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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 thirteen-race schedule kicked off at Saint Petersburg and concluded in early October at Las Vegas Motor 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 a 3.5-liter 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). Round one of the 2011 Firestone Indy Lights Series was held at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Competitors would race around the fourteen-turn 1.800-mile temporary street course for forty-five laps. The season opener welcomed a new crop of drivers, with only six of the sixteen competitors having previous Firestone Indy Lights Series experience.
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After a successful North American open-wheel racing career, Josef Newgarden traveled to Europe to compete in Formula Ford and Formula Palmer Audi. In 2010, Newgarden participated in the GP3 series and finished a disappointing eighteenth. He returned to the States for Firestone Indy Lights with Sam Schmidt Motorsports. In his first race, Newgarden qualified third and led thirty-four laps on the way to a victory. |
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Conor Daly, the son of former Formula One and IndyCar driver Derek Daly, won last season's Formula Mazda Championship. The prize was a scholarship to compete in the Firestone Indy Lights Series. Daly joined the Sam Schmidt / Curb-Agajanian team in the No. 77 Mazda Road to Indy Dallara IPS. At Saint Petersburg, he was gridded on the outside of the front row and finished in the runner-up position. |
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After a successful Formula Ford campaign in his native Ireland, Peter Dempsey moved to the United States and competed in the Star Mazda Championship. In 2008, Dempsey finished third in the championship and was the runner-up the following year. In 2011, he joined the Firestone Indy Lights Series with O2 Racing Tachnology in the No. 36 Dallara IPS. Dempsey led the first eleven laps at St. Pete before finishing third. |
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Like Conor Daly and Peter Dempsey, Canadian David Ostella competed in last season's Star Mazda Championship, where he collected two top-five finishes and was twelfth in the final standings. Ostella entered the Firestone Indy Lights Series with Jensen Motorsports and backing from Global Precast. He was the eleventh fastest in the qualifying session, driving the No. 16 Dallara IPS and finished in the fourth position. |
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Former Star Mazda Championship competitor Anders Krohn participated in round six of the 2010 Firestone Indy Lights Series at Watkins Glen. Krohn drove for Anderson Racing and finished tenth after starting seventh. This year he was driving the No. 9 Liberty Engineering-sponsored Dallara IPS. At Saint Petersburg, Krohn was eighth at the start of the race and crossed the finish line in the fifth position. |
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| FINISH | START | DRIVER | CAR | LAPS | RETIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Josef Newgarden | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 45 | - |
| 2 | 2 | Conor Daly | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 45 | - |
| 3 | 5 | Peter Dempsey | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 45 | - |
| 4 | 11 | David Ostella | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 45 | - |
| 5 | 8 | Anders Krohn | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 45 | - |
| 6 | 1 | Esteban Guerrieri | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 45 | - |
| 7 | 16 | Mikael Grenier | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 45 | - |
| 8 | 14 | Duarte Ferreira | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 45 | - |
| 9 | 12 | Victor Carbone | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 45 | - |
| 10 | 10 | James Winslow | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 44 | - |
| 11 | 15 | Jorge Goncalvez | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 44 | - |
| 12 | 13 | Juan Pablo Garcia | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 44 | - |
| 13 | 9 | Joel Miller | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 40 | Accident |
| 14 | 6 | Gustavo Yacaman | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 37 | Accident |
| 15 | 7 | Victor Garcia | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 37 | - |
| 16 | 11 | Victor Garcia | Dallara IPS / Infiniti | 4 | - |
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