Sunday, August 24, 2014

Jack Harvey Wins Race But Gabby Chaves Wins 2014 Indy Lights Title

Most years, four victories and finishing every race in the top five is enough to win the Indy Lights title. Unfortunately this wasn't most years for Jack Harvey. Harvey won his fourth race in the 2014 season and swept the weekend at Sonoma but will finish second in the championship to Gabby Chaves on the second tiebreaker. Both Harvey and Chaves ended with 547 points and four victories but Chaves wins the title with five second place finishes to Harvey's one.

Harvey led every lap and scored fastest lap on his way to victory with Chaves finishing second. It was a dominating victory for Harvey with the Brit finishing 18.7018 seconds ahead of Chaves. Zach Veach finished third in the race and in the championship after holding off Luiz Razia in the closing laps. The defending Pro Mazda champion Matthew Brabham rounded out the top five. Veach finished 32.4914 seconds behind Harvey with Razia three-quarters of a second behind him and Brabham 36.5547 seconds back of Harvey. 

Ryan Phinny finished sixth, his best career finish in Indy Lights. Juan Piedrahita finished seventh. The Venezuelan was running third early in the race but fell back and ultimately lost a few more positions after contact with his teammate Juan Pablo García. Zack Meyer finished eighth ahead of García who finished a lap down. Scott Anderson had a mechanical failure end his race with nine laps to go.

Chaves' championship season ended with four victories, eleven podiums, eleven top fives, thirteen top tens, two pole positions, four fastest laps and leading the most laps on three occasions. 

Harvey ends 2014 with four wins, ten podiums, a perfect fourteen top fives in fourteen races, starting from pole four times with three fastest laps and leading the most laps four times. 

Veach finishes a career best third in the Indy Lights championship after three victories, nine podiums, eleven top fives, fourteen top tens, four pole positions, three fastest laps and leading the most laps twice. 

Chaves' championship is the first for Belardi Auto Racing and ends Schmidt Peterson Motorsports' streak of four consecutive championships. Chaves is the first Indy Lights champion from Colombian and first South American champion since Raphael Matos in 2008.