The 2007

IRL IRL may refer to: Arts and media * ''IRL'' (2013 film), a Swedish drama film about a high school student tormented by peers * IRL (2019 film), an American drama film about "the ups and downs of online dating and modern dating" * ''IRL'' (album), ...

Indy Pro Series Indy NXT (pronounced "Indy Next"), previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as INDY NXT by Firestone for sponsorship reasons. Indy NXT is the highest step on the Road t ...

was the sixth season of the developmental

open-wheel racing Formula racing, also known as open-wheel racing in North America, is any of several forms of Open-wheel car, open-wheeled single-seater Auto racing, motorsport. A "formula", first devised by Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA for ...

series under the Indy Racing League ownership, and the 22nd in

Indy NXT Indy NXT (pronounced "Indy Next"), previously Indy Lights, is an American Minor league, developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as INDY NXT by Firestone for sponsorship reasons. Indy NXT is the highest step ...

combined history, as officially recognized by IndyCar. All teams used

Dallara Dallara Group S.r.l. is the largest multi-national Italian race car manufacturer, founded by its current President, Giampaolo Dallara. After working for Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini and De Tomaso, in 1972 in his native village of Varano de' M ...

IL-02 chassis, which was fitted with a new wing package, as well as unbranded TWR engines and Firestone tires. In his second season in the series,

Alex Lloyd Alexander Lloyd (Birth name, né Wasiliev; born 19 September 1974) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Four of his albums, ''Black the Sun'', ''Watching Angels Mend'', ''Distant Light (Alex Lloyd album), Distant Light'' and ''Alex Lloyd (al ...

became the runaway champion with

Sam Schmidt Motorsports The IndyCar Series operation of McLaren, competing as Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team due to sponsorship, is based in Indianapolis and was founded by former IndyCar driver Sam Schmidt in 2001 as Sam Schmidt Motorsports (SSM). The team operates the N ...

, clinching the title with two races remaining at

Infineon Raceway Sonoma Raceway (originally known as Sears Point Raceway, Golden State International Raceway and Infineon Technologies, Infineon Raceway) is a road course and dragstrip located at Sears Point in the southern Sonoma Mountains of Sonoma County, Cal ...

in Sonoma. Lloyd won the first five races of the season, tying Greg Moore's start of the 1995 season for the all-time consecutive wins record in Indy Lights history. Aided by an expanded schedule, Lloyd won eight races including 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 NXT, Indy Lights. The event was a Card (sports)#Undercard, support race for the IndyCar Series Indianapolis 500, and ...

, and became the third driver to reach that number after

Paul Tracy Paul Anthony Tracy (born December 17, 1968) is a Canadian professional auto racing driver who participated in Champ Car World Series, the IndyCar Series, and the Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART). He started kart racing at age five and quick ...

's nine wins in 1990 and Moore's ten wins in 1995. Three cars racing at the 2007 Freedom 100

Japanese driver

Hideki Mutoh is a Japanese race car driver from Tokyo who last raced in the 2022 Super GT Season for Autobacs Racing Team Aguri. Career Profile Mutoh is 172 cm (5 ft 8 in) tall and weighs 64 kg (141 lb). His blood type is AB Rh-positive. His hobbies i ...

, driving for the returning

Panther Racing Panther Racing was an American open wheel auto racing team. It was one of the oldest continually operating teams in the IndyCar Series. Four years in a row (2008–2011), the team finished second at the Indianapolis 500. Formation The team was ...

and backed by Honda through an association with Super Aguri, finished second in the standings despite missing the final round due to his IndyCar debut. He also won Rookie of the Year honors, with wins at the Indianapolis road course and Kentucky. Former champion

Wade Cunningham Wade Grant Cunningham (born 19 August 1984) is a racing driver from Auckland, New Zealand who competed in the IndyCar Series from 2011 to 2012. Racing career Indy Lights Cunningham's professional career began when he won the Karting World Cha ...

finished third ahead of Bobby Wilson, with one win apiece, while

Richard Antinucci Richard Antinucci (born January 26, 1981) is a race car driver. Born in Italy, he competes under an American license. Career In 1998 he competed in the British Formula Ford for Haywood Racing, moving to the British Formula Renault Winter Series ...

scored two wins in a road course-only campaign for his uncle's team

Cheever Racing Cheever Racing was an auto racing team founded in 1996 by Eddie Cheever as Team Cheever in the Indy Racing League IndyCar Series. They fielded a car for Cheever for much of its existence, but occasionally ran two cars, almost always for the India ...

. Indy Pro Series teams and drivers competed for 3.7 million dollars, a 24 percent increase from 2006. This resulted in a sizeable influx of new or returning teams, led by

Chip Ganassi Racing Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization competing in the NTT IndyCar Series. They have formerly competed in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, Global Rally ...

and

Rahal Letterman Racing Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL) is an auto racing team that has participated in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the IndyCar Series. Headquartered in Zionsville, Indiana and Hilliard, Ohio, it is co-owned by 1986 Indianapolis 5 ...

, all of them also benefiting from a rule that gave extra test days to IndyCar teams competing in the Indy Pro Series.

AFS Racing AFS Racing is a professional racing team participating in the IndyCar Series and previously the Firestone Indy Lights series. It is owned by Gary Peterson, the founder of Automatic Fire Sprinklers for which it is named, and is based in Huntington ...

blended their efforts with

Andretti Green Racing Andretti Global is an American motorsports organization with teams competing in the IndyCar Series, Indy NXT, Formula E, and joint entries in IMSA and the Australian Supercars Championship. Starting in 2026, Andretti will also operate the Cad ...

, while Rahal partnered with newcomers

Andersen Racing Andersen Racing was a professional auto racing team that competed in Firestone Indy Lights and Star Mazda competition. It was owned by Dan Andersen, who founded the U.S. F2000 National Championship in 1991 and his brother John Andersen. The team w ...

. Other new teams were

Team Moore Racing Team Moore Racing was an auto racing team that competed in the Firestone Indy Lights series. It was owned by former racer Tom Wood and Mark Moore and is based in Pittsboro, Indiana. The team was formed in 2007 with Wood driving. However, after t ...

(a spin-off of Kenn Hardley Racing), Team KMA Racing, Mile High Racing and Apex Racing. Speedworks entered the series by buying the equipment of Dave McMillan Racing, while

Playa Del Racing American Dream Motorsports was a racing team that competed in the Indy Racing League's Indy Lights series and the IndyCar Series' Indianapolis 500 owned by Eric Zimmerman and William T. Kelsey. Until May 2008 it was known as Playa Del Racing and wa ...

embarked on its own after fielding the Racing Professionals effort in 2006, and Part Sourcing International was renamed into SWE Racing after entering halfway through 2006. The car counts increased dramatically as a result, with 25 entries for the Miami 100, a first for the series since 1998, and a record 24 drivers at the

. At least 20 drivers were present at every round, a number not reached in any of the previous seven seasons, and thirteen drivers competed in every race. In total, 43 different drivers competed during the year, which is the all-time Indy NXT record as of 2024. The last race of the season featured the closest finish in motor racing history as claimed by IndyCar, when Logan Gomez beat

to the line by just 0.0005 seconds.

Drivers and teams

Schedule

The schedule expanded to a record 16 races for 2007, with the addition of two new venues and more double-headers. All racetracks from 2006 stayed on the schedule, as Indy Pro Series joined IndyCar at the newly constructed

Iowa Speedway Iowa Speedway is a oval short track in Newton, Iowa. Since its inaugural season of racing in 2006, the track has hosted a variety of racing events, including events sanctioned by NASCAR and IndyCar. NASCAR has owned the facility since 2013, wi ...

and the returning

Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is a road course auto racing facility located in Troy Township, Morrow County, Ohio, United States, just outside the village of Lexington. It hosts a number of racing series such as IndyCar, IMSA WeatherTech Sportsc ...

, which had hosted the original Indy Lights series in its final 2001 season. The Liberty Challenge at Indianapolis was split into two shorter races, and the round at Watkins Glen was also converted to a double-header format, with Mid-Ohio being the only single-race road course.

Race results

Race summaries

Round 1 of 16: Miami 100

*Saturday March 24, 2007 * Homestead-Miami Speedway,

Homestead, Florida Homestead is a city within Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in the United States, U.S. state of Florida, between Biscayne National Park to the east and Everglades National Park to the west. Homestead is primarily a Miami suburb and ...

*Race weather: , fair skies *Pole position winner: #9 Chris Festa 28.5455 sec *Race Summary: The race which saw a Pro Series record 25 entries was marred by two major incidents. The first occurred when

lost control of his car. Ryan Justice made contact with a large piece of debris from Cunningham's car and made hard contact with the wall at the exit of turn 2. He was unconscious as he was removed from the car but regained consciousness on the way to the infield care center. The next incident came just two laps after the end of the lengthy caution following the first incident.

Sean Guthrie Sean Guthrie (born April 18, 1988) is an American racing driver from Albuquerque, New Mexico. The son of former IndyCar Series driver Jim Guthrie, he is a former Firestone Indy Lights driver and formerly competed part-time in the NASCAR K&N Pro ...

and

Pablo Pérez Companc Pablo Pérez Companc (born December 11, 1982) is an Argentina, Argentine racing driver from Buenos Aires. Pérez Companc started editing the Argentine version of Evo (magazine), Evo in 2012 and Octane (magazine), Octane in 2013. His father is b ...

made contact between turns one and two and Perez's car launched over Guthrie's and into the

catch fence The following is a glossary of terminology used in motorsport, along with explanations of their meanings. 0–9 ;1–2 finish: When two vehicles from the same team finish first and second in a race. Can be extended to 1–2–3 or 1–2–3– ...

. Perez was transported to the hospital with leg injuries. The race was prematurely ended after 57 laps due to damage to the catch fence from the second incident with

leading and gaining his first IPS victory on an oval.

Round 2 of 16: St. Petersburg Grand Prix 1

*Saturday March 31, 2007 * Streets of St. Petersburg,

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...

*Race weather: , mostly sunny *Pole position winner: #7

1:07.1404 sec *Race Summary:

dominated the first race at

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

leading all 40 laps of the race and winning from pole position. Lloyd held off Super Aguri Panther Racing's

for the final 22 laps. Mutoh had the best chance to take the win away from Lloyd but it just was not meant to be. Lloyd now has 3 wins in a row dating back to the final race of

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Round 3 of 16: St. Petersburg Grand Prix 2

*Saturday April 1, 2007 *Streets of St. Petersburg,

*Race weather: , sunny *Pole position winner: Bobby Wilson Top 6 finishers from Race 1 inverted *Race Summary:

had the car to beat in

, winning both races of the double-header. Lloydhad to start race 2 from 6th place because of the inverted field after race 1, but that didn't stop him from getting to the front. On lap 21 of 40 Lloyd took the lead and was never to lose it, winning now the first 3 races of 2007.

Round 4 of 16:
Freedom 100 The Freedom 100 was an automobile race held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, as part of the Indy NXT, Indy Lights. The event was a Card (sports)#Undercard, support race for the IndyCar Series Indianapolis 500, and ...

*Friday May 25, 2007 *

Indianapolis Motor Speedway The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a motor racing circuit located in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indianapolis, Indiana. It is the home of the Indianapolis 500 and the Brickyard 400, and and formerly the home of the U ...

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

*Race weather: , cloudy with scattered showers *Pole position winner: #52 Ken Losch *Race Summary:

Round 5 of 16: Road Runner 100

*Saturday June 2, 2007 *

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 spectat ...

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 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Wis ...

*Race weather: , partly cloudy *Pole position winner: #7

*Race Summary: On turn 2 of the first lap

spun in front of most of the field, collecting 5 cars including

Jaime Camara Jaime Camara (born November 5, 1980, in Goiânia) is a Brazilian race car driver, who in 2008 competed in the IndyCar Series for Conquest Racing. Motorsports career Indy Racing League Camara previously competed in the 2005 and 2006 seasons of t ...

and Chris Festa. Jon Brownson shortly after the restart on lap 11. On lap 17 the race restarted and ran green until lap 81, during which time leader

was able to pull out a 4-second lead on his closest pursuer Mike Potekhen and lap all but 3 of his competitors, cruising to his 5th straight victory to start the season. Lloyd now holds the league record for consecutive wins and sits second on the series all-time wins list.

Round 6 of 16: Liberty Challenge Race 1

*Saturday June 16, 2007 *

Speedway, Indiana Speedway is a town in Wayne Township, Marion County, Indiana, United States. The population was 13,952 at the 2020 census, up from 11,812 in 2010. Speedway, which is an enclave of Indianapolis, is the home of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. H ...

*Race weather: , Hazy *Pole position winner: #55

*Race Summary:

Round 7 of 16: Liberty Challenge Race 2

*Saturday June 17, 2007 *

*Race weather: , Hazy *Pole position winner: #38 Ryan Justice (8th place in race 1) *Race Summary:

Round 8 of 16: Iowa 100

*Saturday June 23, 2007 *

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

*Race weather: , overcast, humid *Pole position winner: #27

19.9522 sec *Race Summary:

started from the pole and led the first 104 of the 115 laps, but was passed on the bottom by

, who pulled away to capture his sixth victory of the season. On lap 79,

lost control on the front straight while running fourth and lapping Mike Potekhen and shot across the infield and slammed into the inside wall. He walked away from the incident on his own power, but underwent X-Rays and was diagnosed with a displaced fracture of his left foot. Lloyd now has more Pro Series wins than any other driver.

Round 9 of 16: Corning Twin 100's Race 1

*Saturday July 7, 2007 *

Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen International, nicknamed "The Glen", is an automobile race track in the Northeastern United States, northeastern United States, located in Dix, New York, just southwest of the village of Watkins Glen, New York, Watkins Glen, at the ...

Watkins Glen, New York Watkins Glen is a village and census-designated place in and the county seat of Schuyler County, New York, Schuyler County, New York (state), New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,829. Watkins Glen lies between the ...

*Race weather: *Pole position winner: #27

1 min 36.7418 sec *Race Summary: Polesitter

held off a hard-charging

to capture his first win of the season and fifth of his career. The only major incident of the race came on lap 8 when Chris Festa spun coming out of turn 1 and hit the inside guard rail.

Round 10 of 16: Corning Twin 100's Race 2

*Sunday July 8, 2007 *

*Race weather: *Pole position winner: #44 Daniel Herrington (6th place in race 1) *Race Summary: On lap 3,

was able to get by polesitter Daniel Herrington and pull away from his closest pursuer, race 1 winner

, to capture his seventh win of the season and further extend his points lead.

Round 11 of 16: Sun Belt Rentals 100

*Saturday July 14, 2007 *

Nashville Superspeedway Nashville Superspeedway is a tri-oval intermediate speedway in Lebanon, Tennessee. The track has held a variety of racing events since its opening in 2001, including NASCAR and the IndyCar Series. It is currently owned by Speedway Motorsport ...

Lebanon, Tennessee Lebanon ( ) is the county seat of Wilson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 38,431 at the 2020 census. Lebanon is located in Middle Tennessee, approximately east of downtown Nashville. Lebanon is part of the Nashville Metro ...

*Race weather: , Sunny *Pole position winner: #7

25.7368 sec *Race Summary:

Round 12 of 16: Mid Ohio 100

*Saturday July 21, 2007 *

Lexington, Ohio Lexington is a village (United States)#Ohio, village along the Clear Fork River in Troy Township, Richland County, Ohio, Troy Township and Washington Township, Richland County, Ohio, Washington Township in Richland County, Ohio, Richland County ...

*Race weather: , Partly Cloudy *Pole position winner: #7

*Race Summary:

Round 13 of 16: Kentucky 100

*Saturday August 11, 2007 *

Kentucky Speedway Kentucky Speedway is an inactive tri-oval intermediate speedway in Sparta, Kentucky. It has hosted various major races throughout its existence, including NASCAR and IndyCar races. The track is owned by Speedway Motorsports, LLC (SMI) and ...

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. The cen ...

*Race weather: *Pole position winner: #55

*Race Summary:

Round 14 of 16: Carneros 100

*Saturday August 25, 2007 *

Sonoma, California Sonoma () is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Sonoma is one of the principal cities of California's Wine Country and the center of the Sonoma Valley AVA. Sonoma' ...

*Race weather: , sunny *Pole position winner: #51

1:22.2742 *Race Summary:

passed

on the first lap and never looked back, leading all 30 laps en route to the victory while clinching the championship.

Round 15 of 16: Valley of the Moon 100

*Sunday August 26, 2007 *

*Race weather: , mostly sunny *Pole position winner: #38 Ryan Justice (8th place in Race 1) *Race Summary: The first eight positions from the first race were inverted to determine the grid for race 2. Alex Lloyd's car had engine trouble on the pace lap and he failed to start the race. Richard Antinucci steadily climbed through the field from the seventh starting position, eventually finding his way past polesitter Ryan Justice on lap 18 to take the lead and capture his second win of the season.

Round 16 of 16: Chicagoland 100

*Sunday September 9, 2007 *

Chicagoland Speedway Chicagoland Speedway is an inactive tri-oval Oval track racing#Intermediate, intermediate speedway in Joliet, Illinois. It has hosted various major races throughout its existence, including NASCAR and IndyCar races. The track is currently own ...

Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will County, Illinois, Will and Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, located southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County, Illinois, Will County. It had a population of ...

*Race weather: , sunny *Pole position winner: #7

28.7799 sec *Race Summary: The

cars of champion Alex Lloyd and Logan Gomez battled for the lead with

Robbie Pecorari Roberto "Robbie" Pecorari (born May 12, 1987) is an American racing driver from Aston, Pennsylvania. Career One of America's most successful young karting, karters, he won numerous regional and national World Karting Association and Stars of Kar ...

throughout the race, which was slowed by two extended caution flags, the first caused by a major crash involving Chris Festa and

and the second involving

Travis Gregg Travis Gregg (born March 28, 1978) is an American racing driver from Camden, Ohio. After karting, Gregg began in cars in amateur SCCA Formula Atlantic in 1998 and 1999 while attending Miami University. He graduated in 2000 and ventured into spri ...

and

. Gomez led his teammate entering the final lap. Lloyd mounted a challenge and the two cars briefly touched exiting turn four and Gomez was able to hold off Lloyd for his first Pro Series victory by a mere 0.0005 sec. The league claims that this finish is the closest in motor racing history.To the fourth degree
IndyCar.com, Sept 13, 2007

Championship standings

Drivers' Championship

; Scoring system * The driver who starts on pole is awarded one point (except for Race 2 of doubleheader weekends) * The driver who leads the most laps in a race is awarded two additional points. * Ties in points broken by number of wins, or best finishes.

Footnotes

References

External links

Indy Racing League- official site
{{Firestone Indy Lights Series Indy Lights seasons IPS

Drivers and teams

Schedule

Race results

Race summaries

Round 1 of 16: Miami 100

Round 2 of 16: St. Petersburg Grand Prix 1

Round 3 of 16: St. Petersburg Grand Prix 2

Round 4 of 16: Freedom 100 The Freedom 100 was an automobile race held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, as part of the Indy NXT, Indy Lights. The event was a Card (sports)#Undercard, support race for the IndyCar Series Indianapolis 500, and ...

Round 5 of 16: Road Runner 100

Round 6 of 16: Liberty Challenge Race 1

Round 7 of 16: Liberty Challenge Race 2

Round 8 of 16: Iowa 100

Round 9 of 16: Corning Twin 100's Race 1

Round 10 of 16: Corning Twin 100's Race 2

Round 11 of 16: Sun Belt Rentals 100

Round 12 of 16: Mid Ohio 100

Round 13 of 16: Kentucky 100

Round 14 of 16: Carneros 100

Round 15 of 16: Valley of the Moon 100

Round 16 of 16: Chicagoland 100

Championship standings

Drivers' Championship

Footnotes

References

External links

Round 4 of 16:
Freedom 100 The Freedom 100 was an automobile race held annually at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana, as part of the Indy NXT, Indy Lights. The event was a Card (sports)#Undercard, support race for the IndyCar Series Indianapolis 500, and ...