Grand Prix of Indianapolis (Indy Lights)
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Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire | |
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Venue | Indianapolis Motor Speedway |
First race | 2005 |
Previous names | Liberty Challenge (2005–2007) Mazda Grand Prix of Indianapolis (2015) Grand Prix of Indianapolis Indy Lights (2014, 2016–2018) |
The Indy Lights Grand Prix of Indianapolis is a pair of twin races in the Cooper Tire Indy Lights Series, held on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It is held as a support race to the Brickyard 400 of the NASCAR Cup Series.
The race was previously known as the Liberty Challenge from 2005 to 2007. It originally was held as a support race to the United States Grand Prix, and from 2014 to 2019, it was part of the IndyCar Series. For 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the race be on its own weekend September 3–4, as neither road course weekend was suitable.
Race history[]
For the first three years of its existence, the Indy Pro Series was contested on oval tracks only. This was also true of the parent IndyCar Series, at the time. All Indy Pro Series races were run as support to IndyCar Series events. Road course and street course events were added to both series in 2005, and the series became known as Indy Lights in 2008.
In 2005, the series added the Liberty Challenge, as a support race to the Formula One United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis. This move allowed the Indy Pro Series drivers valuable exposure in front of the Formula One teams and fans. Some drivers, such as Graham Rahal, ran this race as a one-off, while running other series (such as the Champ Car Atlantics).
The Liberty Challenge was the only Indy Pro Series race at the time which was not run as support to an IndyCar Series weekend. Also, the Indy Pro Series became the only racing series to hold races on both the oval and road course tracks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Freedom 100 has been held on the oval since 2003. In 2007, a twin race format was introduced. After 2007, the U.S Grand Prix left Indianapolis, and the Liberty Challenge race was put on hiatus.
In 2014, the race was revived as part of the new IndyCar Grand Prix weekend, where all four IndyCar-sanctioned divisions participate in races on the road course during the first weekend of the Indianapolis 500 race meeting. In addition, the Indy Lights began utilizing the newer road course layout used by the IndyCar Series.
Race results[]
Year | Date | Day | Winning Driver | Race Distance | Time of Race | Winning Speed | |
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Miles | Laps | ||||||
2005 | June 18 | Saturday | ![]() |
65.1 | 25 | 35:57.3780 | 108.465 mph |
2006 | July 1 | Saturday | ![]() |
59.9 | 23 | 35:53.516 | 100.159 mph |
2007 | June 16 | Saturday | ![]() |
46.9 | 18 | 26:09.8910 | 107.320 mph |
June 17 | Sunday | ![]() |
46.9 | 18 | 28:40.9170 | 97.901 mph | |
2014 | May 9 | Friday | ![]() |
63.4 | 26 | 40:12.7538 | 94.618 mph |
May 10 | Saturday | ![]() |
97.56 | 40 | 56:23.3259 | 103.808 mph | |
2015 | May 8 | Friday | ![]() |
73.2 | 30 | 39:13.4976 | 111.924 mph |
May 9 | Saturday | ![]() |
85.4 | 35 | 48:08.2758 | 106.401 mph | |
2016 | May 13 | Friday | ![]() |
73.17 | 30 | 41:15.4848 | 106.408 mph |
May 14 | Saturday | ![]() |
85.365 | 35 | 46:45.5881 | 109.536 mph | |
2017 | May 12 | Friday | ![]() |
73.17 | 30 | 38:29.3542 | 114.063 mph |
May 13 | Saturday | ![]() |
85.365 | 35 | 45:11.5257 | 113.336 mph | |
2018 | May 11 | Friday | ![]() |
73.17 | 30 | 39:07.7629 | 112.197 mph |
May 12 | Saturday | ![]() |
85.365 | 35 | 45:28.9254 | 112.614 mph | |
2019 | May 10 | Friday | ![]() |
73.17 | 30 | 38:16 | 114.739 mph[1] |
May 11 | Saturday | ![]() |
108.119 | 45 | 44:38 | 114.761 mph[2] |
Qualification Results[]
![]() | This section needs to be updated.(May 2020) |
Year | Date | Day | Pole Sitter / Fast Qualifier |
Pole 1-Lap Qualifying Time |
Pole Speed | Number of Qualifiers |
Slow Qualifier Speed |
Mean Qualifying Speed |
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2005 | June 17 | Friday | ![]() |
01:26.2360 | 108.539 mph | 14 | 98.033 mph | 105.234 mph |
2006 | June 30 | Friday | ![]() |
01:25.5810 | 109.580 mph | 18 | 105.203 mph | 107.959 mph |
2007 | June 15 | Friday | ![]() |
01:25.2810 | 109.966 mph | 25 | 102.883 mph | 107.541 mph |
2014 | May 9 | Friday | ![]() |
01:18.4256 | 111.958 mph | 11 | 108.655 mph | 110.811 mph |
Event Records[]
![]() | This section needs to be updated.(May 2020) |
Year | Driver | |||||
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Fastest Race | 2005 | ![]() |
Time: 35:57.3780 | Speed: 108.465 mph | 65.1 Miles | 25 Laps |
Fastest Qualification Run | 2007 | ![]() |
Time: 01:25.2810 | Speed: 109.966 mph | 2.605 Miles | 1 Lap |
Fastest Race Lap | 2005 | ![]() |
Time 01:25.9110 | Speed: 108.950 mph | 2.605 Miles | 1 Lap |
Most Starts by a Driver | 2005–2007 | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
4 Starts each | |||
Most Participants | 2007 | 25 Starting Drivers |
Previous course layouts[]
Course layout from 2005 to 2007
References[]
Sources[]
- Formula races
- Indy Lights
- Auto races in the United States
- Motorsport in Indianapolis