# 2017 Indy Lights

The 2017 Indy Lights season was the 32nd season of the Indy Lights open wheel motor racing series and the 16th sanctioned by IndyCar, acting as the primary support series for the IndyCar Series. A 16-race schedule was announced on September 14, 2016. The schedule included a stop at Gateway Motorsports Park for the first time since 2003. This replaced the race at Phoenix International Raceway after it returned to the schedule for only a single season. The Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca round to end the season was omitted, as it was for the other Road to Indy series.
American Kyle Kaiser driving for Juncos Racing led a steady campaign where he finished every lap of the season in a season where no particular team or driver was dominant and in doing so essentially clinched the championship with one round remaining (he only had to start the final round). Kaiser won three races with an additional three podium finishes. Santiago Urrutia struggled during the first half of the season but logged six podium finishes in the last seven races, including two wins, to vault his way to second in the championship. Colton Herta won six poles, but was only able to convert that to two wins and he finished third in the championship. Brazilian rookie Matheus Leist had a brilliant stretch of races in the middle of the season, capturing three wins, but was otherwise unremarkable and wound up fourth. Zachary Claman DeMelo won a single race and finished fifth in points while 2016 Pro Mazda Championship winner Aaron Telitz bookended the season with his only two wins and finished sixth. Nico Jamin won three races but also suffered four DNFs and fell to seventh in points. Juan Piedrahita captured his first Indy Lights pole at Gateway Motorsports Park, his 57th Indy Lights start.

## Team and driver chart

* All drivers compete in Cooper Tire–shod Dallara chassis with Mazda AER engines.
| Team | No. | Drivers | Rounds |
| Andretti Autosport | 27 | Nico Jamin | All |
| Andretti Autosport | 28 | Dalton Kellett | All |
| Andretti Autosport | 48 | Ryan Norman | All |
| Andretti Steinbrenner Racing | 98 | Colton Herta | All |
| Belardi Auto Racing | 5 | Santiago Urrutia | All |
| Belardi Auto Racing | 9 | Aaron Telitz | All |
| Belardi Auto Racing | 51 | Shelby Blackstock | All |
| Belardi Auto Racing | 84 | Chad Boat | 15 |
| Carlin | 11 | Garth Rickards | All |
| Carlin | 13 | Zachary Claman DeMelo | All |
| Carlin | 22 | Neil Alberico | All |
| Carlin | 26 | Matheus Leist | All |
| Juncos Racing | 18 | Kyle Kaiser | All |
| Juncos Racing | 31 | Nicolás Dapero | All |
| Team Pelfrey | 2 | Juan Piedrahíta | All |
| Team Pelfrey | 3 | Patricio O'Ward | 1–4 |

## Schedule

| Rd. | Date | Race name | Track | Location |
| 1 | March 11 | St. Petersburg 100 | Streets of St. Petersburg | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 2 | March 12 | St. Petersburg 100 | Streets of St. Petersburg | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| 3 | April 22 | Legacy Indy Lights 100 | Barber Motorsports Park | Birmingham, Alabama |
| 4 | April 23 | Legacy Indy Lights 100 | Barber Motorsports Park | Birmingham, Alabama |
| 5 | May 12 | Grand Prix of Indianapolis | Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course | Speedway, Indiana |
| 6 | May 13 | Grand Prix of Indianapolis | Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course | Speedway, Indiana |
| 7 | May 26 | Freedom 100 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway oval | Speedway, Indiana |
| 8 | June 24 | Grand Prix of Road America | Road America | Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin |
| 9 | June 25 | Grand Prix of Road America | Road America | Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin |
| 10 | July 9 | Mazda Iowa 100 | Iowa Speedway | Newton, Iowa |
| 11 | July 15 | Grand Prix of Toronto | Exhibition Place | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| 12 | July 16 | Grand Prix of Toronto | Exhibition Place | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| 13 | July 29 | Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | Lexington, Ohio |
| 14 | July 30 | Grand Prix of Mid-Ohio | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | Lexington, Ohio |
| 15 | August 26 | Illinois 100 | Gateway Motorsports Park | Madison, Illinois |
| 16 | September 3 | Grand Prix of Watkins Glen | Watkins Glen International | Watkins Glen, New York |

## Race results

| Round | Race | Pole position | Fastest lap | Most laps led | Race Winner | Race Winner |
| Round | Race | Pole position | Fastest lap | Most laps led | Driver | Team |
| 1 | St. Petersburg 1 | Aaron Telitz | Colton Herta | Aaron Telitz | Aaron Telitz | Belardi Auto Racing |
| 2 | St. Petersburg 2 | Colton Herta | Colton Herta | Colton Herta | Colton Herta | Andretti Steinbrenner Racing |
| 3 | Birmingham 1 | Kyle Kaiser | Nico Jamin | Nico Jamin | Nico Jamin | Andretti Autosport |
| 4 | Birmingham 2 | Colton Herta$^1$ | Santiago Urrutia | Colton Herta | Colton Herta | Andretti Steinbrenner Racing |
| 5 | Indianapolis GP 1 | Nico Jamin | Matheus Leist | Nico Jamin | Nico Jamin | Andretti Autosport |
| 6 | Indianapolis GP 2 | Kyle Kaiser | Zachary Claman DeMelo | Kyle Kaiser | Kyle Kaiser | Juncos Racing |
| 7 | Indianapolis | Matheus Leist | Santiago Urrutia | Matheus Leist | Matheus Leist | Carlin |
| 8 | Road America 1 | Matheus Leist | Kyle Kaiser | Matheus Leist | Matheus Leist | Carlin |
| 9 | Road America 2 | Colton Herta | Zachary Claman DeMelo | Zachary Claman DeMelo | Zachary Claman DeMelo | Carlin |
| 10 | Iowa | Colton Herta | Dalton Kellett | Matheus Leist | Matheus Leist | Carlin |
| 11 | Toronto 1 | Kyle Kaiser | Colton Herta | Kyle Kaiser | Kyle Kaiser | Juncos Racing |
| 12 | Toronto 2 | Colton Herta | Kyle Kaiser | Colton Herta | Kyle Kaiser | Juncos Racing |
| 13 | Mid-Ohio 1 | Santiago Urrutia | Shelby Blackstock | Santiago Urrutia | Santiago Urrutia | Belardi Auto Racing |
| 14 | Mid-Ohio 2 | Colton Herta | Santiago Urrutia | Nico Jamin | Nico Jamin | Andretti Autosport |
| 15 | Gateway | Juan Piedrahíta | Zachary Claman DeMelo | Juan Piedrahíta | Santiago Urrutia | Belardi Auto Racing |
| 16 | Watkins Glen | Colton Herta | Aaron Telitz | Aaron Telitz | Aaron Telitz | Belardi Auto Racing |
    $^1$Qualifying canceled due to weather and grid was set on points

## Championship standings
### Drivers' championship
#### Scoring system

| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th | 13th | 14th | 15th | 16th | 17th | 18th | 19th | 20th |
| Points | 30 | 25 | 22 | 19 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
* The driver who qualified on pole was awarded one additional point.
* An additional point was awarded to the driver who led the most laps in a race.
* The driver who obtained the fastest lap in a race was awarded one additional point.
| Pos | Driver | STP | STP | ALA | ALA | IND | IND | INDY | RDA | RDA | IOW | TOR | TOR | MOH | MOH | GAT | WGL | Pts |
| 1 | Kyle Kaiser | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1* | 9 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1* | 1 | 12 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 330 |
| 2 | Santiago Urrutia | 13 | 2 | 15 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 1* | 2 | 1 | 2 | 310 |
| 3 | Colton Herta RY | 2 | 1* | 10 | 1* | 12 | 10 | 13 | 12 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 10* | 2 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 300 |
| 4 | Matheus Leist R | 15 | 11 | 4 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 1* | 1* | 4 | 1* | 13 | 5 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 279 |
| 5 | Zachary Claman DeMelo | 8 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 2 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 1* | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 274 |
| 6 | Aaron Telitz R | 1* | 5 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 13 | 2 | 11 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 15 | 1* | 271 |
| 7 | Nico Jamin R | 7 | 14 | 1* | 3 | 1* | 4 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 12 | 3 | 1* | 11 | 5 | 269 |
| 8 | Neil Alberico | 3 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 14 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 225 |
| 9 | Juan Piedrahita | 14 | 10 | 11 | 11 | DNS | 5 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 11 | 2* | 9 | 208 |
| 10 | Shelby Blackstock | 4 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 14 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 207 |
| 11 | Ryan Norman R | 10 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 14 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 200 |
| 12 | Dalton Kellett | 12 | 12 | 6 | 10 | 13 | 9 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 9 | 7 | 13 | 7 | 13 | 198 |
| 13 | Nicolás Dapero R | 9 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 187 |
| 14 | Garth Rickards R | 11 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 7 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 9 | 8 | 13 | 14 | 13 | DNS | 146 |
| 15 | Patricio O'Ward R | 5 | 3 | 8 | 15 | | | | | | | | | | | | | 58 |
| 16 | Chad Boat R | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 14 | | 7 |
| Pos | Driver | STP | STP | ALA | ALA | IND | IND | INDY | RDA | RDA | IOW | TOR | TOR | MOH | MOH | GAT | WGL | Pts |
| Color | Result |
| Gold | Winner |
| Silver | 2nd place |
| Bronze | 3rd place |
| Green | 4th & 5th place |
| Light Blue | 6th–10th place |
| Dark Blue | Finished (Outside Top 10) |
| Purple | Did not finish |
| Red | Did not qualify (DNQ) |
| Brown | Withdrawn (Wth) |
| Black | Disqualified (DSQ) |
| White | Did not start (DNS) |
| Blank | Did not participate (DNP) |
| Blank | Not competing |
In-line notation :
| Bold | Pole position (1 point) |
| Italics | Ran fastest race lap (1 point) |
| * | Led most race laps (1 point) |
| $^1$ | Qualifying cancelled no bonus point awarded |
| Rookie ||
* Ties in points broken by number of wins, or best finishes.

### Teams' championship

| Pos | Team | Points |
| 1 | Belardi Auto Racing | 393 |
| 2 | Andretti Autosport | 389 |
| 3 | Carlin | 365 |
| 4 | Juncos Racing | 282 |
| 5 | Team Pelfrey | 162 |