebrand, Charlie Kimball, Carlos Munoz, and Zach Veach), but did not score their first win until last year, when Dean Stoneman beat Carlin’s Ed Jones to the line by a minuscule .002 seconds.

That leaves Carlin, Juncos Racing, and Team Pelfrey as the squads still looking for that coveted first win on Carb Day.

Freedom 100 – Wins By Team

  • Schmidt Peterson Motorsports —> 8
  • Belardi Auto Racing —> 2
  • A.J. Foyt Racing —> 1
  • Andretti Autosport —> 1
  • Brian Stewart Racing —> 1
  • Panther Racing —> 1

Conclusions and predictions

Despite plenty of passing, the Freedom 100 is still a race that has been won from one of the first six starting spots on all but one occasion (Esteban Guerrieri won from 15th in 2012). That means that an engineer and crew that is able to rub every little bit of friction out of the Mazda powered Dallara, and a driver that is the bravest during the two white knuckle laps will have an advantage when race downforce is added back to the car for the 40-lap Carb Day race.

Aaron Telitz leads a group of four cars during a hectic Monday test session in preparation for the Freedom 100 (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

This has to be one of the more difficult Freedom 100’s to handicap, there are at a bare minimum 10 drivers that will have a shot to cross the “Yard of Bricks” ahead of their rivals. If someone absolutely forced me (Steve), to pick three drivers for the win, it would be veterans Kyle Kaiser, Neil Alberico, and Dalton Kellett. Having experience with the draft, while not mandatory, is a learned skill, and one that is key to performing well on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval.

Freedom 100 schedule

Thursday, May 25

  • 9am – 9:30am – Indy Lights Practice 1
  • 11am – 11:30am – Indy Lights Practice 2
  • 1:30pm – 2:30pm – Indy Lights Qualifying

Friday, May 26

  • 10am -10:30am – Indy Lights Autograph Session
  • 12:30pm – Indy Lights Freedom 100 (40 laps)

Freedom 100 qualifying order

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire points headed into the Freedom 100

RANK DRIVER POINTS
1 Kyle Kaiser 140
2 Nico Jamin 126
3 Colton Herta 121
4 Neil Alberico 103
5 Aaron Telitz 97
6 Matheus Leist 89
7 Zachary Claman DeMelo 87
8 Santiago Urrutia 87
9 Shelby Blackstock 80
10 Nicolas Dapero 75
11 Ryan Norman 71
12 Dalton Kellett 64
13 Pato O’Ward 58
14 Juan Piedrahita 55
15 Garth Rickards 54

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category: Indy Lights News/Results, Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire - TSO
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Indianapolis Motor Speedway – Freedom 100 – Monday, May 22 – test session #2 notes and results

Posted by  on Monday, May 22nd 2017     

If this afternoon’s Indy Lights test session is an indicator of what kind of a race the Freedom 100 will be, the annual 40-lap race will be sure to wow the Carb Day Crazies.

The quickest lap of the afternoon test session was turned by Carlin rookie Matheus Leist, who will be making his first oval start on Friday. Liest’s quickest lap was clocked at 199.568mph, and the Brazilian also experienced a his first big oval moment, when his No. 26 had a tank slapper, just missing the wall at the exit of Turn 2 near the end of the session.

The first-half of the second Indy Lights test session in preparation for the Freedom 100 had the majority of the 14 entered drivers doing qualification simulations. The no-tow speeds ranged between 197.371mph and 191.762mph. Colton Herta had the fastest lap no-tow lap at 197.371 mph, and was followed closely by fellow rookies Leist, and Ryan Norman.

The final 30 minutes of the session had the 14 drivers mixing it up in what looked more like race day than a test session.

The final yellow flag of the session flew when Juncos Racing rookie Nicolas Dapero got well below the white line while going by Dalton Kellett in Turn 1. The rear end of the No. 31 stepped out at the exit of the corner and the distinctive green, white and orange liveried machine did a 360 degree spin before making contact with the SAFER barrier on the inside Turn 2.

The session went back to green with seven minutes left and once again, the track was buzzing with a horde of 2.0L turbo-charged Mazda power plants, as drivers went two and three wide into Turn 1 and Turn 3, often remaining two-wide for an entire lap.

Herta’s morning lap of 200.070mph was the quickest of the day, while Aaron Telitz’s morning lap of 199.610mph also left him ahead of Leist.

Indy Lights hits the track again for three sessions on Thursday. The 14 drivers will have two practice sessions at 9am and 11am and will qualify at 1:30pm. The green flag for the Freedom 100 is on Friday at 12:30pm.

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire test session #2 overall time sheet

RANK CAR NUMBER DRIVER FASTEST LAP LAPS TURNED
1 26 Matheus Leist 199.568 31
2 22 Neil Alberico 199.057 36
3 13 Zachary Claman De Melo 198.821 45
4 98 Colton Herta 198.451 37
5 28 Dalton Kellett 198.371 46
6 5 Santi Urrutia 198.039 46
7 2 Juan Piedrahita 197.916 46
8 11 Garth Rickards 197.772 46
9 27 Nico Jamin 197.342 44
10 48 Ryan Norman 197.116 45
11 9 Aaron Telitz 196.713 33
12 51 Shelby Blackstock 195.705 41
13 31 Nicolas Dapero 194.765 42
14 18 Kyle Kaiser 194.674 43
category: Indy Lights News/Results, Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire - TSO
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