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 The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is an automobile racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Verizon 200, and and formerly the home of the United State ...

. It is held as a support race to the

Brickyard 400 The Brickyard 400 was an annual NASCAR Cup Series points race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The inaugural race was held in 1994 and was the first race other than the Indianapolis 500 to be held at the Indianapolis Moto ...

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 The United States Grand Prix is a motor racing event that has been held on and off since 1908, when it was known as the American Grand Prize. The Grand Prix later became part of the Formula One World Championship. , the Grand Prix has been held ...

, and from 2014 to 2019, it was part of the

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices o ...

. For 2020, as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, 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 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 program ...

was contested on oval tracks only. This was also true of the parent

, 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 Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

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 Graham Robert Rahal (born January 4, 1989) is an American race car driver and small business owner. He currently participates in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a team partially owned by his father Bobby Rahal, the winn ...

, 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 The Freedom 100 was an automobile race held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, as part of the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires. The event was a support race for the IndyCar Series Indianapolis 500, and since 2 ...

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 The IndyCar Series hosts two races a year on the combined road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. The first, the GMR Grand Prix is held in early May with an inaugural running in 2014. The second race, the Gallagher G ...

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

Qualification Results

Event Records

Previous course layouts

File:Indianapolis Motor Speedway - road course.svg, Course layout from 2005 to 2007

References

{{Reflist

Sources

Indy Lights stats
Formula races Indy Lights Auto races in the United States Motorsport in Indianapolis