Indy Lights Tag

By Road to Indy PALMETTO, Fla. – Almost 50 drivers representing 15 different nationalities from around the globe will convene this week in rural Wisconsin, where all three levels of the Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires open-wheel development ladder will feature a pair of races in support of the Verizon IndyCar Series’ Kohler Grand Prix at the historic Road America facility in Elkhart Lake, Wis. The challenging and undulating 4.014-mile road course marks the halfway point in the season for Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, theRead More

By Road to Indy SPEEDWAY, Ind. – What a month it has been for second-generation Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires racer Colton Herta. The teenager from Valencia, Calif., driving for the team co-owned by George Michael Steinbrenner IV and former IndyCar star Michael Andretti, followed up his two-race sweep at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix circuit two weeks ago by holding off primary title rival Patricio O’Ward in a nail-biting finish to this afternoon’s 16th Annual Freedom 100 – the crown jewel in the Mazda Road to IndyRead More

By Road to Indy SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Dalton Kellett has developed quite an affinity for the ovals, and especially the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. After finishing third in each of his two previous starts in the biggest event of the year for Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, the Indianapolis-based Canadian this afternoon secured his first-ever Mazda Road to Indy pole position when he posted the fastest two-lap average of 195.027 mph for Andretti Autosport during qualifying for tomorrow’s Freedom 100. Kellett, 24, who hails originally from Toronto, Ont., has workedRead More

By Road to Indy SPEEDWAY, Ind. – Memorial Day weekend is steeped in tradition, especially in Indianapolis where the annual federal holiday held in remembrance of the people who died while serving in the country’s armed forces coincides with the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” – the Indianapolis 500. The Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires – a unique open-wheel development ladder which offers scholarship-funded opportunities for drivers to progress all the way from the grassroots of the sport to the Indy 500 – pays its own tribute toRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer INDIANAPOLIS — USAC racer Chris Windom will not participate in Friday’s Freedom 100 after an incident damaged his car beyond repair with the time available before Friday. The No. 33 Belardi Auto Racing entry was in Turn 2 when Windom lost control and barely collided with teammate Santi Urrutia. The damage Windom’s car sustained would not be repairable to the teams’ satisfaction for Friday’s 40 lap race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “He got a little loose in Turn 2 and obviously hit the wall,” saidRead More

By Joey Barnes, Editor-in-Chief INDIANAPOLIS – Brian Belardi got his first taste of the emotions that come with attempting to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. The co-owner of the No. 33 Foyt with Byrd/Hollinger/Belardi entry endured a 24 hours that saw driver James Davison crash on Friday, only to come back and take the final spot among the field of 33 on Bump Day qualifying on Saturday. The four-lap average of 224.798 mph (2 minutes, 40.1439 seconds) around the 2.5-mile Indianapolis Motor Speedway was enough to keep him on theRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer I really am a glutton for punishment, I admit it. Much to my own detriment, I read online comments and there was a central one that I saw quite often during the INDYCAR Grand Prix weekend: “Why are there only seven cars in Indy Lights? What happened to Indy Lights?” There were various people calling for outrageous suggestions such as shutting Indy Lights down or merging various championships on the Mazda Road to Indy to avoid this situation. Folks, Indy Lights is going to be fine,Read More

By Pato O’Ward, Driver Columnist Editor’s note: Pato O’Ward will be contributing to Motorsports Tribune selectively throughout the 2018 Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires season. The 18-year-old Texas-based Mexican racer pilots the No. 27 Mazda/Dallara IL-15 for Andretti Autosport. A Rolex 24 at Daytona winner and series champion in the Prototype Challenge class a season ago in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, O’Ward will be looking for similar success during his rookie campaign in the top rung of the Mazda Road to Indy. The month of May is very special to theRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer Two years ago, Pato O’Ward was staring at a crossroads. Having enough funding for the first two race weekends of the 2016 Pro Mazda Championship presented by Cooper Tires, the Mexican racer ended up winning three of the first four races and finished second in the other race. In 2018, O’Ward again has won three of the first four races of his championship campaign in the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires and despite a seventh at race two in St. Petersburg, the hope is thatRead More

By Road to Indy PALMETTO, Fla. – With a history dating back over 100 years, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway ranks right at the top of the list of venues for all open-wheel racers. This weekend around 50 young Indianapolis 500 aspirants, representing all three levels of the highly acclaimed Mazda Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires development ladder, will be chasing victory on the Brickyard’s 2.439-mile Grand Prix road course in a total of six races which will comprise the Royal Purple Synthetic Oil Grand Prix of Indianapolis supportingRead More