With it being the month of August, the Road To Indy seasons are coming down to the final few race weekends and with scholarships to the next level available it is time to see which drivers are vying for each title. Also, we'll take a look at North American drivers in lower Formula series abroad.
Firestone Indy Lights
With only two races remaining at Baltimore and Fontana, the Indy Lights season is the closest to deciding a champion. Esteban Guerrieri leads by only seven points over his rookie teammate Tristan Vautier. Both drivers have won three races but Vautier received a five point penalty after Indianapolis. Guerrieri finished second last year in Lights to Josef Newgarden and was always fast but he was a little wreck less and cost himself good finish, notably at Barber, Edmonton, New Hampshire and Baltimore. This year though he has been clean and has completed every lap to date. Vautier looks to be promoted for a second straight year after winning last year's Star Mazda Championship. Last year, the Frenchman won the Star Mazda race at Baltimore.
The question for these two drivers is who in IndyCar would take them? Guerrieri was rumored to be talking with KV Racing Technology if Rubens Barrichello was not signed. Both drive for Sam Schmidt Motorsports who fields Simon Pagenaud. Many thought Schmidt was going to field a two car team this year but that did not come to fruition. Would Schmidt field a second entry for the Lights champion? We'll have to wait and see. Other Lights drivers include Sebastian Saavedra who is third in the standings and will need some help if he wants to win the championship. Saavedra ran for Andretti Autosport in partnership with AFS Racing in the Indianapolis 500 this year and will run again at Sonoma. Gustavo Yacaman is fourth and forty-five points behind Guerrieri.
Star Mazda Championship
With three race weekends and five races remaining, British driver Jack Hawksworth leads the championship by forty-one points over Sage Karam. Hawksworth has won six races to Karam's two. Gabriel Chaves is third and Connor de Phillippi is fourth. De Phillippi has won two races but after two tough weekends in Toronto and Edmonton, he has fallen to seventy-four points back of Hawksworth. Star Mazda will run two races at Baltimore, two races at Laguna Seca during the Grand-Am weekend and their final race will be at Road Atlanta during the Petit Le Mans weekend.
U.S. F2000 Championship
Cape Motorsports with Wayne Taylor Racing driver Spencer Pigot leads his teammate Matthew Brabham by eighteen points after their doubleheader weekend at Mid-Ohio. Pigot had won five races going into the second Mid-Ohio race but ended up one lap down in twenty-third position, while Brabham finished twenty-fifth. Scott Anderson won his first race with Belardi Auto Racing and is fourth in the standings behind Pigot, Brabham and Roman Lagudi. The series will run a triple header weekend at Road America with the American Le Mans series, a doubleheader at Baltimore and a doubleheader at Virginia International Raceway with ALMS, the same weekend the IndyCar and Indy Lights championships wrap up at Fontana.
Americans Abroad
Alexander Rossi is eleventh in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series standings with a podium finish at Monaco. This is Rossi's second season in Formula Renault 3.5 and finished third in the championship last year. He is currently a test driver for Caterham F1.
2010 Star Mazda Champion and Indy Lights race winner, Conor Daly is sixth in the GP3 Series standings with a win at Barcelona and a total of four podiums. Last year, Daly had only three finishes in the points during the GP3 season and his best finish was a fifth at Spa-Francorchamps. Daly also tested for the Formula One team, Force India in May. The other American in GP3 is Ethan Ringel and his best finish this year was a fourteenth at Valencia.
Michael Lewis is currently eight in the Formula 3 Euro Series standings with three podium finishes. Last year, Lewis won three race in Italian Formula Three, had six total podiums and was the highest finishing rookie by finishing second in points.
Eddie Cheever's son, Eddie Cheever Jr. is currently leading the Italian Formula Three standings with three wins, ten podiums in fifteen race and has won five pole positions. Eddie Jr., however races under the Italian flag.
Puerto Rican driver Felix Serralles is second in the British Formula Three Championship with two rounds, six races remaining. Serralles has three race wins, eleven podiums and three pole positions.
In the GP2 Series, Mexican driver Esteban Gutierrez is third in the standings, has won three races including the most recent race at Hungary and six total podiums.
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