| Indy Pro Series, now known as Firestone Indy Lights | |
|---|---|
| Venue | Indianapolis Motor Speedway |
| First race | 2005 |
| Last race | 2007 |
| Distance | Varied (see results table) |
The Liberty Challenge was a race in the Indy Pro Series (now known as Firestone Indy Lights), held on the road course at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2005, 2006 and 2007.
Contents |
For the first three years of its existence, the Indy Pro Series was contested on oval tracks only. This was also true of the parent IRL IndyCar Series, at the time. All Indy Pro Series races were run as support to IndyCar Series events. Road course and street course events were added to both series in 2005.
In that year, the series added the Liberty Challenge, as a support race to the Formula One United States Grand Prix at Indianapolis. This move allowed the Indy Pro Series drivers valuable exposure in front of the Formula One teams and fans. Some drivers, such as Graham Rahal, ran this race as a one-off, while running other series (such as the Champ Car Atlantics).
The Liberty Challenge was the only Indy Pro race which was not run as support to an IndyCar Series contest. Also, the Indy Pro Series became the only racing series to hold races on both the oval and road course tracks at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In 2007, a twin race format was utilized.
| Year | Date | Day | Winning Driver | Race Distance | Time of Race | Winning Speed | Starting Cars |
Lead Changes |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miles | Laps | ||||||||
| 2005 | June 18 | Saturday | Marco Andretti | 65.1 | 25 | 00:35:57.3780 | 108.465 mph | 14 | 0 |
| 2006 | July 1 | Saturday | Alex Lloyd | 59.9 | 23 | 00:35:53.516 | 100.159 mph | 18 | 1 |
| 2007 | June 16 | Saturday | Hideki Mutoh | 46.9 | 18 | 00:26:09.8910 | 107.320 mph | 25 | 0 |
| June 17 | Sunday | Bobby Wilson | 46.9 | 18 | 00:28:40.9170 | 97.901 mph | 25 | 0 | |
| Year | Date | Day | Pole Sitter / Fast Qualifier |
Pole 1-Lap Qualifying Time |
Pole Speed | Number of Qualifiers |
Slow Qualifier Speed |
Mean Qualifying Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | June 17 | Friday | Marco Andretti | 01:26.2360 | 108.539 mph | 14 | 98.033 mph | 105.234 mph |
| 2006 | June 30 | Friday | Graham Rahal | 01:25.5810 | 109.580 mph | 18 | 105.203 mph | 107.959 mph |
| 2007 | June 15 | Friday | Hideki Mutoh | 01:25.2810 | 109.966 mph | 25 | 102.883 mph | 107.541 mph |
| Year | Driver | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fastest Race | 2005 | Marco Andretti | Time: 35:57.3780 | Speed: 108.465 mph | 65.1 Miles | 25 Laps |
| Fastest Qualification Run | 2007 | Hideki Mutoh | Time: 01:25.2810 | Speed: 109.966 mph | 2.605 Miles | 1 Lap |
| Fastest Race Lap | 2005 | Marco Andretti | Time 01:25.9110 | Speed: 108.950 mph | 2.605 Miles | 1 Lap |
| Most Starts by a Driver | 2005 - 2007 | Jaime Camara; Wade Cunningham; Chris Festa | 4 Starts each | |||
| Most Participants | 2007 | 25 Starting Drivers | ||||
In the three years that this race was contested, 43 drivers participated:
| Driver: | Starts: | Best Finish: | Laps Led: | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Years | Position | Year | ||
| Mishael Abbott | 1 | 2005 | 12 | 2005 | 0 |
| Marco Andretti | 1 | 2005 | 1 | 2005 | 25 |
| Richard Antinucci | 2 | 2007 | 6 | 2007 (Race 1) | 0 |
| Doug Boyer | 2 | 2007 | 14 | 2007 (Race 1) | 0 |
| Jon Brownson | 2 | 2007 | 17 | 2007 (Race 2) | 0 |
| Nick Bussell | 2 | 2005; 2006 | 4 | 2005 | 0 |
| Jaime Camara | 4 | 2005; 2006; 2007 | 3 | 2007 (Race 1) | 0 |
| Ed Carpenter | 1 | 2005 | 11 | 2005 | 0 |
| Larry Connor | 1 | 2005 | 14 | 2005 | 0 |
| C.R. Crews | 1 | 2006 | 6 | 2006 | 0 |
| Wade Cunningham | 4 | 2005; 2006; 2007 | 2 | 2005 | 0 |
| Jay Drake | 1 | 2005 | 10 | 2005 | 0 |
| Chris Festa | 4 | 2005; 2006; 2007 | 3 | 2005 | 0 |
| Phil Giebler | 3 | 2006; 2007 | 7 | 2006 | 0 |
| Micky Gilbert | 2 | 2007 | 15 | 2007 (Race 1) | 0 |
| Logan Gomez | 3 | 2006; 2007 | 6 | 2007 (Race 2) | 0 |
| Travis Gregg | 1 | 2005 | 7 | 2005 | 0 |
| Sean Guthrie | 2 | 2007 | 12 | 2007 (Race 2) | 0 |
| Jon Herb | 2 | 2005; 2006 | 8 | 2006 | 0 |
| Daniel Herrington | 2 | 2007 | 10 | 2007 (Race 2) | 0 |
| Jay Howard | 1 | 2006 | 18 | 2006 | 0 |
| Brad Jaeger | 2 | 2007 | 16 | 2007 (Race 1) | 0 |
| Ryan Justice | 2 | 2007 | 4 | 2007 (Race 2) | 0 |
| Jonathan Klein | 3 | 2006; 2007 | 3 | 2006 | 0 |
| Alex Lloyd | 3 | 2006; 2007 | 1 | 2006 | 2 |
| Ken Losch | 2 | 2007 | 16 | 2007 (Race 2) | 0 |
| Arie Luyendyk Jr. | 1 | 2005 | 6 | 2005 | 0 |
| Scott Mansell | 1 | 2006 | 14 | 2006 | 0 |
| Raphael Matos | 1 | 2006 | 4 | 2006 | 0 |
| Hideki Mutoh | 2 | 2007 | 1 | 2007 (Race 1) | 18 |
| Eric Paradis | 1 | 2006 | 12 | 2006 | 0 |
| Robbie Pecorari | 2 | 2007 | 19 | 2007 (Race 2) | 0 |
| Mike Potekhen | 3 | 2006; 2007 | 8 | 2007 (Race 2) | 0 |
| Andrew Prendeville | 2 | 2007 | 20 | 2007 (Race 2) | 0 |
| Graham Rahal | 1 | 2006 | 2 | 2006 | 21 |
| Marty Roth | 1 | 2005 | 8 | 2005 | 0 |
| Joey Scarallo | 2 | 2007 | 13 | 2007 (Race 2) | 0 |
| Jeff Simmons | 1 | 2005 | 13 | 2005 | 0 |
| Stephen Simpson | 2 | 2007 | 5 | 2007 (Race 1) | 0 |
| Brett Van Blankers | 1 | 2006 | 17 | 2006 | 0 |
| Tom Wieringa | 2 | 2007 | 18 | 2007 (Race 2) | 0 |
| Marc Williams | 2 | 2007 | 20 | 2007 (Race 1) | 0 |
| Bobby Wilson | 3 | 2006; 2007 | 1 | 2007 (Race 2) | 18 |