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The Infiniti / Indy Pro Series made its debut in mid-2002 with an inaugural season of seven races run in conjunction
with the Indy Car Racing Series. In 2008 the championship was renamed the Firestone Indy Lights Series when Firestone
tires became the primary sponsor.
The sixteen-race schedule kicked off at Homestead-Miami Speedway in March and concluded in September at Chicago Speedway.
Drivers compete in the Dallara IPS, designed and manufactured for the Infiniti Pro Series. The open-wheel, single-seat racer is equipped with a ground-effect underbody and outboard wings front and rear. The monocoque chassis is constructed using carbon fiber and composites. The Dallara has a minimum weight of 1,430 pounds, which includes all lubricants and coolants used during the event, but does not include fuel or the driver. Firestone Firehawk racing tires are mounted on 15-inch diameter x 10 front and 15-inch diameter x 14 rear wheels. The car is powered by an Infiniti Q45 engine which produces approximately 450 horsepower and is fitted to a Ricardo six forward gear transmission with a sequential shifter. Infiniti Pro Series costs are tightly controlled by the Indy Racing League, with the Dallara IPS costing $137,900 (including the data acquisition system). Rounds eleven and twelve of the 2008 Firestone Indy Lights Series were held at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Drivers would compete in two forty-lap races around the thirteen-turn 2.258-mile road course. However, Sunday’s contest was delayed due to heavy rain. Officials shorted the race by implementing a forty-minute time limit.
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Raphael Matos was victorious in race one at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car course. Driving the No. 27 Automatic Fire Sprinklers sponsored Dallara IPS, he went flag to flag from the pole for his third win of the season. Sunday did not go as well. Matos was gridded fourth, but like many other competitors, he spun in the challenging conditions and damaged the car. Matos was able to continue and finished eighteenth. |
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In qualifying for the weekend’s first race at Mid-Ohio, James Davison was tenth fastest driving the No. 11 Lifelock Dallara IPS and finished in the seventh position. The rain on Sunday worked to Davison’s advantage. He was in second place when there was a full course caution. The leader, Jonny Reid, followed the pace car into pit lane, giving Davison first and when the race ended under yellow, he inherited the victory. |
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Franck Perera didn’t make his first series start until round seven at Iowa Speedway. Before the Mid-Ohio weekend, his best result was a seventh-place at Nashville Superspeedway. Perera put the No. 55 CJ Consulting Dallara IPS second on the grid for Saturday’s race. He chased the winner, Raphael Matos, to a runner-up result. The next day, he started third but crashed on lap-9 and was credited with a twentieth-place finish. |
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The No. 24 Natural Spring Dallara IPS was piloted by Wade Cunningham. 2008 was Cunningham’s fourth season in the Firestone Indy Lights Series and he had collected four victories during this period. He was seventh fastest during the qualifying session for race one at Mid-Ohio but finished twelfth. On Sunday, Cunningham started seventh. As his fellow competitors spun on the wet track, he moved up the racer order and finished second. |
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Entering round eleven at Mid-Ohio, Richard Antinucci led the title chase by fifteen points over Raphael Matos. A third-place finish in Saturday’s race to Matos’ victory dropped Antinucci to second in the championship by three markers. In the finale, he started second but finished fourteenth. However, Matos damaged his car and was classified with an eighteenth place result. Antinucci now led the series by one point. |
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Chile’s Pablo Donoso started the season with Team SWE but left them after round four to join Team Moore in the No. 22 Xtreme Coil Drilling Dallara IPS. His results improved; Donoso qualified on the pole at Milwaukee and collected fifth place results at Iowa and Watkins Glen. In race one at Mid-Ohio, Donoso finished tenth. On Sunday, he benefitted from the wet conditions to collect his first podium result – a third place. |
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| FINISH | START | DRIVER | CAR | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Raphael Matos | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 40 | - |
| 2 | 2 | Franck Perera | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 40 | - |
| 3 | 4 | Richard Antinucci | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 40 | - |
| 4 | 3 | Jonny Reid | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 40 | - |
| 5 | 9 | J.R. Hildebrand | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 40 | - |
| 6 | 12 | Jeff Simmons | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 40 | - |
| 7 | 10 | James Davison | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 40 | - |
| 8 | 5 | Arie Luyendyk, Jr. | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 40 | - |
| 9 | 13 | Andrew Prendeville | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 40 | - |
| 10 | 16 | Pablo Donoso | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 40 | - |
| 11 | 6 | Bobby Wilson | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 40 | - |
| 12 | 7 | Wade Cunningham | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 40 | - |
| 13 | 17 | Sean Guthrie | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 40 | - |
| 14 | 19 | Ana Beatriz | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 40 | - |
| 15 | 20 | Mitch Cunningham | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 39 | - |
| 16 | 21 | Brent Sherman | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 39 | - |
| 17 | 18 | Cyndie Allemann | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 38 | - |
| 18 | 15 | Dillon Battistini | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 38 | - |
| 19 | 22 | Mark Olson | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 37 | - |
| 20 | 14 | Logan Gomez | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 26 | Mechanical |
| 21 | 8 | Daniel Herrington | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 15 | - |
| 22 | 11 | Robbie Pecorari | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 4 | Mechanical |
| FINISH | START | DRIVER | CAR | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | James Davison | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 20 | - |
| 2 | 12 | Wade Cunningham | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 20 | - |
| 3 | 10 | Pablo Donoso | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 20 | - |
| 4 | 17 | Cyndie Allemann | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 20 | - |
| 5 | 14 | Ana Beatriz | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 20 | - |
| 6 | 5 | J.R. Hildebrand | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 20 | - |
| 7 | 13 | Sean Guthrie | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 20 | - |
| 8 | 9 | Andrew Prendeville | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 20 | - |
| 9 | 1 | Jonny Reid | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 20 | - |
| 10 | 16 | Brent Sherman | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 20 | - |
| 11 | 8 | Arie Luyendyk, Jr. | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 19 | - |
| 12 | 15 | Mitch Cunningham | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 18 | Accident |
| 13 | 22 | Robbie Pecorari | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 18 | Accident |
| 14 | 2 | Richard Antinucci | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 18 | Accident |
| 15 | 21 | Daniel Herrington | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 18 | - |
| 16 | 20 | Logan Gomez | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 17 | Accident |
| 17 | 19 | Mark Olson | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 13 | Accident |
| 18 | 4 | Raphael Matos | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 12 | - |
| 19 | 18 | Dillon Battistini | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 10 | Accident |
| 20 | 3 | Franck Perera | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 9 | Accident |
| 21 | 12 | Jeff Simmons | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 4 | Accident |
| 22 | 6 | Bobby Wilson | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 4 | Accident |
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