Freedom 100 Tag

By Road to Indy PALMETTO, Fla. – As with the Verizon IndyCar Series and the 102nd running of the Indianapolis 500, the month of May also features a crown jewel on the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires schedule with the Freedom 100 on Friday, May 25 – Miller Lite Carb Day. The race has produced three of the closest finishes in history at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the 2016 finish at the top of the record books when Dean Stoneman of Andretti Autosport won by a mere 0.0024Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer INDIANAPOLIS — Ed Jones finally hit the big time. After moving his racing aspirations to the U.S. and racing in Indy Lights for two years, he won the Indy Lights championship in 2016, securing the Mazdaspeed Scholarship and parlayed that into a full time ride in the Verizon IndyCar Series with Dale Coyne Racing. But how has his first season been on the IndyCar side of the fence compared to his expectations? “This is always what I was aiming for eventually soRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana — Brazil was represented up front in the first two large pieces of Carb Day, the final day of practice for the 101st Indianapolis 500. The final hour of practice for the Verizon IndyCar Series had several drivers practicing moves they would pull off in the race with passing and being passed. Team Penske was at the top of the speed chart as three time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves was fastest with a lap of 227.377 mph, the onlyRead More

By Road to Indy Matheus Leist led from pole position to checkered flag in today’s Freedom 100 to earn a well-deserved maiden Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires victory. But this was no walkover for the Carlin team’s Brazilian rookie, who came under intense pressure from several other contenders during an exciting 40-lap, 100-mile race in front of a bumper crowd on Carb Day at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Fellow rookie Aaron Telitz (Belardi Auto Racing) barely edged Canadian Dalton Kellett (Andretti Autosport) for second place on the run toRead More

By Nico Jamin, Driver Columnist Providing an inside look for the fans, Nico Jamin will be contributing to Motorsports Tribune selectively throughout the 2017 Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires season. For his opening column, the 21-year-old Frenchman goes into his maiden series win with Andretti Autosport, taking to sports cars and readying for a busy month of May at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Being a rookie and getting my first Indy Lights win in Race 1 at Barber Motorsports Park was amazing and following it up with a podium the nextRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer The grid for the 2017 Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires is starting to come together after the Friday’s confirmations of Matheus Leist and Juan Piedrahita to join the field for Carlin and Team Pelfrey. For Leist, this represents a move back across the pond to race in America after leaving his home of Brazil to race in the UK. The 19-year-old raced in Brazil in the 2014 Formula 3 Light category, finishing second in the championship with two wins and nine podiumsRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, IndyCar & Road to Indy Writer One of the more storied teams in the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires will close the garage doors as Schmidt Peterson Motorsports confirmed they will not be fielding a team in the 2017 championship. Despite nearly winning the 2016 championship with Santiago Urrutia, the team will be centering its focus on the Verizon IndyCar Series program after winning seven championships in the final step on the Mazda Road to Indy ladder The team had tested 2016 Pro Mazda standout PatoRead More

PALMETTO, Fla. – A thrilling climax to the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires season is in store this weekend, September 9-11, during the Soul Red Finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in Monterey, Calif., as no fewer than six championship aspirants – representing five different teams – battle it out for a Mazda Scholarship valued at $1M to ensure participation in at least three 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series events, including the 101st Indianapolis 500. The top two protagonists, Santiago “Santi” Urrutia, from Uruguay, and Dubai, UAE-based Englishman Ed Jones,Read More

By Adam Tate, Associate Editor INDIANAPOLIS – Dean Stoneman isn’t a name readily familiar to most American racing fans, but he is on a mission to change that. The latest turn in his long and difficult journey to racing success first came with victory in Indy Lights race two at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course during the Angie’s List Grand Prix of Indy weekend. It took an even more dramatic turn today when he won the Freedom 100 over Ed Jones by 0.0024 of a second for the closest finishRead More

SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Dean Stoneman, driving for Michael Andretti’s Andretti Autosport team, this afternoon thrilled a massive and enthusiastic Carb Day crowd at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway by edging fellow Englishman Ed Jones to the yard of bricks and the checkered flag to win a gripping Mazda Freedom 100 Presented by Cooper Tires. Stoneman’s victory was the closest in the history of the hallowed Brickyard – just 0.0024 of a second – besting the previous mark set in 2013 when Ireland’s Peter Dempsey shaded three others in a four-wide finishRead More