Indy Lights Presented By Cooper Tires Field Completes Open Test at Iowa Speedway in Advance of Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend
June 26, 2022 | By INDYCAR
Preparing for the first Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires race at Iowa Speedway since 2018, a total of 13 cars and drivers tested Wednesday at 7/8-of-a-mile oval.
The open test represented the first oval track test of 2022 for the full Indy Lights field and the competitors came away with a wealth of knowledge and valuable experience that will help them during Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend, July 22-24. When the rising stars of INDYCAR racing take the green flag on Saturday, July 23, it will mark the first Indy Lights race at Iowa Speedway in more than four years.
Among the 13 cars that tested on Wednesday, the Lights cars logged a combined 2,455 laps around the “Fastest Short Track on the Planet” – led by series rookie Kyffin Simpson’s 249 laps. Christian Rasmussen owned the fastest testing time on Wednesday. The driver of the No. 28Andretti Autosport car emerged as the only driver to eclipse the 20-second lap time around Iowa Speedway as he topped the morning session with a time of 19.9122 and 161.630 mph. Rookie Hunter McElrea paced the afternoon session in the No. 27 Andretti Autosport car with a time of 20.0110 and 160.832 mph.
“I’m very happy being the overall fastest at my first ever test at Iowa,” said Rasmussen. “The Andretti cars looked really strong both in (qualifying) and race trim. I’m excited to bring the experiences we got to the Iowa race weekend next month.”
Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires will host practice and qualifying on Friday, July 22 during Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend before competing in its first oval race of the season onSaturday afternoon. The Indy Lights 2022 season schedule includes just two oval races with the second oval event scheduled for August 20 at World Wide Technology Raceway, making Wednesday’s test even more important to the series teams.
In addition to Indy Lights, Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend also features the only doubleheader on the NTT INDYCAR SERIES schedule with full-championship points-paying races – the HyVeeDeals.com 250 presented by DoorDash on Saturday and the Hy-Vee Salute to Farmers 300 presented by Google on Sunday.
The weekend also includes an amazing music lineup with Tim McGraw preforming live before Saturday’s INDYCAR race and Florida Georgia Line in concert after the race, along with Gwen Stefani in concert prior to Sunday’s INDYCAR race and Blake Shelton performing a post-race concert on Sunday. All concerts are included with each race ticket. Fans can enjoy plenty of games, activities, displays and more, including the Food Truck Challenge with 50 food trucks on site competing for a cash prize with the winner determined by a fan vote during the weekend.
For tickets or more information on the Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend visit https://www.hyveeindycarweekend.com/ or call 641-417-6007.