PALMETTO, Fla. — The first two steps on the Road to Indy open-wheel development ladder will venture onto an oval track for the first time this season when the traditional Carb Night Classic takes place this Friday evening, May 27, at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park.
Known as “The Race Before the 500,” both the Indy Pro 2000 Championship and the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship will be in action on the demanding 0.686-mile oval just a few miles to the west of the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
On Sunday, the speedway will host the 106th Indianapolis 500.
As tradition also demands, every driver will benefit from the knowledge of others who have passed through the program during a special Oval Clinic to be held on Thursday morning, prior to the commencement of on-track activities.
The competitors will be addressed by a panel of experts comprised of former IRP race winners Kyle Kirkwood, Christian Rasmussen and Parker Thompson.
The trio has notched a total of 62 Road to Indy race wins between them, with Kirkwood recently becoming the first driver ever to win championships and scholarships on every level of the world-renowned ladder when he claimed top honors in the Indy Lights title-chase.
Kirkwood will make his Indy 500 debut with the legendary four-time winner A.J. Foyt’s team on Sunday.
“Because I [had] a karting background and [had] never driven an oval in my life, I was never really a fan of oval racing. In my mind, it was all just turning left,” said Kirkwood back in 2018, moments after his oval track debut resulted in a dominant USF2000 victory at IRP.
“But my perspective on it has totally changed after this weekend, after I learned how much strategy was involved and how technically challenging it actually was. Getting the car setup right is huge. I love it now – that was the most fun I’ve had with all the passing, both in practice and in the race.”
Different teams have tasted the fruits of victory in the Cooper Tires Freedom 90 during each of the last three years, and there have no clear favorites emerging for top honors in Friday’s race.
During the first seven races, the series has already seen 10 drivers and seven teams claim at least one podium finish.
Nolan Siegel currently leads the point standings for DEForce Racing with two race wins to his credit. Therefore, he has the initial edge in the quest for a scholarship valued at almost $615,000 to ensure graduation to Indy Lights in 2023.
As this week’s race represents the first of two oval races on the calendar, the event also has a 50 percent points bonus on offer.
There will be 45 points awarded to the winner of each race — instead of the usual 30 — plus the regular singleton points for pole, fastest race lap and leading most laps.
A long list of challengers will include Juncos Hollinger Racing’s Reece Gold. Gold also has a pair of wins to his name this year and has finished second at IRP in each of the past two seasons.
English rookie Louis Foster has excelled in each of the opening events for Exclusive Autosport, notching four fastest race laps, despite never having raced previously in North America.
Foster scored his maiden victory in the most recent race on the Indianapolis Grand Prix road course.
Meanwhile, in the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship, Jagger Jones looks to extend his lead.
Almost 59 years after Parnelli Jones’ victory in the 1963 Indianapolis 500, his grandson, Jagger, will seek to extend a slender one-point lead in the series.
The championship will ultimately award a scholarship valued at almost $407,000 to graduate to Indy Pro 2000 in 2023.
Jagger has amassed plenty of experience on the ovals during the past few years in stock cars and has adapted quickly to open-wheelers during his rookie campaign with powerhouse team Cape Motorsports.
He scored a breakthrough victory at Barber Motorsports Park at the beginning of the month, then claimed three successive Cooper Tires Pole Awards in the most recent event on the Indianapolis road course.
Jagger currently holds a one-point lead over New Zealander Billy Frazer, who in turn is only one point clear of pre-season title favorite Michael d’Orlando.
Pabst Racing teammates Myles Rowe and Jace Denmark are also in the thick of the title mix. Rowe has won twice this year, while Denmark emerged on top in the opening race of the season on the streets of St. Petersburg, Fla.
Others to watch will include Jackson Lee with Cape Motorsports and Trey Burke, who made the transition to road racing last year with Joe Dooling Autosports – Curb/Agajanian.