GET A GRIP WHERE’S THE ROAD TO INDY?

program to land at Coyne.

In support of Lundqvist having a ride, Robb stated, “I believe that I deserve a seat and he beat me. His on-track performance was incredible. But it takes more than just a driver to get into IndyCar. You’ve got to have a village around you that supports you, and that is where my group made a difference. It wasn’t just in my performance, but it was the people around me.

The Indy Lights series is still ongoing, now known as Indy NXT. There have been some major changes, however, that are adversely affecting the ability of a driver to advance up the open wheel ladder system.

The original series started as the American Racing Series in 1986, to develop drivers and team personnel such as mechanics, engineers, and managers. The name and administration have changed a number of times. Over 100 Lights graduates have advanced to IndyCar, including Paul Tracy and Greg Moore. In 2014, Andersen Promotions took over its management of the top three rungs: USF 2000, Indy Pro, and Indy Lights.

After Penske Entertainment Corporation purchased the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and IndyCar series from the Hulman family, it brought the Lights series in-house in 2022, to expand the field size beyond the recent ten or less full-time drivers. That appears to have worked as there are 19 drivers entered for the 2023 NXT season.

Andersen Promotions then created a new rung, the USF Juniors, for open wheel drivers as young as 14, who could move up to the USF 2000 and then USF Pro. Champions receive a scholarship fund to help their advancement. Additionally, the Skip Barber Racing school offers a US $100,000 scholarship to move up to the USF Juniors.

What no one seemed to be aware of is that when Andersen was no longer pro- moting the Lights, there was a loss of over $700,000 towards the scholarship that 2022 champion, Linus Lundqvist, received, solely made up of the IndyCar portion of $500,000.

Compare that to the scholarship Kyle Kirkwood received as the 2021 Lights champion, $1.289 M, which can only be used towards a ride in IndyCar, guaranteeing an Indianapolis 500 entry and two other races.

Unfortunately, Lundqvist (five wins, seven poles, nine podiums in 2022’s 14-race season) is missing from the 2023 IndyCar grid while runner-up, Sting Ray Robb (one win, two poles, eight podiums, and 11 top fives) and fifth ranked Benjamin Petersen (one win, one pole, five podiums, and seven top tens), have full-time IndyCar rides. How could this happen?

At last September’s season finale, Dale Coyne expressed a sincere interest in hiring Lundqvist as a third driver, if another engine could be obtained, or to fill the seat next to David Malukas, should Takuma Sato not return. And because Lundqvist’s team, HMD, was associated with Coyne’s continuation of Malukas, many assumed Lundqvist was a shoe-in. But a chance meeting at Pit Fit, where the drivers train in Indianapolis, allowed Robb to learn from Lundqvist that the deal wasn’t done. Robb contacted his manager, Peter Rossi (Alexander’s dad), who worked out a more attractive and viable

In 2018, Andersen Promotions announced a five-year plan to enhance driver and team participation in the Road to Indy program, offering $1.1 M as the Lights scholarship, reducing costs for chassis, spare parts, engine lease, and tires to new teams. But after only two seasons (2019 and 2021 with 2020 cancelled due to COVID), the Road to Indy moniker was taken from Andersen as the Lights went in-house, causing Andersen to rename the lower rungs as the USF Pro Championships.

Losing the Indy label makes the ladder a lot more confusing and hurts the opportunity to land sponsorships, still very necessary for teams and drivers to compete. Some question whether the USF Pro Championships will continue to compete at the same tracks on the same weekends in front of IndyCar team owners.

“We know the effect of scholarships has been important,” Mark Miles, President and CEO of Penske Entertainment Corporation, told Motorsports Tribune.com. “I expect to continue that idea, but it could take a different form. Might not be just writing checks. There are other ways we can create the same kind of level of value, perhaps. It could ensure similar ability for the winner of Indy Lights to move up in IndyCar.”

The NXT top three ranking drivers are given a valuable off-season IndyCar test. But let’s face it. Money talks.

And now Lundqvist is holding his breath after talking to all ten IndyCar teams, hoping to use his scholarship for an Indianapolis 500 entry (an Indy only program costs $500,000 just for a limited mileaged engine), another test, or a seat in an additional car entered during the season. IT

By Erik Tomas