For the fifth straight year, the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire championship will be decided at the final event of the season and in the state of California. This year, there is a sextet of drivers that head to the “Soul Red Finale” at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca with a chance to win the $1 million Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarship and a guaranteed seat for three Verizon IndyCar Series races.

In 2012, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian teammates Tristan Vautier and Esteban Guerrieri battled for the title at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California with Frenchman Vautier coming out on top by a scant 8 points. 

2013 once again saw two Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian teammates battling on the 2-mile Auto Club Speedway oval for the title. This time, it was Sage Karam beating Gabby Chaves to the title by 11 points.

The following year, the Indy Lights championship moved north to the San Francisco Bay area and Sonoma Raceway where the action was even hotter. After 14 hard-fought races, Belardi Auto Racing’s Chaves and SPM w/CA’s Jack Harvey tied at 547 points a piece. With the two drivers tied at four wins apiece, the championship was decided on count backs of second place finishes, where Chaves held a five-to-one edge.

A move to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2015 meant that the Indy Lights champion would be crowned at a third different California track in three years.  Spencer Pigot entered the final weekend of the season with a six point deficit to Harvey, but two wins meant that the current Ed Carpenter Racing IndyCar driver surpassed Harvey and won the title  by 27 points.

You can watch Spencer Pigot win the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire in the 2015 finale from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca:

Heading into the single race event at Watkins Glen International last weekend, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian rookie Santiago Urrutia held a somewhat comfortable 16 point lead over 2015 third place finisher and Carlin sophomore Ed Jones.  Urrutia’s lead over the other championship contenders, Dean Stoneman, Felix Serralles, Kyle Kaiser, and Zach Veach, ranged from 25 to 52 points, but issues with tire wear relegated Urrutia to a 12th place finish meaning that all five drivers that were chasing him moved closer to the championship lead.

With an average finish of eighth in his first four races, the reigning Pro Mazda presented by Cooper Tire champion Urrutia did not have an ideal start to his rookie Indy Lights campaign.

“I didn’t make mistakes last year (in Pro Mazda) except the first oval where I crashed. We have always been right there (this year). From preseason we were always top three. Everything comes to us. The team did a really good job of that. We didn’t approach the weekends (first events in 2016) in the right way… then we changed a lot of things on the team that helped a lot.”

Helped it did. Since that rough four race patch, the 20 year-old has four wins and nine top five finishes in the past dozen races, taking over the points lead after a dominant performance at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course where he scored 65 of a possible 66 points.

For the second straight year, Jones had an early and comfortable Indy Lights championship lead disappear before the finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

“I led for so long this year. It seemed even when I did something wrong we held the lead, explained Jones. “So it became a bit weird … I then became a bit complacent and relaxed. It’s good to be chasing for once. Now you can take more risks. Take more care when trying to pass someone.”

In 2015, the 21 year-old came to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in third place facing an 18 point deficit, and this year he’ll enter the finale in second place with only a one point deficit. The difference in 2016, is that Jones has some momentum after an impressive drive to second place at Watkins Glen International.

With two drivers and 23 points separating Stoneman from the championship and an IndyCar ride, the 25 year-old will need to convert his super quick race pace into qualifying pace on a Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca circuit that can make passing difficult. At 6.2, Stoneman’s average stating position only ranks eighth among the Indy Lights field, and has been countered by his superior race pace. Stoneman has had one of the two quickest laps of the race on five different occasions in 2015 and his quickest race lap average of 5.5 ranks him third, behind only Urrutia (4.4) and Rosenqvist (5.1).

With a late start to his campaign and some very bad luck with two mechanical issues at Barber Motorsports Park and the Honda Indy Toronto, the fact that Cancer surrvior even has a chance to win the $1million Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarship is a testament to his immense fortitude.

“I came in this season with no testing before the season started so it was a learning curve for me and for the team. We’ve figured out where the car needs to be so I’m confident going into the last three races of the year,” said Stoneman prior to the event last weekend at Watkins Glen International. “If you win races in Indy Lights, I believe you’re good enough for IndyCar and I’d like to move forward with Andretti Autosport next year. I’d like to be loyal to them, since they’ve been very good to me. The championship is a big factor in what happens next year. It would be great to have the Mazda scholarship to get into the Verizon IndyCar Series. It’s a huge factor.”

After a successful debut Indy Lights season in 2015, Serralles made the decision to switch teams and Carlin ended up being the perfect fit for him.

“I knew where I wanted to go this year,” said Serralles. “I wanted to be a part of the championship this year, and Carlin is a championship-winning team in everything they do. They have that attitude. I get along so well with everyone: (team manager) Colin Hale, my engineer, all the guys – and especially Neil and Ed.

“I’ve known Neil and Ed a long time.” Serralles continued. “Neil was a finalist in the Team USA Scholarship program, and when Spencer and I won, he decided to come to England anyway, to watch and be in the environment. He stayed on to run Formula Ford and I was racing Formula Renault, so over a few beers, we decided to share a place. We shared an apartment for about a year, which was great since we didn’t know anyone. Ed and I were teammates at Fortec in Formula Renault. There was none of that awkwardness of getting to know each other; we just dove right in and got ready to race. We work well together and we all like to work hard. We can be in the office for hours, talking about setup and working on going faster so it’s a really good environment.”

An up-and-down season that has included two wins, and eight top fives, but also four finishes outside of the top 10, has left Serralles with an outside shot at picking up the Indy Lights title. With three drivers to pass, and 38 points to make up, he will need some help from the drivers in front of him.

Kaiser, from nearby Santa Clara, California, has a tough task to make up the 40 point deficit to Urrutia as well as pass the four drivers ahead of him in the points standings, but if the 20 year-old has a comeback in him, Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca will be the place it happens.

Hailing from nearby Santa Clara, California, Kaiser, who will be making his 65th Mazda Road To Indy presented by Cooper Tire start, has turned A LOT of laps on the 2.238-mile, 11-turn home track. Kaiser also had his best results of his rookie Indy Lights campaign on the same track last year, leading three of the four practice sessions, qualifying and finishing second in the first race, and qualifying second and finishing a disappointing 10th after bering spun in the Andretti Hairpin on Lap 1 of Sunday’s race.

TSO would not be surprised to see Kaiser win one or both races this weekend. Where that leaves him in the championship will depend entirely on how the driver ahead of him in the championship deal with the pressure.

Belardi Auto Racing veteran Veach, the most recent winner at Watkins Glen International, left The Empire State fourth in points and 30 points behind Urrutia, but enters The Golden State sixth in points and 40 points back. Unfortunately, the No. 5 Belardi Auto Racing machine failed post race inspection due to a floor height issue and the 21 year-old driver was penalized 10 points. 

It will certainly be a tough road for the Stockdale, Ohio native to win the championship, but TSO expects him to at the very least play a spoiler role this weekend. Veach has two wins, four podiums and seven top fives in the nine road course races so far this year. 

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire tale of the tape

Can Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian rebound times two??

After a tough weekend for the team and championship leader Urrutia at Watkins Glen International, how will Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian (SPM w/CA) respond coming to a track they struggled for pace at and lost the championship at in 2015?

Coming to the 2015 Indy Lights finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian’s Jack Harvey held a six point lead in the championship, but fifth and ninth place finishes combined with two Spencer Pigot wins, relegated Harvey to his second straight Indy Lights runner-up finish.

Harvey was part of a five car Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian effort that struggled all weekend to find competitive pace at the 2.238-mile, 11-turn Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca road course. During practice for the 2015 double-header, the best that a Schmidt driver could do in practice was the 6th quickest lap that was turned by RC Enerson. Qualifying didn’t go much better when Harvey qualified a team best fifth and fourth. Things for the Indianapolis, Indiana based team didn’t improve once racing started. In Saturday’s first race, the fastest of the Schmidt drivers in race pace was Harvey, who had the eighth quickest lap in the race. RC Enerson was able to snag the fifth quickest lap of the race in Sunday’s championship decider, and his five teammates could do no better than 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th of the 13 drivers.

TSO will be watching Friday’s opening practice session very closely to see if the team's Indy Lights engineers, Tim Neff, and Chris Weyer, were able to find a solution to the team’s pace deficit at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Six very important points.

With only one point separating first and second place in the Indy Lights championship, don’t be surprised if bonus points come into play to determine the winner of the $1 million Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarship.

Each Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire race has three bonus points on offer: one for winning pole, one for leading the most laps, and one for turning in the quickest lap of the race.

The one point advantage that Urrutia currently holds over Jones going into the “Soul Red Finale” just happens to be how many more bonus points Urrutia has collected.

2016 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire bonus points to date:

Reading the road course tea leaves

Prior to suffering a tire failure at Watkins Glen, Urrutia had won three straight races on natural terrain road courses (one at Road America and two at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course).

With four wins and seven podiums in nine natural terrain road courses races, Urrutia still holds a slight advantage over Jones in total road course points.

After an average finish of 8.5 at Road America and Mid-Ohio, Jones collected his fourth road course podium (two wins) at Watkins Glen International.

Veach, who’s win Saturday at Watkins Glen International was his second on a natural terrain road course has an average finish of 2.8 in the last five road course races.

Indy Lights Road Course Points

Other things we are watching…

1 -- In 18 previous Indy Lights races at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca the average starting position of the winner was 1.9, meaning that the two race winners this weekend will most likely be a driver that excels in qualifying on Saturday morning. Only one time has a driver won from outside the first two rows. Fabrizio Barbazza won from the inside of third row in 1986. Fourteen of the eighteen winners on the 2.238-mile, 11-turn road course have started the race on the front row. Last year, Spencer Pigot won from the third starting spot in Saturday’s race and from the second starting spot in Sunday’s race.

2 --  How teammates impact the title fight. Can Andre Negrao steal points for Urrutia? Can Shelby Blackstock or Dalton Kellett steal points for Stoneman. Can Zachary Claman de Melo help Kyle Kaiser? What role will fellow championship contender play in Ed Jones’ weekend, and how will what Jones does impact Serrales. Last year’s Verizon IndyCar Series finale at Sonoma Raceway was a perfect example of how big of an impact your teammates can have on the title fight.   On one hand, Tony Kanaan and Charlie Kimball were able to place themselves between Scott Dixon and Juan Montoya and steal valuable points from Montoya.  While on the other hand, contact while racing teammate Will Power very likely cost Montoya his second IndyCar championship.

3 -- Of the six drivers fighting for the championship, five have experience in dealing with immense pressure of being in contention for a title.

Urrutia was in the mix for the 2013 European F3 Open Championship (that was won by Ed Jones) before 2 DNF’s in the final three events dashed his hopes. In 2015, the Uruguayan had two podiums in the finale to one-up Neil Alberico in their season long battle.

Jones won three of the last five races in the 2013 European F3 Open Championship to beat Sandy Stuvik, Nelson Mason and Urrutia to the title. In 2015, the 21 year-old led the first half of the Indy Lights campaign before faltering in the second half of the year.

It not surprising that Stoneman, the elder statesman among the championship contenders, also has the most experience dealing with the pressure of contending for a championship. In 2007, the then 17 year-old Stoneman held the lead of the British Formula Renault championship heading into the final round at Oulton Park, but ended up second after Hywel Lloyd won both races. The next time he Corydon, England driver was in serious contention for a championship, he was able to hold off current Renault Formula 1 pilot Joylon Palmer to win the 2010 Formula 2 crown. After sitting out three seasons while fighting cancer, Stoneman was in contention for the 2014 GP3 crown in his open-wheel comeback, but finished second to countryman Alex Lynn.

Berardi veteran Veach was in the mix for the 2014 Indy Lights championship before finishing third.

In 2010, Serralles battled with current Indy Lights driver Spencer Pigot and Isaac Lyons for the Skip Barber National Championship before coming home in 3rd. Serralles was once again in contention for a championship in British F3 where he ended up third, only 20 points behind winner and two-time Indy Lights runner up Jack Harvey, and six points shy of second place Jazeman Jaafar, but beating Alex Lynn, Harry Tincknell, Carlos Sainz, Jr, and Pipo Derani.

The only only driver that has a chance to win the Indy Lights championship this weekend that does not have previous experience fight for a championship is Kyle Kaiser.

So what’s this all mean. In a lot of words, it tells us that the majority of the drivers fighting for the championship at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca this weekend know what it feels like to both win and lose a championship.

How they deal with those feelings and emotions this time around with the pressure of the $1 million Mazda Motorsports Advancement Scholarship on the line will determine who we see in IndyCar next year.

4 -- Can the boys behave, or will boys be boys?

After playing bumper cars at Road America, the championship leading threesome of Urrutia, Jones and Stoneman were all placed on probation for the rest of the season by race director Tony Cotman. It’s been six races, and all three have been on their best behavior. TSO will be watching to see how the pressure of a guaranteed IndyCar ride changes things.

Debutante

After an on-again, off-again, on-again start to his Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tire career, third generation race car driver Davey Hamilton, Jr. will make his series debut with McCormack Racing.

Hamilton, Jr., who goes by “DJ” has spent 15+ test days in an IL-15 and older generation Lights car at the 3.1 mile Buttonwillow Raceway Park located just north of Bakersfield, California.

"I'm glad to have the opportunity to compete in the Indy Lights with Jack McCormack and to make my debut on the road course," Hamilton, Jr., who is working on putting together a full 2017 Indy Lights program together, said.  "I'm looking forward to getting some laps under my belt to have a solid weekend."

Hamilton, Jr. has extensive oval track experience, but will be making his first competitive start on road-course.

The 19 year-old has extensive experience in Wing, Non-Wing, Midget and Super-Modifieds. The Boise, Idaho native currently leads the King of The Wing Championship, a pavement Wing Sprint Car Series and just won Rookie-Of-The-Year honors at the 60th Classic Weekend at Oswego Speedway, the most prestigious Super-Modified race in the world.

The 19 year-old competed at Oswego with his dad, Davey Hamilton (who finished an impressive 5th, and beating his son). The elder of the two Davey’s is a two-time IndyCar championship runner up and has made 11 Indianapolis 500 starts, finish 4th in 1998.

Hamilton, Jr’s grandfather, Ken Hamilton, is a legendary name in Winged Sprint Car, and Super Modified racing. The 75 year-old who made two IndyCar starts in 1981 and 1982, is still a regular behind the wheel of a Winged Sprint Car.

Returning

After making the last thee starts as a one-car team for Garett Grist, Pompano Beach, Florida based Team Pelfrey will return to a more familiar two-car squad for the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca finale when the Gary Neal led team will add a familiar face in  Sean Rayhall. Rayhall drove for the team in 2015 when it was known as 8Star Motorsports.

“We are excited to work with Sean again as we have had two seasons together at 8Star Motorsports and with the help of our engineer, Yves Touron we achieved several wins and many podium finishes,” said team manager, Gary Neal. “It will be very beneficial having two cars and being able to compare notes from both drivers and to find good setup for the final two races.”

Among the nine Indy Lights starts that the Winston, Georgia native made in 2015 were two wins (the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course), and six top fives. Rayhall had a good weekend at the 2015 Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca finale, starting sixth and finishing fourth in Race #1, and starting sixth and finishing second in the final race of the season.

“I am extremely excited to return to Indy Lights this time with Team Pelfrey IL even though it’s the same group of guys.” Said Rayhall. “It’s been a busy year for me and I am blessed to add this [Indy] Lights weekend to the schedule. Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca has always been a great place for me as a driver and I hope to deliver a good result for Dale [Pelfrey] and the rest of the team.”

The 21 year-old has had a busy year so far in 2016, with full programs in WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (Prototype - Delta Wing) and the European Le Mans Series (LMP3 - Graff Racing).

Testing, 1… 2… 3…

Before heading to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for the “Soul Red Finale,” three Indy Ligths drivers will get their first chance to sample an IndyCar. Zach Veach (Ed Carpenter Racing), Andre Negrao (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports) and Urrutia (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports) will share a test day at the 2.385-mile Sonoma Raceway road course on Thursday, September 8th.

“I’m just happy. Trying to sum it into words is hard,” exclaimed the 21 year-old Veach. “Just a big smile! I get to drive an IndyCar and a whole other side. My team manager keeps busting me… I’m smiling. It’s been a nine-year process. It’s your dream. It’s what you want to get to. We have a lot of work to get there full-time. But I’m so thankful for Mazda Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires. If it goes well, we hope to step up.”

By the time Thursday’s test ends, 10 drivers that have appeared in Indy Lights during the 2016 season will have had a chance to experience Verizon IndyCar Series machinery.

Complete list of drivers who have benefitted from the Indy Lights/IndyCar testing program in 2016.

• Shelby Blackstock (Andretti Autosport) - Watkins Glen International
• Zachary Claman de Melo (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports) - Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
• RC Enerson (Dale Coyne Racing) - Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
• Ed Jones (Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing) - Watkins Glen International
• Dalton Kellett (Andretti Autosport) - Watkins Glen International
• Andre Negrao (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports) - Sonoma Raceway
• Felix Rosenqvist (Chip Ganassi Racing) - Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
• Dean Stoneman (Andretti Autosport) - Watkins Glen International
• Santiago Urrutia (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports) - Sonoma Raceway
• Zach Veach (Schmidt Peterson Motorsports) - Sonoma Raceway

Weekend Schedule

Friday

• 8:45am - 9:15am Pro Mazda Practice #1
• 10:15am - 10:45am USF2000 Practice #1
• 11:55am - 12:25pm Pro Mazda Practice #2
• 2:10pm - 2:40pm Indy Lights Practice #1
• 2:55pm - 3:25pm USF2000 Practice #2
• 4:25pm - 4:55pm Indy Lights Practice #2

Saturday

• 8:35am - 9:05am Pro Mazda Qualifying
• 9:20am - 9:50am Indy Lights Qualifying
• 10:05am - 10:35am USF2000 Qualifying
• 11:30am - noon Indy Lights Autograph Session
• 1pm - 1:30pm USF2000 Autograph Session
• 2:05pm - 2:45pm Pro Mazda Race #1 (30 mins.)
• 3pm - 3:50pm Indy Lights Race #1 (40 mins.)
• 4:05pm - 4:45pm USF2000 Race #1 (30 mins.)

Sunday

• 8am - 8:40am Pro Mazda Race #2 (30 mins.)
• 11:20am - noon USF2000 Race #2 (30 mins.)
• 12:30pm - 1pm Pro Mazda Autograph Session
• 1:10pm - 2:20pm Indy Lights Race #2 (50 mins.)
• 2:35pm - 3:25pm Pro Mazda Race #3 (40 mins.)

Don't miss any of the action

• live timing – Indy Lights, Pro Mazda, & USF2000
• on twitter –Indy Lights, Pro Mazda, USF2000, Cooper Tire, Mazda Racing and TSO Ladder
• via the Road To Indy TV app – Android or Apple iOS
• on all social media channels via the #TeamCooperTire and #MRTI hashtags