2008 Indy Lights

February 2025 Indy Lights Firestone Indy Lights 2008 16 March 29 September 7 BRA Raphael Matos USA Andretti Green-AFS Racing BRA Ana Beatriz 2007 2009 thumb|right|Brazilian driver Raphael Matos won the series championship. The 2008 IRL Firestone Indy Lights Series, formerly the Indy Pro Series, was the seventh season of the developmental open-wheel racing series under the Indy Racing League ownership, and the 23rd in Indy NXT combined history. As part of the unification with Champ Car in February 2008, all previous seasons of the Indy Pro Series from its inaugural season in 2002 were combined with the historical records of the old Indy Lights development series, which ran under CART management from 1986 to 2001. On March 22, 2008, Firestone signed on to be the title sponsor, and thus the Indy Pro Series was retitled into Firestone Indy Lights Series. The link between both series was further established within the Firestone Firehawk Cup, which was awarded to the champion between 2002 and 2013. After passing on his scholarship for winning the Atlantic Championship before the IndyCar-Champ Car unification, Raphael Matos won the Indy Lights championship driving for Andretti Green/AFS Racing. Matos reached the finale at Chicagoland Speedway with a three point lead over Richard Antinucci, who was racing for Sam Schmidt Motorsports and lost all chances after crashing halfway through the race. Matos scored three wins against Antinucci's two, all of them on road courses, with both drivers splitting the St. Petersburg and Watkins Glen doubleheaders. Rookie of the Year honors went to one of Antinucci's teammates, Ana Beatriz, who finished third in points and won in Nashville, becoming the first woman in history to win an Indy Lights race. She finished 21 points clear of series veteran Arie Luyendyk Jr, Matos' teammate for his first full season since 2004, who finally got his first win at the final round in Chicagoland in his 62nd attempt. Despite his complete lack of oval background, British driver Dillon Battistini surprised by being the class of the field on this discipline for Panther Racing. He won in his first race at Homestead-Miami Speedway and at the Freedom 100, for a total of four oval wins. However, his lack of pace on the road courses and multiple issues during the year dropped Battistini to 6th in the points behind rookie J. R. Hildebrand, the winner at Kansas. Wins were also achieved by Pablo Donoso, James Davison, Bobby Wilson and demoted IndyCar driver Franck Perera for a total of 10 different winners during the season, which as of 2023 stands as the all-time Indy NXT record. After one year with an in-house operation, Chip Ganassi Racing partnered for the 2008 season with Apex Racing, which would run the operation under the new name of Integra Motorsports with CGRT. The alliance between American Spirit Racing and Atlantic Racing Team that gave birth to Team KMA was dissolved, as American Spirit kept on running the rebranded team. Kenn Hardley Racing left the series and sold their equipment to new team Alliance Motorsports, while Team E also entered the series in place of departing teams Cheever Racing and SpeedWorks. A new venture called FuZion Autosports by former team owner Dave McMillan registered an entry for driver Adam Andretti, but neither the team or the driver made an appearance during the year, after McMillan joined Integra Motorsports as team manager. Strong grids continued for the second year in a row, with 20 drivers at least in each round, up to 23-24 drivers at most rounds and 27 starters for the Freedom 100, which stands as the all-time record for the event. This would filter into the start of the 2009 season, right before the economic downturn in auto racing. 12 drivers contested all sixteen races, and a total of 40 drivers competed during the season. Drivers and teams TeamNoDriversRounds USA Team Moore Racing2 USA Jeff Simmons 2–13 USA Jonathan Klein 14–1622 CHL Pablo Donoso 5–12, 14–15 USA Jonathan Klein 13 GBR Dillon Battistini 16 USA Brian Stewart Racing3 PER Juan Manuel Polar 1–4 NZL Marc Williams 5–6 CHL Pablo Donoso 13, 16 33 NZL Wade Cunningham 1, 4–6 NZL Mitch Cunningham 2–3, 8–9, 11–12, 14–15 USA Guthrie Racing4 USA Sean Guthrie All9 USA Tom Wieringa 123 USA Logan Gomez All44 USA Robbie Pecorari 13–1654 USA Micky Gilbert 5–7, 10, 13, 16 USA Matt Lee 8–9 USA Robbie Pecorari 11–12 PER Juan Manuel Polar 14–1555 USA Robbie Pecorari 4 USA Tom Wieringa 5, 16 FRA Franck Perera 7–15 USA RLR Andersen Racing 5 USA Andrew Prendeville 1–12 USA Daniel Herrington 13–16 25 USA J. R. Hildebrand All USA Michael Crawford Motorsports 6 USA Jake Slotten 1, 4–5 USA Robbie Pecorari 2–3 USA Daniel Herrington 8–9, 11–12 USA C. R. Crews 13 USA Tom Dyer 14–16 8 GBR Nathan Freke 1–3 USA Mark Olson 4–9, 11–12, 14–15 USA P. J. Abbott 13 USA Sam Schmidt Motorsports7 USA Richard Antinucci All11 AUS James Davison All20 BRA Ana Beatriz All34 USA Jon Brownson 1, 4–6 USA Travis Gregg 7, 1377 NZL Jonny Reid 14–15 USA Integra Motorsports w/ CGRT9 NZL Marc Williams 2–3 NZL Jonny Reid 5–12 NZL Wade Cunningham 16 USA Panther Racing15 GBR Dillon Battistini 1–15 USA Bobby Wilson 1616 USA Brent Sherman All USA Team E17 USA Bobby Wilson 1–13 USA American Spirit Racing18 CHE Cyndie Allemann All USA Playa Del Racing21 USA Al Unser III 1–5 USA Alliance Motorsports24 USA Chris Festa 1–6, 10 NZL Marc Williams 7 NZL Wade Cunningham 11–12 NZL Christina Orr 13–16 USA Andretti Green-AFS Racing26 NLD Arie Luyendyk Jr. All27 BRA Raphael Matos All USA SWE Racing43 CHL Pablo Donoso 1–4 USA Robbie Pecorari 5, 7, 10 USA Mike Potekhen 13–1692 USA Mike Potekhen 5 USA Mile High Motorsports54 USA Micky Gilbert 1–4 Schedule The biggest change within the schedule came with the discontinuation of the Liberty Challenge at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course, after the United States Grand Prix entered into a hiatus. Its two races were replaced with a return to Kansas Speedway, where the series had not raced since 2004, and a second race at Mid-Ohio, which meant that all road course events had been turned into doubleheaders. With the return of Kansas, most IndyCar races on U.S. ovals were supported by Indy Lights, with the exception of Texas and Richmond. Rd.DateRace nameTrackLocation1March 29Miami 100white O silver Homestead–Miami SpeedwayHomestead, Florida2April 5–6Grand Prix of St. Petersburglightblue R silver Streets of St. PetersburgSt. Petersburg, Florida34April 27Hard Rock 100white O silver Kansas SpeedwayKansas City, Kansas5May 23Firestone Freedom 100white O silver Indianapolis Motor SpeedwaySpeedway, Indiana6June 1Milwaukee 100white O silver Milwaukee MileWest Allis, Wisconsin7June 21Jeld-Wen 100white O silver Iowa SpeedwayNewton, Iowa8July 5Corning Duels at Watkins Glenlightblue R silver Watkins Glen InternationalWatkins Glen, New York910July 12Sun Belt Rentals 100white O silver Nashville SuperspeedwayLebanon, Tennessee11July 19–20Mid-Ohio 100lightblue R silver Mid-Ohio Sports Car CourseLexington, Ohio1213August 9Kentucky 100white O silver Kentucky SpeedwaySparta, Kentucky14August 23–24Carneros 100lightblue R silver Infineon RacewaySonoma, California15Valley of the Moon 10016September 7SunRichGourmet.com 100white O silver Chicagoland SpeedwayJoliet, Illinois #FFFFFF Oval/Speedway O solid 1px #AAAAAA lightblue Road/Street course R solid 1px #AAAAAA Race results RoundRacePole positionFastest lapMost laps ledRace WinnerDriverTeam1Homestead–Miami SpeedwayBRA Raphael MatosUSA Sean GuthrieUSA Richard AntinucciGBR Dillon BattistiniPanther Racing2Streets of St. PetersburgBRA Raphael MatosBRA Raphael MatosBRA Raphael MatosBRA Raphael MatosAndretti Green-AFS Racing3USA Jeff SimmonsNo qualifying sessions were held for Race 2 of doubleheader weekends. The grid was decided by the results of Race 1, with the top 4 finishers in reverse order, and no bonus point was awarded for pole position. Double Q1BRA Raphael MatosUSA Jeff SimmonsUSA Richard AntinucciSam Schmidt Motorsports4Kansas SpeedwayUSA Richard AntinucciQualifying for Kansas was cancelled due to rain. The grid was set by entrant points entering the race, and no bonus point was awarded for pole position. Kansas QBRA Ana BeatrizUSA J. R. HildebrandUSA J. R. HildebrandRLR Andersen Racing5Indianapolis Motor SpeedwayGBR Dillon BattistiniUSA Bobby WilsonGBR Dillon BattistiniGBR Dillon BattistiniPanther Racing6Milwaukee MileCHL Pablo DonosoUSA Bobby WilsonUSA Bobby WilsonUSA Bobby WilsonTeam E7Iowa SpeedwayNLD Arie Luyendyk Jr.GBR Dillon BattistiniNLD Arie Luyendyk Jr.GBR Dillon BattistiniPanther Racing8Watkins Glen InternationalFRA Franck PereraBRA Raphael MatosBRA Raphael MatosBRA Raphael MatosAndretti Green-AFS Racing9USA Logan GomezNo qualifying sessions were held for Race 2 of doubleheader weekends. The grid was decided by the results of Race 1, with the top 6 finishers in reverse order, and no bonus point was awarded for pole position. Double Q2BRA Raphael MatosUSA Richard AntinucciUSA Richard AntinucciSam Schmidt Motorsports10Nashville SuperspeedwayAUS James DavisonNLD Arie Luyendyk Jr.BRA Ana BeatrizBRA Ana BeatrizSam Schmidt Motorsports11Mid-Ohio Sports Car CourseBRA Raphael MatosBRA Raphael MatosBRA Raphael MatosBRA Raphael MatosAndretti Green-AFS Racing12NZL Jonny ReidDouble Q1NZL Mitch CunninghamNZL Jonny ReidAUS James DavisonSam Schmidt Motorsports13Kentucky SpeedwayBRA Raphael MatosNLD Arie Luyendyk Jr.GBR Dillon BattistiniGBR Dillon BattistiniPanther Racing14Infineon RacewayFRA Franck PereraFRA Franck PereraFRA Franck PereraFRA Franck PereraGuthrie Racing15CHL Pablo DonosoNo qualifying sessions were held for Race 2 of doubleheader weekends. The grid was decided by the results of Race 1, with the top 8 finishers in reverse order, and no bonus point was awarded for pole position. Double Q3FRA Franck PereraCHL Pablo DonosoCHL Pablo DonosoTeam Moore Racing16Chicagoland SpeedwayBRA Raphael MatosUSA Brent ShermanBRA Raphael MatosNLD Arie Luyendyk Jr.Andretti Green-AFS Racing Race summaries Miami 100 Saturday March 29, 2008 Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead, Florida Race weather: 82 °F, fair skies Pole position winner: #27 Raphael Matos 57.2075 sec (2 laps) 186.899 mph (300.785 km/h) Race Summary: As opposed to the previous year's race which was repeatedly slowed by major incidents, the 2008 season opener ran free of any major incidents. Polesitter Raphael Matos was passed in the opening laps by a hard-charging Richard Antinucci who started fifth. Antinucci dominated the middle portion of the race, but when he started to reach lapped traffic, rookie Dillon Battistini was able to catch him and the two battled for the remainder of the race. Following a caution flag with less than 10 laps to go, Battistini was able to find his way around Antinucci to take his first series win in his first race, which was also his first race on an oval track. The 23 cars running at the finish is a series record.Lewandowski, Dave. Great StartJune 2017 InternetArchiveBot yes , IndyCar.com, March 29, 2008 Top Five Finishers Fin.Pos St.Pos CarNo. Driver Team Laps Time LapsLed Points 12 15GBR Dillon BattistiniPanther Racing670:38:07.8215450 25 7USA Richard AntinucciSam Schmidt Motorsports67+1.68484542 313 16USA Brent ShermanPanther Racing67+4.0942035 411 26NLD Arie Luyendyk Jr.AGR-AFS Racing67+4.1484032 515 24USA Chris FestaAlliance Motorsports67+4.1992030Race average speed: 156.560 mi/h km/h onLead changes: 4 between 3 driversCautions: 2 for 7 laps St. Pete 100 Race 1 Saturday April 5, 2008 Streets of St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Florida Race weather: 84 °F, fair skies Pole position winner: #27 Raphael Matos 1:06.4669 sec, 97.492 mph (156.898 km/h) Race Summary: Raphael Matos dominated the race and captured his third win at St. Pete in 3 races. The race was slowed 3 times early in the race by caution flags caused by two spins by Bobby Wilson and Mitchell Cunningham going off course, but the final 26 laps were run without a full-course caution. Matos drew the number four following the race, meaning that the top four positions would be inverted and Jeff Simmons would start race 2 from the pole. Top Five Finishers Fin.Pos St.Pos CarNo. Driver Team Laps Time LapsLed Points 11 27BRA Raphael MatosAGR-AFS Racing400:49:25.51584051 22 7USA Richard AntinucciSam Schmidt Motorsports40+3.1577040 33 20BRA Ana BeatrizSam Schmidt Motorsports40+10.8371035 45 2USA Jeff SimmonsTeam Moore Racing40+15.2206032 56 25USA J. R. HildebrandRLR-Andersen Racing40+15.6018030Race average speed: 87.405 mi/h km/h onLead changes: noneCautions: 3 for 6 laps St. Pete 100 Race 2 Sunday April 6, 2008 Streets of St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Florida Race weather: 79 °F, overcast Pole position winner: #2 Jeff Simmons (4th place in race 1) Race Summary: Jeff Simmons led the first half of the race from the pole, which was slowed many times by caution flags. On a restart on lap 25, the fastest car on the track Raphael Matos tried to pass Simmons, but the two banged wheels and Ana Beatriz passed both of them and took the lead. Simmons would eventually retire from the race due to the damage incurred and Matos had to pit to replace a flattened tire. Beatriz would lead until a restart on lap 30 when she and her teammate came together in the middle of turn 1. Beatriz spun and attempted to rejoin the race right in front of the car of Pablo Donoso. The two made heavy contact and were out of the race. Antinucci continued on to the victory. He was later penalized 10 points for making avoidable contact with Beatriz.2008 race results::Streets of St. PetersburgJuly 2018 InternetArchiveBot yes , IndyCar.com, April 6, 2008 Top Five Finishers Fin.Pos St.Pos CarNo. Driver Team Laps Time LapsLed Points 13 7USA Richard AntinucciSam Schmidt Motorsports400:56:59.4231840 25 25USA J. R. HildebrandRLR-Andersen Racing40+1.5415040 323 23USA Logan GomezGuthrie Racing40+2.4302035 421 15GBR Dillon BattistiniPanther Racing40+5.8187032 515 4USA Sean GuthrieGuthrie Racing40+8.8457030Race average speed: 75.802 mi/h km/h onLead changes: 2 between 3 driversCautions: 5 for 16 laps Kansas Lottery 100 Sunday April 27, 2008 Kansas Speedway, Kansas City, Kansas Race weather: 56 °F, sunny Pole position winner: #7 Richard Antinucci (entrant points) Race Summary: Qualifying was scheduled for the morning of the race but low temperatures caused it to be canceled and the field lined up based on entrant points, giving points leader Richard Antinucci the pole. Antinucci was passed shortly after the start by a gaggle of cars including Dillon Battistini, Arie Luyendyk Jr., Raphael Matos, and J. R. Hildebrand. Hildebrand took the lead from Battistini on lap 20. On lap 56 Raphael Matos who was running in 6th made contact with Jeff Simmons and shot into the wall, knocking him out of the race and dropping him from second to fourth in points. Hildebrand was able to hold off a hard-charging Robbie Pecorari who started 23rd because he competed for a part-time team to capture his first Indy Lights victory in just his second race on an oval. Hildebrand also took the points lead by two points over Antinucci. Top Five Finishers Fin.Pos St.Pos CarNo. Driver Team Laps Time LapsLed Points 14 25USA J. R. HildebrandRLR-Andersen Racing670:49:51.23684752 223 55USA Robbie PecorariGuthrie Racing67+0.0553040 36 26NLD Arie Luyendyk Jr.AGR-AFS Racing67+0.2102135 43 15GBR Dillon BattistiniPanther Racing67+0.3456532 517 33NZL Wade CunninghamBrian Stewart Racing67+0.6222030Race average speed: 122.566 mi/h km/h onLead changes: 8 between 4 driversCautions: 5 for 30 laps Firestone Freedom 100 Friday May 23, 2008 Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway, Indiana Race weather: Pole position winner: #15 Dillon Battistini 188.397 mph (303.196 km/h) Race Summary: Dillon Battistini led at the start and was consistently hounded by the cars of James Davison and Wade Cunningham throughout the race. The most spectacular moment of the race came when Davison and J. R. Hildebrand's cars came together on the backstretch, forcing nearby cars to go four-wide and Jeff Simmons to drop two tires into the grass to avoid the slowing pair of cars that sustained slight damage. During the final ten laps of the race, Richard Antinucci was able to catch a draft behind Battistini, but reported that when he pulled out of the draft to pass, he was unable to maintain enough speed to complete the maneuver and Battistini was able to cruise to his second win of the season. Top Five Finishers Fin.Pos St.Pos CarNo. Driver Team Laps Time LapsLed Points 11 15GBR Dillon BattistiniPanther Racing400:39:46.94953853 26 7USA Richard AntinucciSam Schmidt Motorsports40+0.2458040 33 33NZL Wade CunninghamBrian Stewart Racing40+0.5033135 413 43USA Robbie PecorariSWE Racing40+0.7977032 54 20BRA Ana BeatrizSam Schmidt Motorsports40+1.2230030Race average speed: 150.820 mi/h km/h onLead changes: 4 between 3 driversCautions: 3 for 9 laps Milwaukee 100 Sunday June 1, 2008 Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wisconsin Race weather: 65 °F °C on, sunny Pole position winner: #22 Pablo Donoso 145.699 mph (234.480 km/h) Race Summary: Pablo Donoso captured the first pole of his Indy Lights career. The race was slowed three times early on by incidents resulting in light contact with the wall by Ana Beatriz and Marc Williams and heavy contact by Mark Olson. After the third caution ended on lap 29 the race went green for the final 71 laps. Bobby Wilson, who took the lead from Donoso on lap 13 drove away from the field and, although challenged late by Jeff Simmons, held on for his third series victory. The win was the first for his team (Team E) and Wilson's first of the season and first on an oval. Top Five Finishers Fin.Pos St.Pos CarNo. Driver Team Laps Time LapsLed Points 12 17USA Bobby WilsonTeam E1000:54:14.94468852 23 2USA Jeff SimmonsTeam Moore Racing100+0.0893040 37 27BRA Raphael MatosAGR-AFS Racing100+16.3217035 46 5USA Andrew PrendevilleRLR-Andersen Racing100+17.3626032 514 25USA J. R. HildebrandRLR-Andersen Racing100+17.7737030Race average speed: 112.260 mi/h km/h onLead changes: 1 between 2 driversCautions: 3 for 17 laps Jeld-Wen 100 Saturday June 21, 2008 Iowa Speedway, Newton, Iowa Race weather: 80 °F °C on, Mostly Cloudy Pole position winner: #26 Arie Luyendyk Jr. 160.397 mph (258.134 km/h) Race Summary: The cars of Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Dillon Battistini dominated the race, with Luyendyk leading the first 101 laps from the pole and building an approximate 0.5 second lead on Battistini who built a several second lead on the rest of the field. On lap 102 Luyendyk came up on the nearly lap-down cars of Robbie Pecorari and James Davison running side by side and had to lift off the throttle to avoid, running over them. This allowed Battistini to squeeze by the slowed car of Luyendyk. Shortly thereafter on lap 106, Jonny Reid spun coming out of turn four and made moderate contact with the outside wall in what was the largest incident of the day. After cleanup, the green flag waved with one lap to go but Battistini was able to hold off Luyendyk, capturing his third win of the season and denying Luyendyk his first series win in 53 starts. Battistini also captured the points lead over prior leader Richard Antinucci who struggled to a 9th-place finish. Top Five Finishers Fin.Pos St.Pos CarNo. Driver Team Laps Time LapsLed Points 12 15GBR Dillon BattistiniPanther Racing1150:47:05.61241450 21 26NLD Arie Luyendyk Jr.AGR-AFS Racing115+0.494810143 36 20BRA Ana BeatrizSam Schmidt Motorsports115+2.7089035 45 16USA Brent ShermanPanther Racing115+2.8920032 510 22CHL Pablo DonosoTeam Moore Racing115+2.9664030Race average speed: 130.986 mi/h km/h onLead changes: 1 between 2 driversCautions: 4 for 18 laps Corning Duels Race 1 Saturday July 5, 2008 Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York Race weather: 72°, Sunny Pole position winner: #55 Franck Perera 1:37.8651 sec, 123.967 mi/h km/h on Race summary: The race started under caution as James Davison stalled on track and Matt Lee spun during the pace laps. Once the green flag flew, Raphael Matos and Richard Antinucci passed polesitter Franck Perera in turn 4. Later that lap, Perera spun in the "toe" of the "boot" while J. R. Hildebrand and Bobby Wilson spun in the very next corner. The race was slowed one more time by a solo spin by points leader Dillon Battistini who had struggled all weekend. Matos dominated the remaining laps and won the race by over 2 seconds in front of his closest pursuer Antinucci. The race was ended 1 lap prior to the scheduled length because of the series imposed 1 hour time limit. Top Five Finishers Fin.Pos St.Pos CarNo. Driver Team Laps Time LapsLed Points 12 27BRA Raphael MatosAGR-AFS Racing281:01:18.68622653 24 7USA Richard AntinucciSam Schmidt Motorsports28+2.1290040 33 2USA Jeff SimmonsTeam Moore Racing28+9.3592035 46 20BRA Ana BeatrizSam Schmidt Motorsports28+15.4980032 58 22CHL Pablo DonosoTeam Moore Racing28+16.6814030Race average speed: 92.342 mi/h km/h onLead changes: 1 between 2 driversCautions: 3 for 8 laps Corning Duels Race 2 Saturday July 5, 2008 Watkins Glen International, Watkins Glen, New York Race weather: 76°, Sunny Pole position winner: #23 Logan Gomez (6th place in race 1) Race summary: The number six was drawn meaning that the top 6 positions from the first race would be inverted for race two and Logan Gomez would start from the pole. Ana Beatriz who started third took the lead from Gomez on lap 1 as Jonny Reid crashed, bringing out an early caution. After the restart Richard Antinucci climbed through the field to pass his teammate Beatriz for the lead on lap 10. Raphael Matos eventually found his way around Beatriz and began closing on Antinucci in the lead. Cyndie Allemann made heavy contact bringing out a full course caution and eliminating Antinucci's lead. However, Antinucci had a tremendous restart and was able to build his lead back to over 1 second and capture his second win of the season and regain the points lead. Top Five Finishers Fin.Pos St.Pos CarNo. Driver Team Laps Time LapsLed Points 15 7USA Richard AntinucciSam Schmidt Motorsports290:59:43.91952053 26 27BRA Raphael MatosAGR-AFS Racing29+0.7209040 33 20BRA Ana BeatrizSam Schmidt Motorsports29+8.9378935 41 23USA Logan GomezGuthrie Racing29+11.4922032 52 22CHL Pablo DonosoTeam Moore Racing29+12.0037030Race average speed: 98.168 mi/h km/h onLead changes: 1 between 2 driversCautions: 3 for 8 laps Sunbelt Rentals 100 Saturday July 12, 2008 Nashville Superspeedway, Lebanon, Tennessee Race weather: 88 °F °C on, Mostly Cloudy Pole position winner: #11 James Davison 51.8844 sec 180.401 mph (290.327 km/h) 2 lap average Race summary: The race was delayed approximately 90 minutes by rain. At the start, Raphael Matos spun, but his car was not damaged and he was able to continue the race from the back of the field. On lap 32 Ana Beatriz passed teammate polesitter James Davison to take the lead. On lap 45 Jonny Reid and Davison made contact with Reid's car nearly getting airborne, however both drivers were uninjured. On the restart Beatriz was able to pull away from second place Bobby Wilson to capture her first Indy Lights series win, the first by a female driver. Top Five Finishers Fin.Pos St.Pos CarNo. Driver Team Laps Time LapsLed Points 12 20BRA Ana BeatrizSam Schmidt Motorsports770:40:38.52084553 28 17USA Bobby WilsonTeam E77+1.2392040 35 26NLD Arie Luyendyk Jr.AGR-AFS Racing77+3.5627035 410 25USA J. R. HildebrandRLR-Andersen Racing77+10.2598032 54 27BRA Raphael MatosAGR-AFS Racing77+11.9599030Race average speed: 147.778 mi/h km/h onLead changes: 1 between 2 driversCautions: 2 for 11 laps Mid-Ohio 100 Race 1 Saturday July 19, 2008 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio Race weather: Pole position winner: #27 Raphael Matos 1:13.1434 sec, 111.135 mph (178.854 km/h) Race summary: Raphael Matos drove away from the field as he assumed the points lead and Dillon Battistini's bad luck continued. Matos led every lap of the race that was not slowed by any caution flags. The most significant incident occurred during the first lap when Wade Cunningham and Daniel Herrington made contact but were able to continue after dropping back, although Herrington's car required serious repair. Cunningham would recover to finish 12th while Herrington finished 21st after repairs. Another incident involved Battistini spinning off after light contact with Logan Gomez. He would finish 18th. Matos continued to stretch his lead over Perera late into the race and was essentially unchallenged for his third win of the year while Perera scored his first series podium finish. Top Five Finishers Fin.Pos St.Pos CarNo. Driver Team Laps Time LapsLed Points 11 27BRA Raphael MatosAGR-AFS Racing400:51:00.90474053 22 55FRA Franck PereraGuthrie Racing40+4.2603040 34 7USA Richard AntinucciSam Schmidt Motorsports40+11.0992035 43 9NZL Jonny ReidIntegra Motorsports w/ CGRT40+30.3922032 59 25USA J. R. HildebrandRLR-Andersen Racing40+32.2972030Race average speed: 106.227 mi/h km/h onLead changes: noneCautions: none Mid-Ohio 100 Race 2 Sunday July 20, 2008 Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Lexington, Ohio Race weather: Rain Pole position winner: #9 Jonny Reid (4th place in Race 1) Race summary: The race was delayed because of heavy downpours causing standing water on the track. As a result of the delay, the race's time limit was shortened to 40 minutes from the usual 60. Virtually every driver in the field spun at least once and 10 of the 20 laps run were run under caution. Polesitter Jonny Reid led the first 16 laps until he was passed by Mitch Cunningham as the track finally started to dry. However, two laps later, Cunningham spun, handing the lead back to Reid. On the final lap of the race, Richard Antinucci, Robbie Pecorari, and Logan Gomez tangled, bringing out yet another full course caution and the race was to end under yellow with Reid all but assured his first series victory. However, Reid pulled into the pits, following the pace car as he thought the race was over, handing the win to James Davison, which was his first in the series. Points leader Raphael Matos had crashed early in the race and finished 18th. Reid was credited with 9th place. Top Five Finishers Fin.Pos St.Pos CarNo. Driver Team Laps Time LapsLed Points 17 11AUS James DavisonSam Schmidt Motorsports200:41:52.5298150 212 24NZL Wade CunninghamAlliance Motorsports20+1.7928040 310 22CHL Pablo DonosoTeam Moore Racing20+1.9196035 417 18CHE Cyndie AllemannAmerican Spirit Racing20+2.4603032 59 20BRA Ana BeatrizSam Schmidt Motorsports20+3.3957030Race average speed: 64.706 mi/h km/h onLead changes: 3 among 3 driversCautions: 5 for 10 laps Kentucky 100 Sunday August 9, 2008 Kentucky Speedway, Sparta, Kentucky Race weather: Partly cloudy Pole position winner: #27 Raphael Matos 55.9064 sec, 190.604 mph (2 lap average) Race summary: Dillon Battistini, who started 4th, took the lead from Ana Beatriz on lap 2 and led the rest of the way for his fourth win of the season. 20 of the race's final 29 laps were run under caution due to three separate incidents that took out Jeff Simmons, Pablo Donoso, Christina Orr and C. R. Crews. Top Five Finishers Fin.Pos St.Pos CarNo. Driver Team Laps Time LapsLed Points 14 15GBR Dillon BattistiniPanther Racing670:48:02.54436653 25 11AUS James DavisonSam Schmidt Motorsports67+0.0814040 33 26NLD Arie Luyendyk Jr.AGR-AFS Racing67+0.3057035 410 7USA Richard AntinucciSam Schmidt Motorsports67+0.4001032 56 16USA Brent ShermanPanther Racing67+0.6670030Race average speed: 123.841 mi/h km/h onLead changes: 1 among 2 driversCautions: 4 for 27 laps Carneros 100 Saturday August 23, 2008 Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, California Race weather: Sunny Pole position winner: #55 Franck Perera 1:23.2851 sec, 99.547 mph (160.205 km/h) Race summary: Polesitter Franck Perera led every lap to capture his first Indy Lights victory and Guthrie Racing's first win of the season. Richard Antinucci had passed outside front row starter Raphael Matos, his closest pursuer in the championship, at the start of the race for the second position, but was penalized and put back behind Matos. Matos took the points lead by a single point on points earned from this race. Top Five Finishers Fin.Pos St.Pos CarNo. Driver Team Laps Time LapsLed Points 11 55FRA Franck PereraGuthrie Racing300:47:40.83703053 22 27BRA Raphael MatosAGR-AFS Racing30+3.7395040 33 7USA Richard AntinucciSam Schmidt Motorsports30+7.4447035 46 25USA J. R. HildebrandRLR-Andersen Racing30+15.3659032 54 23USA Logan GomezGuthrie Racing30+15.9528030Race average speed: 86.940 mi/h km/h onLead changes: 0 among 0 driversCautions: 2 for 4 laps Valley of the Moon 100 Sunday August 24, 2008 Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, California Race weather: Sunny Pole position winner: #22 Pablo Donoso (8th place in first race) Race summary: Due to a random draw, the first eight finishing positions from the Carneros 100 were used to determine the starting lineup for the Valley of the Moon 100, putting Pablo Donoso on the pole and Richard Antinucci, Raphael Matos, and Franck Perera in 6th, 7th, and 8th respectively. On the first lap, Mitch Cunningham made contact with another car and ran off track with his car coming to rest upside down and Logan Gomez was able to find his way from fourth to second. After the restart, Donoso was able to pull away from Gomez and led every lap as the race was not again slowed by caution. On lap 27, Matos had a run on Antinucci coming into turn 10, however, Antinucci slammed the door and Matos was forced to dive off track to avoid contact. Coming into turn 11, as both were under pressure from Perera who had gained on them after the theatrics in the previous turn, Matos bumped Antinucci from behind, sending him wide while both drivers were passed by Perera. The incident is under review by race officials. Donoso's win is his as well as his team's first in the series and he becomes the record 9th different driver to win in a single season. Top Five Finishers Fin.Pos St.Pos CarNo. Driver Team Laps Time LapsLed Points 11 22CHL Pablo DonosoTeam Moore Racing300:46:30.51683051 24 23USA Logan GomezGuthrie Racing30+2.0001040 33 20BRA Ana BeatrizSam Schmidt Motorsports30+8.3966035 45 25USA J. R. HildebrandRLR-Andersen Racing30+9.3983032 58 55FRA Franck PereraGuthrie Racing30+10.5459030Race average speed: 89.132 mi/h km/h onLead changes: 0 among 0 driversCautions: 1 for 3 laps SunRichGourmet.com 100 Sunday September 7, 2008 Chicagoland Speedway, Joliet, Illinois Race weather: Sunny Pole position winner: #27 Raphael Matos 57.5243 sec, 190.250 mph (2 lap average) Race summary: The Team AGR-AFS Racing cars of Raphael Matos and Arie Luyendyk Jr. led 1-2 throughout the race, quickly followed by Ana Beatriz and Bobby Wilson who battled for third. A pivotal crash involving Richard Antinucci and Sean Guthrie on lap 26 sealed the 2008 Series Championship for Rafael Matos when Antinucci was unable to continue. Matos led his teammate entering the final lap. Luyendyk challenged and both Luyendyk and Beatriz passed Matos. Beatriz challenged for the lead but was unable to pass Luyendyk at the wire. Luyendyk won his first race after 62 starts in the series. Top Five Finishers Fin.Pos St.Pos CarNo. Driver Team Laps Time LapsLed Points 13 26NLD Arie Luyendyk Jr.AGR-AFS Racing670:46:46.7364150 22 20BRA Ana BeatrizSam Schmidt Motorsports67+0.0817040 31 27BRA Raphael MatosAGR-AFS Racing67+0.17006638 412 15USA Bobby WilsonPanther Racing67+0.2726032 56 11AUS James DavisonSam Schmidt Motorsports67+0.4281030Race average speed: 130.623 mph (210.172 km/h)Lead changes: 1 among 2 driversCautions: 4 for 19 laps 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  21st  22nd  23rd  24th +25th Points504035323028262422201918171615141312111098765 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. Pos Driver HMS STP KAN INDY MIL IOW WGL NAS MOH KTY SNM CHI Points 1 BRA Raphael Matos81*121910371*251*186263* 510 2 USA Richard Antinucci2*21131216921*1231443721 478 3 BRA Ana Beatriz yellow RY darkgray7316145193431*14516632 449 4 NLD Arie Luyendyk Jr.462231482*773811317161 428 5 USA J. R. Hildebrand orange R darkgray10521*2458199456184422 409 6 GBR Dillon Battistini orange R darkgray121441*14117201918191*181523 385 7 USA Logan Gomez1223315791464i6201612528 361 8 CHL Pablo Donoso orange R darkgray2114171219755510103 2281*i13 358 9 AUS James Davison orange R darkgray2213141117615DNS111671214135 333 10 USA Sean Guthrie11155612102013108137713917 322 11 USA Brent Sherman orange R darkgray3171381611414141116105192119 300 12 USA Bobby Wilson172221961*1620192112294 288 13 USA Jeff Simmons419*i7826361562123 285 14 CHE Cyndie Allemann orange R darkgray16810222618189181317413221114 250 15 USA Andrew Prendeville67202394121113998 247 16 USA Robbie Pecorari102324171422131010147 235 17 FRA Franck Perera1118177220141*5 220 18 NZL Jonny Reid orange R darkgray20151910211749*i91911 186 19 NZL Wade Cunningham9531212224 169 20 USA Daniel Herrington8152115117810 152 21 USA Micky Gilbert15161120211713201512 140 22 USA Chris Festa5111516181318 119 23 NZL Mitch Cunningham orange R darkgray1918121215121123 118 24 USA Mark Olson orange R darkgray18252022151619172320 105 25 USA Al Unser III131261011 102 26 PER Juan Manuel Polar orange R darkgray1497DNS1512 100 27 USA Jonathan Klein816106 86 28 NZL Marc Williams189152110 78 29 USA Mike Potekhen131712229 78 30 NZL Christina Orr orange R darkgray21201816 45 31 GBR Nathan Freke orange R darkgray20208 44 32 USA Matt Lee orange R darkgray168 38 33 USA Tom Dyer orange R darkgray211720 32 34 USA Tom Wieringa182218 32 35 USA Jake Slotten orange R darkgray191723 31 36 USA Jon Brownson232127DNS 23 37 USA Brandon Wagner orange R darkgray15 15 38 USA Travis Gregg2124 15 39 USA P. J. Abbott19 11 40 USA C. R. Crews20 10 Pos Driver HMS STP KAN INDY MIL IOW WGL NAS MOH KTY SNM CHI 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 notparticipate(DNP) Not competingIn-line notationBoldPole position(1 point)ItalicsRan fastest race lap*Led most race laps(2 points)1Qualifying cancelledno bonus point awardediPartially inverted fieldno bonus point awardedRookie of the YearRookie Ties in points broken by number of wins, or best finishes. Footnotes N References External links Indy Lights Series website Category:Indy Lights seasons Indy Lights Indy Lights