The 2011

Indy Lights 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 Roa ...

season was a season of

open wheel An open-wheel 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 their wheels below the body or inside fend ...

motor racing An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power gene ...

. It was the 26th season of the series and the tenth sanctioned by

IndyCar IndyCar, LLC (stylized as INDYCAR), is an auto racing sanctioning body for American open-wheel car racing headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. The organization sanctions two racing series: the premier IndyCar Series with the Indianapolis ...

, acting as the primary support series for the IZOD IndyCar Series. It began March 27, 2011 in

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, ...

and ended on October 16 at the

Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas Motor Speedway (track complex formerly known as Las Vegas Speedway Park from 1993 to 1996, Las Vegas Speedway in 1992, Las Vegas International Speedway from 1990 to 1992, as the Las Vegas International Speedrome from 1972 to 1990) is a ...

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 racing driver who races the No. 2 Team Penske Dallara/Chevrolet in the IndyCar Series. He was the 2011 Indy Lights champion, and 2017 and 2019 IndyCar Series Champion. He won the 2 ...

, driving for

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 ...

. Newgarden won the title by 94 points over team mate and fellow rookie

Esteban Guerrieri Esteban Guerrieri (born 19 January 1985) is an Argentina, Argentine racing driver currently competing in the FIA TCR World Tour for the GOAT Racing JAS Motorsport, Honda team. His early career in single-seaters saw him become Formula Renault Euro ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

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

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

Liberty Challenge (at the

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 ...

) when it was the main event at the

Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation), ...

. 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 Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

. The series also race at the

New Hampshire Motor Speedway New Hampshire Motor Speedway (formerly known as the New Hampshire International Speedway from 1989 to 2007, the Bryar Motorsports Park from 1965 to 1989, and as the 106 Midway Raceway from 1961 to 1964) is a oval track in Loudon, New Hampshir ...

for the first time since

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

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 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 ...

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 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 ...

; 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 racing facility 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 Alabama since 2010 IndyCar Ser ...

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Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

; 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 Stefan James Wilson (born 20 September 1989 in Sheffield, UK) is a British racing driver. He is the younger brother of the late Formula One and IndyCar Series driver Justin Wilson (racing driver), Justin Wilson. He is also the winner of the 20 ...

for the majority of the race, seeing his lead twice dwindled by caution periods. Peter Dempsey 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: The Ocelot) Yacamán Aristizabal (born February 25, 1991) is a Colombian racing driver from Santiago de Cali who currently manages the USF Juniors series. Yacamán began his career in open-wheel racing, but swit ...

ran off-track on lap four, but managed to restart several laps down, but the other period caused by David Ostella, 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 coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

; 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 James Daly (born December 15, 1991) is an American professional auto racing, racing driver. He competes in the IndyCar Series driving the No. 76 Chevrolet for Juncos Hollinger Racing. He also competes occasionally in NASCAR and has also rac ...

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 Peter Dempsey 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

, who finished third despite a trip down an escape road.

Round 4: Firestone Freedom 100

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

–

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 ...

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

Bryan Clauson Bryan Timothy Clauson (June 15, 1989 – August 7, 2016) was an American professional auto racing driver, best known for his achievements in Dirt track racing, dirt track Open-wheel car, open-wheel racing, such as United States Auto Club, USAC Sil ...

(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

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.

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''. The name is of Hebrew origin and has the meaning "God has been gracious." It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking countries around the world and in the Philippi ...

and James Winslow. Yacamán was transferred to Methodist Hospital with neck pain. After Peter Dempsey 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 Lafayette Central Catholic Jr/Sr High School, Central Catholic High School and is currently enrolled at Purdue University. Beginning in ...

, 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 spectat ...

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

; 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 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 ...

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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, Iowa, Des Moines, Newton is in Central Iowa. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the city population was 15,760 ...

; 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 ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

; 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

, 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 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 ...

1–2 after his new team-mate Peter Dempsey 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 City Centre Airport (ECCA), was an airport within the city of Edmonton, in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It was bordered by Alberta Highway 16, Yellowhead Trail to the north, Kingsway (Edmonto ...

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Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

; 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 David Ostella, and the field concertinaed, with Daniel Morad, Daniel Herrington and

also involved, with Dueck, Ostella and Morad all out on the spot. Third place went to another series rookie, with Oliver Webb 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 Peter Dempsey. 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 ...

–

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

; 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 define ...

; 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 Thiago Cavalcante de Medeiros (born July 24, 1982 in São Paulo) is a retired Brazilian racing driver. After racing in Formula Three Sudamericana from 1999 to 2002, finishing 3rd in 2001 and 4th in 2002, he came to the United States in 2003 to ...

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 "Streets of Baltimore" is a heavily covered country song written by Tompall Glaser and Harlan Howard in 1966. Although Glaser co-wrote the song, his group, Tompall & the Glaser Brothers, Tompall Glaser & The Glaser Brothers, were not the first to r ...

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Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

; 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 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 ...

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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 ...

; Permanent racing facility, *Distance: 67 laps / *Race weather: , partly cloudy *Pole position winner: #5

, 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) *

–

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

; 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