Indy Lights Tag

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor LEXINGTON, Ohio — Andretti Autosport teammates Patricio O’Ward and Colton Herta found themselves in a familiar place in Saturday’s Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires race – battling amongst themselves for a trip to victory lane. This time it was O’Ward that took the checkered flag. O’Ward led wire-to-wire and kept Herta at bay over the final run to the finish to win Cooper Tires Mid-Ohio Grand Prix Race 1. The win was the Mexican’s sixth in 13 races this season, putting him twoRead More

By Road to Indy PALMETTO, Fla. – It’s coming down to crunch-time for all three tiers of the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires open-wheel development ladder, which collectively offers scholarships and prizes valued at more than $3.5 million to assist drivers in their progression from the grassroots of the sport to the Verizon IndyCar Series. The title-chases for both Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires and the Pro Mazda Championship Presented by Cooper Tires are finely poised heading into this weekend at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course,Read More

By Road to Indy TORONTO, Ont., Canada – Santiago “Santi” Urrutia came into this season as a hot favorite to win the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires championship crown – and a scholarship valued at $1 million to advance to the Verizon IndyCar Series in 2019. After all, he had finished a close second in the each of the last two years and was continuing with the same Belardi Auto Racing team with which he had won two of the final four races in 2017. But prior to thisRead More

By Road to Indy TORONTO, Ont., Canada – Patricio O’Ward, from Monterrey, Mexico, reclaimed the lead in the closely fought Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires title-chase following a hard-earned fourth win of the season for Andretti Autosport in this afternoon’s Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix of Toronto Presented by Allied Building Products. Santiago “Santi” Urrutia, from Miguelete, Uruguay, took advantage of various dramas during the 35-lap race to finish second for Belardi Auto Racing, while Ryan Norman, from Aurora, Ohio, equaled his career-best result by completing the podiumRead More

By Road to Indy PALMETTO, Fla. – All three levels of the highly effective Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires open-wheel development ladder will venture north of the border this week for their annual visit to the streets surrounding Exhibition Place – just minutes away from downtown Toronto – in support of the Verizon IndyCar Series. The 1.786-mile, 11-turn temporary circuit always provides a stiff challenge for the drivers with its omnipresent concrete walls ready to punish any mistakes. Two races each will be held for Indy LightsRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor NEWTON, Iowa — Patricio O’Ward entered Iowa Speedway in need of a strong run to close back up to Colton Herta in the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires championship. He emerged with one of the most dominant drives of his Mazda Road to Indy career. O’Ward led all 100 laps from pole to soar to a dominant win in Sunday’s Mazda Iowa 100, beating out Herta by 2.826 seconds as he took the checkered flag. The triumph was O’Ward’s fourth victory of the 2018Read More

By Road to Indy PALMETTO, Fla. – July is likely to be crucial to the outcome of this year’s Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires title-chase. Five races will be held during the month – on three markedly different tracks – starting with Sunday’s Mazda Iowa 100 Presented by Cooper Tires at the fast and challenging 0.894-mile Iowa Speedway oval in Newton, Iowa. This will mark the second of three oval events during the 17-race season. Up for grabs is a scholarship valued at $1 million to guarantee the season’sRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer Colton Herta has been on an absolute tear in the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires. The Californian won four races in a row, the first to do so since Alex Lloyd in 2007 and hasn’t finished off the podium at all this season except in the second race in St. Petersburg. In seeking the Indy Lights championship and with it the Mazdaspeed scholarship to help propel him into the Verizon IndyCar Series, Herta still has aspirations of racing in some of the great open wheelRead More

By Aaron Bearden, Open Wheel Editor Colton Herta’s winning ways continued on to Road America. Herta charged to the front from third in the opening laps and held off a mid-race challenge from Andretti Autosport Patricio O’Ward to secure his fourth-consecutive Indy Lights victory for Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing. “This is the fourth race we’ve won in a row, so we obviously have a package working,” Herta said afterward. “It’s been fun. These cars race amazingly – we don’t have a lot of aero understeer, so you can stay behind a car closely,Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer ELKHART LAKE, WI — Alfonso Celis Jr. is making his Verizon IndyCar Series debut in Sunday’s Kohler Grand Prix at Road America but the Mexican racer found that the tire barriers are unforgiving. The No. 32 Juncos Racing Chevrolet found a new home against the Turn 13 tire barrier after Celis pushed hard to find extra time during his fourth lap of Friday’s second practice session. The resulting contact broke off the rear wing and damaged the car’s suspension. Celis had tested at the 4.048 mileRead More