| 2007 Indy Pro Series season | |
|---|---|
| Indy Pro Series | |
| Season | |
| Races | 16 |
| Start date | March 24 |
| End date | September 9 |
| Awards | |
| Drivers' champion |  Alex Lloyd |
| Teams' champion |  Sam Schmidt Motorsports |
| Rookie of the Year |  Hideki Mutoh |
The 2007 IRL Indy Pro Series was the sixth season of the developmental open-wheel racing series under the Indy Racing League ownership, and the 22nd in Indy NXT combined history, as officially recognized by IndyCar. All teams used Dallara IL-02 chassis, which was fitted with a new wing package, [1] as well as unbranded TWR engines and Firestone tires. In his second season in the series, Alex Lloyd became the runaway champion with Sam Schmidt Motorsports, clinching the title with two races remaining at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma. Lloyd won the first five races of the season, tying Greg Moore's start of the 1995 season for the all-time consecutive wins record in Indy Lights history. Aided by an expanded schedule, Lloyd won eight races including the Freedom 100, and became the third driver to reach that number after Paul Tracy's nine wins in 1990 and Moore's ten wins in 1995.
Contents
- Drivers and teams
- Schedule
- Race results
- Race summaries
- Round 1 of 16: Miami 100
- Round 2 of 16: St. Petersburg Grand Prix 1
- Round 3 of 16: St. Petersburg Grand Prix 2
- Round 4 of 16: Freedom 100
- Round 5 of 16: Road Runner 100
- Round 6 of 16: Liberty Challenge Race 1
- Round 7 of 16: Liberty Challenge Race 2
- Round 8 of 16: Iowa 100
- Round 9 of 16: Corning Twin 100's Race 1
- Round 10 of 16: Corning Twin 100's Race 2
- Round 11 of 16: Sun Belt Rentals 100
- Round 12 of 16: Mid Ohio 100
- Round 13 of 16: Kentucky 100
- Round 14 of 16: Carneros 100
- Round 15 of 16: Valley of the Moon 100
- Round 16 of 16: Chicagoland 100
- Championship standings
- Drivers' Championship
- Footnotes
- References
- External links
Japanese driver Hideki Mutoh, driving for the returning Panther Racing and backed by Honda through an association with Super Aguri, finished second in the standings despite missing the final round due to his IndyCar debut. He also won Rookie of the Year honors, with wins at the Indianapolis road course and Kentucky. Former champion Wade Cunningham finished third ahead of Bobby Wilson, with one win apiece, while Richard Antinucci scored two wins in a road course-only campaign for his uncle's team Cheever Racing.
Indy Pro Series teams and drivers competed for 3.7 million dollars, a 24 percent increase from 2006. [2] This resulted in a sizeable influx of new or returning teams, led by Chip Ganassi Racing, Panther Racing and Rahal Letterman Racing, all of them also benefiting from a rule that gave extra test days to IndyCar teams competing in the Indy Pro Series. AFS Racing blended their efforts with Andretti Green Racing, while Rahal partnered with newcomers Andersen Racing. Other new teams were Team Moore Racing (a spin-off of Kenn Hardley Racing), Team KMA Racing, Mile High Racing and Apex Racing. Speedworks entered the series by buying the equipment of Dave McMillan Racing, while Playa Del Racing embarked on its own after fielding the Racing Professionals effort in 2006, and Part Sourcing International was renamed into SWE Racing after entering halfway through 2006.
The car counts increased dramatically as a result, with 25 entries for the Miami 100, a first for the series since 1998, and a record 24 drivers at the Freedom 100. At least 20 drivers were present at every round, a number not reached in any of the previous seven seasons, and thirteen drivers competed in every race. In total, 43 different drivers competed during the year, which is the all-time Indy NXT record as of 2024. The last race of the season featured the closest finish in motor racing history as claimed by IndyCar, when Logan Gomez beat Alex Lloyd to the line by just 0.0005 seconds.
