# 2000 Indy Lights season

The 2000 Indy Lights season (more commonly known as the 2000 CART Dayton Indy Lights Championship) was the 15th season of Indy Lights. The season consisted of 12 races with all of the races being supporter races for the 2000 CART season. The season would be dominated by Kiwi driver, Scott Dixon who captured six race victories to win the championship by nine points over American driver, Townsend Bell with Casey Mears coming in third.

## Team and driver chart

The following drivers and teams competed in the series:
| Team | No. | Drivers | Round(s) |
| Brian Stewart Racing | 8 | Soheil Ayari | 1 |
| Brian Stewart Racing | 9 | Todd Snyder | 1–6 |
| Brian Stewart Racing | 10 | Rodolfo Lavín | All |
| Conquest Racing | 11 | Chris Menninga | All |
| Conquest Racing | 21 | Felipe Giaffone | All |
| Conquest Racing | 40 | Rolando Quintanilla | All |
| Dorricott Racing | 1 | Townsend Bell | All |
| Dorricott Racing | 2 | Casey Mears | All |
| Dorricott Racing | 3 | Jason Bright | All |
| Dorricott Racing | 3 | Derek Higgins | 6 |
| Genoa Racing | 36 | Waldemar Coronas | 9 |
| Genoa Racing | 61 | Cory Witherill | 1–6, 10, 12 |
| Lucas Motorsports | 4 | Geoff Boss | All |
| Lucas Motorsports | 5 | Andy Boss | All |
| Mexpro Racing | 15 | Rudy Junco Jr. | All |
| Mexpro Racing | 16 | Derek Higgins | 7–9, 11–12 |
| PacWest Lights | 17 | Scott Dixon | All |
| PacWest Lights | 18 | Tony Renna | All |
| Team KOOL Green | 26 | Jeff Simmons | All |
| Team KOOL Green | 27 | Jonny Kane | All |
| Team México Quaker Herdez | 7 | Mario Domínguez | All |
| Team México Quaker Herdez | 78 | Luis Díaz | 1–9, 11–12 |

## Schedule

| Rd. | Date | Track | Location |
| 1 | April 16 | R Long Beach Street Circuit | Long Beach, California |
| 2 | June 5 | O Milwaukee Mile | West Allis, Wisconsin |
| 3 | June 18 | R The Raceway at Belle Isle Park | Detroit, Michigan |
| 4 | June 25 | R Portland International Raceway | Portland, Oregon |
| 5 | July 22 | O Michigan International Speedway | Brooklyn, Michigan |
| 6 | July 30 | O Chicago Motor Speedway | Cicero, Illinois |
| 7 | August 13 | R Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | Lexington, Ohio |
| 8 | September 3 | R Concord Pacific Place | Vancouver, British Columbia |
| 9 | September 10 | R Laguna Seca Raceway | Monterey, California |
| 10 | September 17 | O Gateway International Raceway | Madison, Illinois |
| 11 | October 1 | R George R. Brown Convention Center | Houston, Texas |
| 12 | October 29 | O California Speedway | Fontana, California |

## Race results

| Round | Circuit | Pole position | Fastest lap | Most laps led | Race Winner | Race Winner |
| Round | Circuit | Pole position | Fastest lap | Most laps led | Driver | Team |
| 1 | Long Beach Street Circuit | Jonny Kane | Jonny Kane | Jonny Kane | Scott Dixon | PacWest Lights |
| 2 | Milwaukee Mile | Scott Dixon | Scott Dixon | Scott Dixon | Scott Dixon | PacWest Lights |
| 3 | The Raceway at Belle Isle Park | Jonny Kane | Jonny Kane | Jonny Kane | Jonny Kane | Team KOOL Green |
| 4 | Portland International Raceway | Townsend Bell | Scott Dixon | Jason Bright | Jason Bright | Dorricott Racing |
| 5 | Michigan International Speedway | Felipe Giaffone | Jason Bright | Felipe Giaffone | Felipe Giaffone | Conquest Racing |
| 6 | Chicago Motor Speedway | Chris Menninga | Scott Dixon | Scott Dixon | Scott Dixon | PacWest Lights |
| 7 | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | Jason Bright | Casey Mears | Townsend Bell | Townsend Bell | Dorricott Racing |
| 8 | Concord Pacific Place | Felipe Giaffone | Scott Dixon | Felipe Giaffone | Scott Dixon | PacWest Lights |
| 9 | Laguna Seca Raceway | Casey Mears | Scott Dixon | Scott Dixon | Scott Dixon | PacWest Lights |
| 10 | Gateway International Raceway | Townsend Bell | Townsend Bell | Townsend Bell | Townsend Bell | Dorricott Racing |
| 11 | George R. Brown Convention Center | Casey Mears | Casey Mears | Casey Mears | Casey Mears | Dorricott Racing |
| 12 | California Speedway | Felipe Giaffone | Cory Witherill | Scott Dixon | Scott Dixon | PacWest Lights |

## Race summaries
### Long Beach race

Held April 16 at Long Beach, California Street Course. Jonny Kane won the pole.
Top Five Results
* 17- Scott Dixon
* 3- Jason Bright
* 21- Felipe Giaffone
* 26- Jeff Simmons
* 2- Casey Mears

### Milwaukee race

Held June 5 at The Milwaukee Mile. Scott Dixon won the pole.
Top Five Results
* 17- Scott Dixon
* 3- Jason Bright
* 7- Mario Domínguez
* 11- Chris Menninga
* 2- Casey Mears

### Detroit race

Held June 18 at Belle Isle Raceway. Jonny Kane won the pole.
Top Five Results
* 27- Jonny Kane
* 21- Felipe Giaffone
* 2- Casey Mears
* 17- Scott Dixon
* 7- Mario Domínguez

### Portland race

Held June 25 at Portland International Raceway. Townsend Bell won the pole.
Top Five Results
* 3- Jason Bright
* 1- Townsend Bell
* 26- Jeff Simmons
* 18- Tony Renna
* 11- Chris Menninga

### Michigan race

Held July 22 at Michigan International Speedway. Felipe Giaffone won the pole.
Top Five Results
* 21- Felipe Giaffone
* 2- Casey Mears
* 18- Tony Renna
* 1- Townsend Bell
* 9- Todd Snyder

### Chicago race

Held July 30 at The Chicago Motor Speedway. Chris Menninga won the pole.
Top Five Results
* 17- Scott Dixon
* 1- Townsend Bell
* 18- Tony Renna
* 21- Felipe Giaffone
* 10- Rodolfo Lavín, Jr.

### Mid-Ohio race

Held August 13 at The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Jason Bright won the pole.
Top Five Results
* 1- Townsend Bell
* 17- Scott Dixon
* 3- Jason Bright
* 18- Tony Renna
* 2- Casey Mears

### Vancouver race

Held September 3 at Pacific Place. Felipe Giaffone won the pole.
Top Five Results
* 17- Scott Dixon
* 21- Felipe Giaffone
* 26- Jeff Simmons
* 1- Townsend Bell
* 7- Mario Domínguez

### Laguna Seca race

Held September 10 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Casey Mears won the pole.
Top Five Results
* 17- Scott Dixon
* 1- Casey Mears
* 26- Jeff Simmons
* 18- Tony Renna
* 27- Jonny Kane

### Gateway race

Held September 17 at The Gateway International Raceway. Townsend Bell won the pole.
Top Five Results
* 1- Townsend Bell
* 2- Casey Mears
* 3- Jason Bright
* 18- Tony Renna
* 11- Chris Menninga

### Houston race

Held October 1 at The Houston Street Circuit. Casey Mears won the pole.
Top Five Results
* 2- Casey Mears
* 1- Townsend Bell
* 21- Felipe Giaffone
* 4- Geoff Boss
* 11- Chris Menninga

### Fontana race

Held October 29 at The California Speedway. Felipe Giaffone won the pole.
Top Five Results
* 17- Scott Dixon
* 1- Townsend Bell
* 18- Tony Renna
* 2- Casey Mears
* 10- Rodolfo Lavín, Jr.

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

| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | 11th | 12th |
| Points | 20 | 16 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
* The driver who qualifies on pole is awarded one additional point.
* An additional point is awarded to the driver who leads the most laps in a race.
| Pos | Driver | LBH | MIL | DET | POR | MIC | CHI | MDO | VAN | LAG | GAT | HOU | FON | Points |
| 1 | Scott Dixon | 1 | 1* | 4 | 11 | 14 | 1* | 2 | 1 | 1* | 15 | 15 | 1* | 155 |
| 2 | Townsend Bell | 17 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1* | 4 | 18 | 1* | 2 | 2 | 146 |
| 3 | Casey Mears | 5 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 2 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1* | 4 | 141 |
| 4 | Felipe Giaffone | 3 | 12 | 2 | 14 | 1* | 4 | 13 | 2* | 6 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 118 |
| 5 | Tony Renna | 9 | 17 | 17 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 10 | 3 | 105 |
| 6 | Jason Bright | 2 | 2 | 18 | 1* | 9 | Wth | 3 | 14 | 8 | 3 | 16 | 14 | 91 |
| 7 | Jeff Simmons | 4 | 7 | 9 | 3 | 15 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 11 | 6 | 88 |
| 8 | Mario Domínguez | 10 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 11 | 11 | 5 | 10 | 6 | 12 | 16 | 67 |
| 9 | Chris Menninga | 11 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 18 | 9 | 14 | 17 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 61 |
| 10 | Jonny Kane | 6* | 16 | 1* | 17 | 17 | DNS | 10 | 15 | 5 | 9 | 13 | 10 | 52 |
| 11 | Rodolfo Lavín | 7 | 8 | 13 | 12 | 16 | 5 | 17 | 10 | 16 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 48 |
| 12 | Geoff Boss | 8 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 12 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 4 | DNS | 43 |
| 13 | Luis Díaz | 12 | 10 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 12 | 7 | | 7 | 15 | 31 |
| 14 | Rudy Junco Jr. | 18 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 13 | 8 | 15 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 17 | 8 | 26 |
| 15 | Andy Boss | 13 | 14 | 10 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 9 | 16 | 9 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 19 |
| 16 | Rolando Quintanilla | 14 | Wth | 16 | 16 | 8 | 17 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 10 | 8 | 11 | 16 |
| 17 | Todd Snyder | 15 | 15 | 8 | 18 | 5 | 16 | | | | | | | 15 |
| 18 | Derek Higgins | | | | | | 13 | 7 | 7 | 14 | | 14 | 17 | 12 |
| 19 | Cory Witherill | 19 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 11 | 14 | | | | DNS | | 13 | 2 |
| 20 | Waldemar Coronas | | | | | | | | | 15 | | | | 0 |
| 21 | Soheil Ayari | 16 | | | | | | | | | | | | 0 |
| Pos | Driver | LBH | MIL | DET | POR | MIC | CHI | MDO | VAN | LAG | GAT | HOU | FON | Points |
| 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 |
| * | Led most race laps (1 point) |
| $^1$ | Qualifying cancelled no bonus point awarded |