2012 Indy Lights

2012 Indy Lights season
2012 Indy Lights season
Firestone Indy Lights
Season
Races	12
Start date	March 24
End date	September 15
Awards
Drivers' champion	Tristan Vautier
Teams' champion	Sam Schmidt Motorsports
Rookie of the Year	Tristan Vautier
	← 2011 2013 →

Last updated October 24, 2023

The 2012 Indy Lights season was the 27th season of the series and the eleventh sanctioned by IndyCar, acting as the primary support series for the IZOD IndyCar Series. It began March 24, 2012 in St. Petersburg.^[1]

The championship was dominated by the Sam Schmidt Motorsports team with French driver Tristan Vautier winning the championship by eight points ahead of experienced Argentine team mate Esteban Guerrieri. SSM drivers won seven out of the twelve races over the course of the season and Vautier also claimed the rookie of the year title. Colombian driver Gustavo Yacamán from Team Moore Racing finished a tight battle for third with countryman Sebastián Saavedra.^[2]

Team and driver chart

All drivers will compete in Firestone Firehawk–shod Dallara chassis.

Team	No.	Drivers	Rounds
Sam Schmidt Motorsports	3	Victor Carbone ^[3]	All
	7	Oliver Webb ^[4]	All
	11	Esteban Guerrieri ^[5]	All
	77	Tristan Vautier ^[6]	All
Team Moore Racing	2	Gustavo Yacamán ^[7]	All
Team Moore Racing	22	David Ostella ^[8]	All
Andretti Autosport AFS Racing	26	Carlos Muñoz ^[9]	All
Andretti Autosport AFS Racing	27	Sebastián Saavedra	All
Bryan Herta Autosport	28	Troy Castaneda ^[9]	1–2
		Nick Andries ^[10]	3
		Anders Krohn ^{[N 1]}	4, 7
Juncos Racing ^[11]	86	João Victor Horto	1–2, 4
		Bruno Palli	12
		Chase Austin	7
	87	Chase Austin	4
Team E	17	Brandon Wagner	4
Belardi Auto Racing	4	Jorge Goncalvez ^[12]	All
	9	Alon Day ^[13]	1–7
	9	Peter Dempsey ^[14]	8–12
	19	Mike Larrison ^[15]	4, 6–7, 12
Brooks Associates Racing	8	Alex Jones	3
Brooks Associates Racing	8	Adderly Fong	11
Fan Force United	24	Armaan Ebrahim ^[16]	1–5
		Bryan Clauson ^[17]	6–7
		Stefan Wilson	12
	42	Emerson Newton-John ^[18]	4, 11
Younessi Racing	15	Peter Dempsey ^[19]	4–5
Younessi Racing	16	Rodin Younessi ^[20]	1, 5
Jeffrey Mark Motorsport	76	Juan Pablo Garcia ^{[N 2]}	All
Hillenburg Motorsports	20	Darryl Wills	1–3

Schedule

IndyCar announced that all Firestone Indy Lights Series races would be broadcast on the NBC Sports Network in 2012.^[21]

Rnd	Date	Race Name	Track	Location
1	March 24	St. Petersburg 100	Streets of St. Petersburg	St. Petersburg, Florida
2	April 1	Grand Prix of Alabama	Barber Motorsports Park	Birmingham, Alabama
3	April 15	Grand Prix of Long Beach	Streets of Long Beach	Long Beach, California
4	May 25	Firestone Freedom 100	Indianapolis Motor Speedway	Speedway, Indiana
5	June 2	Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix	Belle Isle	Detroit, Michigan
6	June 15	Firestone Indy Lights 100	Milwaukee Mile	West Allis, Wisconsin
7	June 22	Sukup 100	Iowa Speedway	Newton, Iowa
8	July 7	Toronto 100	Exhibition Place	Toronto, Ontario
9	July 21	Edmonton 100	Edmonton City Centre Airport	Edmonton, Alberta
10	August 5	Grand Prix de Trois-Rivières	Circuit Trois-Rivières	Trois-Rivières, Quebec
11	September 1	Grand Prix of Baltimore	Streets of Baltimore	Baltimore, Maryland
12	September 15	Auto Club Speedway Foundation 100	Auto Club Speedway	Fontana, California

Oval/Speedway

Road Course/Street Circuit

Race results

Rd.	Race	Pole position	Fastest lap	Most laps led	Winning driver	Winning team
1	St. Petersburg	Tristan Vautier	Tristan Vautier	Tristan Vautier	Tristan Vautier	Sam Schmidt Motorsports
2	Barber	Sebastián Saavedra	Sebastián Saavedra	Sebastián Saavedra	Sebastián Saavedra	Andretti Autosport
3	Long Beach	Sebastián Saavedra	Victor Carbone	Esteban Guerrieri	Esteban Guerrieri	Sam Schmidt Motorsports
4	Indianapolis	Gustavo Yacamán	João Victor Horto	Victor Carbone	Esteban Guerrieri	Sam Schmidt Motorsports
5	Belle Isle	Oliver Webb	Gustavo Yacamán	Oliver Webb	Gustavo Yacamán	Team Moore Racing
6	Milwaukee	Tristan Vautier	Tristan Vautier	Tristan Vautier	Tristan Vautier	Sam Schmidt Motorsports
7	Iowa	Tristan Vautier	Esteban Guerrieri	Tristan Vautier	Esteban Guerrieri	Sam Schmidt Motorsports
8	Toronto	Victor Carbone	Gustavo Yacamán	Gustavo Yacamán	Gustavo Yacamán	Team Moore Racing
9	Edmonton	Carlos Muñoz	Esteban Guerrieri	Carlos Muñoz	Carlos Muñoz	Andretti Autosport
10	Trois-Rivières	Tristan Vautier	Tristan Vautier	Tristan Vautier	Tristan Vautier	Sam Schmidt Motorsports
11	Baltimore	Tristan Vautier	Sebastián Saavedra	Tristan Vautier	Tristan Vautier	Sam Schmidt Motorsports
12	Fontana	Sebastián Saavedra	David Ostella	Carlos Muñoz	Carlos Muñoz	Andretti Autosport

Driver standings

Pos	Driver	STP	BAR	LBH	INDY	DET	MIL	IOW	TOR	EDM	TRO	BAL	FON	Pts
1	Tristan Vautier RY	1*	2	3	3	5	1*	4*	11	6	1*	1*	4	461
2	Esteban Guerrieri	2	3	1*	1	7	3	1	6	3	4	3	3	453
3	Gustavo Yacamán	6	4	10	4	1	8	2	1*	7	2	2	11	394
4	Sebastián Saavedra	3	1*	2	5	6	2	13	2	2	9	10	14	383
5	Carlos Muñoz R	14	14	5	2	2	5	7	10	1*	3	11	1*	377
6	Victor Carbone	5	5	4	6*	4	6	3	3	8	8	DNS	5	340
7	Oliver Webb R	4	13	6	15	3*	12	12	5	4	5	6	8	310
8	David Ostella	15	9	8	18	13	4	5	7	10	6	4	2	298
9	Juan Pablo Garcia	7	8	7	11	9	11	14	8	9	10	9	10	260
10	Jorge Goncalvez	11	10	9	12	DNS	9	6	9	11	7	7	13	247
11	Peter Dempsey				14	11			4	5	11	5	12	164
12	Alon Day R	12	6	11	8	8	7	DNS						147
13	Armaan Ebrahim R	8	12	12	13	10								97
14	Mike Larrison R				9		13	11					9	80
15	João Victor Horto R	13	7		7									69
16	Darryl Wills R	10	11	15										54
17	Chase Austin R				10			8						44
18	Bryan Clauson						10	10						40
19	Troy Castaneda R	9	15											37
20	Anders Krohn				19			9						34
21	Rodin Younessi R	16				12								32
22	Emerson Newton-John R				17							12		31
23	Stefan Wilson												6	28
24	Bruno Palli R												7	26
25	Adderly Fong R											8		24
26	Nick Andries R			13										17
27	Alex Jones R			14										16
28	Brandon Wagner				16									14
Pos	Driver	STP	BAR	LBH	INDY	DET	MIL	IOW	TOR	EDM	TRO	BAL	FON	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
*	Led most race laps (2 points)
¹	Qualifying cancelled no bonus point awarded
Rookie of the Year
Rookie

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33
Points	50	40	35	32	30	28	26	24	22	20	19	18	17	16	15	14	13	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10

Ties in points broken by number of wins, or best finishes.

Footnotes

↑ In conjunction with Curb Agajanian Performance Group.
↑ In technical alliance with Bryan Herta Autosport.

Related Research Articles

Dale Coyne Racing (DCR) is an American professional open-wheel racing team that currently competes in the IndyCar Series and Indy NXT. The team was founded in 1984 and is owned by former driver Dale Coyne. From 1995 to 2000, the team was known as Payton-Coyne Racing, reflecting a partnership with Chicago Bears great Walter Payton. After the 1988 season, Coyne stepped out of the cockpit and turned his talents to the tutelage of several up-and-coming drivers. Once known for competing on budgets far smaller than most of their competitors, the team earned its maiden victory after 25 years at Watkins Glen International in July 2009 with Justin Wilson.

Esteban Guerrieri is an Argentine racing driver currently competing in the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship for Vanwall Racing Team. He was runner-up in Indy Lights in 2011 and 2012, and in the WTCR series, he was the most successful driver in terms of race wins and was overall runner-up in 2019.

The IndyCar Series operation of McLaren, competing as Arrow McLaren IndyCar Team due to sponsorship, is based in Indianapolis and was founded by former IndyCar driver Sam Schmidt in 2001 as Sam Schmidt Motorsports. The team operates the Nos. 5, 6 and 7 Dallara-Chevrolet entries for Pato O'Ward, David Malukas and Alexander Rossi respectively.

The IZOD IndyCar World Championship Presented by Honda was an IndyCar Series race on the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) Las Vegas Motor Speedway, held from 1996 to 2000, and again in 2011. It was first known as the Las Vegas 500k. The Champ Car World Series held a race at the track during the 2004 and 2005 seasons as doubleheaders with the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and a street race was held in Las Vegas at the Fremont Street Experience in 2007.

James D. Davison is an Australian professional racing driver who drives an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 in the Blancpain GT World Challenge America. He has also competed in the NTT IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, and NASCAR Xfinity Series. He is sometimes also called JD Davison.

Pippa Mann is a British racing car driver, who competes in the IndyCar Series. She was born in London, United Kingdom.

Peter Samuel Dempsey is an Irish racing driver from Ashbourne, County Meath.

Gustavo "El Tigrillo" Yacamán Aristizabal is a Colombian racing driver from Santiago de Cali. Yacamán began his career in open-wheel racing, but switched to sports car endurance racing in 2012. He raced in the US until he joined G-Drive Racing in 2015, where he drove a Ligier in the WEC Championship and finished that season 3rd in the LMP2 class. In 2016 Yacamán switched to a sprint format, driving for BMW Team Teo Martín in the International GT Open series. He finished runner-up for the 2016 Championship.

Tristan Vautier is a French professional racing driver who is currently competing in the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship for the Vanwall Racing Team.

The 2010 Indy Racing League Firestone Indy Lights season was the 25th Indy Lights season. It was contested over thirteen races beginning on March 28 on the streets of St. Petersburg, Florida, and ended on October 2 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Team Moore Racing was an auto racing team that competed in the Firestone Indy Lights series. It was owned by former racer Tom Wood and Mark Moore and is based in Pittsboro, Indiana.

The 2011 Indy Lights season was a season of open wheel motor racing. It was the 26th season of the series and the tenth sanctioned by IndyCar, acting as the primary support series for the IZOD IndyCar Series. It began March 27, 2011 in St. Petersburg and ended on October 16 at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway and featured thirteen events: six on ovals, one on a permanent road course, and six on temporary street courses. The series was won by American driver Josef Newgarden, driving for Sam Schmidt Motorsports. Newgarden won the title by 94 points over team mate and fellow rookie Esteban Guerrieri of Argentina.

Gabriel "Gabby" Chaves is a Colombian-American racing driver, currently competing in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the Michelin Pilot Challenge. He raced in the IndyCar Series and is the 2014 Indy Lights Champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Ostella</span>

David Ostella is a Canadian racing driver from Maple, Ontario.

The 2013 Indy Lights season was a season of open wheel motor racing. It was the 28th season of the series and the twelfth sanctioned by IndyCar, acting as the primary support series for the IZOD IndyCar Series. It began March 24, 2013 in St. Petersburg.

The 2014 Indy Lights season was a season of open wheel motor racing. It was the 29th season of the Indy Lights series and the 13th sanctioned by IndyCar, acting as the primary support series for the IndyCar Series. It began March 30, 2014 in St. Petersburg. The 2014 season was the first promoted by Andersen Promotions, who also promotes the other steps on the Mazda Road to Indy.

Belardi Auto Racing was an American racing team in the Indy Lights series. The team was owned by Brian Belardi, who competed in SCCA. Belardi was previously located in Illinois before moving to Brownsburg, Indiana.

The 2015 Indy Lights season was the 30th season of the Indy Lights open wheel motor racing series and the 14th sanctioned by IndyCar, acting as the primary support series for the IndyCar Series. The 2015 season was the second promoted by Andersen Promotions, who also promote the other steps on the Mazda Road to Indy. It was the first season for the Dallara IL-15 along with a Mazda MZR-R turbocharged 4-cylinder engine, developed by Advanced Engine Research. 2015 was the second season with Cooper Tire as the sole tire supplier. The championship was contested over 16 races, starting on March 28 at St. Petersburg, Florida and ending on September 13 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

The 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series was the 22nd season of the Verizon IndyCar Series and the 106th official championship season of American open wheel racing. The premier event was the 101st Indianapolis 500 won by Takuma Sato. Josef Newgarden, the 2011 Indy Lights champion, in his sixth full-time season in the IndyCar Series, won the championship. It was Newgarden's first season as part of Team Penske, and he collected four wins, one pole position, and ten top-five finishes. It was Team Penske's 15th Indy car season championship, and third in four years.

The 2020 Indy Lights season was to have been the 35th season of the Indy Lights open wheel motor racing series and the 19th sanctioned by IndyCar, acting as the primary support series for the IndyCar Series. The opening round at St. Petersburg was suspended mid-way due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The following rounds were also delayed, as a revised calendar was released on March 26, 2020. The season was later cancelled entirely and the series went into a hiatus until 2021, making it the first time in history that the Indy Lights season did not run.

References

↑ "12 races on 2012 calendar". Firestone Indy Lights . IndyCar. December 27, 2011. Retrieved December 28, 2011.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
↑ "Vautier claims championship by 8 points over Guerrieri". indycar.com. IndyCar. 16 September 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-09-18. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
↑ "Victor Carbone continues with Schmidt in Indy Lights". Racer . Haymarket Publications. December 29, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
↑ "Sam Schmidt Motorsports signs Webb". Firestone Indy Lights . IndyCar. December 1, 2011. Archived from the original on 2012-01-03. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
↑ "Esteban Guerrieri ci riprova con Sam Schmidt Motorsports" [Esteban Guerrieri is back with Sam Schmidt Motorsports]. stopandgo.tv (in Italian). Stop&Go. March 15, 2012. Archived from the original on January 3, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2012.
↑ "Vautier joins Schmidt for 2012 Indy Lights season". Racer . Haymarket Publications. November 18, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
↑ El Tigrillo Yacamán se queda en la Indy Lights, el Colombiano, March 6, 2012, Retrieved March 6, 2012 (in Spanish)
↑ Ostella Joins Team Moore in Firestone Indy Lights Series, David Ostella PR, January 2, 2012, Retrieved January 2, 2012
1 2 Muñoz, Castenada Join Indy Lights for St. Pete Archived March 27, 2012, at the Wayback Machine , "RACER.com", March 19, 2012, Retrieved March 19, 2012
↑ "Andries to debut at Long Beach". Racer . Haymarket Publications. April 10, 2012. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
↑ "Juncos Racing acquires Davey Hamilton's Indy Lights team". Racer . Haymarket Publications. November 29, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2011.
↑ ""Goncalvez Returns to Belardi for 2012"". Archived from the original on 2012-01-25. Retrieved 2012-01-20.
↑ driver makes history” ^{[ permanent dead link ]} (indycar.com; January 20, 2012)
↑ "Dempsey joins Belardi Auto Racing for remainder of season". Firestone Indy Lights . IndyCar. June 29, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-07-02. Retrieved June 29, 2012.
↑ Knowlton, Veronica. Mike Larrison Joins Belardi Auto Racing Belardi Auto Racing, May 4, 2012, Retrieved 2012-05-04
↑ "Fan Force United signs Ebrahim". Firestone Indy Lights . IndyCar. January 3, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-01-09. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
↑ "Fan Force United hires Clauson for two races". Firestone Indy Lights . IndyCar. June 9, 2012. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
↑ Guerra, Kate. Newton-John enters the Freedom 100 with Fan Force United Archived 2012-05-02 at the Wayback Machine , IndyCar, April 30, 2012, Retrieved 2012-05-01
↑ Dempsey returns to Firestone Indy Lights with Younessi, May 7, 2012, Retrieved 2012-05-07
↑ Younessi Racing enters Indy Lights, Racer, February 28, 2012, Retrieved March 6, 2012
↑ "NBC Sports Network to air 2012 races". Firestone Indy Lights . IndyCar. February 17, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-02-19. Retrieved February 17, 2012.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[11] In conjunction with Curb Agajanian Performance Group.

[22] In technical alliance with Bryan Herta Autosport.

[1] "12 races on 2012 calendar". Firestone Indy Lights . IndyCar. December 27, 2011. Retrieved December 28, 2011.^{[ permanent dead link ]}

[2] "Vautier claims championship by 8 points over Guerrieri". indycar.com. IndyCar. 16 September 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-09-18. Retrieved 16 September 2012.

[3] "Victor Carbone continues with Schmidt in Indy Lights". Racer . Haymarket Publications. December 29, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2011.

[4] "Sam Schmidt Motorsports signs Webb". Firestone Indy Lights . IndyCar. December 1, 2011. Archived from the original on 2012-01-03. Retrieved December 29, 2011.

[5] "Esteban Guerrieri ci riprova con Sam Schmidt Motorsports" [Esteban Guerrieri is back with Sam Schmidt Motorsports]. stopandgo.tv (in Italian). Stop&Go. March 15, 2012. Archived from the original on January 3, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2012.

[6] "Vautier joins Schmidt for 2012 Indy Lights season". Racer . Haymarket Publications. November 18, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2011.

[7] El Tigrillo Yacamán se queda en la Indy Lights, el Colombiano, March 6, 2012, Retrieved March 6, 2012 (in Spanish)

[8] Ostella Joins Team Moore in Firestone Indy Lights Series, David Ostella PR, January 2, 2012, Retrieved January 2, 2012

[Muñoz-9] 1 2 Muñoz, Castenada Join Indy Lights for St. Pete Archived March 27, 2012, at the Wayback Machine , "RACER.com", March 19, 2012, Retrieved March 19, 2012

[10] "Andries to debut at Long Beach". Racer . Haymarket Publications. April 10, 2012. Retrieved April 10, 2012.

[12] "Juncos Racing acquires Davey Hamilton's Indy Lights team". Racer . Haymarket Publications. November 29, 2011. Retrieved December 29, 2011.

[13] ""Goncalvez Returns to Belardi for 2012"". Archived from the original on 2012-01-25. Retrieved 2012-01-20.

[14] river makes history” ^{[ permanent dead link ]} (indycar.com; January 20, 2012)

[15] "Dempsey joins Belardi Auto Racing for remainder of season". Firestone Indy Lights . IndyCar. June 29, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-07-02. Retrieved June 29, 2012.

[16] Knowlton, Veronica. Mike Larrison Joins Belardi Auto Racing Belardi Auto Racing, May 4, 2012, Retrieved 2012-05-04

[17] "Fan Force United signs Ebrahim". Firestone Indy Lights . IndyCar. January 3, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-01-09. Retrieved January 3, 2012.

[18] "Fan Force United hires Clauson for two races". Firestone Indy Lights . IndyCar. June 9, 2012. Retrieved June 9, 2012.

[19] Guerra, Kate. Newton-John enters the Freedom 100 with Fan Force United Archived 2012-05-02 at the Wayback Machine , IndyCar, April 30, 2012, Retrieved 2012-05-01

[20] Dempsey returns to Firestone Indy Lights with Younessi, May 7, 2012, Retrieved 2012-05-07

[21] Younessi Racing enters Indy Lights, Racer, February 28, 2012, Retrieved March 6, 2012

[23] "NBC Sports Network to air 2012 races". Firestone Indy Lights . IndyCar. February 17, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-02-19. Retrieved February 17, 2012.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[N 1]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[N 2]

[21]

v t e Indy NXT seasons
USAC Mini-Indy Series	1977 1978 1979 1980
CART American Racing Series	1986 1987 1988 1989 1990
CART Firestone/Dayton Indy Lights	1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
IRL Infiniti/Indy Pro Series	2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Firestone Indy Lights Series	2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Indy Lights Series presented by Cooper Tire	2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 ~~2020~~ 2021 2022
Firestone Indy NXT Series	2023 2024

v t e Road to Indy
IndyCar Series	2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Indy NXT	2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 ~~2020~~ 2021 2022 2023 2024
USF Pro 2000 Championship	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
USF2000 Championship	2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023
USF Juniors	2022 2023
Road to Indy Shootout (defunct)	2016 2017 2018
Chris Griffis Memorial Test