Second half kicks off with doubleheader at Glen: The second half of the Indy Pro Series season kicks off July 7 at Watkins Glen when 25 cars are expected to compete in the first of two races on the 11-turn, 3.4-mile road course.
The first eight races of the season were dominated by Alex Lloyd, who drove the No. 7 Lucas Oil/Isilon Systems/SSM car to Victory Lane six times, building a 119-point lead over rookie Hideki Mutoh.
With eight races remaining, here’s a look at the tracks remaining on the schedule and which drivers could make a move to challenge Lloyd in the standings.
Watkins Glen International – July 7-8
The first of two doubleheader weekends remaining on the schedule. Several drivers should have a legitimate shot at reaching Victory Lane in at least one of the 29-lap races.
Bobby Wilson (No. 1 Ocala Gran Prix/Brian Stewart Racing) is the defending race winner and recently won on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Could rookie Stephen Simpson record his first victory of the season at The Glen? The South African A1GP driver is driving the No. 24 Kenn Hardley Racing car that won at Watkins Glen the past two seasons (Wilson in 2006 and Jeff Simmons in 2005). Simpson, who ranks 11th in points, recorded his best finish of the season (fourth) on the streets of St. Petersburg in March. His other top-five finish (fifth) came on the road course at Indy in June.
Don’t rule out Mutoh as a possible winner at The Glen. He broke Lloyd’s five-race victory streak by winning the pole and the first race at Indy in the No. 55 Super Aguri Panther Racing entry. He has seven top-five finishes in the first eight races.
Lloyd, a road-racing veteran from England, didn’t fare well in the rain at The Glen last year, finishing 17th after an accident on Lap 10. Lloyd’s competitors need a couple of DNFs from the leader in the second half of the season to make up ground in the standings.
Nashville Superspeedway – July 14
The Indy Pro Series visits the only concrete oval, and the only 1.33-mile oval, in mid-July.
The drivers chasing Lloyd may have their work cut out for them – Sam Schmidt Motorsports drivers have won the past three races at the track (Jay Howard 2006, Jaime Camara ’05, Thiago Medeiros ’04).
Contenders to watch in Nashville include Camara and Wade Cunningham. Camara, who has made 34 consecutive starts in the Indy Pro Series, won from the pole in 2005 and finished second in the race last year. Cunningham earned the pole last year and led 48 laps before finishing fifth. In 2005, when he won the Indy Pro Series championship, Cunningham finished fourth at Nashville.
Lloyd missed the Nashville race last year due to illness.
Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course – July 22
The Indy Pro Series makes its inaugural visit to Mid-Ohio, a 13-turn, 2.258-mile course located between Columbus and Cleveland. A handful of teams tested at the circuit on June 12, and those drivers could hold an advantage over the teams that didn’t test. Yes, Alex Lloyd was one of the drivers who tested there.
Could Mid-Ohio be the breakthrough win for 20-year-old Jonathan Klein? Klein finished second in the championship last year, missing the title by just four points. He finished in the top five in all six road-course races last year and has run strong in the road events this year in the No. 2 Team Moore Racing car, although a penalty and some contact led to two lower finishes.
Kentucky Speedway – Aug. 11
The Indy Pro Series returns to a 1.5-mile oval for the first time since the season opener at Homestead-Miami in March. While Sam Schmidt Motorsports cars have won the past two races, last year’s race featured six lead changes over the course of 100 miles before Howard edged Klein by 0.0190 of a second in the second-closest finish in Indy Pro Series history.
That being said, any number of nearly a dozen drivers could be in contention at Kentucky. One driver to watch out for is 19-year-old Sean Guthrie. He recorded the first top-five finish of his career at Kentucky last year and has proven he can run up front on the ovals.
Chip Ganassi Racing driver Chris Festa is another candidate to earn his first career victory. Festa won the pole at Homestead and finished second, and he finished second on the oval at Indianapolis.
Kentucky was another track that wasn’t so kind to Lloyd last year. Returning from his illness, Lloyd crashed on the first lap and finished 16th. This year, however, if Lloyd can build on his lead Kentucky could be the site where he clinches the championship.
Infineon Raceway – Aug. 25-26
The Indy Pro Series returns to the wine country of California for the final doubleheader weekend of the year. Cunningham won the first race from the pole last year, and he finished second in the series’ inaugural visit to the 12-turn, 2.26-mile course in 2005.
Lloyd won the second race last year, driving from the fifth starting position to the lead by Lap 9.
Infineon is another track where Wilson should shine. He qualified second at the track in 2005 in his Indy Pro Series debut. Last year, he recorded fifth- and second-place finishes on the course.
Chicagoland Speedway – Sept. 9
If past history is an indicator, the season finale on the 1.5-mile oval should be a wild affair. The five previous races have all had a margin of victory of less than 0.61 of a second, with the 2003 finish of 0.0170 of a second ranking as the closest finish ever in Indy Pro Series history.
Last year’s race featured 10 lead changes among three drivers, including Cunningham and Klein, before Cunningham took the checkered flag, Klein took second place and Howard took home the championship trophy. Lloyd finished fourth.
Others to watch:
Mike Potekhen – The Apex Racing driver ranks fifth in points heading into the second half of the season, recording five top-five finishes, including a second at Milwaukee.
Robbie Pecorari – A 20-year-old rookie for Team KMA, Pecorari started the season with three top-10 finishes before falling out of the top 10 in the next four. He closed out the first half of the season with a fifth at Iowa.
Logan Gomez – He ranks 10th in points as a rookie in the series for Sam Schmidt Motorsports. The 19-year-old has shown consistent improvement through the first half, recording top-10 finishes in each of the last three races.
Ryan Justice – The Sam Schmidt Motorsports driver is 12th in points primarily because he missed the two races at St. Petersburg after suffering a concussion in a crash at Homestead. After the rough start, Justice has rebounded with four consecutive top-10 finishes, including fourths in the past two.
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