Archives for Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire – TSO

Andretti Autosport rookies Nico Jamin and Colton Herta lead Indy Lights oval testing at Homestead-Miami Speedway

For the majority of the 210-minute Indy Lights afternoon test session it was Belardi Auto Racing sophomore Santiago Urrutia and Andretti Autosport rookie Colton Herta who waged a back-and-forth battle for the top on the time sheet. However, with just under 30 minutes left in the session, Andretti Autosport rookie Nico Jamin bolted on a fresh set of Cooper Tires and turned a lap at 186.278 mph, just eight-hundredths of a second quicker than Herta’s quickest lap. Urrutia, and Herta both went out for one more qualifying simulation on fresh rubber, but neither could top Jamin.

Andretti Autosport rookie Nico Jamin gets bolted in during his first official Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire oval test. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography – Chris Owens)

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The 12 car field was incredibly tight with the top 11 drivers all turning a lap within a four-tenths of a second of Jamin.

The dozen drivers and cars turned a trouble free 2271 miles (1514 laps) on the Homestead-Miami Speedway oval. Nicolas Dapero, Juncos Racing’s 19 year-old Argentinian rookie turned a total of 194 laps, the most of any driver.

When we asked the veteran drivers what transfers from the high-banked 1.5 mile to the ovals they will race on later in the year, the answer was unanimous. Not a whole lot, but quickly added that that having the opportunity to work on your race craft, practice drafting, and knocking off the oval rust were all benefits to testing at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Andretti Autosport rookie Colton Herta focuses during his first Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire oval test at Homestead-Miami Speedway (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography – Chris Owens)

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Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire Monday Notebook:

  • The lap of 186.278 mph was just shy of Alex Lloyd’s 2007 187.280 mph pole lap, the quickest Indy Lights qualifying lap at Homestead-Miami Speedway. For reference, the NASCAR track record is 181.238 mph set by Brad Keselowski in 2014, and the quickest Verizon IndyCar Series lap was a scorching 218.539 mph lap set by Sam Hornish Jr. in 2006.
  • Verizon IndyCar Series team owner and former driver Bryan Herta is at the test observing his son Colton’s official Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire debut.
  • Speaking of Herta, the former driver has raced at Homestead-Miami Speedway a total of seven times, and we asked him which of the three versions of Homestead-Miami Speedway he most enjoyed. When the 1.5 mile oval opened in 1995, it was modeled after a miniature Indianapolis Motor Speedway with four distinct corners. In 1997, the track was turned into a true oval with continuous turns at both ends, but only 6 degree banking. The track underwent it’s final reincarnation in 2003 when the turns were banked progressively from 18 to 20 degrees. Herta’s favorite configuration was the second version with the continuous turns and lower banking, explaining that it promoted the best racing.
  • There were a couple of familiar names serving as driver coaches in the Carlin pits. Danilo Dirani, former Honda Formula 1 development driver and 6th place finisher in the 2006 season of Champ Car Atlantic is working with Matheus Leist. Neil Alberico will have two-time Indy Lights vice-champion Jack Harvey serving as his driver coach. Harvey looks like he is in great shape and told TSO that he is still working with sponsors to try to put together a deal for IndyCar.
  • The last time that Indy Lights raced on the 1.5 mile Homestead-Miami Speedway oval, the top five finishers in the Fuzzy’s Ultra Premium Vodka 100 were: 1) Brandon Wagner (Davey Hamilton Racing), 2) James Hinchcliffe (Team Moore), 3) Wade Cunningham (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports), Adrian Campos Jr. (Team Moore), and Pippa Mann (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports).
  • TSO was told to expect an announcement on Thursday that will name the driver for the second Team Pelfrey Indy Lights ride. We think it will make quite a few people happy.
  • While not on track today, USF2000 and Pro Mazda drivers were busy taking head shots, doing Road To Indy TV interviews and taking part in a MRTI Media Training session with the NBC Sports Network’s Leigh Diffey. The USF2000 and Pro Mazda drivers take to the 2.21-mile, 14-turn road course for two days of testing beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, February 28, 2017.

A row of Mazda powered, Cooper Tire shod Dallara Indy Lights sits ready to start testing at Homestead-Miami Speedway (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography – Chris Owens)

Dalton Kellett leads Andretti Autosport to four of the top six spots in first Indy Lights test session

An even dozen Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire car and driver combinations turned a total of 719 trouble-free laps (1078.5 miles) on the 1.5 mile high-banked Homestead-Miami Speedway during the first official Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire test session of 2017.

The quickest lap of the morning was set in the final 15 minutes of the breezy, warm and humid session by sophomore Dalton Kellett, who’s top lap in his K-Line Insulators USA, Inc. sponsored Andretti Autosport Mazda powered Dallara clocked in at 184.937mph.

The 23 year-old Canadian was followed in the top five by rookies Matheus Leist (Carlin) and Colton Herta (Andretti Autosport), fellow sophomore Santiago Urrutia (Belardi Auto Racing), and rookie Andretti Autosport teammate Nico Jamin. Eleven of the 12 drivers were all within one second of the pace set by Kellett.

The first hour of track time was allocated to the seven rookie pilots, three of whom were making their first oval outings in the 450HP Mazda MZR-R powered Dallara machines.

Ryan Norman (Andretti Autosport), and Leist were both turning their first ever laps on an oval.

“No, never, it’s completely new for me,” proclaimed 18 year-old Leist when asked if he’d ever driven on a left-turn only oval, and went on to explain. “It was my first time, and it was quite good. The first run was really, really fast, but was it was nice to learn how to manage with the car because it’s very, very fast.”

Carlin rookie Garth Rickards has some oval experience at Lucas Oil Raceway Park in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania native scored two top tens in his two races on the 0.686-mile oval, but told TSO that there is absolutely no comparison between the sensation of absolute speed between the flat oval in a USF2000 car and a high banked speedway in an Indy Lights car.

Nicolas Dapero (Juncos Racing), Nico Jamin (Belardi Auto Racing), Colton Herta (Andretti Steinbrenner Racing), and Aaron Telitz (Belardi Auto Racing) all spent a day testing on the 1.25 mile oval at Gateway Motorsports Park in Madison, Illinois on October 24, 2016.

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Missing from action from the oval portion of testing is Kyle Kaiser (Juncos Racing) and Juan Piedrahita (Team Pelfrey), the two most experienced oval drivers in the series. Juncos Racing team owner Ricardo Juncos explained to TSO that there is not a lot that transfers from the 18 to 20 degree progressively banked oval at Homestead-Miami Speedway to the three tracks (Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Iowa Speedway, and Gateway Motorsports Park), that the Indy Lights drivers will face in 2017. Both drivers are expected to take part in the road course portion of the test on Thursday.

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The drivers and teams will be back on track at 1:30pm and run through 5pm.

Don’t miss any of the action:

Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire testing at Homestead-Miami Speedway – Steve’s preview

By Steve Wittich

Over the course of four days between February 27, 2017 and March 2, 2017, the three levels of the Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire ladder will take to the 1.5-mile oval (Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire only) and 2.21-mile, 14-turn road course at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the first and only official test before the season kicks off with Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda practice on Thursday, March 9, 2017 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida.

TSO Ladder will have full on-site, in-depth coverage of the four day test.

Here are two questions for each series that we hope to have answers for by the time the roar of the Mazda engines go silent on Thursday afternoon.

Two questions, the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire edition. 

1) It is only testing, can we learn anything about who will be in championship contention for the $1 million Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarship when the series heads to Watkins Glen International in six months?

Possibly.

The Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire series conducted an official two-day test on the 2.21-mile, 14-turn road course at Homestead-Miami Speedway at the end of January in 2016.

That test was led by Belardi Auto Racing’s Felix Rosenqvist, who’s quickest lap time of 1:14.4371 topped the swiftest laps turned by Santiago Urrutia, and Ed Jones by less than one-tenth of a second. Those three drivers combined to win half of the 18 races in 2016, and Jones and Urrutia battled for the title until the very last lap during the finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in September.

While it’s not guaranteed that the drivers who end the test on top of the timesheet on Thursday evening will be in championship contention come Labor Day weekend, it also wouldn’t be a surprise to see the speediest drivers dueling it out for the scholarship to end the season.

2) Who is the first driver to assert themselves among the rookies and the veterans? 

The 14 entries for the season’s first official test is split evenly among seven veteran drivers and seven rookie drivers.

If the past two seasons of Indy Lights competition are any indication of what fans will see in 2017, expect to see rookies and veterans battling for wins and the championship from the drop of the green flag in St. Petersburg in two weeks. But, first the veterans and rookies must sort out who amongst themselves will be fighting at the pointy end of the field.

Past results would lead one to believe that the battle to be the top veteran would be between Kyle Kaiser (Juncos Racing) and Santiago Urrutia (Belardi Auto Racing), a pair of 20 year-olds, who have stood on the top step of the podium a total of six times between them.

But, it wouldn’t be wise to count out a jump in performance from Neil Alberico (Carlin), Shelby Blackstock (Belardi Auto Racing), Zachary Claman DeMelo (Carlin), Dalton Kellett (Andretti Autosport), or Juan Piedrahita (Team Pelfrey). All five drivers have shown they have the pace to be on the podium. Could one of them be this year’s surprise?

If the first two seasons of IL-15 completion are any indication, don’t be surprised to see 2016 Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire champion Aaron Telitz (team TBA) fighting for wins and the championship. In 2015, Spencer Pigot won back-to-back championships, and last year, 2017 Pro Mazda champ Santiago Urrutia battled with Ed Jones for the crown.

Looking strictly at past racing resumes, one would could conclude that 2016 BRDC British Formula 3 Champion Matheus Leist (Carlin), 2015 Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda champion Nico Jamin (Andretti Autosport), and five time Formula 3 race winner Colton Herta (Andretti Steinbrenner Racing), would be the drivers most likely to challenge Telitz.

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire Homestead-Miami Speedway spring training entry list. 

Indy Lights schedule

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Two questions, the Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire edition? 

1) Can anybody touch Team Pelfrey?

The Indianapolis, Indiana based Team Pelfrey dominated the 2016 Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire season by winning 13 of the 16 races, and finishing first and second in the championship.

The two day test at Homestead-Miami Speedway will serve as an exit-poll for the 2017 season, to see if World Speed Motorsports or Cape Motorsports will have anything for the black and yellow Mazda Renesis powered machines of Team Pelfrey.

2) Who emerges as the team leader at Team Pelfrey?

TJ Fischer, who has the most experience at the wheel of a Pro Mazda car. Nikita Lastochkin, who spent the past two months gaining valuable seat time in the Toyota Racing Series in New Zealand.  Or, will it be Carlos Cunha, a Brazilian who has two years of South American Formula 3 experience under his belt.

Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire Homestead-Miami Speedway spring training entry list. 

Two questions, the Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda edition

1) With five straight championships, will it be business as usual for the Cape Motorsports, or will the brand new Mazda powered Tatuus USF-17 shake things up?

Matthew Brabham, Scott Hargrove, Florian Latorre, Nico Jamin, and Anthony Martin have brought home five consecutive driver’s championship for the St. Petersburg, Florida based, Dominic and Nicholas owned Cape Motorsports.

However, if the introduction of the new Indy Lights IL-15 taught us anything in 2015, it is that the status quo is certainly not safe when new equipment is introduced. In the decade prior to the introduction of the new Indy Lights car in 2015, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports won the majority of races and six of the ten championships. After the introduction of the IL-15, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports experienced stout competition from Indy Lights main stays Belardi Auto Racing, and newcomers Carlin, and Juncos Racing.

It would be surprising if Cape Motorsports was not near the top of the time sheets at Homestead-Miami Speedway, but don’t be surprised if they have close company from experienced teams like Pabst Racing and Team Pelfrey, and newcomers like Newman Wachs Racing and Exclusive Autosport.

It will likely be apparent by the end of the day which team or teams has gotten an early handle on setting up the USF-17.

2) Is this the year that a rookie can win the title?

Over the past few years, the Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda championship has become a series dominated by veteran drivers.

The last time a rookie won the Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda championship was in 2012 when Matthew Brabham beat his Cape Motorsports teammate Spencer Pigot to the title by a scant seven point margin.

The last time a rookie driver won a Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda race was in 2014, when Jake Eidson, Aaron Telitz and Victor Franzoni all won races.

Will highly touted rookies Oliver Askew (Team TBA), Andre Castro (Newman Wachs Racing), Rinus Van Kalmthout (Newman Wachs Racing) and Kyle Kirkwood (Benik) be able to challenge veterans Dakota Dickerson (Newman Wachs Racing), Robert Megennis (Team Pelfrey), Ayla Agren (Team Pelfrey), Parker Thompson (Exclusive Autosport) and Luke Gabin (Exclusive Autosport). Only time will tell, but we should have a good idea of how the rookies stack up by Wednesday evening when the two-day test comes to an end.

Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda Homestead-Miami Speedway spring training entry list

Pro Mazda and USF2000 schedule

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Don’t miss any of the action:

JAMIN TO JOIN ANDRETTI AUTOSPORT 2017 INDY LIGHTS LINE UP

Andretti Autosport logo

Team Release:

Andretti Autosport has announced that Frenchman Nico Jamin will join the team’s Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires roster for the 2017 season. The Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires standout will pilot the No. 27 Mazda for the schedule’s 16 races alongside Canadian Indy Lights sophomore Dalton Kellett.

“We are really pleased to welcome Nico to our Indy Lights team,” said team owner Michael Andretti. “His progress in the MRTI system has been promising so far and he was impressive in recent testing. We’re looking forward to a competitive season for Nico and the No. 27 team.”

Jamin collected two wins, six podiums and one pole position over the 2016 Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires season, earning him third place in the drivers’ championship. In addition to his Pro Mazda statistics, the 20-year-old claimed 10 wins, 12 pole positions and 15 podiums on his route to earning the 2015 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda.

“I am delighted to announce that I will be driving in Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires for Andretti Autosport in 2017.” Jamin said, “I remember my first USF2000 race back in 2014, walking by Mario Andretti in the paddock and I asked him to take a picture with me. That day, I was far to think that I was going to drive for a team owned by his son, Michael, a few years later. This is a dream come true and I thank everyone who made it possible – my family, partners, the whole Andretti team and fellow Frenchman, J-F Thormann. We have had extremely positive test days already and I am very much looking forward to seeing the first green flag of the season wave at St. Petersburg.”

Jamin tested for Andretti Autosport at the Chris Griffiths Test held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in early October where the 20-year-old ended the weekend second-fastest overall. The Mazda Road to Indy veteran’s progression to the final step of the INDYCAR ladder, places him one step closer to achieving his Verizon IndyCar Series aspirations.

The 2017 Indy Lights campaign kicks off on the streets of St. Petersburg with Rounds 1 and 2 of competition starting March 10.

Nico Jamin (photo courtesy of Mazda Motorsports)

Nico Jamin (photo courtesy of Mazda Motorsports)


TSO Ladder Notes from Steve:

  • Jamin is the second Nico, second Andretti Autosport pilot and fourth over-all confirmed driver for the 2017 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire season, joining: Dalton Kellett (Andretti Autosport), Shelby Blackstock (Belardi Auto Racing) and Nicolas Dapero (Juncos Racing)
  • Jamin, who turns 21 on December 5th, has 12 wins, 14 poles and 22 podiums across 46 Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire starts in USF2000 and Pro Mazda. 
  • Jamin, the 2015 Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda champion who is always smiling, has really embraced the American open-wheel scene since moving to the USA after beginning his career in the French F4 and Formula Renault 2.0 Championships. 
  • Jamin, who hails from Rouen, France, will be attempting to become the third Indy Lights Champion from France, following in the footsteps of J.K. Vernay (2010) and Tristan Vautier (2012). 
  • Jamin recently signed on with new management, and will be working with Rick Gorne (who also manages fellow Frenchman Simon Pagenaud). 
  • Jamin has been impressive in testing so far and has been working with two-time Indy Lights championship winning engineer (Cunningham and Newgarden) Doug Zister. 
  • You can follow Jamin on the following social media platforms: Twitter – Instagram – Facebook 

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports shutters Indy Lights program. Toughest thing Sam Schmidt has had to do in 15-years.

By Steve Wittich

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – For the first time in 15-years, the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire series will begin the season without an entry owned by Sam Schmidt on the grid. Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, the Indianapolis, Indiana based powerhouse squad, has made the tough decision to close it’s championship winning Indy Lights operation, effective immediately.

“It’s one of the toughest things I’ve had to do in the last 15-years”, explained Schmidt. “I think we’re the only surviving team that has been there since day one. That’s disappointing on so many levels.”

Sam Schmidt and Eliseo Salazar watch the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2016 (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Sam Schmidt and Eliseo Salazar watch the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2016 (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

G.J. Mennen finished eighth while piloting the Schmidt owned No. 99 in the very first Infiniti Pro Series races held on July 7, 2002 on the 1.5 mile Kansas Speedway oval. The team would win their first race and first of seven Indy Lights crowns in 2004 with Thiago Medeiros behind the wheel of the No. 9 Schmidt Motorsports entry. Also winning championships for the team was: Jay Howard (2006), Alex Lloyd (2007), J.K. Vernay (2010), Josef Newgarden (2011), Tristan Vautier (2011), and Sage Karam (2013).

“It’s unfortunate”, Schmidt told TSO. “We went from coming away from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (after the MRTI finale in September) thinking that we might be able to facilitate all three support series and the IndyCar program, to two months later not being able to support any off it.”

Schmidt, who recently received the first semi-autonomous driver’s license told TSO that economics was the driving factor behind the teams decision to close the Indy Lights operation.

“I think the majority of the reason is simply just economics on both sides,” said Schmidt. “Things are going so well on the IndyCar program; the commercial side is doing well, the team doing well, and given the complexity and the size and scope of those programs, I felt guilty splitting my time between Indy Lights and IndyCar.

“I’ve got the SAM project, I’ve got nine or ten times I’m going to drive the Corvette next year. I’ve got a lot of good things going on there, a lot of good things going on in the IndyCar program, and our foundation, and the biggest thing that was getting left behind out of pure lack of bandwidth was the Indy Lights programs.

“It’s positive economics on the IndyCar side, and negative economics on the Indy Lights side. I didn’t have enough time to devote to it and that’s why we haven’t been able to find any drivers for 2017 with funding.

“The way the rules are written now, the new rules for Indy Lights, you must do the majority of testing this side of Christmas, and you aren’t going to get any after the New Year. With those type of stipulations, I just wanted to cut them loose early and give our employees, that have all been there a long time, and are really good people, the best opportunity to get other jobs on other teams.”

Schmidt told TSO that they do have a couple of crew slots open on their IndyCar teams and that he encouraged everybody to talk to Piers (Phillips – manager of the IndyCar program) to see if they fit into those open positions.

There are other economic factors at work as well. The ongoing Latin American recession, in particular, and slow economic growth globally, generally, combined with the strength of the American dollar has limited the number of funded drivers, with some potential drivers falling just short of finding the $1million to $1.3 million to contest a full season of Indy Lights.

Schmidt still has plenty of positive things to say about the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire Championship, saying: “The series sells itself from the standpoint of, if you win the championship, you’re going to get an opportunity. Four out of the last six champions have turned that opportunity into full-time rides. We are way, way, way better off than any European support series from a proof in the pudding standpoint.”

Of the 36 drivers that turned laps during the 2016 Verizon IndyCar Series season, 23 of them have Indy Lights experience. Of those drivers with Indy Lights experience, nine of them drove for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports (Gabby Chaves, Bryan Clauson, Conor Daly, RC Enerson, Jack Hawksworth, James Hinchcliffe, Sage Karam, Pippa Mann and Josef Newgarden).

This departure, while certainly surprising and disappointing, should not have any immediate impact on car count. TSO expects to see additional cars from Andretti Autosport and Juncos Racing, with Belardi Auto Racing also rumored to be considering expansion.

“We are sad to learn of this of course, and we appreciate all that Sam has done for Indy Lights over the years,” said Dan Andersen, owner and CEO of Indy Light promoter Andersen Promotions. “I’ve exchanged emails with Sam and completely understand his reasoning. I’d call him except I’m out of the country at a MRTI staff retreat currently.

“Driver interest remains strong and we are aware of several other teams planning expansions, but nevertheless I never want to lose a team, especially one as important as Schmidt Peterson.”

2017 MRTI schedule features complete immersion with INDYCAR, Watkins Glen International finales, and new ovals

MRTI logo

For the first time ever, every single Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire race will take place in conjunction with a Verizon IndyCar Series event.

Some highlights include: all thee series finales occurring at Watkins Glen International on Labor Day Weekend, Indy Lights returning to Gateway Motorsports Park, Pro Mazda making their first appearance at Gateway Motorsports Park, and USF2000 making their first appearance at Iowa Speedway since 2010.

“I am very pleased with our 2017 schedules,” said Dan Andersen, Owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions. “Not only will they assist both teams and drivers with budgets, they allow us to showcase the Mazda Road to Indy ladder alongside IndyCar at premier venues while once again providing our drivers with experience on ovals, road and street courses.

The Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire teams and drivers will contest 16 races over 10 events, with doubleheaders occurring at St. Petersburg, Barber Motorsports Park, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, Road America, Toronto, and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

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Due to the a 2018 transition to the Tatuus PM-18 the Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire season will feature a condensed six event, 12 race calendar. In addition to a shorter schedule leading to decreased budgets, Andersen Promotions and Mazda Motorsports are also offering some more inducements to increase interest in the middle rung of ladder: 1) the Mazda Motorsports advancement scholarship will increase in value from $601, 700 to $790,300, covering a larger portion of an Indy Lights budget, 2) each of the top thee in the championship will be eligible to receive a one day Indy Ligths test, and 3) the Pro Mazda rookie of the year will receive the Mazda street car of their choice.

“With the in-between year for Pro Mazda before the PM-18, we’ve added what we feel is an excellent incentive package to attract more teams and drivers to the grid, including a summer testing program with the new chassis,” explained Andersen. “Mazda and Cooper Tires’ commitment to the ladder is as strong as ever, and once again I have to thank them for being such tremendous partners.”

2017_SCHEDULES_PROMAZDA_23

The brand new Mazda powered Tatuus USF-17 will take part in eight events and 14 races. With the first 15 chassis arriving in Norfolk, Virginia in the last week, the first batch of orders should start arriving at team shops any day now, and the car will make it’s public debut at the Chris Griffis Memorial Test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on October 8-9, 2016.

“The Dallara IL-15 revitalized Indy Lights competition and I foresee our field counts growing significantly in 2017” said Andersen. We expect the same with USF2000 and the new car, where I do expect 30+ fields.”

2017_SCHEDULES_USF2000

The NBC Sports Network will once again be airing one-hour broadcasts of all Indy Lights races and IndyCar Radio will provide coverage on Sirius XM Satellite Radio, indycar.com, indycarradio.com and the INDYCAR App from Verizon.

Available on-demand via Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Roku, Road To Indy TV will feature expanded coverage in 2017.

Mazda makes dreams come true on-the track AND off-the-track during “Soul Red Finale” weekend

MRTI logo

The 2016 Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire season officially came to a close on Monday night as drivers, teams, family and sponsors from all three steps of the ladder gathered at the Montery Plaza Hotel for their season ending banquet where $2.3 million in prizes were distributed

Included in that total was $1,964,700 in Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarships that were distributed to the three season-long champions.

“Mazda is honored to continue with the Mazda Road to Indy. Each year, we see a new crop of talent come through and at the end of the day there can only be one winner in each series, and we saw three terrific drivers crowned this evening,” said John Doonan, Director of Motorsports, Mazda North American Operations. “Our intention is to give drivers a clear path, and nothing like this exists anywhere else in the world. We are very proud of that and we hope to continue to see drivers go to the Verizon IndyCar Series and the Indianapolis 500 with the Mazda Road to Indy as their path. Just yesterday, someone asked me if Mazda would go to the Indianapolis 500 and I said – we already do.” (TSO note: 23 of the 33 starters in the 100th running of the Indianapolis 500 have Indy Lights experience).

The three Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire champions, Anthony Martin, Ed Jones, and Aaron Telitz, took home a total of $1,964,700 in Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarships (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

The three Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire champions, Anthony Martin, Ed Jones, and Aaron Telitz, took home a total of $1,964,700 in Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarships (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Anthony Martin winner of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda title took home $363,000. The 21-year old Australian will also receive original artwork by Jim Swintal that was commissioned by Cooper Tire.

“It’s such a big accomplishment and it’s going to take some time to sink in. I just won the USF2000 championship in America, against some very talented drivers, so for me, my family, my friends and all my supporters, I couldn’t be happier,” beamed Martin.   “Facebook and Twitter has just gone through the roof! I just can’t believe it. We’ll take a few days’ rest and then get straight back into it. We’ll do some testing and push hard toward next year in the Pro Mazda car. I’m looking forward to working with Mazda and Cooper Tires and I know it will be a great year.”

Aaron Telitz, took home the $601,700 Mazda scholarship for winning the Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire title. Added to that total is $7,500 for winning the BBS Rookie of The Year, and Cooper Tire commissioned artwork by Jim Swintal.

“It’s slowly sinking in that I’m going to get to drive an Indy Lights car in 2017. I’m trying to take it slow, celebrating now with friends and family, but then I’ll go home and get to work on next season,” said Telitz, who won his second Mazda Advancement Scholarship. “It’s incredible, to be down as I was in the championship and to come back and win. It will take me some time to process how I did that or to put it in to words. Mazda and Cooper Tires do so much for the series. If you win, you have a chance to move on. That’s how I started my racing career and that’s how it is going to continue. I’m really excited for the future.”

The biggest winner of the night was Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire title winner Ed Jones, who along with his $1,000,000 Mazda scholarship guaranteeing him entry to at least three Verizon IndyCar Series races, including the Indianapolis 500, took home: the $25,000 Cosworth Champion’s Cash Award, the $25,000 Dallara Champion’s Parts Credit and original artwork by Jim Swintal, that was commissioned by Cooper Tire.

“It’s still sinking in. Yesterday was an amazing achievement by the whole Carlin team,” exclaimed Jones. “The realization is really just coming through that I’ll be in the Indianapolis 500 next year. I’ll enjoy this during this week but then we’ll start working on getting the deal sorted, trying to get a full ride as well. I can’t thank Mazda and Cooper enough for what they’ve done for drivers like myself, to have the opportunity to be in IndyCar – there’s no other ladder system like this in the world. I can’t wait to get back into an Indy car, to get up to speed properly. We’ve been speaking with teams so hopefully we can sort something out soon. But for now, I’ll enjoy what we’ve accomplished in 2016.”

The complete list of all of the award is at the bottom of this post.

Also announced at the banquet were the newest inductees into Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire Hall of Fame. Enshrined this year are:

  • U.E. “Pat” Patrick, and Roger Bailey who founded the forerunner to Indy Lights, the American Racing Series in 1986
  • Former MRTI drivers Chuck West, Peter Dempsey, Tonis Kasemets, and Spencer Pigot.

Dan Anderson, Owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions also made a few other announcements at the banquet.

  • The 2017 Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire schedule will be released tomorrow (Wednesday, September 14, 2016).
  • The Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire championship winner in 2017 will receive a scholarship and other prizes valued at $800,000.

It’s not only the drivers that benefit from the Mazda’s generosity during the “Soul Red Finale” weekend.

On Thursday afternoon, before on-track activity began a group of 20 MRTI and MRT24 drivers took the opportunity to tour the Monterey County SPCA, who’s facility is located directly across Highway 68 from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Andretti Autosport Indy Lights driver contemplate taking this puppy home (Photo by Steve Wittich)

Andretti Autosport Indy Lights driver contemplate taking this puppy home (Photo by Steve Wittich)

The ten year relationship between the shelter and manufacturer has resulted in Mazda Motorsports providing over $100,000 in monetary support for the animal welfare organization. The relationship between the two organizations also doesn’t end there, as both organizations help co-promote each other and their events.

I (Steve) was lucky enough to attend this event and it was great to see a very different side of the drivers.

Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire drivers Parker Thompson, Neil Alberico, and Shelby Blackstock look on as Ayla Agren makes a new friend (photo by Steve Wittich)

Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire drivers Parker Thompson, Neil Alberico, and Shelby Blackstock look on as Ayla Agren makes a new friend (photo by Steve Wittich)


For the second year in a row, during the Sunday lunch break, one of my very favorite moments of 2015 at any race track was duplicated

Mazda Motorsports invited three wounded veterans for a weekend at the track on the manufacturer, and these heroes had no idea that their lives were about to change.

Army Specialist Alberto Diaz, who was wounded in an IED attack in Afghanistan, and Lance Corporal Arturo Weber, who has had surgery over 80 times after being wounded in Iraq were both given keys to two Mazda CX-9’s. The pair of Mazda’s largest crossovers were parked on pit road and the two veterans were told that only one of the CX-9’s would start, however, when the keys were turned, both vehicles started.

It was a stirring moment that brought tears to the eyes of the veterans, families and the large group of gathered on-lookers, that included all of the drivers competing in the five different series.

However, the giving was not finished, as Mazda and Building Homes For Heroes had one more surprise.

Sergeant Mitchell Melott, who lost his left leg to an IED in Iraq was also presented with a set of key. This time, the keys didn’t fit a Mazda, but were for the front door of Melott’s new mortgage free home.

Truly an amazing weekend of giving by Mazda.


Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires Award Winners:

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires

  • Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Champion ($1 million scholarship) – Ed Jones, Carlin
  • Second place ($75,000) – Santi Urrutia, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports w/Curb-Agajanian
  • Third place ($50,000) – Kyle Kaiser, Juncos Racing
  • Fourth place ($25,000) – Zach Veach, Belardi Auto Racing
  • Fifth place ($10,000) – Dean Stoneman, Andretti Autosport
  • Indy Lights Rookie of the Year Award ($15,000) – Santi Urrutia, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports w/Curb-Agajanian
  • Tilton Hard Charger Award ($1,000) – Zachary Claman De Melo, Juncos Racing
  • Indy Lights Team Championship ($15,000, plus $5,000 from SSTube) – Carlin
  • Indy Lights INDYCAR Mechanic of the Year ($1,000) – Tom Edwards, Carlin
  • Hi-Tide Boat Lifts Kids On Track Spirit Award ($5,000) – Zach Veach, Belardi Auto Racing
  • Royal Purple “Slickest Pass” Award ($5,000) – Felix Serralles, Carlin
  • Dallara Bent Pushrod Award ($2,000) – Carlin
  • Jostens Indy Lights Champion’s Ring – Ed Jones, Carlin
  • Freedom 100 Champion’s Ring – Dean Stoneman, Andretti Autosport
  • Mazda Road to Indy Rings (drivers contesting all three levels) – Neil Alberico, Garett Grist, Dalton Kellett
  • American Racing Winning Driver Team Owner Trophy (set of street wheels) – Trevor Carlin
  • Cosworth Champion’s Cash Award ($25,000) – Ed Jones, Carlin
  • Dallara Champion’s Parts Credit ($25,000) – Ed Jones, Carlin
  • Original artwork by Jim Swintal – Ed Jones, Carlin

 

Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires 

  • Pro Mazda Champion ($601,700 scholarship) – Aaron Telitz, Team Pelfrey
  • Second place ($25,000) – Pato O’Ward, Team Pelfrey
  • Third place ($12,500) – Nico Jamin, Cape Motorsports w/ Wayne Taylor Racing
  • Fourth place ($7,500) – Will Owen, Juncos Racing
  • Fifth place ($5,000) – Nicolas Dapero, Juncos Racing
  • BBS Rookie of the Year ($7,500) – Aaron Telitz, Team Pelfrey
  • Pro Mazda National Class Champion – Bobby Eberle, JDC MotorSports
  • Pro Mazda Team Championship ($7,500) – Team Pelfrey
  • Pro Mazda INDYCAR Mechanic of the Year ($1,000) – Joe Haynes, Team Pelfrey
  • Hi-Tide Boat Lifts Kids On Track Spirit Award ($5,000) – Nico Jamin, Cape Motorsports w/ Wayne Taylor Racing
  • Royal Purple “Slickest Pass” Award ($5,000) – Will Owen, Juncos Racing
  • Carl Haas Auto Golden Wishbone Award – Team Pelfrey
  • Quarter Master Hard Charger Award ($1,000) – Will Owen, Juncos Racing
  • Jostens Pro Mazda Champion’s Ring – Aaron Telitz, Team Pelfrey
  • PFC Pro Mazda Team Award ($1,000 product certificate) – Team Pelfrey
  • Original artwork by Jim Swintal – Aaron Telitz, Team Pelfrey

 

Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship Powered by Mazda

  • USF2000 Champion ($363,850 scholarship) – Anthony Martin, Cape Motorsports w/ Wayne Taylor Racing
  • Second place ($10,000) – Parker Thompson, Cape Motorsports w/ Wayne Taylor Racing
  • Third place ($5,000) – Victor Franzoni, ArmsUp Motorsports
  • Fourth place ($3,000) – Jordan Lloyd, Pabst Racing
  • Fifth place ($2,000) – Luke Gabin, JAY Motorsports
  • Rookie of the Year ($1,500) – Robert Megennis, Team Pelfrey
  • USF2000 National Class Champion – Eric Filgueiras, Spencer Racing
  • USF2000 Team Championship ($4,000) – Cape Motorsports w/ Wayne Taylor Racing
  • USF2000  INDYCAR Mechanic of the Year ($1,000) – Jake Strack, ArmsUp Motorsports
  • Hi-Tide Boat Lifts Kids On Track Spirit Award ($5,000) – Victor Franzoni, ArmsUp Motorsports
  • Royal Purple “Slickest Pass” Award ($5,000) – Parker Thompson, Cape Motorsports w/ Wayne Taylor Racing
  • Carl Haas Auto Golden Wishbone Award – Cape Motorsports w/ Wayne Taylor Racing
  • Tilton Hard Charger Award ($1,000 product certificate) – Robert Megennis, Team Pelfrey
  • Jostens USF2000 Champion’s Ring – Anthony Martin, Cape Motorsports w/ Wayne Taylor Racing
  • PFC USF2000 Team Award ($1,000 product certificate) – Cape Motorsports w/ Wayne Taylor Racing
  • Original artwork by Jim Swintal – Anthony Martin, Cape Motorsports w/ Wayne Taylor Racing

Putting a bow on the 2016 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire season

Indy Lights Logo

In its various different iterations and sanctions, the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire series celebrated its 30th anniversary by crowning its 30th different champion when Ed Jones beat Santi Urrutia to the $1 million Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarship awarded to the series champion. Carlin is the 15th different team to house the winning driver in the top level Indy Car feeder series. 

While most of the focus after Sunday’s season finale was on how Felix Serralles helped his teammate Jones win the championship, the focus really should be on how competitive and clean the racing was between the six drivers eligible for the championship after the Urrutia, Jones and Stoneman got their wrist slapped by Tony Cotman after a professional wrestling match broke out at Road America. 

 With probation and the pressure of winning the scholarship hanging over their heads, the championship six drivers raced closely and cleanly with each other and they did not let the race director determine the champion. After the mess that was race #1 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 2015, the drivers deserve a round of applause.

The final Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire 2016 points standings

RANK DRIVER TOTAL
1 Ed Jones 363
2 Santiago Urrutia – R 361
3 Kyle Kaiser 334
4 Zach Veach 332
5 Dean Stoneman – R 316
6 Felix Serralles 311
7 Andre Negrao – R 268
8 Shelby Blackstock 227
9 Zachary Claman de Melo – R 209
10 Dalton Kellett – R 193
11 Neil Alberico – R 193
12 Felix Rosenqvist – R 185
13 Juan Piedrahita 135
14 RC Enerson 111
15 Garett Grist – R 102
16 Scott Hargrove – R 93
17 Scott Anderson 61
18 Heamin Choi – R 40
19 Sean Rayhall 32
20 James French – R 26
21 Davey Hamilton, Jr. – R 14

The rule book, team orders and right vs. wrong. 

Twenty-four hours have passed since Serralles pulled over just before Turn 3 on the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca road course, ensuring that his Carlin teammate was able to earn the two points necessary to beat Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian’s Santiago Urrutia to the championship, it’s time to take a closer look at Serralles’ contentious action. 

Looking at the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire rule book leads us to the following rule:

9.3.4. Team Tactics and/or Team Orders – Team tactics and/or Team Orders are actions or omissions by one or more Members to artificially influence, affect, alter, and/or otherwise interfere with the normal course of an on-Track Event. Team Tactics and/or Team Orders are not permitted. If Officials determine one or more Members attempted to or engaged in Team Tactics and/or Team Orders, Officials may issue a penalty to any or all of the Members, including without limitation any or all of a Team’s Car/Driver combinations.

So what does this rule actually mean? The way this rule is interpreted as it was was described to TSO by a senior MRTI official is that you need to focus on the phrase “the normal course of an on-Track Event,” and that the transgression must impact all of the competitors of the race. Rule 9.3.4 was put in place after the 2014 Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire finale where one team car stopped on track, causing a caution. This action was done to initiate a full-course caution and help a teammate catch-up to the back of the field and make up more positions under green flag conditions. The team tactic ended up working when the championship leader had a part fail on the restart and the chaser was able to move back through the bunched up field to score enough points to win the championship. 

So what’s the difference between this and what occurred when Serralles moved aside to let his teammate by? The example from 2014 was deemed to interfere with the normal course of an an-Track Event, by impacting every other car on track. Yesterday’s move impacted only the two drivers involved and did not impact the normal course of the on-Track Event.

Even if you think that the above explanation is parsing words and dripping in semantics that could go both ways, we have to consider whether “team orders” were even given. 

By listening to radio communications and talking to Carlin team principal Trevor Carlin, it becomes clear that Serralles was never directly ordered to pull over and let Jones by. Carlin admitted that it certainly wasn’t the way the team wanted to win their first Championship stateside, and that because Kaiser was clearly the class of the field on Saturday, they were hoping that the previous day’s race winner would be able to get around Urrutia for second. 

When it became clear that Kaiser wasn’t going to be able to get by Urrutia, (Trevor) Carlin told TSO that he came on the radio and explained the Championship implications to Serralles, but never did he ask or tell the Puerto Rican driver to pull over and let Jones by. The decision to yield the spot to his teammate Jones was 100% a decision that was made by Serralles. 

Santiago Urrutia's mentor, Eliseo Salazar, and team owner, both former IndyCar drivers react when Carlin's Felix Serralles yields his position to Ed Jones, taking the championship away from Urrutia and ensuring Jones was the winner (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Santiago Urrutia’s mentor, Eliseo Salazar, and team owner, both former IndyCar drivers react when Carlin’s Felix Serralles yields his position to Ed Jones, taking the championship away from Urrutia and ensuring Jones was the winner (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Right or wrong? It’s the same action that every other team principal, engineer or driver (outside of Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian) that TSO asked in the aftermath of the race would take. 

This might not be a popular opinion among purists, but I (Steve) am 100% fine with the what and how the exchange of positions was handled. 

—————

Sour Grapes

Understandably, Santiago Urrutia is in no mood to celebrate after losing the Indy Lights Championship on the last lap (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Understandably, Santiago Urrutia is in no mood to celebrate after losing the Indy Lights Championship on the last lap (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Santiago Urrutia was clearly devastated after the race, and outside of an understandably dour mood on the race podium, the 20-year-old handled himself very professionally, taking care of all of his media duties before leaving the track. 

Conversely, his 52-year-old team owner Sam Schmidt handled the loss with a lack of professionalism. Schmidt was seen having heated exchanges with Carlin team owner Trevor Carlin, series officials, and entitlement sponsors. 

Team owners Trevor Carlin and Sam Schmidt have a discussion on pit road doing Sunday's final Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire race of 2016 (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Team owners Trevor Carlin and Sam Schmidt have a discussion on pit road doing Sunday’s final Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire race of 2016 (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Joining Schmidt in the group that handled “Santi’s” loss poorly were the Uruguayan fans and media who hurled insults at Jones, Serralles and his Carlin team. 

It is interesting to see the sour reaction from the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian camp, as Steve distinctly remembers RC Enerson remaining behind his Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian championship contending teammate Jack Harvey, despite having a quicker car, in the first of two races during the finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2015. 

You can check the sector times for yourself —> Indy Lights Grand Prix Presented By Cooper Tires Race 1 Section Data Report. http://www.imscdn.com/INDYCAR/Documents/3384/2015-09-12/indylights-sectionresults-r1.pdf

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Carlin’s deep history

When Ed Jones joins the Verizon IndyCar Series grid in 2016, he will join a long list of Carlin alumni currently contesting open wheel racing’s most diverse series. 

Mikhail Aleshin (Formula Renault 3.5, GP3 and GP2), Max Chilton (British F3, GP2, Indy Lights), Conor Daly (GP3), Charlie Kimball (British F3), Josef Newgarden (GP3), Will Power (Formula Renault 3.5), Graham Rahal (A1GP, as Team Lebanon), and Takuma Sato (British F3) have all driven for the European open wheel powerhouse with Aleshin (Formula Renault 3.5) and Sato (British F3) winning championships for the Farnham, United Kingdom based team. 

Trevor Carlin started his eponymous team in 1996 after first managing Bowman Racing and West Surrey before entering Carlin in the 1997 British Formula 3 Championship with Jamie Spence and Henry Stanton. It didn’t take long for the team to win it’s first of 14 driver’s championships when current A.J. Foyt Racing driver Sato, won 12 races on the the way to a dominating 2001 British Formula 3 title. The team has won nine British Formula 3 Championships, two Formula Renault 3.5 Series Championships, one GP3 Championship, one MSA Formula Championship and now one Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire Championship.  The team also currently leads the 2016 F4 British Championship with Britsh teenager Max Fertwell. 

The entire Carlin team celebrates Jones championship, it is the first American championship for the European based team. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

The entire Carlin team celebrates Jones championship, it is the first American championship for the European based team. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Does Ed Jones winning the $1 million Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarship help propel Carlin’s much discussed jump to IndyCar? Well, it certainly can’t hurt. 

Tony DiZinno of NBC Sports talked to Trevor Carlin before the “Soul Red Finale” weekend began at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, and while Carlin was hesitant to confirm a 2017 jump up to IndyCar, but Carlin also didn’t close the door to the option depending on how things shake out in the next couple of months. 

In addition to Jones winning the driver’s championship, Carlin also won the 2016 Indy Lights Team Championship, beating Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian by 29 points (413-384)

A nice recovery for Andretti Autosport

After a difficult season as a one-car team in 2015, Andretti Autosport added Pro Mazda grad Dalton Kellett & veteran European driver Dean Stoneman to returnee Shelby Blackstock to mount a three-car attack on the 2016 Indy Lights campaign. 

The Indianapolis, Indiana-based team struggled with overall pace for a large portion of the IL-15’s debut season, and Blackstock finished the year in the second-to-last spot in the championship.

Even though the deal was late coming together, it was clear form the first green flag at St. Petersburg, that Formula 2 champ, GP3 vice-champ and cancer survivor Dean Stoneman would help move the team forward. 

Andretti Autosport quickly became an important part of the team and helped them improve as the season wore on. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Andretti Autosport quickly became an important part of the team and helped them improve as the season wore on. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

“Having a driver such as Dean helped to give us a benchmark for the team and for the other drivers,” explained Rob Edwards (Andretti Autosport Director of Engineering and Race Operations) to TSO Ladder. “As a single car with a rookie driver in 2015 it was hard to have that benchmark. With multiple drivers, one of them quite experienced, the team was able to grow and develop more effectively.”

Kellett was announced as returning to the team for another season, and while I’m sure the team would love to have Stoneman and Blackstock back, that duo is rumored to be pursuing Verizon IndyCar Series seats. However, according to Edwards, the team would like to have at least three cars, and possibly four cars in 2017. 

“We would like to run four cars!”, exclaimed Edwards. “Certainly we would like to run at least three, we are close to finalizing our second car and are working on the third.”

————

Juncos Racing

Juncos Racing team principal Ricardo Juncos, has recently purchased an IL-15 that was available on the open market. The team’s new building in downtown Speedway, Indiana is on schedule to open later this fall with construction due to finish soon and TSO would not be surprised to see the team add a third Indy Lights car. 

Rookie Zachary Claman de Melo does have a contract for a second year, and Nicolas Dapero, a Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire winner from this weekend will be joining the team for testing during the Chris Griffis Memorial Test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in October. 

 The wild card is sophomore and third place championship finisher Kyle Kaiser, who told TSO that he is exploring all his options and that includes moving up to IndyCar or returning back for another season of Indy Lights. Kaiser won’t turn 21 until the start of the 2017 racing season, so the talented driver from Santa Clara, California should have some valid options.

—————

Belardi Auto Racing

Belardi Auto Racing was known to have hosted one of the Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire drivers for a weekend with the team at Watkins Glen International. The TSO Ladder expects the Brownsburg, Indiana-based team that won the most races as team this year to return with a two car full-time effort. The experienced and successful engineering duo of Kent Boyer and Len Paskus, combined with the “just get it done” attitude of veteran team manager John Brunner make the Brian Belardi-owned squad an attractive landing spot for any driver. 

—————

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian

Earlier in the year, the TSO Ladder had been hearing that Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian were considering shuttering their successful seven championship winning Indy Lights program. Thankfully, that talk has died down recently and it appears that the team that that would be entering its 17th consecutive Indy Lights season in 2017 will return with at least two cars. 

—————

Carlin

Carlin is expanding their American program to include USF2000, with one driver already signed and a second to be announced very soon. The chatter about Carlin joining the IndyCar Series in 2017 has also picked up again recently. It would be surprising to see Carlin run anything less than three cars again, and winning the 2016 driver and team championship will only make them a more attractive landing spot. 

——————

Team Pelfrey

The integration of the former 8Star Motorsports Indy Lights program into the Team Pelfrey family wasn’t exactly the smoothest.  However, the Gary Neal-led Indy Lights portion of the team now has closer ties to the F1600 Formula F Championship Series, Cooper Tires USF2000 Powered by Mazda, and Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire parts of the team and TSO wouldn’t be surprised to see drivers fed from one step of the ladder to another. 


Some interesting stats

Steve keeps a database of all kinds of useless stats that don’t mean a whole lot. Here are some that he found most interesting.

  • Total race laps: 716
  • Total race miles: 1417.8
  • Total cautions: 17
  • Most cautions: 4 at the Freedom 100 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval
  • Fewest cautions: 0 a total of seven times
  • Total caution laps: 39
  • Most caution laps: 10 at the Freedom 100 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway
  • Fewest caution laps: 0 a total of seven times
  • Lead changes: 15
  • Most lead changes: 3 at the Freedom 100 on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Road America race #2 and the Iowa Speedway oval
  • Average race speed: 110.70mph
  • Fastest average race speed: Iowa Speedway at 154.396mph
  • Slowest average race speed: Toronto race #1 at 82.626mph

Top five in points in the final 10 races since leaving the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May.

  • Zach Veach —> 218
  • Santiago Urrutia —> 215
  • Kyle Kaiser —> 190
  • Ed Jones —> 178
  • Andre Negrao —> 175

Top five in points on the 11 natural terrain road courses

  • Santiago Urrutia —> 253
  • Ed Jones —> 233
  • Zach Veach —> 226
  • Dean Stoneman —> 197
  • Kyle Kaiser —> 189

Top five in points in the four street course races

  • Felix Rosenqvist —> 112
  • Kyle Kaiser —> 92
  • Felix Serralles —> 86
  • Andre Negrao —> 67
  • Santiago Urrutia —> 65

Top five in points in the three oval races

  • Ed Jones —> 73
  • Dean Stoneman —> 67
  • Felix Serralles —> 59
  • Kyle Kaiser —> 53
  • Zach Veach —> 50

So what can we take away from the above points breakouts? Drivers are often impacted by things outside of their control, so looking at stats, isn’t the end all and be all, but it does provide a decent big picture view.

The two things that TSO takes away from the above points breakdowns is:

  1. Kyle Kaiser, who finished third in the championship is an extremely diverse driver. The 20 year-old Juncos Racing sophomore was the only driver to finish in the top five in points in all three disciplines that Indy Lights visits
  2. With the addition of Gateway Motorsports Park to the schedule, oval races are becoming a larger part of the Verizon IndyCar Series championship and his improvement on ovals in 2016 should bode well for him as he moves up the final step of the ladder.

Before the introduction of Mazda turbo charged 2.0L powered Dallara IL-15, the Indy Lights championship was dominated by Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian. The Indianapolis, Indiana based team won or tied for the championship the previous five and seven of the last nine driver’s championships. With Ed Jones taking home the $1 million Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarship, Carlin joined Juncos Racing as first time driver’s championship winners. And, if you look at the team wins, poles and podiums, it quickly becomes evident that it doesn’t matter what team a driver chooses to join, they will have a chance to be competitive.

Team Wins

  • Belardi Auto Racing —> 6
  • Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian —> 4
  • Carlin —> 4
  • Andretti Autosport —> 2
  • Juncos Racing —> 2

Team Poles

  • Carlin —> 8
  • Belardi Auto Racing —> 4
  • Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian —> 3
  • Juncos Racing —> 3

Team Podiums

  • Carlin —> 13
  • Schmidt Peterson Motorsports —> 13
  • Belardi Auto Racing —> 11
  • Juncos Racing —> 8
  • Andretti Autosport —> 8
  • Team Pelfrey —> 1

 

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca – “Soul Red Finale” race #2 – title decider

Indy Lights Logo

For the second year in-a-row, the Indy Lights points leader coming into the “Soul Red Finale” at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca leaves disappointed.

Carlin sophomore Ed Jones entered the two-race Mazda Indy Lights Grand Prix of Monterey Presented by Cooper Tires finale at the 2.238-mile, 11-turn road course trailing Santiago Urrutia by one point. After two-practice sessions, qualifying and two races at Mazda’s “spiritual home” Jones leaves with the $1 million Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarship after outscoring Urrutia by three points.

Ed Jones celebrates winning the 2016 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire championship and the $1million Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarship that goes with it. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Ed Jones celebrates winning the 2016 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire championship and the $1million Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarship that goes with it. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

In 2015, it was current Ed Carpenter Racing IndyCar driver Spencer Pigot who entered the final weekend of the season trailing Jack Harvey. Pigot won both races, and was able to parlay his Indy Lights success into a ride in IndyCar.

Jones, who over the past two years has twice tested an IndyCar with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, is guaranteed a three race program that includes an opportunity to qualify for the 101st Indianapolis 500.

The victory was the second in three races and third of the season for Berardi Auto Racing veteran Zach Veach. After a rough start to the season, that included four finishes of 10th or worse before May came to a close, Veach finished on a tear, ending up only two points shy of third in the championship and scoring in the top five in all but two races. Veach’s final ten races was so strong that he scored the most points in that three-month stretch.

This year was the second time in three years that Urrutia has lost a championship to Jones. In 2013, Jones, Urrutia, Nelson Mason, and Sandy Stuvik were battling for the European F3 Open Championship. Jones won three of the final five races to win the title, while Urrutia had two DNF’s and ended up finishing fourth.

For the second straight day, the initial start of the day was waved off when things got jumbled up behind the front two rows.

The 15 drivers got paired up for a second time and this time the starter threw the green flag, but unlike yesterday, Kaiser had a slow start and Urrutia followed Jones through Turn 1 and down the hill to the Andretti Hairpin.

Veach got a great jump from the outside of the second row, passing Kaiser on the way down to Turn 2, got around the outside of Urrutia in Turn 2, and go beside Jones on the run down to Turn 3.

The two drivers went side-by-side through Turn 3 before Jones yielded to Veach in Turn 4. Jones wisely backed out but lost momentum, allowing Urrutia, Kaiser and Serralles to get by.

Behind the chaos up front, the No. 3 of Garett Grist spun and ended uphigh-sided on the curb in Turn 4 causing the second yellow flag of the race.

The running order at the end of the first lap green flag lap just before the yellow flag flew was: Veach, Urrutia, Kaiser, Serralles, Jones, Negrao, Stoneman, Rayhall, Blackstock, Claman De Melo, Alberico, Kellett, Choi, Hamilton, Jr., and Grist.

Grist got restarted, but he ended up losing two laps and finished a disappointing 15th.

As the top three of Veach, Urrutia and Kaiser began the fourth lap, they were covered by only a second-and-a-half, with Carlin’s Serralles and Jones immediately behind them in fourth and fifth.

Jones was also receiving pressure from Negrao, Urrutia’s Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian teammate.

The biggest movers outside of Veach in the first five laps were Negrao and Stoneman who had both moved up two spots and were in a spirited tussle for sixth. Also part of that battle for sixth were Rayhall, Blackstock and Claman de Melo.

By the 10th lap of the race, Veach was able to pull out to a 2.8 second lead over Urrutia. Urrutia, who would be champion if things finished as they ran on Lap 10, was being forced to defend against Saturday’s race winner Kaiser. The blue and white Juncos Racing No. 18 of Kaiser was just over half-of-a-second behind the Soul Red Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian No. 55 of Urrutia.

Serralles continued to run in fourth, over 3.5 seconds behind the final spot on the podium, and just over one second ahead of his Carlin teammate Jones.

Negrao had fallen another 1.1 seconds back and was still followed closely by Stoneman, Rayhall, Blackstock and Claman de Melo.

On Lap 12, a pair of Canadians, Dalton Kellett and Garett Grist got together and both went off track while battling for 12th place.

Kellett was able to continue, but Grist was forced to pit with suspension damage

On lap 15, Stoneman got loose in Turn 6 losing four spots, however he was able to save the Strellecht sponsored No. 28 and continued on to fight

At the half-way point of the race, Veach had built up a 4.9 second lead over Urrutia, who was still being hounded by Kaiser. Serralles was a further 4.6 seconds afield, and was being pressured by his teammate Jones.

At this point in the race, things had started to settle in as drivers tried to conserve their Cooper Tire slicks. The only pass on track came when Claman de Melo was able to cleanly get by Stoneman for ninth.

With ten laps left in the 38 laps feature race, Veach’s lead over Urrutia had remained right around five seconds. For the first time in the race, Kaiser had fallen over a second behind Urrutia.

Serralles remained in fourth, 1.5 seconds clear of teammate Jones, who at that time needed that position to break the championship tie with Urrutia.

Behind Jones, Negrao was getting closer to the Carlin No. 11, but it was Team Pelfrey’s Rayhall that was making noise by making up time to not only Negrao but also Jones.

By lap the start of lap 33, Jones had closed the gap to Serralles to under half-of-a second, but was not able to get by his teammate.

Blackstock, who was running in eighth spun in Turn 6. The No. 51 kicked up a lot of dust, but he was able to keep it running and rejoined in 11th.

With three laps left in the race, Urrutia had cut almost a second out of Veach’s lead, and the Uruguayan was only seven-tenths of a second ahead of third place Kaiser. Behind them, Serralles was still keeping his teammate behind him despite continuing to lock up the brakes heading into Turn 11.

Veach took the white flag with a 3.2 second advantage over Urrutia, further back Jones needed to get the position that Serralles held. In Turn 2, on the final lap, Serralles pulled over to allow his teammate by.

Race Results:

RANK DRIVER GAP
1 Zach Veach 38 laps
2 Santiago Urrutia -2.8798
3 Kyle Kaiser -3.5402
4 Ed Jones -19.6642
5 Felix Serralles -20.6958
6 Andre Negrao -21.6949
7 Zachary Claman De Melo -23.4277
8 Sean Rayhall -26.2047
9 Dean Stoneman -27.5982
10 Neil Alberico -28.5777
11 Shelby Blackstock -47.7974
12 Heamin Choi -50.0021
13 Dalton Kellett -50.7385
14 Davey Hamilton Jr -1 lap
15 Garett Grist -2 laps

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca – “Soul Red Finale” Race #1

Indy Lights Logo

Not very often does a race have two winners, but that was certainly the case in the first of two Mazda Indy Lights Grand Prix of Monterey Presented by Cooper Tires races this weekend.

After being disappointed he didn’t win in last year’s finale at his home track, Santa Clara, California native Kyle Kaiser took home a dominant victory at the 2.238-mile, 11-turn Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca road course. The 20 year-old scored pole, led the most laps, and turned the quickest race lap to score 33 of 33 points.

Kyle Kaiser celebrates his Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire win on his home track with friends and family (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Kyle Kaiser celebrates his Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire win on his home track with friends and family (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Kaiser explained that with his experience at the circuit and having so much family this weekend has been perfect… so far, intimating that a win in the final race of the season would be what really makes the weekend complete.

After being knocked out (figuratively and literally) of the second race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Ed Jones found himself without the championship lead for the first time since April, and even though he hasn’t won either of the last two races, he has outscored Urrutia by a margin of 50-27.

The Carlin sophomore now officially has a seven post lead (eight if you count the point he’ll receive for starting on pole tomorrow) heading to the final race of the season.

Jones, who starts from pole tomorrow said his goal is to get through the start and hopefully have a lead that he can hold through the race.

Jones explained that this is the second race in row (Watkins Glen International being the other) that the Indy Lights drivers have faced tire degradation and that he quite likes the challenge of it. He thinks the Carlin crew will need to do some tuning of the car for the tire degradation and the longer race tomorrow.

The second place finish by Jones, means that Stoneman, Veach, Serrales and Kaiser are all eliminated from contention, leaving Jones and Urrutia as the only two drivers capable of winning $1 million Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarship.

The original start for the 30 lap/40 minute Saturday sprint race was waved off as Garett Grist jumped out of line from his seventh starting spot.

 Sean Rayhall jumps out of line on the first attempt to green for the Mazda Indy Lights Grand Prix of Monterey Presented by Cooper Tires on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Garett Grist jumps out of line on the first attempt to green for the Mazda Indy Lights Grand Prix of Monterey Presented by Cooper Tires on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

The second effort to go green was successful as Kaiser and Jones held a side-by-side drag race into Turn 2. Kaiser was able to hold onto the top spot over Jones, but behind the front two their was some jumbling of the order.

Veach was able to get by Urrutia at the exit of Turn 2, which left the door open for Rayhall, who moved into fourth from his sixth place starting spot.

Veach said it was four-wide going into Turn 2 on the opening lap and he was happy to be able to come home third after having a car that he wasn’t happy with.

The running order at the end of the first lap was: Kaiser, Jones, Veach, Rayhall, Urrutia, Serralles, Stoneman, Grist, Alberico, Negrao, Claman de Melo, Kellett, Blackstock Hamilton, Jr. and Choi.

Choi spun on the first lap, but the South Korean driver was able to keep the No. 77 Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian fired and the course stayed green.

On the third lap of the race, Stoneman and Serralles , who were running sixth and seventh, got together in Turn 4. Stoneman dropped back to 10th and Serralles fell back to 14th. The incident will be reviewed post race.

Kaiser was able to pull out to a 1.5 second lead over Jones by the fifth lap. Veach was only 0.8 seconds behind Jones, as Rayhall and Urrutia held down the fourth and fifth places.

On lap 10, Claman de Melo, and Stoneman were involved in an incident in Turn 2. Both cars were able to keep going, but race control immediately put the contact under review. After reviewing the incident Stoneman was issued a drive-thru penalty for avoidable contact. Claman de Melo fell back to 12th and Stoneman fell back to 13th after serving his drive thru.

The crossed flags signifying half-way flew on Lap 15 with Kaiser holding a comfortable 4.1 second lead over Jones. Veach was a further 1.1 seconds back of Jones.

The entire running order at the half-way post was: Kaiser, Jones, Veach, Rayhall, Urrutia, Grist, Alberico, Negrao, Kellett, Serralles, Blackstock, Claman de Melo, Stoneman, Hamilton, Jr. and Choi.

With ten laps left in the 30 lap race, Kaiser’s lead had grown to 4.9 seconds over Jones.

Jones, who had been busy defending Veach for third for the first-half of the race had stretched his lead over third to 1.3 seconds. Rayhall and Urrutia continued to run fourth and fifth.

With Negrao, Kellett and Serralles all within one second of each other, the best battle on the track at that point in the race was for eighth place. The three drivers remained stuck together until the last lap when Kellett got by Negrao to come home in sixth. The seventh place finish was the best road course finish of the season for the Canadian rookie.

Negrao, Kellett, and Serralles fight for position in the first Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire race of the "Soul Red Finale" (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Negrao, Kellett, and Serralles fight for position in the first Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire race of the “Soul Red Finale” (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

With only one lap left, Grist was running a career best Indy Lights 6th when he had mechanical problems and fell all the way down to 11th.

The final results of the first Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire race:

RANK DRIVER GAP
1 Kyle Kaiser 30 LAPS
2 Ed Jones -7.9169
3 Zach Veach -9.0832
4 Sean Rayhall -12.8022
5 Santiago Urrutia -17.684
6 Neil Alberico -24.9271
7 Dalton Kellett -38.9544
8 Felix Serralles -40.1397
9 Andre Negrao -40.8827
10 Shelby Blackstock -41.24
11 Garett Grist -43.836
12 Zachary Claman De Melo -48.6955
13 Dean Stoneman -64.9679
14 Davey Hamilton Jr – 1 LAP
15 Heamin Choi – 1 LAP

Tomorrow’s final Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire race goes green at 1:10pm (PT) or 4:10pm (ET).

Santiago Urrutia struggles to find the correct line through the famous "Corkscrew" at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

Santiago Urrutia struggles to find the correct line through the famous “Corkscrew” at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. (Photo courtesy of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, LLC Photography)

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