2021 Indy Lights

2021 Indy Lights season
2021 Indy Lights season
Indy Lights
Season
Races	20
Start date	April 17
End date	October 3
Awards
Drivers' champion	Kyle Kirkwood
Teams' champion	HMD Motorsports
Rookie of the Year	Kyle Kirkwood
	← 2020 2022 →

The 2021 Indy Lights season was the 35th season of the Indy Lights open wheel motor racing series and the 19th sanctioned by IndyCar, acting as the primary support series for the IndyCar Series. After going into a hiatus in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the season started on April 17 at Barber Motorsports Park and was held over 20 races spanning ten meetings.^[1]

Series news[]

On October 7, 2020, Indy Lights announced a series of changes for the 2021 season. The champion's scholarship increased to $1,250,000. The top-three finishers in the championship each earned an IndyCar Series test and all cars were now equipped with a titanium halo to increase driver safety.^[2]

Team and driver chart[]

The following drivers and teams competed in the series.

Team	No.	Drivers	Round(s)
Andretti Autosport	27	Robert Megennis^[3]	All
	28	Kyle Kirkwood^[4]	All
	68	Danial Frost^[5]	All
Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport	17	Devlin DeFrancesco^[6]	All
Carlin^[7]^[8]	5	Alex Peroni^[7]^[9]	1–14
Carlin^[7]^[8]	7	Christian Bogle^[10]	All
Global Racing Group with HMD Motorsports^[11]^[12]^[13]	24	Benjamin Pedersen^[14]	All
Global Racing Group with HMD Motorsports^[11]^[12]^[13]	26	Linus Lundqvist^[15]	All
HMD Motorsports^[16]	59	Nikita Lastochkin^[17]	1–12
	59	Manuel Sulaimán^[18]	15–20
	79	David Malukas^[19]	All
Juncos Racing^[20] Juncos Hollinger Racing¹^[21]	2	Sting Ray Robb^[22]	All
	51	Toby Sowery^[23]	1–14
	51	Rasmus Lindh^[24]	15–20
Pserra Racing/AS Promotions	11	Antonio Serravalle^[25]	1–14, 19–20

¹Juncos Racing were rebranded as Juncos Hollinger Racing in August 2021

Schedule[]

The provisional 2021 race calendar was announced on October 21, 2020, with the final round to be announced at a later date.^[26] This last round was later confirmed to be at Barber Motorsports park, after the IndyCar series moved its season opener there.^[27] The calendar was the first since 2002 to not feature the Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Toronto round originally scheduled was replaced by a standalone second weekend at Mid-Ohio in October.

Rd.	Date	Race name	Track	Location
1	April 17–18	Indy Lights Grand Prix of Barber Motorsports Park Presented by Cooper Tires	R Barber Motorsports Park	Birmingham, Alabama
2	April 17–18		R Barber Motorsports Park	Birmingham, Alabama
3	April 24–25	Indy Lights Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by Foundation Building Materials	R Streets of St. Petersburg	St. Petersburg, Florida
4	April 24–25	Indy Lights Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by Andersen Interior Contracting	R Streets of St. Petersburg	St. Petersburg, Florida
5	May 14–15	Indy Lights Grand Prix of Indianapolis Presented by Cooper Tires	R Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course	Speedway, Indiana
6	May 14–15		R Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course	Speedway, Indiana
7	June 12–13	Indy Lights Grand Prix of Detroit Presented by Cooper Tires	R The Raceway at Belle Isle Park	Detroit, Michigan
8	June 12–13	Indy Lights Grand Prix of Detroit Presented by Cooper Tires	R The Raceway at Belle Isle Park	Detroit, Michigan
9	June 19–20	Cooper Tires Grand Prix of Road America Powered by AER	R Road America	Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
10	June 19–20	Cooper Tires Grand Prix of Road America Powered by AER	R Road America	Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin
11	July 3–4	Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio	R Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	Lexington, Ohio
12	July 3–4	Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio	R Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	Lexington, Ohio
13	August 20–21	Cooper Tires Indy Lights Oval Challenge of St. Louis	O Gateway Motorsports Park	Madison, Illinois
14	August 20–21	Cooper Tires Indy Lights Oval Challenge of St. Louis	O Gateway Motorsports Park	Madison, Illinois
15	September 11–12	Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix of Portland	R Portland International Raceway	Portland, Oregon
16	September 11–12	Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix of Portland	R Portland International Raceway	Portland, Oregon
17	September 18–19	Indy Lights Grand Prix of Monterey Presented by Cooper Tires	R WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca	Monterey, California
18	September 18–19		R WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca	Monterey, California
19	October 1–3	VP Racing Fuels Champhionship Weekend Presented By Cooper Tires	R Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	Lexington, Ohio
20	October 1–3		R Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course	Lexington, Ohio
References: ^[28]^[29]

Race results[]

Round	Race	Pole position	Fastest lap	Most laps led	Race Winner
Round	Race	Pole position	Fastest lap	Most laps led	Driver	Team
1	Birmingham 1	Linus Lundqvist	Toby Sowery	Linus Lundqvist	Linus Lundqvist	HMD Motorsports
2	Birmingham 2	David Malukas	David Malukas	David Malukas	David Malukas	HMD Motorsports
3	St. Petersburg 1	Kyle Kirkwood	Kyle Kirkwood	Kyle Kirkwood	Kyle Kirkwood	Andretti Autosport
4	St. Petersburg 2	David Malukas	Kyle Kirkwood	David Malukas	David Malukas	HMD Motorsports
5	Indianapolis GP 1	Linus Lundqvist	Linus Lundqvist	Linus Lundqvist	Linus Lundqvist	HMD Motorsports
6	Indianapolis GP 2	David Malukas	Kyle Kirkwood	David Malukas	David Malukas	HMD Motorsports
7	Detroit 1	Kyle Kirkwood	Linus Lundqvist	Kyle Kirkwood	Kyle Kirkwood	Andretti Autosport
8	Detroit 2	Linus Lundqvist	David Malukas	Kyle Kirkwood	Kyle Kirkwood	Andretti Autosport
9	Road America 1	Danial Frost	Kyle Kirkwood	Kyle Kirkwood	Kyle Kirkwood	Andretti Autosport
10	Road America 2	Danial Frost	Robert Megennis	David Malukas	David Malukas	HMD Motorsports
11	Mid-Ohio 1	Kyle Kirkwood	Kyle Kirkwood	Kyle Kirkwood	Kyle Kirkwood	Andretti Autosport
12	Mid-Ohio 2	Danial Frost	Danial Frost	Kyle Kirkwood	Kyle Kirkwood	Andretti Autosport
13	Gateway 1	David Malukas	David Malukas	David Malukas	David Malukas	HMD Motorsports
14	Gateway 2	Kyle Kirkwood	Kyle Kirkwood	Kyle Kirkwood	David Malukas	HMD Motorsports
15	Portland 1	David Malukas	Kyle Kirkwood	David Malukas	David Malukas	HMD Motorsports
16	Portland 2	David Malukas	Benjamin Pedersen	Kyle Kirkwood	Kyle Kirkwood	Andretti Autosport
17	Laguna Seca 1	Kyle Kirkwood	Kyle Kirkwood	Kyle Kirkwood	Kyle Kirkwood	Andretti Autosport
18	Laguna Seca 2	Kyle Kirkwood	Kyle Kirkwood	Kyle Kirkwood	Kyle Kirkwood	Andretti Autosport
19	Mid-Ohio 3	Kyle Kirkwood	Danial Frost	Kyle Kirkwood	Kyle Kirkwood	Andretti Autosport
20	Mid-Ohio 4	David Malukas	David Malukas	Linus Lundqvist	Linus Lundqvist	HMD Motorsports

Championship standings[]

Drivers' Championship[]

Scoring system

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th	12th	13th	14th	15th	16th	17th	18th	19th	20th
Points (R)	30	25	22	19	17	15	14	13	12	11	10	9	8	7	6	5	4	3	2	1
Points (O)	45	38	33	29	26	23	21	20	18	17	15	14	12	11	9	8	6	5	4	2

The driver who qualified on pole was awarded one additional point.
An additional point was awarded to the driver who led the most laps in a race.

Pos	Driver	ALA		STP		IMS		DET		ROA		MOH1		GAT		POR		LAG		MOH2		Points
1	Kyle Kirkwood	9	5	1*	2	4	4	1*	1*	1*	12	1*	1*	2	2*	2	1*	1*	1*	1*	5	537
2	David Malukas	13	1*	3	1*	2	1*	5	3	7	1*	3	3	1*	1	1*	2	4	2	2	2	524
3	Linus Lundqvist	1*	2	9	3	1*	5	2	2	4	5	4	4	9	4	3	3	2	3	6	1*	449
4	Benjamin Pedersen	2	7	10	6	10	9	11	6	2	7	7	8	3	3	4	4	3	5	9	3	356
5	Danial Frost	7	12	2	4	6	8	6	12	11	3	2	2	6	10	8	6	8	4	4	6	338
6	Devlin DeFrancesco	3	3	12	5	7	6	7	5	10	6	5	5	4	5	11	7	9	8	8	4	326
7	Robert Megennis	6	13	4	7	8	7	8	8	3	2	8	7	7	7	5	5	10	6	3	9	319
8	Sting Ray Robb	8	8	6	13	9	10	10	10	8	9	11	10	12	11	9	11	6	9	5	7	249
9	Toby Sowery	4	4	13	9	3	2	3	4	5	13	6	6	11	8							236
10	Alex Peroni	5	6	5	8	5	3	4	13	13	4	9	9	5	6							228
11	Christian Bogle	10	10	11	12	12	12	13	7	9	8	10	13	8	9	10	8	11	11	12	10	227
12	Antonio Serravalle	12	11	7	10	11	11	12	11	6	10	13	12	10	12					11	12	175
13	Nikita Lastochkin	11	9	8	11	13	13	9	9	12	11	12	11									123
14	Rasmus Lindh															7	9	5	7	10	8	81
15	Manuel Sulaimán															6	10	7	10	7	11	75
Pos	Driver	ALA		STP		IMS		DET		ROA		MOH1		GAT		POR		LAG		MOH2		Points

Color	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	2nd place
Bronze	3rd place
Green	4th & 5th place
Light Blue	6th–10th place
Dark Blue	Finished (Outside Top 10)
Purple	Did not finish
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Brown	Withdrawn (Wth)
Black	Disqualified (DSQ)
White	Did not start (DNS)
Blank	Did not participate (DNP)
Blank	Not competing

In-line notation
Bold	Pole position (1 point)
Italics	Ran fastest race lap
*	Led most race laps (1 point)
¹	Qualifying cancelled no bonus point awarded

Ties in points broken by number of wins, or best finishes.

Teams' championship[]

Scoring system

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th+
Points	22	18	15	12	10	8	6	4	2	1

Single car teams received 3 bonus points as an equivalency to multi-car teams
Only the best two results counted for teams fielding more than two entries

Pos	Team	ALA		STP		IMS		DET		ROA		MOH1		GAT		POR		LAG		MOH2		Points
1	HMD Motorsports^{[n 1]}	1	1	3	1	1	1	2	2	2	1	3	3	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	1	665
1	HMD Motorsports^{[n 1]}	2	2	7	3	2	5	5	3	4	5	4	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	5	2	665
2	Andretti Autosport^{[n 2]}	3	3	1	2	4	4	1	1	1	2	1	1	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	3	622
2	Andretti Autosport^{[n 2]}	6	5	2	4	6	6	6	5	3	3	2	2	4	4	4	4	6	4	3	4	622
3	Juncos Racing Juncos Hollinger Racing	4	4	5	6	3	2	3	4	5	7	5	5	8	6	5	6	4	5	4	5	324
3	Juncos Racing Juncos Hollinger Racing	7	7	9	9	7	7	7	7	7	9	8	7	9	8	6	7	5	6	6	6	324
4	Carlin	5	6	4	5	5	3	4	6	8	4	6	6	5	5	7	5	7	7	8	7	249
4	Carlin	8	8	8	8	9	9	9	9	9	6	7	9	6	7							249
5	Pserra Racing/AS Promotions	9	9	6	7	8	8	8	8	6	8	9	8	7	9					7	8	118
Pos	Team	ALA		STP		IMS		DET		ROA		MOH1		GAT		POR		LAG		MOH2		Points

Notes[]

^ Entry list has Global Racing Group as a separate team of two cars, while official points list HMD and GRG as the same team.
^ Entry list has Andretti / Andretti Steinbrenner as two teams with one and three cars, while official teams standings list it as a single team.

References[]

^ "Indy Lights 2021 event schedule" (PDF).
^ "INDY LIGHTS RETURN CONFIRMED FOR 2021". indylights.com. October 7, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
^ "Megennis Returns to Andretti Autosport for 2021". www.indylights.com. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
^ Wood, Elliot (November 18, 2020). "Andretti confirms Kyle Kirkwood as part of 2021 Indy Lights line-up". Formula Scout. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
^ Woollard, Craig (November 23, 2020). "Danial Frost confirms Andretti Indy Lights move for 2021". Formula Scout. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
^ "DeFrancesco Steps Up to Indy Lights with Return of Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport". www.indylights.com. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "Carlin return to Indy Lights with Peroni". www.indylights.com. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
^ "Malukas and Lundqvist lead the way in Indy Lights' Spring Training". Formula Scout. April 6, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.
^ Wood, Ida (September 4, 2021). "Indy Lights grid shrinks as Peroni follows Sowery out of series". Formula Scout. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
^ "BOGLE STEPS UP TO INDY LIGHTS WITH CARLIN". www.indylights.com. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
^ "Global Racing Group Enters Indy Lights in Partnership with HMD Motorsports". www.indylights.com. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
^ "Indy Lights Grand Prix of Alabama Presented by Cooper Tires Entry List" (PDF). Indy Lights. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
^ "Indy Lights Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by Foundation Building Materials/Andersen Interior Contracting Entry List" (PDF). Indy Lights. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
^ "Global Racing Group with HMD Motorsports Inks Pedersen for 2021". www.indylights.com. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
^ "Lundqvist to Make Indy Lights Debut with Global Racing Group with HMD Motorsports". www.indylights.com. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
^ Wood, Elliot (November 17, 2020). "Global Racing Group joins Indy Lights grid in alliance with HMD". Formula Scout. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
^ "NIKITA LASTOCHKIN JOINS HMD MOTORSPORTS". February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
^ Wood, Ida (September 3, 2021). "Sulaiman steps up to Indy Lights with HMD Motorsports". Formula Scout. Retrieved September 5, 2021.
^ "Malukas Set for Championship Run with HMD Motorsports". www.indylights.com. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
^ Pruett, Marshall (November 14, 2020). "PRUETT: A new dawn for Indy Lights". Racer.com. Retrieved December 2, 2020.
^ "Juncos Announces Co-Ownership with Brad Hollinger to Form Juncos Hollinger Racing". www.indylights.com. Retrieved August 4, 2021.
^ "INDY PRO 2000 CHAMPION ROBB ADVANCES TO INDY LIGHTS WITH JUNCOS RACING". indylights.com. January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
^ "Juncos Racing signs Sowery for 2021 Season". March 8, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2020.
^ "Lindh rejoins Juncos for rest of Indy Lights season". RACER. September 8, 2021. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
^ "ANTONIO SERRAVALLE AND PSERRA RACING JOIN INDY LIGHTS PROGRAM IN 2021". Indylights.com. March 31, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2021.
^ "Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires Unveils 2021 Schedule". www.indylights.com. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
^ "Road to Indy Announces 2021 Schedule Adjustments". www.indylights.com. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
^ "2021 SEASON". indylights.com.
^ "Road to Indy Adjusts 2021 Schedule, Adds New Season Finale Venue". www.indylights.com. Retrieved May 14, 2021.

External links[]

Indy Lights Series website

[30] Entry list has Global Racing Group as a separate team of two cars, while official points list HMD and GRG as the same team.

[31] Entry list has Andretti / Andretti Steinbrenner as two teams with one and three cars, while official teams standings list it as a single team.

[1] "Indy Lights 2021 event schedule" (PDF).

[2] "INDY LIGHTS RETURN CONFIRMED FOR 2021". indylights.com. October 7, 2020. Retrieved November 24, 2020.

[3] "Megennis Returns to Andretti Autosport for 2021". www.indylights.com. Retrieved December 22, 2020.

[4] Wood, Elliot (November 18, 2020). "Andretti confirms Kyle Kirkwood as part of 2021 Indy Lights line-up". Formula Scout. Retrieved November 23, 2020.

[5] Woollard, Craig (November 23, 2020). "Danial Frost confirms Andretti Indy Lights move for 2021". Formula Scout. Retrieved November 23, 2020.

[6] "DeFrancesco Steps Up to Indy Lights with Return of Andretti Steinbrenner Autosport". www.indylights.com. Retrieved December 1, 2020.

[:0-7] "Carlin return to Indy Lights with Peroni". www.indylights.com. Retrieved December 20, 2020.

[8] "Malukas and Lundqvist lead the way in Indy Lights' Spring Training". Formula Scout. April 6, 2021. Retrieved April 7, 2021.

[fs09042021-9] Wood, Ida (September 4, 2021). "Indy Lights grid shrinks as Peroni follows Sowery out of series". Formula Scout. Retrieved September 5, 2021.

[10] "BOGLE STEPS UP TO INDY LIGHTS WITH CARLIN". www.indylights.com. Retrieved February 9, 2021.

[11] "Global Racing Group Enters Indy Lights in Partnership with HMD Motorsports". www.indylights.com. Retrieved November 23, 2020.

[il04082021-12] "Indy Lights Grand Prix of Alabama Presented by Cooper Tires Entry List" (PDF). Indy Lights. Retrieved April 23, 2021.

[il04222021-13] "Indy Lights Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by Foundation Building Materials/Andersen Interior Contracting Entry List" (PDF). Indy Lights. Retrieved April 23, 2021.

[14] "Global Racing Group with HMD Motorsports Inks Pedersen for 2021". www.indylights.com. Retrieved December 15, 2020.

[15] "Lundqvist to Make Indy Lights Debut with Global Racing Group with HMD Motorsports". www.indylights.com. Retrieved January 19, 2021.

[16] Wood, Elliot (November 17, 2020). "Global Racing Group joins Indy Lights grid in alliance with HMD". Formula Scout. Retrieved November 23, 2020.

[17] "NIKITA LASTOCHKIN JOINS HMD MOTORSPORTS". February 4, 2021. Retrieved February 4, 2021.

[fs09032021-18] Wood, Ida (September 3, 2021). "Sulaiman steps up to Indy Lights with HMD Motorsports". Formula Scout. Retrieved September 5, 2021.

[19] "Malukas Set for Championship Run with HMD Motorsports". www.indylights.com. Retrieved December 29, 2020.

[20] Pruett, Marshall (November 14, 2020). "PRUETT: A new dawn for Indy Lights". Racer.com. Retrieved December 2, 2020.

[21] "Juncos Announces Co-Ownership with Brad Hollinger to Form Juncos Hollinger Racing". www.indylights.com. Retrieved August 4, 2021.

[22] "INDY PRO 2000 CHAMPION ROBB ADVANCES TO INDY LIGHTS WITH JUNCOS RACING". indylights.com. January 14, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2021.

[23] "Juncos Racing signs Sowery for 2021 Season". March 8, 2020. Retrieved March 8, 2020.

[24] "Lindh rejoins Juncos for rest of Indy Lights season". RACER. September 8, 2021. Retrieved September 8, 2021.

[25] "ANTONIO SERRAVALLE AND PSERRA RACING JOIN INDY LIGHTS PROGRAM IN 2021". Indylights.com. March 31, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2021.

[26] "Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires Unveils 2021 Schedule". www.indylights.com. Retrieved November 23, 2020.

[27] "Road to Indy Announces 2021 Schedule Adjustments". www.indylights.com. Retrieved January 6, 2021.

[28] "2021 SEASON". indylights.com.

[29] "Road to Indy Adjusts 2021 Schedule, Adds New Season Finale Venue". www.indylights.com. Retrieved May 14, 2021.

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v t Indy Lights seasons
USAC Mini-Indy Series	1977 1978 1979 1980
CART American Racing Series	1986 1987 1988 1989 1990
CART Firestone/Dayton Indy Lights	1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
IRL Infiniti/Indy Pro Series	2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Firestone Indy Lights Series	2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Indy Lights Series presented by Cooper Tire	2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 ~~2020~~ 2021

v t Road to Indy
IndyCar Series	2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Indy Lights	2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 ~~2020~~ 2021 2022
Indy Pro 2000 Championship	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
U.S. F2000 National Championship	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Road to Indy Shootout	2016 2017
Chris Griffis Memorial Test