INDIANAPOLIS – All three levels of the Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires – the official development ladder system for INDYCAR – are at the ready for their first oval events of the 2019 season.
Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires, the top rung, will be running the Freedom 100 presented by Cooper Tires at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Friday as part of Miller Lite Carb Day. The lower two rungs, Indy Pro 2000 presented by Cooper Tires and the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship, will be competing later the same day in the Carb Night Classic some six miles away at Lucas Oil Raceway.
To help the younger drivers with little or no oval experience in Indy Pro 200 and USF2000, an oval clinic was conducted May 13 at Lucas Oil Raceway that included a panel of oval veterans including 2013 Indianapolis 500 winner Tony Kanaan.
The program proved invaluable to the oval novices, emphasizing proper racing lines, passing, blocking, drafting, handling, restarts and incidents.
“That is the beauty of being part of the Road to Indy,” said Kanaan said, driver of the No. 14 ABC Supply Chevrolet for AJ Foyt Racing in the NTT IndyCar Series.
“This is part of INDYCAR and all the drivers, as far as the veterans, we support. It's a ladder series that we're creating. This is the future. Hopefully, in four, five, six, seven years from now, I'll be watching the races and go, 'Well, I talked to that kid,' and he's in the (Indianapolis) 500.
“I think that's why the series has been so strong and the ladder series are so strong. Everybody puts a lot of effort in. I don't see anything like this around the world, so to me, this is the best place.”
The 44-year-old Brazilian admitted that he been to an oval coming through the ranks until he tested an Indy Lights car on the one-mile Phoenix oval in early 1996. He said he was lucky because he “had the best teacher” in team owner Steve Horne. That’s why Kanaan is happy to pass on his oval experience to the next generation.
“I don't think they realize how lucky they are,” Kanaan said. “When I first came here, I was already like 18 or 19 years old. You get a kid driving an oval since he's 14, and I'm afraid what's going to happen when they're 20. They're going to be so good.
“It's something that, the earlier you start, the better you're going to become. I think they don't realize how fortunate they are, but I think they're extremely lucky.”
While the NTT IndyCar Series competes on five ovals this year, the Road to Indy methodically instills the experience in its drivers. Indy Lights and Indy Pro 2000 each have two scheduled ovals, with one for USF2000.
“They get to drive one or two and that's a great introduction,” said Johnny Unser, the former Indy car driver who now serves as race director for the Road to Indy. “It'll give them a real good feel as they go forward.
“Once they drive one, the second time they run it becomes much easier and much less intimidating. So I think just getting that first one under your belt is important because you can really see the difference in the drivers that have been on an oval and that haven't been on an oval.”
Indy Pro 2000 and USF2000 have practice and qualifying scheduled for Thursday at Lucas Oil Raceway on the 0.686-mile oval. The 75-lap USF2000 race starts at 6:45 p.m. ET Friday, followed by the 90-lap Indy Pro 2000 event at 7:50 p.m.