The 2011

Indy Lights Indy NXT, previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as Firestone Indy NXT Series for sponsorship reasons. Indy Lights is the highest step on the Road to Indy, a progra ...

season was a season of

open wheel An open-wheel single-seater (often known as formula car) is a car with the wheels outside the car's main body, and usually having only one seat. Open-wheel cars contrast with street cars, sports cars, stock cars, and touring cars, which have thei ...

motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of tw ...

. It was the 26th season of the series and the tenth sanctioned by IndyCar, acting as the primary support series for the IZOD IndyCar Series. It began March 27, 2011 in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

and ended on October 16 at the

Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is ...

and featured thirteen events: six on ovals, one on a permanent road course, and six on temporary street courses. The series was won by American driver

Josef Newgarden Josef Nicolai Newgarden (born December 22, 1990) is an American race car driver who competes in the IndyCar Series full-time for Team Penske. He is the 2017 and 2019 IndyCar Series Champion and 2011 Indy Lights champion. Career Karting Newga ...

, driving for Sam Schmidt Motorsports. Newgarden won the title by 94 points over team mate and fellow rookie

Esteban Guerrieri Esteban Guerrieri (born 19 January 1985 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine racing driver. He was the most successful driver in the WTCR series in terms of wins. Career Formula racing After graduating from karts, Guerrieri competed in various F ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. The season featured the series' first non-IndyCar Series support race since the 2007

Liberty Challenge 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. T ...

(at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway) when it was the main event at the Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières. It was Indy Lights' first event at Trois-Rivières since

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

. The series also race at the

New Hampshire Motor Speedway New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a oval speedway located in Loudon, New Hampshire, which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since 1990, as well as the longest-running motorcycle race in North America, the Loudon Classic. Nicknamed "The Magic Mil ...

for the first time since

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

and the new Baltimore street circuit in support of the IndyCars.

Team and driver chart

* All drivers will compete in Firestone Firehawk–shod,

Dallara Dallara is an Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Gian Paolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' Melegari (Parma), Italy he created ...

chassis.

Schedule

Race results

Race summaries

Round 1: Streets of St. Petersburg

*Sunday March 27, 2011 – 10:30 a.m. EDT * Streets of St. Petersburg – St. Petersburg, Florida; Temporary street circuit, *Distance: 45 laps / *Race weather: , partly cloudy *Pole position winner: #7

, 1:07.6903 sec, *Most laps led: #11

, 34 *Race Report:

Round 2: Barber Motorsports Park

*Sunday April 10, 2011 – 12:15 p.m. CDT (1:15 p.m. EDT) *

Barber Motorsports Park Barber Motorsports Park is an multi-purpose racing facility located in Birmingham, Alabama. It was built by George W. Barber, and includes the Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum. It has been the site of the IndyCar Series' Grand Prix of Alab ...

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Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

; Permanent road course, *Distance: 40 laps / *Race weather: , partly cloudy *Pole position winner: #22 Víctor García, 1:17.2793 sec, *Most laps led: #22 Víctor García, 40 *Race Report: Víctor García took the first victory of his open-wheel racing career after taking a flag-to-flag to victory despite pressure from Stefan Wilson for the majority of the race, seeing his lead twice dwindled by caution periods.

Peter Dempsey Peter Samuel Dempsey (born 31 March 1986) is an Irish racing driver from Ashbourne, County Meath. Dempsey began his pro career in Formula BMW UK in 2004, finishing 22nd. In 2005 he finished second in the Formula Ford Walter Hayes Trophy rac ...

took his second placing of third in as many races as he moved into second place in the championship standings. Championship leader

held on to his championship lead despite having to make a pit-stop to replace a flat front tire, but recovered to finish in sixth position in the race. The race was punctuated by three caution periods, the first of which being on the first lap after Newgarden made contact with

which sent Guerrieri into contact with team mate Victor Carbone, eliminating Guerrieri on the spot and Carbone in the pits. The other two periods were caused by drivers running off track;

Gustavo Yacamán Gustavo "''El Tigrillo''" (English: Ocelot) Yacamán Aristizabal (born February 25, 1991) is a Colombian racing driver from Santiago de Cali. Yacamán began his career in open-wheel racing, but switched to sports car endurance racing in 2012. He ...

ran off-track on lap four, but managed to restart several laps down, but the other period caused by

David Ostella David Ostella (born October 8, 1991) is a Canadian racing driver from Maple, Ontario. After racing in various American and Canadian karting series, Ostella made his professional racing debut in Formula BMW Americas in 2008 for Eurointernational, ...

, did not see Ostella restart.

Round 3: Long Beach 100

*Sunday April 17, 2011 – 11:05 a.m. PDT (2:05 p.m. EDT) * Streets of Long Beach –

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

; Temporary street circuit, *Distance: 45 laps / ; reduced to 43 laps / due to 1-hour time limit *Race weather: , cloudy *Pole position winner: #7

, 1:13.6957 sec, *Most laps led: #11

, 31 *Race Report:

Conor Daly Conor J. Daly (born December 15, 1991) is an American professional racing driver who competes in the NTT IndyCar Series, driving the No. 20 Chevrolet for Ed Carpenter Racing, and part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 50 Chevrolet Ca ...

became the series' third different winner in the 2011 season, after taking advantage of a late-race mistake by team-mate and championship leader Josef Newgarden. After a waved off start to the race, Esteban Guerrieri in another Sam Schmidt car led the field from pole, but did not lead the race beyond that after being passed by

at Turn 9. Dempsey held the lead until lap ten when he hit the wall at the same corner, knocking himself out of the race. Newgarden then picked up the lead from Guerrieri and Daly; Daly overhauling Guerrieri at the restart, and started to hunt down Newgarden. With a few minutes remaining, Newgarden's car hopped under the bumps, snatched a brake and ended up in the turn eight tire wall. Daly led the field under the caution to the timed ending of the race which curtailed the race two laps early. Guerrieri finished second ahead of Stefan Wilson, who finished third despite a trip down an escape road.

Round 4: Firestone Freedom 100

*Friday May 27, 2011 – 12:30 p.m. EDT * Indianapolis Motor Speedway –

Speedway, Indiana Speedway is a town in Wayne Township, Marion County, Indiana, United States. The population was 11,812 at the 2010 U.S. Census. Speedway, which is an enclave of Indianapolis, is the home of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. History Speedway was ...

; Permanent racing facility, *Distance: 40 laps / *Race weather: , overcast *Pole position winner: #77

Bryan Clauson Bryan Clauson (June 15, 1989 – August 7, 2016) was an American professional auto racing driver. Best known for his achievements in dirt track open-wheel racing, such as USAC Silver Crown, Midget and Sprint cars. Bryan was seen more and more co ...

(qualifying cancelled; field set by owner points) *Most laps led: #11

, 30 *Race Report: Josef Newgarden took his second series victory, and with erstwhile championship leader

not contesting the oval events of the championship, Newgarden assumed the championship lead. Newgarden's Sam Schmidt Motorsports team mate, Bryan Clauson dropped back from his début pole, with Newgarden and Víctor García each leading part of the first lap before Newgarden assumed it at the line. Stefan Wilson,

Anders Krohn Anders Krohn (born 15 November 1987) is a Norwegian racing driver from Stavanger. Racing career After a youth in karting, Krohn moved to cars in the Swedish Junior Touring Car Championship in 2006. In 2007 he primarily raced in Benelux Formula ...

and

also led the race at stages prior to Newgarden taking the lead for good on lap 15. Krohn had undone his work to advance to the front by spinning under caution – after Victor Carbone's crash – which put him to the rear of the field, but pitted for new tires, and eventually made his way back up the field. The second caution period was caused by

spinning into the wall and was eventually collected by

Juan Pablo Garcia ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

and

James Winslow James Winslow (born 16 April 1983) is a British professional car racing driver who races at Le Mans 24 Hours. A ten-time Motorsport champion member of the British Racing Drivers' Club, he competes in Europe, Australia & Asia in Le Mans LMP & GT ...

. Yacamán was transferred to Methodist Hospital with neck pain. After

spun under the yellow, Duarte Ferreira brought out the third caution a lap after the restart, spinning in Turn 2 and collected the car of

Brandon Wagner Brandon Wagner (born April 3, 1987) is an American racing driver from Lafayette, Indiana. He is a graduate of Central Catholic High School and is currently enrolled at Purdue University. Beginning in karting in 1999, he moved to USAC Midgets ...

, ending the race for both drivers. After a waved off restart, again one lap was run before a caution period was necessitated; Clauson, Krohn and Krohn's Belardi team mate Jorge Goncalvez went three-wide into Turn 1, with Goncalvez clipping the rear-left tire of Clauson's car. Krohn spun in avoidance, as Goncalvez went into the barrier on the outside of Turn 1, before impacting the inside wall halfway down the straight between Turns 1 and 2. The impact broke the car into two pieces with the tub going onto its side along the track before hitting the retaining wall in Turn 2 and righted what was left of the car. Goncalvez was also transferred to Methodist, but was said to be alert and awake. The debris from the crash prevented the race from returning to green – resulting in an end tally of 22 of the race's 40 laps running under caution – and Newgarden took victory ahead of team mate Guerrieri, Víctor García, Wilson and Clauson, with only 10 of the 18 cars that started the race running at the flag.

Round 5: David Hobbs 100

*Sunday June 19, 2011 – 1:00 p.m. CDT (2:00 p.m. EDT) *

Milwaukee Mile The Milwaukee Mile is a oval race track in the central United States, located on the grounds of the Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, Wisconsin, a suburb west of Milwaukee. Its grandstand and bleachers seats approximately 37,000 spectato ...

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West Allis, Wisconsin West Allis is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. A suburb of Milwaukee, it is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 60,325 at the 2020 census. History The name West Allis derives from Edward P. Allis, ...

; Permanent racing facility, *Distance: 100 laps / *Race weather: , overcast *Pole position winner: #7

, 49.0454 sec, (2-lap) *Most laps led: #7 Esteban Guerrieri, 100 *Race Report:

Round 6: Sukup 100

*Saturday June 25, 2011 – 5:40 p.m. CDT (6:40 p.m. EDT) *

Iowa Speedway Iowa Speedway is a 7/8-mile (1.4 km) paved oval motor racing track in Newton, Iowa, United States, approximately east of Des Moines. It has over 25,000 permanent seats as well as a unique multi-tiered RV viewing area along the backstretc ...

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Newton, Iowa Newton is the county seat of, and most populous city in, Jasper County, Iowa, United States. Located east of Des Moines, Newton is in Central Iowa. As of the 2020 Census, the city population was 15,760. It is the home of Iowa Speedway, Maytag Da ...

; Permanent racing facility, *Distance: 115 laps / *Race weather: , overcast *Pole position winner: #7

, 40.0332 sec, (2-lap) *Most laps led: #11

, 90 *Race Report:

Round 7: Toronto 100

*Sunday July 10, 2011 – 12:15 p.m. EDT * Streets of Toronto –

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

; Temporary street circuit, *Distance: 50 laps / ; reduced to 49 laps / due to 1-hour time limit *Race weather: , cloudy *Pole position winner: #7

, 1:02.9865 sec, *Most laps led: #5 Stefan Wilson, 29 *Race Report: Stefan Wilson took his first Indy Lights victory after capitalising on a mistake by pole-sitter Esteban Guerrieri, and led the race for its final 29 laps after Guerrieri had led the first 20. Wilson led home an

Andretti Autosport Andretti Autosport is an auto racing team that competes in the IndyCar Series, Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000, and Formula E. The team also has a 37.5% ownership stake in the Australian Supercars Championship touring car team, Walkinshaw Andretti ...

1–2 after his new team-mate

finished second, after close battling with both

and championship leader

. Newgarden would later make contact with Dempsey's car, and had to pit, resulting in an eighth place finish. Yacamán ended up completing the podium ahead of Guerrieri and

. Four of the 13-car grid failed to reach the finish of the race, all due to contact.

Round 8: Edmonton Twin 100s

*Saturday July 23, 2011 – 2:00 p.m. MDT (4:00 p.m. EDT) & Sunday July 24, 2011 – 10:20 a.m. MDT (12:20 p.m. EDT) * Edmonton City Centre Airport –

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

; Temporary airport course, *Distance: 2 races of 40 laps / ; Race 1 reduced to 36 laps / due to 1-hour time limit *Race weather: , cloudy (Race 1); , cloudy (Race 2) *Pole position winner: #11

, 1:22.7721 sec, (Race 1, qualifying); 1:22.9337 sec, (Race 2, fastest lap of Race 1) *Most laps led: #7

, 36 (Race 1); #11 Josef Newgarden, 27 (Race 2) *Race Report: Esteban Guerrieri took his second victory of the season, after leading every lap of the race to move closer to his team-mate and championship leader Josef Newgarden. Newgarden had started the race from pole position, but a move by Guerrieri at Turn 5 allowed him to take the lead just before the opening caution of the race, caused by series rookie Tyler Dueck running into the back of

, and the field concertinaed, with

Daniel Morad Daniel Morad (born April 24, 1990) is a Canadian-Assyrian racecar driver. He is notable for winning the 2007 American Formula BMW championship, the 2010 World Championship in the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals in La Conca, Italy, And the 2017 ...

, Daniel Herrington and Stefan Wilson also involved, with Dueck, Ostella and Morad all out on the spot. Third place went to another series rookie, with

Oliver Webb Oliver "Oli" James Webb (born 20 March 1991 in Manchester) is a British auto racing driver. He is a 2004 Karting Champion, 2007 Formula BMW Scholarship winner, 2010 Formula 3 competitor, 2014 European Le Mans series Champion, 2015 Dubai 24 Hour ...

finishing ahead of Wilson with Bruno Andrade just ahead of

to complete the top five placing. The race's only other retirees came as a result of an incident between Victor Carbone and

. Dempsey tried to take Carbone into Turn 1 on lap 28, with the two drivers interlocking wheels on the corner exit, sending both drivers into the wall. Carbone's car launched Dempsey's car upside-down, but Dempsey emerged without injury. Newgarden comfortably won race two after slight contact with Guerrieri, which left Guerrieri down the order. Wilson and Dempsey completed the podium.

Round 9: Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières

*Sunday August 7, 2011 – 1:30 p.m. EDT *

Circuit Trois-Rivières The Circuit Trois-Rivières is a street circuit in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada. The circuit has been the home of the annual Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières, the longest-running street race in North America, since 1967. The circuit is located o ...

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Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

; Temporary street circuit, *Distance: 60 laps / ; reduced to 58 laps / due to rain *Race weather: , cloudy *Pole position winner: #7

, 57.4541 sec, *Most laps led: #7 Esteban Guerrieri, 58 *Race Report:

Round 10: New Hampshire 100

*Sunday August 14, 2011 – 1:15 p.m. EDT *

–

Loudon, New Hampshire Loudon is a town in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 5,576 at the 2020 census. Loudon is the home of New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The main village in town, where 711 people lived at the 2020 census, is defined a ...

; Permanent racing facility, *Distance: 100 laps / *Race weather: , overcast *Pole position winner: #11

, 49.4908 sec, (2-lap) *Most laps led: #11 Josef Newgarden, 100 *Race Report: Josef Newgarden became the first driver since Thiago Medeiros in 2004 to lap the entire field en route to winning an Indy Lights race, further extending his championship points lead.

Round 11: Streets of Baltimore

*Sunday September 4, 2011 – 12:15 p.m. EDT * Streets of Baltimore –

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

; Temporary street circuit, *Distance: 35 laps / *Race weather: , scattered clouds *Pole position winner: #77

, 1:27.8114 sec, *Most laps led: #77 Conor Daly, 22 *Race Report:

Round 12: Drive Smart Buckle-Up Kentucky 100

*Sunday October 2, 2011 – 12:30 p.m. EDT * Kentucky Speedway –

Sparta, Kentucky Sparta is a home rule-class city in Gallatin and Owen counties in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The population was 231 at the 2010 census. Sparta is home to Kentucky Speedway. Geography Sparta is located in southwestern Gallatin County at (38.6 ...

; Permanent racing facility, *Distance: 67 laps / *Race weather: , partly cloudy *Pole position winner: #5 Stefan Wilson, 55.5988 sec, (2-lap) *Most laps led: #5 Stefan Wilson, 47 *Race Report:

Round 13: Las Vegas 100

*Sunday October 16, 2011 – 9:45 a.m. PDT (12:45 p.m. EDT) *

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Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

; Permanent racing facility, *Distance: 67 laps / *Race weather: , clear skies *Pole position winner: #3 Victor Carbone, 57.9685 sec, (2-lap) *Most laps led: #11

, 63 *Race Report:

Driver standings

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

References

External links

Indy Lights Series website
{{Road to Indy Indy Lights seasons