Archives for Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire – TSO

Drivers begin prep for the Freedom 100 presented by Cooper Tires – Megennis leads time sheet – Askew tops no-tow times

Posted by  on Monday, May 20th 2019     

A pair of Andretti Autosport rookies led today’s test session for the Freedom 100 presented by Cooper Tires. Robert Megennis led the overall timesheet with a lap at 197.714 mph and Oliver Askew topped the no-tow speeds at 195.227 mph.

Points leader Rinus van Kalmthout (Rinus VeeKay) is right there though, Ending the day with the second quickest overall speed and fourth fastest no-tow lap.

Ryan Norman ended the day with third quickest speeds on both timesheets and his Andretti Autosport teammate Jarett Andretti, making his first Indy Lights appearance impressed with the fourth fastest lap.

“It is just so much fun racing here,” exclaimed Megennis. “Today was everything I expected it to be, and more. Running flat out, going 200 mph, being two, three, four-wide: you don’t get that anywhere else. I ran a bunch in traffic to get used to it: There’s such a big draft here, and it was a blast. Andretti Autosport gave me such a great car and we prepared so well in advance that we barely changed anything. It’s not the most important thing, to get P1 in testing, but it’s still a nice way to finish off before we come back on Thursday. I can’t thank all my partners enough for getting me out here!”

The first driver on the track at 9:45 am for the first Freedom 100 presented by Cooper Tires test session of the day was Andretti Autosport’s Oliver Askew.

However, the yellow flag quickly came out when the Window World sponsored No. 18 AER/Dallara IL-15 came to a stop on track. The AMR INDYCAR Safety Team flat towed him back to pit road, and the track quickly reopened.

The track went yellow twice more in the first 45 minutes. Once for Andretti, who was experiencing fuel pump issues and once for debris.

Andretti Autosport veteran Ryan Norman, at 197.157 mph, was the quickest driver in the morning session.

VeeKay (Juncos Racing), Megennis (Andretti Autosport), Askew (Andretti Autosport) and Windom (Belardi Auto Racing) made up the rest of the top five.

The afternoon session followed a two-hour NTT IndyCar Series practice and began with the race running.

The majority of drivers also completed at least one mock qualifying run.

There were plenty of three and four wide moments during the late running that I’m sure had the team owners nervous. But, at the end of the day, all ten AER/Dallara IL-15s were rolled back into the garages in one piece.

No, this is not a pace lap, it’s action during an Indy Lights test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

Behind Megennis’ lap of 197.714 mph in the top five were VeeKay, Askew, Norman, and Andretti, who all turned laps over 196 mph.

Combined testing times from Freedom 100 presented by Cooper Tires testing

RANK

CAR NO.

DRIVER

TEAM

FAST LAP

TOTAL LAPS

1

27

Robert Megennis

Andretti Autosport

197.714

88

2

21

Rinus VeeKay

Juncos Racing

197.390

97

3

48

Ryan Norman

Andretti Autosport

197.157

84

4

28

Oliver Askew

Andretti Autosport

196.989

49

5

18

Jarett Andretti

Andretti Autosport

196.348

96

6

2

Toby Sowery

BN Racing/Team Pelfrey

196.181

109

7

5

Lucas Kohl

Belardi Auto Racing

195.136

112

8

67

Dalton Kellett

Juncos Racing

195.113

76

9

79

David Malukas

BN Racing

194.304

100

10

17

Chris Windom

Belardi Auto Racing/Jonathan Byrd’s Racing

193.823

107

No-tow testing times from the afternoon test session for the Freedom 100 presented by Cooper Tires

RANK

CAR NO.

DRIVER

TEAM

FAST NO-TOW LAP

1

28

Oliver Askew

Andretti Autosport

195.227

2

27

Robert Megennis

Andretti Autosport

194.760

3

48

Ryan Norman

Andretti Autosport

194.756

4

21

Rinus VeeKay

Juncos Racing

193.864

5

5

Lucas Kohl

Belardi Auto Racing

193.289

6

67

Dalton Kellett

Juncos Racing

192.969

7

2

Toby Sowery

BN Racing/Team Pelfrey

191.513

8

79

David Malukas

BN Racing

191.411

9

17

Chris Windom

Belardi Auto Racing/Jonathan Byrd’s Racing

186.850

10

18

Jarett Andretti

Andretti Autosport

N/A

This year’s race will see an increased prize package with a total of $85,000 awarded to the top-three finishers, including $50,000 to the winner. In addition, TSOLadder.com Presented by Cooper Tires – which provides dedicated coverage of the Road to Indy – will be posting a new award to the race leader at the white flag – the #TSO1ToGo Award.

Unfortunate, but not surprising news from the Belardi Auto Racing camp today. Zachary Claman will not be taking part in Freedom 100 presented by Cooper Tires. The issue. As it always is, is money. Race teams can’t run without it.

It’s great to see Toby Sowery entered in the Freedom 100 presented by Cooper Tires. Sowery and his BN Racing teammate Toby Sowery got their first taste of an oval in the AER/Dallara IL-15 at Kentucky Speedway during a succesful test last week. Sowery has reamined in the U.S. after the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course; helping the team rebuild the cars after that race and their oval test.

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Road To Indy on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course – VeeKay takes comfortable win and points lead back after 35 lap Indy Lights feature race

Posted by  on Monday, May 13th 2019     

A dominating performance by Rinus van Kalmthout (VeeKay) on the way to his second Indy Lights win of the season pushed the 18-year-old back to the championship lead in the chase for a three-race NTT IndyCar Series deal.

“It feels amazing to get my first win at Indianapolis and I hope it’s the first of many,” said VeeKay. “There’s still one more race this month of May and it’s nice to go into it with the points lead and hopefully win that race as well. We came into this weekend with a fresh mindset and our testing program was successful. We then went into qualifying yesterday and it was tougher than we expected, and yesterday we struggled. Today, we started over again and got the pole and the race win and learned from what we did yesterday. I got better, the team got better, and we all learned from our setbacks and finally got the win!”

Rinus Veekay recaptured the Indy Lights points lead after a dominating victory on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

It was VeeKay’s 12th career Road To Indy and win and was the 26th time in 36 starts that the native of Hoofddorp, Netherlands has stood on the podium across the USF2000, Indy Pro 2000 and Indy Lights series. That equates to a superlative podium percentage of 72.2%. It also stretches his run of top-five finishes to 22 consecutive races.

VeeKay joins Kyle Kaiser as Juncos Racing victors on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. The Speedway, Ind. based team now has six podiums in this event.

Belardi Auto Racing veteran Zachary Claman used all of his wisdom, mixed with just the right amount of aggression to move from the outside of the third row to second place at the end of the first lap on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course. The Canadian kept in touch with leader VeeKay, for most of the race, before falling back in the last third of the race.

Before the race, Claman told NBC Gold’s Katie Hargitt he wasn’t himself for Friday’s race but was going to be more himself and just go for it in the second race of the weekend. After the race, we found out that due to budget issues, the Canadian almost missed the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course doubleheader.

The second place finish matches the 21-year-old’s best finish on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in 2017 and is the seventh time in 40 Indy Lights races that he has stood on the podium.

It was the sixth podium in this event for Belardi Auto Racing.

Claman was able to keep third place finisher Oliver Askew just outside of the push-to-pass range for the entire 35-lap race. The Andretti Autosport rookie was able to hold off Toby Sowery and then Robert Megennis to claim his fifth podium in six Indy Lights starts.

“Overall I think we got the most out of what we had for this weekend,” said Askew. “There were a few cars that had a little more pace than us this weekend, but it’s good to leave here with two podiums and some good points moving into the second race weekend of the Month of May. I’m looking forward to the Speedway and the experience there. I have to give a big thanks to everyone at Andretti Autosport, Index Invest and the Stellrecht Company for supporting me.”

At the start of a chaotic first lap, VeeKay smartly made a quick move to the inside run down to Turn 1, with outside front row starter Megennis tucking in behind him before darting to the outside and pulling ahead of VeeKay as the got to the braking zone of the 90-degree right hander.

The Cybersecurity sponsored No. 27 of Megennis made it through the corner first, but VeeKay was able to get back to the power just a little quicker, just holding off the winner of the first race.

Just behind them, the second row of Ryan Norman and David Malukas were joined by Zachary Claman to make it three wide in the braking zone. Norman made contact Malukas (which he apologized for after the race) forcing both drivers wide, and allowing Claman to cut under them and grab third from his sixth starting spot. 

Robert Megennis briefly takes the lead over Rinus Veekay, while Claman, Norman and Malukas go three-wide for third to begin a chaotic first lap in the second Indy Lights race on the IMS Road Course in 2019 (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

Megennis was able to pull alongside VeeKay’s Mazda/Jumbo Supermarkets/La Place sponsored No. 23 on the long run down Hulman Blvd. to Turn 7. Megennis went just a little too deep into the braking zone and pushed wide into the grass at the exit of the 90-degree left-hand corner, dropping down the order.

Completing the first lap chaos were the Bellko Trading/Kohltrade/IVI Vision sponsored No. 5 of Belardi Auto Racing rookie spinning at the exit of Turn 7 and Andretti Autosport veteran Ryan Norman looping his Three Chord sponsored No. 48 after missing the braking zone and going through the grass in Turn 12.

The running order at the end of the first lap was VeeKay, Claman, Askew, Toby Sowery, Dalton Kellett, Megennis, Malukas, Kohl and Norman.

Lap 2 involved an intense battle for third between Askew, Sowery, and Kellett, but the trio held position and began to spread out.

Claman was not letting VeeKay get too far up the road, with the gap after five laps at 0.8 seconds.

Further behind them, Megennis was starting to put pressure on Kellett for the fifth spot without using his push-to-pass. Megennis was able to get by Kellett before Turn 1 on the 7th lap of the race.

Claman had used 10 of his 15 push to pass activations in the first ten laps, but VeeKay was still able to pull a 1.6-second gap.

On Lap 12 Sowery was starting to put pressure on Askew’s Index Invest sponsored No. 28, with the gap under one second, but it wasn’t long before Megennis began to put pressure on Sowery.

On Lap 18, Megennis was able to get around the Gap Guard/Rich Energy sponsored No. 2 of rookie Sowery, who had used all of his 50hp push-to-pass activations.

After 20 laps, VeeKay’s lead over Claman was 2.6 seconds. Askew was 2.0 seconds behind Claman and 1.7 seconds ahead of teammate Megennis.

Megennis was consistently eating into the gap to Askew, and by the time they began Lap 26, the gap had shrunk to 1.2 seconds. At the end of the next lap, the difference went below one second to 0.8 seconds.

Megennis got a great run on Askew as they crossed the “Yard of Bricks” with five laps to go and made a move to the inside as they got to Turn 1, with Askew also moving right to cover his teammate.

Askew’s move was reviewed by race control, and the Jupiter, Fla. native was given a penalty for blocking and was told to yield the position to Megennis.

Askew let his fellow rookie go past him on the run down Hulman Blvd. Megennis’ hold on the final step of the podium was short lived as Askew dove to the inside into Turn 1 to complete the pass.

I didn’t want to give Robert the opportunity to get by but I did make a bit of an aggressive move to keep him back,” explained the 2017 USF2000 Champion. “That wasn’t intentional at all: I was trying to keep the position; I didn’t mean to make it look that bad. We race each other with respect and we know our boundaries. I let him by on the penalty but thankfully was able to get back by on the straightaway.

VeeKay got the twin checkers 6.9 seconds ahead of Claman, the most significant margin of victory in a dozen races on the current Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course layout.

Indy Lights Grand Prix of Indianapolis Presented By Cooper Tires Race

RANK

CAR NO.

DRIVER

TEAM

GAP

1

21

Rinus VeeKay

Juncos Racing

25 LAPS

2

13

Zachary Claman

Belardi Auto Racing

-6.8849

3

28

Oliver Askew

Andretti Autosport

-10.2778

4

27

Robert Megennis

Andretti Autosport

-11.1657

5

2

Toby Sowery

BN Racing/Team Pelfrey

-12.5255

6

79

David Malukas

BN Racing

-19.4287

7

67

Dalton Kellett

Juncos Racing

-35.2233

8

48

Ryan Norman

Andretti Autosport

-51.156

9

5

Lucas Kohl

Belardi Auto Racing

-56.9862

 

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Road To Indy on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. VeeKay wins first Indy Lights pole – top 8 covered by less than half a second

Posted by  on Saturday, May 11th 2019     

By Steve Wittich

Rinus van Kalmthout (VeeKay) scored his first career Indy Lights pole in an exciting qualifying session that had the provisional pole swap between a trio of the driver in the final minute.

Juncos Racing VeeKay was the only driver to post a lap below 65 seconds, with his quickest lap at 64.9935 seconds.

Race # 1 pole sitter and winner Robert Megennis will start outside of VeeKay. His best lap was only five-hundredths off the pole.

Ryan Norman and David Malukas will start on row two.

The top nine drivers were covered by less than a half-second.

Brrrrr. The second Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires qualifying session got underway at 8:30 am. The skies were sunny, but the temperatures were chilly. The air temperature was 48F, and the track temperature was 54F.

VeeKay and Askew both spent time at the top of the timing screens in the first half of the 30-minute session.

The quickest lap with fifteen minutes remaining was 75.380 seconds. He was followed by Megennis, Askew, Claman, Norman, Malukas, Kellett, Kohl and Sowery.

At this point in the session, the entire field was back in pit lane for a few adjustments and fresh Cooper Tire slicks.

Megennis, Askew, and Juncos Racing veteran Kellett were the first three drivers to get back on track to try and get some temperature in their tires.

Belardi Auto Racing teammate Claman and Kohl were the last two drivers to get back on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course.

It took at least five laps to get the Cooper Tire slicks up to temperature.

The first driver to go quicker was Megennis, who shot to the provisional pole with a lap of 75.3698. Askew, Sowery, and Kellett were the next drivers to go faster.

Megennis improved his lap time on his next lap with four minutes remaining in the 30-minute session.

Megennis lowered the time again on his next lap, and he needed it as VeeKay began his hot laps, turning a lap only seven-hundredths slower than Megennis.

Megennis lowered the provisional pole again on his next lap. VeeKay and Norman were right on his heels.

With one minute left in the session Norman, then Megennis and VeeKay all spent seconds on the provisional pole.

David Malukas was able to turn his quickest lap of the weekend and move up to the fourth spot on the grid; bumping points leader Askew back to fifth.

Indy Lights Grand Prix of Indianapolis Presented By Cooper Tires Race Qualifying #2 (Unofficial) results.

RANK

CAR NO.

DRIVER

TEAM

QUICK LAP

DIFFERENCE

TOTAL LAPS

1

21

Rinus VeeKay

Juncos Racing

1:14.993

–.—-

18

2

27

Robert Megennis

Andretti Autosport

1:15.052

0.0583

20

3

48

Ryan Norman

Andretti Autosport

1:15.141

0.1474

18

4

79

David Malukas

BN Racing

1:15.221

0.2278

19

5

28

Oliver Askew

Andretti Autosport

1:15.275

0.2812

18

6

13

Zachary Claman

Belardi Auto Racing

1:15.312

0.3182

19

7

2

Toby Sowery

BN Racing/Team Pelfrey

1:15.415

0.4211

19

8

67

Dalton Kellett

Juncos Racing

1:15.435

0.4412

19

9

5

Lucas Kohl

Belardi Auto Racing

1:16.185

1.1912

16
category: Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire - TSO
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Road To Indy on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course – Megennis score his maiden Indy Lights victory – Askew keeps points lead

Posted by  on Saturday, May 11th 2019     

By Steve Wttich

An inaugural Indy Lights win for Robert Megennis continues with the momentum that started building at the last event at the Circuit of The Americas. The New Yorker led his first laps in Austin, Texas, but was not able to hold off Oliver Askew, his fellow rookie Andretti Autosport teammate.

That changed in the first of two Indy Lights Grand Prix of Indianapolis Presented By Cooper Tires races on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. Megennis snagged his first Indy Lights pole in the morning and after trading the lead with Askew, led 28 of the 30 laps to score the trip to the top step of the podium.

“I can’t believe we did it,” exclaimed an ecstatic Megennis. “It’s amazing. It’s our first Indy Lights win – my first win in a few years. We had a great car from start to finish and it feels great to kick off the month of May this way. The Andretti guys really listened to my feedback and we were able to score some valuable points in the championship and now we’re up to third in the standings. I can’t thank CyberArk, Palo Alto Networks and SailPoint for everything that they have done for me.”

Andretti Autosport rookie Robert Megennis shares an embrace with his mom after scoring his Indy Lights on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

The win moved Megennis to within 17 points of championship leader and Andretti Autosport teammate Askew.

Askew’s second place finish is his fourth podium of the year and 20th in his Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires career.

Rinus van Kalmthout (VeeKay) had a rough start to the race but was able to rebound to grab his 25th career Road To Indy podium. The 18-year-old who now has a podium percentage of over 70% is in second place in the chase for an NTT IndyCar Series ride is now nine points behind his rival Askew.

Andretti Autosport has now won three straight Indy Lights on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course and seven overall (including five of the last six). The pair of podiums by Megennis and Askew bump the Andretti Autosport total on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course to 11, tying them with Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports for the highest team total.

The first of two Indy Lights Grand Prix of Indianapolis Presented By Cooper Tires Races rolled off under overcast skies. The ambient temperature was 52F and the track temperature 69F.

Outside front row starter VeeKay spun his tires when the green flag came out to start the 30-lap race, allowing the Andretti Autosport duo of Askew and Ryan Norman to move past the Dutchman.

“Given how cold it was today, I knew there was a chance for wheelspin, and sure enough I had wheelspin getting on the power and going through the first few gears at the start,” explained VeeKay. “I went all the way back to fourth, without having the pace to get to Oliver or Robert. Disappointing, but we’ll move forward from this. We’ll analyze what happened today and have the car even better for tomorrow.”

Megennis had 0.4 second lead after the first lap, and the rest of the running order was Askew, Norman, VeeKay, David Malukas, Zachary Claman, Toby Sowery, Lucas Kohl and Dalton Kellett.

On Lap 2, Askew looked to the outside of Megennis in Turn 1 and Turn 7, but couldn’t get the pass completed.

Askew was able to make the pass in Turn 1 on the next lap with Norman almost getting past the pole sitter as well.

Oliver Askew gets past his teammate Robert Megennis in Turn 1 on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

Askew led the third and fourth lap before Megennis was able to around his fellow rookie with a late braking maneuver in Turn 1. Askew told TSO Ladder after the race that he was surprised that Rob dove to the inside of him and thought that maybe he didn’t push hard enough when he took the lead in an attempt to save his Cooper Tires.

VeeKay gained back one of the positions he lost on the start when he got by Norman after a side-by-side battle in Turn 7 and Turn 8. The struggle cost Norman momentum, and he lost another position to David Malukas.

As the first pair crossed the yard-of-bricks, Megennis had pulled out a 1.6-second lead, putting Askew outside of the push-to-pass range.

On Lap 10 the running order was Megennis, Askew, VeeKay, Malukas, Norman, Claman, Sowery, Kellett and Kohl.

Over the next five laps, Megennis was able to set fastest race lap after race lap to pull a comfortable 2.5-second lead.

Norman was able to get around Malukas at just past the half-way point of the race. Unfortunately for the BN Racing rookie, he was out of push-to-pass and was unable to get the spot back and with eight laps remaining lost the fifth spot to Claman.

Up front, Megennis continued to manage the gap and ended up winning his first Indy Lights races by 1.9 seconds.

Askew was able to grab the quickest circuit of the race on the 29th of 30 laps. His lap of 75.6953 seconds broke Felix Rosenqvist’s race lap record from 2016.

Box score for the first Indy Lights race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course

 

 

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Road To Indy on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course – Megennis pips VeeKay to snag Indy Lights pole

Posted by  on Friday, May 10th 2019     

By Steve Wittich

It was the final laps of the session by a trio of Indy Lights rookies that was that decided the pole sitter for this afternoon’s race.

The winner in that battle was Andretti Autosport’ Robert Megennis, whose lap of 65.192 seconds helped him grab his first Indy Lights and second career Road To Indy pole by a thin margin of 0.02 seconds over Rinus van Kalmthout (Rinus VeeKay).

The Juncos Racing rookie was less than two-tenths of a second ahead of championship leader Oliver Askew (Andretti Autosport).

Askew will be joined on the second row his veteran teammate Ryan Norman.

The pole is the third straight for Andretti Autosport, and the sixth on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

Qualifying for the first Indy Lights Grand Prix of Indianapolis Presented By Cooper Tires race rolled off after the first NTT IndyCar Series at 10 am.

Lucas Kohl missed Turn 1 early in the session but was able to continue.

There were no red flags during the session, allowing the drivers to complete between 13 and 20 laps.

Claman Megennis Sowery all led early in the session, but with 10 minutes gone, it was Megennis who was quickest at 76.225 seconds. He was joined in the top five by Sowery, Malukas, Askew, and Kellett.

At the half-way point of the ½ hour session, it was VeeKay that had moved to provisional pole, with a lap of 75.558 seconds, only two-hundredths quicker than Megennis. The top seven drivers were within a half-second of the defending Indy Pro 2000 champion.

Just after the half-way point, the majority of the field was in pit lane to make adjustments and bolt on fresh Cooper Tire slicks.

The first driver to head back out to try and improve on their time was the Cybersecurity sponsored No. 27 of Megennis. He was soon joined by the rest of the field, accepting Oliver Askew, who remained on pit road until eight minutes were remaining.

The first driver to get their new Coopers up to temp and go faster were the Belardi Auto Racing teammates Lucas Kohl and Zachary Claman. However, those were the two drivers that were not within the half-second as mentioned above.

None of the top seven had gone quicker with under four minutes remaining.

However, with three minutes remaining, Megennis turned his quickest lap to that point, knocking VeeKay off the provisional pole by a scant three-hundredths of a second.

The New Yorker went quicker on his next lap, lowering his time by another tenth of a second.

The timing screen started to turn almost all purple as drivers began to set their quickest laps. Norman, Malukas, Claman, and Kellett all went faster.

Megennis went even quicker on his 19th lap, and he needed all that time. VeeKay improved on his final lap but fell two-hundredths short of the Andretti Autosport rookie.

Indy Lights Grand Prix of Indianapolis Presented By Cooper Tires Qualifying #1 (Unofficial) Results

RANK

CAR NO.

DRIVER

TEAM

QUICK LAP

DIFFERENCE

TOTAL LAPS

1

27

Robert Megennis

Andretti Autosport

1:15.192

–.—-

20

2

21

Rinus VeeKay

Juncos Racing

1:15.221

0.0291

16

3

28

Oliver Askew

Andretti Autosport

1:15.381

0.1887

13

4

48

Ryan Norman

Andretti Autosport

1:15.507

0.3148

16

5

79

David Malukas

BN Racing

1:15.674

0.4822

18

6

13

Zachary Claman

Belardi Auto Racing

1:15.687

0.4947

13

7

67

Dalton Kellett

Juncos Racing

1:15.893

0.7009

17

8

2

Toby Sowery

BN Racing/Team Pelfrey

1:16.069

0.8769

18

9

5

Lucas Kohl

Belardi Auto Racing

1:16.211

1.0193

19

The first Indy Lights race of the weekend rolls off at 1:30 pm.

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Ryan Norman heads a super-close Indy Lights field covered by less than one-second in practice

Posted by  on Thursday, May 9th 2019     

By Steve Wittich

Ryan Norman, who also set the quickest lap the last time that the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires series was on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course for the Chris Griffis Memorial Test, turned a lap of 76.259 seconds.

BN Racing Rookie David Malukas was only five-hundredths behind Norman and was followed in the top five by Rinus van Kalmthout (VeeKay) (Juncos Racing), Zachary Claman (Belardi Auto Racing) and Oliver Askew (Andretti Autosport).

The 45-minute session was interrupted by a single red flag, which came out with 31-minutes remaining to retrieve rookie Lucas Kohl from the gravel in Turn 5.

All nine drivers are within nine-tenths of Norman’s quick lap.

The nine drivers turned a total of 169 laps.

The No. 48 of Ryan Norman with new sponsor Three Chord on track during Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires practice on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

The top rung of the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires was afforded a pair of 50-minute practice sessions before the first official practice. The first session only had 20 laps turned as the track was too wet for Cooper Tire slicks and too dry for Cooper Tire wets. Malukas turned a lap at 79.934 seconds, the quickest lap of the second test session on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course.

Indy Lights Grand Prix of Indianapolis Presented By Cooper Tires Practice #1 Results

RANK

CAR NO.

DRIVER

TEAM

QUICK LAP

DIFFERENCE

TOTAL LAPS

1

48

Ryan Norman

Andretti Autosport

1:16.259

–.—-

23

2

79

David Malukas

BN Racing

1:16.311

0.0519

19

3

21

Rinus VeeKay

Juncos Racing

1:16.481

0.2222

14

4

13

Zachary Claman

Belardi Auto Racing

1:16.635

0.3763

5

5

28

Oliver Askew

Andretti Autosport

1:16.778

0.5194

21

6

2

Toby Sowery

BN Racing/Team Pelfrey

1:16.798

0.5389

22

7

27

Robert Megennis

Andretti Autosport

1:16.922

0.6634

21

8

67

Dalton Kellett

Juncos Racing

1:17.077

0.8177

23

9

5

Lucas Kohl

Belardi Auto Racing

1:17.149

0.8901

21

Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires drivers will have two sessions on Friday. Qualifying at 10:10 am and their first race at 1:30 pm.

category: Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire - TSO
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Road To Indy on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course – Indy Lights preview

Posted by  on Thursday, May 9th 2019     

By Steve Wittich

The top rung of the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires ladder returns to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course for their ninth year and 15th and 16th races.

NTT IndyCar Series driver Marco Andretti won the first race, in support of the Formula One US Grand Prix in 2005 while driving for Andretti Autosport.

Colton Herta became the only multiple race winner when he won both races last year from the outside of the front row.

Colton Herta makes a move on Victor Franzoni on his way to one his two wins on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in 2018 (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

Pole sitter and eventual series champion started on pole in both races, but could only manage a fourth and seventh place finish, marking the third and fourth time in the IL-15 that pole sitter finished off the podium.

Previous Indy Lights winners on the the IMS road course

Year

Driver

Team

Starting Spot

2018 Race #2

Colton Herta

Andretti Steinbrenner Racing

2

2018 Race #1

Colton Herta

Andretti Steinbrenner Racing

2

2017 Race #2

Kyle Kaiser

Juncos Racing

1

2017 Race #1

Nico Jamin

Andretti Autosport

1

2016 Race #2

Dean Stoneman

Andretti Autosport

5

2016 Race #1

Ed Jones

Carlin

1

2015 Race #2

Sean Rayhall

8Star Motorsports

2

2015 Race #1

Jack Harvey

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports

1

2014 Race #2

Luiz Razia

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports

1

2014 Race #1

Matthew Brabham

Andretti Autosport

1

2007 Race #2

Bobby Wilson

Brian Stewart Racing

2

2007 Race #1

Hideki Mutoh

Panther Racing

1

2006

Alex Lloyd

AFS Racing

2

2005

Marco Andretti

Andretti Autosport

1

 

The advancemnt scholarship chase

A pair of wins in the Lone Star State vaulted rookie Oliver Askew from fifth place after the first two races of the season, to a six-point lead over rival Rinus van Kalmthout (VeeKay) headed into the “Month of May.”

The Andretti Autosport driver has started from the pole in his four previous Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires starts on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, collecting two wins, three podiums and 36 laps led. The 22-year-old is the only driver in the Indy Lights field this weekend that has a previous win on the circuit.

“I think both the Andretti Autosport team and myself have built up a lot of momentum and confidence since our last event at Circuit of the Americas,” said Askew. “We are only focused on extracting as much speed out of the car as possible; I think the speed and results will come as long as we keep executing under every circumstance.”

Askew tested an AER/Dallara IL-15 for the first time on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course during last October’s Chris Griffis Memorial Test, leading one of the test sessions.

Current championship leader Oliver Askew climbs into an AER/Dallara IL-15 for the fist time during the Chris Griffis Memorial Test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in October of 2018 (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

His Andretti Autosport squad has won six times on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course including four of the last five races. The Indianapolis, Ind. based team also leads all teams in the laps led category with 133.

VeeKay is the only Indy Lights driver to finish in the top five in all four races this season, but despite a pair of podiums, the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course hasn’t been all that kind to the Dutchman in the past.

The 18-year-old has only failed to finish inside the top five twice in 34 Road To Indy races. Both of those races occurred on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

VeeKay started eighth and finished sixth in his first race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in USF2000 in 2017. Last year, VeeKay began Saturday’s second race on the inside of the third row. Contact as the field ended the eventual Indy Pro 2000 champions day against the inside pit wall; the only Did Not Finish in 34 races.

The four drivers between third and sixth in the championship are only separated by a scant 11 points, making every position relevant.

Belardi Auto Racing veteran Zachary Claman returns to the site of his first Indy Lights podium, a second place finish in 2017, trailing Askew by 16 points.

“I’m excited to get back to work, and just get back in a racecar. It feels like it has been so long since COTA, which left a bitter taste in my mouth,” said the Canadian. “I’ve still got the same hunger to win that I had at the start of the season, and I am ready to do that once again at the biggest stage in racing.”

Toby Sowery, only three points behind Claman returns in a joint BN Racing / Team Pelfrey entry with support from Rich Energy, a long-time sponsor of the 22-year-old and primary sponsor of the Haas Formula One team. Sowery is the only driver in the field making his first ever start on the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course.

Andretti Autosport rookie Robert Megennis, who led the final Indy Lights test session during the 2018 Chris Griffis Memorial Test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway enters the “Month of May” with momentum.

Megennis, who just turned 19-years-old, scored a pair of podiums at Circuit of The Americas while leading his first Indy Lights laps. Megennis has two quickest laps of the race (once at St. Pete and once at COTA) and his fastest average race lap average of 2.5 leads Askew, VeeKay, and Sowery who are tied with an average of 4.0.

“I’m so excited to get the month of May started on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course,” exclaimed the New Yorker. “I love the track, it always makes for great racing, and we finished the last session of the September Chris Griffis test there P1. I’m still on a high from my double podium at COTA, and I’m just looking to keep the momentum going. I can’t wait to get to work again with Andretti Autosport, CyberArk, Optiv, Palo Alto Networks, and Sailpoint.”

BN Racing rookie David Malukas is only eleven points from third place in the championship and his coming off his first Indy Lights podium in the second race at the Circuit of The Americas six weeks ago.

Malukas made his Road To Indy debut on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in 2016 and tested an Indy Lights car on the circuit during the Chris Griffis Memorial Test.

“We have had some great results so far in 2019, but my first podium has only made me hungrier for more,” explained Malukas. “The team has done a great job, and the speed has been there each and every race weekend. With it being my rookie season in Indy Lights, I am learning along the way and seem to progress as the weekend goes on. With pretty good track knowledge of Indy and already driving an Indy Lights car at the facility in 2018, I am looking to come out of the box even stronger during the first test session later this week.”

Ryan Norman has had a disappointing start to the season, but still has plenty of time to get into championship contention. The veteran Andretti Autosport pilot led the Chris Griffis Memorial Test in October, so he should be quick on the circuit he enjoys.

“I’m really excited to get back on track for the month of May. We’ve had a little bit of a rough start in the first two race weekends of the season, but I’m very confident we will turn it around. We are fast on the road course configuration at Indy, and we showed speed in testing there so I’m ready to see what we can do.”

 

Indy Lights points headed into the “Month of May”

RANK

DRIVER

TOTAL

BACK

1

Oliver Askew – R

98

—

2

Rinus VeeKay – R

92

-6

3

Zachary Claman

82

-16

4

Toby Sowery – R

79

-19

5

Robert Megennis – R

74

-24

6

David Malukas – R

71

-27

7

Julien Falchero – R

66

-32

8

Ryan Norman

57

-41

9

Lucas Kohl – R

53

-45

10

Dalton Kellett

48

-50

Other Notes

  • There are no previous winners of this event in the field.
  • Milestones – Lucas Kohl is making his 50th Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires start this weekend.
  • Only two of the 14 races have been won the eventual series champion, with Ed Jones (2016) and Kyle Kaiser (2017) winning one race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on the way to the Indy Lights championship.
  • A pair of current NTT IndyCar Series drivers set the qualifying and race track records for the 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course during the Indy Lights event in 2016.
  • A lap of 74.6743 seconds by Ed Jones set during qualifying in 2016 is the overall track record.
  • Felix Rosenqvist set the race track record the same weekend with a lap timed at 75.7230 seconds set in the second race of the weekend.
  • All 14 previous Indy Lights races have finished under the green and checkered flag.
  • Marco Andretti beat Wade Cunningham by 12.705 seconds to win the first Indy Lights race held on an Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course in 2005.
  • In 2014 Race #2 Luiz Razia beat his Schmidt teammate Jack Harvey to the line by 0.6414 seconds, the closest finish of the bunch.
  • Eight of the 14 races have run caution free, including the last four.
  • There has only been a single first lap caution, that occurred during an unseasonably cold race in 2016 when Andre Negrao hit the outside wall after getting on the power coming to the green flag.

 

Race Weekend Basics

  • Each entry can utilize four new sets of Cooper Tire slicks as well as one set of used/scuffed tires from the test on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.
  • Race Name: Indy Lights Grand Prix of Indianapolis Presented By Cooper Tires
  • Race #1 length: 30 laps or 60 minutes
  • Race #2 length: 35 laps or 60 minutes
  • Each driver will have 20 activations of the 50 horsepower push to pass (PTP), with each activation lasting 10 seconds.
  • PTP is not functional during starts and restarts, and a driver must be within 1.5 seconds of the car ahead of them for the system to become active
  • Drivers failing to slow at least 15% in a timing sector with a local yellow will be subject to a two-place grid spot penalty.
  • Drivers who fail to heed the checkered flag at the end of a session will receive a two-grid spot penalty.
  • Causing one red flag will result in a driver losing their fastest lap.
  • Causing a second red flag will wipe out all of drivers laps, and they will not be able to leave pit road for the remainder of the session.
  • Crossing the white line between Turn 6 and Turn 7 is considered out of bounds. Crossing behind the Turn 7 curbs in qualifying will result in the loss of that lap.
  • Pit lane speed is 45mph.
  • At pit exit, all cars shall exit behind the Turn 1 curb and keep all four wheels to the right of the white line.
  • Driver points are distributed as follows: 30 – 25 – 22 – 19 – 17 – 15 -14 – 13 – 12 – 11 – 10 – 9 – 8 – 7 – 6 – 5 – 4 – 3 – 2 – 1 – an additional one point will be awarded to the pole sitter, and to the driver who leads the most laps – note that no point is given for the quickest race lap because of the use of PTP.

Watch the 2018 races

Race #1

Race #2

 

Don’t miss any of the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires action:

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Cooper Tires to Headline Freedom 100

Posted by  on Wednesday, April 24th 2019     

Cooper Tires to Headline Freedom 100
Series’ Crown Jewel to Feature Increased Prize Money/Coverage

PALMETTO, Fla. – The biggest event on the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires calendar will see significant enhancements next month as long-time series partner Cooper Tires steps up as presenting sponsor of the traditional 100-mile race held on Carb Day, May 24 – as the precursor to the 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500. An action-packed day also will include the final practice session for the Indy 500 field and the Indy 500 Pit Stop Competition.

The Freedom 100 Presented by Cooper Tires will feature an increased prize package with a total of $85,000 awarded to the top-three finishers, including $50,000 to the winner.

In addition to the scholarship prize to the series champion of three guaranteed races in the 2020 NTT IndyCar Series, including the Indianapolis 500, over $535,000 in prize money and awards is on offer to competitors this season.

NBCSN will feature a live broadcast of the Freedom 100 Presented by Cooper Tires, with live and on-demand coverage also on NBC Sports Gold as part of the INDYCAR Pass package. Outside of the United States, the race will be live streamed internationally on the Road to Indy TV App, RoadToIndy.TV and indylights.com.

The Freedom 100 has provided spectacular side-by-side action during its 16-year history and holds the record for the two closest finishes ever on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval – the stunners coming in 2016 with Dean Stoneman edging Ed Jones by 0.0024 seconds and the four-wide finish in 2013 with Peter Dempsey winning by 0.0026 seconds over Gabby Chaves, Sage Karam and Carlos Munoz.

Past winners of the Freedom 100 Presented by Cooper Tires include Colton Herta – who won a nail-biter last year, finishing 0.0281 seconds ahead of Patricio O’Ward – Matheus Leist, Jack Harvey, Gabby Chaves and Josef Newgarden.

“It is both exciting and appropriate that we welcome Cooper Tires as presenting sponsor of our marquee event,” said Dan Andersen, Owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions. “Cooper Tires has been a tremendous partner of the entire Road to Indy from not only a competition standpoint, but also to marketing, activation and driver development and advancement.

“As we celebrate our 10th year, our three series would not be where they are today without Cooper Tires. Chris Pantani [Director of Motorsports] and his team have helped to develop the Road to Indy into one of the most successful driver development programs in the world.”

Cooper Tires’ footprint can be seen throughout the ladder system from at-track presence with its marketing activation unit that also introduces fans to drivers through hosted Q&A sessions, as well as free collectible driver baseball cards, to the popular Road to Indy TV App powered by Cooper Tires, the Cooper Tires Hashtag Program, now in its sixth year, and TSOLadder.com Presented by Cooper Tires.

In addition to being a key partner in the prize money and scholarships that help drivers take the next steps in their careers, including the Cooper Tires Pole Award presented at every event across the three series, Cooper Tires is a partner of the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Honda Indy Toronto and Portland International Raceway, and the Lucas Oil School of Racing.

The Freedom 100 Presented by Cooper Tires will see some new faces on the grid with the recent announcements of Jarett Andretti with Andretti Autosport and Chris Windom with Belardi Auto Racing/Jonathan Byrd’s Racing.

Up next on the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires schedule is the INDYCAR Grand Prix, which will feature a double-header round at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course on May 10/11.

category: Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire - TSO

JARETT ANDRETTI TO RACE AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Posted by  on Friday, April 12th 2019     
Third-Generation Racer to Compete in 2019 Indy Lights Freedom 100 with Andretti Autosport

LONG BEACH, Calif. (Friday, April 12, 2019) – Third-generation racer Jarett Andretti will see a dream come true May 24 when he climbs into an Andretti Autosport Indy Lights machine for the Freedom 100 – his first career Indy Lights race. Jarett is the son of John Andretti, grandson of Aldo Andretti and great nephew of Mario Andretti.

“To say I’m excited to run the Freedom 100 this year would be an understatement,” said Andretti. “Anytime you get a chance to race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway it’s special. Obviously, Andretti Autosport has a great track record there and I’ve known all the mechanics on the cars for years – I can’t wait to get the Month of May started!” 

Currently competing with Andretti Autosport in the team’s Pirelli GT4 America effort, Andretti will join new teammates Oliver Askew and Robert Megennis for a Rookie Orientation day at Kentucky Speedway April 18.  He will become the seventh  member of the Andretti family to compete on hallowed ground in Indianapolis, joining the list that includes his father John, great uncle Mario, uncle Adam and cousins Michael, Jeff and Marco.

“I’m really happy to field a car at IMS for Jarett,” said team owner Michael Andretti. “Running in an Indy Lights car will be a new experience for him, and I know he’s up for the challenge. Our Indy Lights team has shown strong pace this season, and we have a Freedom 100 title to defend. Jarett is already a team driver on the GT4 side, and I’m confident he is going to fit into the Indy Lights team well. He will be a contender and an instant crowd favorite.” 

The youngest racing Andretti has carried on the family tradition and has championships in go-karts, the USAC Eastern Ignite Pavement Midget Series, the 410 Sprint Car division at the Lawrenceburg Speedway and is also an Indiana Sprint Car Series champion.  In addition, Andretti is the 2014 USAC National Sprint Car Rookie of The Year and a former Rookie of The Year at the Oswego Speedway in the supermodified class.

Freedom 100 action begins Monday, May 20 with testing followed by Thursday qualifying and race day Friday, May 24. Andretti Autosport fields three full-time entries in the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires series with Askew (No. 28 Index Invest Dallara), Megennis (No. 27 Cybersecurity Dallara) and Ryan Norman (No. 48 Evo Dallara).
category: Andretti Autosport, Indy Lights News/Results

Indy Lights at Circuit of The Americas – Askew scores max points with win – teenagers Megennis & Malukas impress

Posted by  on Monday, March 25th 2019     

By Steve Wittich

Oliver Askew’s first Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires weekend ended in the wall. The 22-year-old used that emotion to come back strong with an almost perfect weekend at Circuit of The Americas.

With such intense competition since the introduction of the AER/Dallara IL-15 five years ago, maximum point weekends have become a rare occurrence in the top level of the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires. Askew put his fellow competitors on notice this weekend by collecting all of the 64 points possible by winning both races, both poles and leading the most laps in both races.

Andretti Autosport rookie Oliver Askew gets congratulated by team-owner Michael Andretti after scoring max points at Circuit of The Americas (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

The only ‘blemish’ on the weekend was giving up the lead to his teammate for the first five laps of Sunday’s race.

“Hopefully this sets the tone for the rest of the year,” said Askew after getting out of his car. “It was an awesome race. It is always fun when you have to work for it and pass the other car. Congrats to my teammate Robert Megennis for finishing second. I can’t thank enough everyone on this Index Invest car and everybody at Andretti Autosport and everyone watching as well. Thank you.”

For the second straight race, Askew’s fellow Andretti Autosport rookie Robert Megennis finished on the podium, this time finishing second and leading his first laps in Indy Lights competition.

“It was a great race,” said Megennis, who couldn’t stop smiling after the race. “I had a great start and got a draft from Oliver going into Turn One and made the pass on the inside and made it stick. I led the first five or six laps and pushed as hard as I could and then Oliver got by. I am happy with second place and holding off David after the restart was great.”

The Andretti Autosport rookies drove an outstanding race, but it was fellow rookie David Malukas that had the drive of the day. The Chicago, Ill. driver was forced to start in the last grid spot after the No. 79 failed technical inspection after the second qualifying session.

Malukas had a trio of wins in Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires last season, but this was by far the best drive of his formula car career. The 17-year-old showed patience and poise while timing his drive to the podium perfectly. It’s his first Indy Lights podium and eighth overall across all three Road To Indy series.

“I started last and made a couple of passes,” said Malukas. “From there I was out of push-to-pass range and I thought I am going to try some strategy. I have a lot of laps (remaining) and I have to think of something. I called [team principal] Bryn [Nuttall] on the radio and asked him to tell me when people were running out of push-to-pass, and I’ll save my tires until then, and when they run out, I will be able to catch up with them. As soon as he gave me the call, I pushed for two laps and was already there. I had the push-to-pass and once I went for the passes, it was easy sailing. I saved my tires and had a lot more traction than the next guy. Even though I won in Indy Pro 2000, nothing compares to this – proper racing and going from last to third is something special.”

David Malukas shares an embrace with his dad after standing on an Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires podium for the first time (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

Rinus van Kalmthout (Rinus VeeKay) was able to overcome a slow start to the race to recover to a fourth-place finish, increasing an already ridiculous top five Road To Indy finish percentage to 94.1% in 34 starts.

Belardi Auto Racing rookie Julien Falchero overcame a lack of track time due to a non-team related mechanical issue to come home in fifth. His third straight top-five finish.

After a slight delay to clean up the track after the Mazda MX-5 Cup race, the Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix Presented by Allied Building Products second race of the weekend got the green flag under overcast skies with the temperature a comfortable 66F.

The all Andretti Autosport rookie front row of Askew and Megennis crossed the start line with the No. 27 tucking briefly behind Askew’s No. 28. Askew drove a slightly defensive line in the middle of the track leaving his teammate plenty of room on the inside on the 133-foot rise to the apex of Turn 1.

Megennis told us before the race that he planned to follow Askew and for the teammate to try and pull away from the rest of the field. That mindset changed when the 18-year-old realized his teammate was not covering the inside of the corner.

Megennis edged ahead at the apex of the corner, while the speed that Askew was carrying forced him wide and around the curbs at the exit of Turn 1.

Robert Megennis beats teammate Oliver Askew to the apex in Turn 1 on Lap 1 of Sunday’s Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix Presented by Allied Building Products race at Circuit of The Americas (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

Behind the front pair, inside front second-row starter VeeKay had an issue with his car entering limp mode on the start and was quickly swamped by Ryan Norman, Toby Sowery, Zachary Claman and Dalton Kellett. The Dutchmen fought back and only ended up losing two spots.

Megennis crossed the line to complete the first lap 0.8180 seconds ahead of Askew. Behind the front pair, the running order was Sowery, Norman, VeeKay, Julien Falchero (Belardi Auto Racing), Dalton Kellett (Juncos Racing), David Malukas (BN Racing) and Lucas Kohl (Belardi Auto Racing).

Megennis led Askew by across the line by one second to begin Lap 6.

Oliver Askew follows teammate Robert Megennis through the “esses” at Circuit of The Americas during the second Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix Presented by Allied Building Products of the weekend (Photo Courtesy Of Andersen Promotions)

Unfortunatley for Megennis, he had a lock-up in Turn 1 which allowed Askew to follow his teammate closely through the next ten corners before utilizing the 50hp push-to-pass while headed down the almost 4,000 foot back straight. Askew got the pass completed before Turn 12.

The battle up-front, allowed the rest of the field to remain close, with the top eight on track all running within eight seconds of each other.

Askew set his fastest lap of the race on the next lap, building a 1.1448-second gap to start Lap 8.

Megennis wasn’t about to give up the fight though. The New Yorker was now able to activate his PTP and two laps later, set the fastest lap of the race, hounding Askew for the next four laps.

At the halfway point it was the Andretti Autosport duo upfront with the running order behind them as follows: Sowery, Claman, Norman, VeeKay, Falchero, Malukas, Kellett and Kohl.

Two important things happened at this point.

First, Askew built a gap of over 1.5 seconds to Megennis, putting the later driver out of PTP range.

Second, Malukas, who had been saving his PTP and conserving his Cooper Tires started an impressive drive to the podium from eighth by first passing Falchero, VeeKay, and Norman over the next four laps to move into fifth place, right behind Claman.

Claman got around VeeKay on Lap 2 for fifth place and Norman on Lap 10 for fourth, allowing the veteran to regain the provisional points lead. The No. 13 Belardi Auto Racing machine was facing pressure by Malukas from behind and Claman had a wild ride over the 50mm exit curbs with five laps remaining and unfortunately came to a stop on drivers’s right in Turn 16, ending his race and completing a drama-filled weekend that saw him fall out of the points lead.

Askew had built up a comfortable lead, that was erased when the yellow flag came out to allow the AMR INDYCAR Safety Team to retrieve the Claman’s AER/Dallara IL-15 safely.

On the restart, Malukas was able to snag the final podium spot from his teammate, who immediately fell into the clutches of VeeKay and the two made light contact. Sowery quickly dropped from what looked like a sure podium to falling to seventh after being passed by Kellett with three laps to go.

Megennis looked like he might pressure Askew to the finish, but a tire lock up in Turn 1 allowed Malukas to get under the nose of Meggenis’ gearbox. The pair of teenagers had put on a masterful display of offensive and defensive driving over the last two laps with the two going side-by-side in the stadium complex. Megennis was able to hold on but crossed under the checkered flag only six-tenths ahead of Malukas.

Kellett, who crossed the line in seventh, was penalized 30-seconds post-race for avoidable contact moving him behind Kohl and Norman, drivers he had incidents with on the final two laps.

Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix Presented by Allied Building Products Race #2 Results

RANK CAR NO. DRIVER TEAM DIFFERENCE
1 28 Oliver Askew Andretti Autosport
2 27 Robert Megennis Andretti Autosport -2.2256
3 79 David Malukas BN Racing -2.8939
4 21 Rinus VeeKay Juncos Racing -5.0249
5 4 Julien Falchero Belardi Auto Racing -5.8189
6 2 Toby Sowery BN Racing/Team Pelfrey -14.4574
7 5 Lucas Kohl Belardi Auto Racing -30.1434
8 48 Ryan Norman Andretti Autosport -30.6043
9 67 Dalton Kellett Juncos Racing -51.3775
10 13 Zachary Claman Belardi Auto Racing – 6 LAPS

Indy Lights will be back in action with the entire complement of the Road To Indy Presented by Cooper Tires and the NTT IndyCar Series on May 9, 2019, to start the “Month of May” on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course.

category: Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire - TSO
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