Laguna Seca was not only the end of the IndyCar season but all three Road to Indy series. Each series had a handful of drivers that will be around for years to come. Some will make it to IndyCar; others will have careers in other series.
All three developmental series had American champions and we will look at the top eight in each championship. We will go over preseason expectations, what they did in the 2019 season and what each driver should do in 2020.
We will start at the top with Indy Lights, work down to Indy Pro 2000 and end with U.S. F2000.
Indy Lights
Oliver Askew: #28 Andretti Autosport Dallara Mazda (1st, 486 Points)
What I Wrote Before the Season: Askew was fastest at the Austin test and I think he will challenge for the championship. I think everyone has reassessed the Floridian after his Pro Mazda season. Compared to his dominating U.S. F2000 championship in 2017, he took a step back when he moved up to Pro Mazda but if there is one saving grace it is his results improved from the first half of the season to the second and he clawed his way to third in the championship. It was also the first year of the PM-18 chassis and he may have been caught out. I think he is going to win a few races and he will be up there for the championship.
How incorrect was it: Olive Askew won the championship and he won seven races and stood on the podium a total of 15 times out of 18 races.
What he should do in 2020: Askew will be moving up thanks to the scholarship money from his Indy Lights championship. The one issue that stands in Askew's way is the same issue that has been in the way of nearly every Indy Lights champion, securing enough funding for a full season.
Askew will get at least three races, including an entry in the Indianapolis 500, but he is going to want more than three races. No one is going to give him a paying seat. Any full-time effort will come from funding he has secured on his own.
It appears he will not be in Andretti Autosport's future. He did test for Chip Ganassi Racing but Ganassi is not known for giving drivers from the Road to Indy system a fair shake. Note that in 2015 Spencer Pigot tested for Team Penske and Sean Rayhall tested for Ganassi. How are those guys doing with those respective teams?
Askew needs to find the right place to land. He will get three bites at the apple and he must make the most of it.
Rinus VeeKay: #21 Mazda/Jumbo Supermarkets/La Place Restaurants/KNAF Talent First Mazda (2nd, 465 Points)
What I Wrote Before the Season: VeeKay has come to the United States and taken little time to get acclimated to the scene. He pushed Askew for the title in U.S. F2000 two years ago and last year he was quick and consistent to earn the Pro Mazda title. I don't see that changing. I think he is going to push for a few race victories and he will find himself in the championship conversation with Askew and Claman as his biggest rivals with Norman being a slight outsider.
How incorrect was it: VeeKay was in the championship conversation and he was 21 points off Askew. The Dutchman won six races and he had 14 podium finishes.
What he should do in 2020: VeeKay is likely going to IndyCar and, like reason seasons, it is likely VeeKay will get a full-time seat or at least more starts than Askew. There just seems to be a trend that drivers that didn't win the Indy Lights championship end up racing more than the Indy Lights champion. I think that continues and mostly because VeeKay has more money behind him from the Netherlands.
VeeKay tested for Ed Carpenter Racing and he fits the mold that ECR likes for the road course driver in the #20 Chevrolet. Could he get more than that? Could his Dutch Jumbo Supermarket money get him a full-time ride? If he has it, there are plenty of suitors, especially a team like A.J. Foyt Racing, which has lost its sponsor.
Toby Sowery: #2 Gap Guard/Rich Energy Mazda (3rd, 367 Points)
What I Wrote Before the Season: Sowery is only confirmed for St. Petersburg and his entry is in partnership with Team Pelfrey. Sowery has shown potential. He was third in the 2016 BRDC British Formula 3 Championship behind Matheus Leist and Ricky Collard and the following year he was fourth in the championship. He has dabbled in the Road to Indy before, as he ran the Barber round in U.S. F2000 in 2017. He is a late addition to the grid and he was at the bottom of the timesheet at the Homestead test but if he runs the entire season I think his results will improve significantly from the start of the season.
How incorrect was it: Sowery was third in the championship, 119 points off Askew and results did improve. He had a pair of podium finishes at St. Petersburg but he did not get another podium finish until Toronto. He ended the season with three consecutive podium finishes, including a victory at Portland.
What he should do in 2020: Return to Indy Lights because I think Sowery could be a championship favorite in 2020. This was his first full season in the United States after one U.S. F2000 round in 2017 and one Pro Mazda round in 2018. He had some strong days and he did well on the ovals. He knows the tracks now. Sowery could be on the verge of a breakout.
Ryan Norman: #48 EVO Mazda (4th, 359 Points)
What I Wrote Before the Season: Norman is one of the few Indy Lights experienced drivers on the grid and I think that will pay off for him. Compared to 2017, the grid was smaller in 2018 and that allowed Norman to achieve 13 top five finishes after only having one the year before but he did win a race at Gateway where he beat his teammates Patricio O'Ward and Colton Herta and he won pole position for the second Portland race. I think he will be toward the front but will finish behind Askew in the championship.
How incorrect was it: Norman was toward the front and he finished behind Askew, fourth in the championship, 127 points back. Norman won at Road America and he had three other podium finishes.
What he should do in 2020: Stay in Indy Lights because Norman is not ready for IndyCar. Norman has been good but not good enough for IndyCar. With how few entries there are in Indy Lights you cannot settle for just being four or fifth. There are eight cars out there. You have to be winning on a regular basis. Maybe Norman can get there in 2020 but right now he has some work to do before moving up to the big time.
Robert Megennis: #27 Palo Alto Networks/CyberArk Mazda (5th, 355 Points)
What I Wrote Before the Season: Megennis has been a respectable drive in the Road to Indy but he has never been the dominant driver. He has made it to Indy Lights with one victory in 47 starts but his championship finishes between two years of U.S. F2000 and Pro Mazda are sixth, sixth and fifth and he does have nine total podium finishes. I think he is a good driver and this isn't a deep field. Add to that being with the best team and he will likely end up on the podium a few times. Maybe a race victory falls into his lap but because of the tentative size of the field, he might be in the back half for most of the season.
How incorrect was it: Megennis was fifth out of eight drivers that ran the full season and he won one race, which came at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. He had six podium finishes this year.
What he should do in 2020: Remain in Indy Lights. Megennis has never stood head and shoulders above anyone in the Road to Indy but he gets solid results. I think a second year in Indy Lights is important but he has to be on the podium more and he has to win more. He is only 19 years old. He still has a few years to develop.
David Malukas: #79 HMD Trucking Mazda (6th, 301 Points)
What I Wrote Before the Season: Malukas has been a bit of a scrapper. He was part-time in U.S. F2000 two years ago and he was competitive. Last year, he won three races but he had a handful of bad days that cost him points. He is moving up with BN Racing, the team he has driven for the last two years and he in the middle at the Austin but off the leaders. I think it could be a trying year as BN Racing learns a new car against a field that has been running it since it was introduced. Malukas could have a few good days and get on the podium three or four times.
How incorrect was it: Malukas only had two podium finishes, a third at Austin and a third at Gateway.
What he should do in 2020: David Malukas turns 18 years old this week. He did a partial season in U.S. F2000 in 2017 and was full-time in Pro Mazda last year. He was running for a new Indy Lights team in 2019. He did well and his Pro Mazda results suggest he is on the same level as Askew and VeeKay. He should be back in Indy Lights next year and if that team takes a step forward it would be great for the series to have winners from more than Andretti Autosport and Juncos Racing.
Dalton Kellett: #67 K-Line Insulators USA, Inc. Mazda (7th, 275 Points)
What I Wrote Before the Season: This will be Kellett's eighth season in a Road to Indy series and fourth in Indy Lights. He has made 108 Road to Indy starts and his best finish is third on six occasions, including in three consecutive Freedom 100s but all those came with Andretti Autosport. Juncos Racing is good but it isn't Andretti Autosport. He may get another third but he isn't going to finish in the top five of the championship.
How incorrect was it: Kellett was seventh in the championship and he got another third place finish, this time at Toronto.
What he should do in 2020: Move to sports cars. I think Kellett has gotten all he could out of single-seater racing. He has made 126 starts in the Road to Indy system since U.S. F2000 in 2012. He has won zero races, he has eight podium finishes and has only once finished better than third.
It is time to move on and I think sports cars would be a great move for him. He has already competed in the LMP2 class this year in IMSA. That is only a two-car class but he is getting experience and maybe he can find a ride in the European Le Mans Series in either LMP2 or LMP3 or he could run in the LMP3 class in IMSA's Prototype Challenge series. He has talent. It might not be suited for IndyCar but he could have a nice career on the global stage.
Lucas Kohl: #5 Bellko Trading/Kohltrade/IVI Vision Mazda (8th, 253 Points)
What I Wrote Before the Season: Kohl is taking the RC Enerson route and jumping from U.S. F2000 to Indy Lights. I don't think it is going to pay off. He was good in U.S. F2000 but not great and he could benefit from a year in Indy Pro 2000. He was slowest at the Austin test. He may get a hang of the car over the course of the season but I do not think he will be consistently on the podium.
How incorrect was it: Kohl never finished better than seventh this season.
What he should do in 2020: Kohl ran three years in U.S. F2000 and combined for five podium finishes before he leaped over Indy Pro 2000 and joined Indy Lights. He did not finish in the top five once this year in a series that had at most nine cars at a race. His only option is to stay in Indy Lights. I don't see him going down to Indy Pro 2000 if he jumped it. I could see Kohl moving on from the Road to Indy.
Who should we have seen more of?
Zachary Claman. The Canadian ran the first six races before he pulled out of the championship. Claman won the first race of the season at St. Petersburg. He took a step down after a part-time season in IndyCar in 2018. I thought he did well in IndyCar and I was happy to see him back in Indy Lights because I thought he could challenge for the championship. He averaged 20.667 points per race, which would have been good enough for third in the championship. He would have made the grid better if he ran the full season.
Aaron Telitz. Telitz made a handful of starts after Claman exited Belardi Auto Racing and he also won a race at Toronto. The Indy Lights grid is so thin and it needs all the drivers it can get and if it had Claman and Telitz both run full seasons it would have been better for the series and all the drivers competing.
Cars from anywhere. Indy Lights needs more cars. The series had a quick and fleeting high in 2016 and 2017 when the grid jumped to 14-16 cars per race but it has not had a dozen cars in a race in either of the last two seasons.
Something has to be done and I am not talking about slashing it so it cost nothing for IndyCar teams to enter. The series has to become a sustainable business venture. The series needs more exposure. It needs to be a place where sponsors get exposure. The series needs to be on television, not behind a paywall on a streaming platform for 17 of 18 races.
Indy Lights could be a great avenue for young drivers. It can get drivers to IndyCar but it could also offer Super License points and that could draw drivers from all over the world but in its current state, with at best nine cars showing up none of the drivers are getting Super License points. The drivers are wasting their time and their futures if these results are not recognized by the FIA.
Andersen Promotions has done a great job with the Road to Indy system but it is doing a disservice to the drivers if it can only attract eight drivers to run full-time. Andersen Promotions and IndyCar should be ashamed.
Who have we seen enough of?
I kind of said it above with Dalton Kellett and he was the answer last year. I also realize the cognitive dissonance in saying Indy Lights needs more cars and drivers and then say a driver should move on. If Kellett staying means drivers get Super License points for 2020 then I will fully support it.
Indy Pro 2000
Kyle Kirkwood: #28 Mazda/Firstex Industries/Bell Helmets/Sabelt Mazda (1st, 419 Points)
What I Wrote Before the Season: Kirkwood has the tremendous weight around his neck of winning a championship and moving up and being expected to win another championship and I think he could do it. RP Motorsport will be in its second year in what is now Indy Pro 2000. Last year, the team won with Harrison Scott twice and Scott had six podium finishes in 12 starts. Kirkwood ended the Homestead third overall and I think Kirkwood will challenge for the title and at worst finish in the top three.
How incorrect was it: Kirkwood won the championship off the back of nine victories and 11 podium finishes.
What he should do in 2020: Move up to Indy Lights. Kirkwood had a slow start to the season but he ended strong and he showed he is ready for the next level. I don't want to say he is set to take the quickest climb to IndyCar with three consecutive Road to Indy championships but after a dominant U.S. F2000 and a dominant end to the Indy Pro 2000 season expectations will be high heading into Indy Lights.
Rasmus Lindh: #10 Chicago Pneumatic/PWR Junior Team/SFK Mazda (2nd, 417 Points)
What I Wrote Before the Season: Kyle Kirkwood dominated last year in U.S. F2000, which makes Lindh's results seem less impressive but I think the Swede is a good driver and he will be competitive. Juncos Racing has won this title the last two years and I think Lindh gives the team a good shot at making it three consecutive. It will be tough but I think Lindh wins at least one race and he is on the podium at least six times. While his teammate ended the Homestead test fastest overall, Lindh was consistent and was in the top five for the final four of five sessions.
How incorrect was it: Lindh won three races and he finished on the podium 13 times and he finished din the top five of all 16 races.
What he should do in 2020: Join Kirkwood on the way to Indy Lights. Lindh has had two quiet seasons in his Road to Indy career but he has been at the front. The only concern is we have not seen him have a killer instinct to get victories. When Kirkwood was winning race after race, Lindh was coming home in second and third. Those are great results but when one person keeps winning again and again you eventually have to stop them. Maybe Lindh can do that at the next level.
Parker Thompson: #8 Abel Motorsports Mazda (3rd, 344 Points)
What I Wrote Before the Season: Thompson has been taking his time climbing the ladder. This will be his fifth season in the Road to Indy and the first three were in U.S. F2000. He will be on his fourth team after spending the last two with Exclusive Autosport. The Canadian has finished in the top three of a championship the last three seasons but has yet to win a title. Last year seemed to be his but he had a rough handful of results right when Rinus VeeKay went on a tear. This kind of feels like Thompson has to win the title this year. He is moving to a new team but it doesn't appear to be a hurdle as he was second fastest at the Homestead test.
How incorrect was it: Thompson did not win the title and he finished 75 points off Kirkwood. He swept the opening round at St. Petersburg but did not win again despite having six more podium finishes.
What he should do in 2020: Make it three drivers heading to Indy Lights. Thompson was ready for Indy Lights a year or two ago. He might be the best driver not to win a Road to Indy championship. He had three years in U.S. F2000 and had finishes of second and third in the championship. In two Indy Pro 2000 seasons he has finished second and third. He is a good driver and his lack of a title should not keep him from Indy Lights.
Sting Ray Robb: #1 Go out Local/Big Idaho Potato Truck/OMP/Intervention.com/Marika Mazda (4th, 323 Points)
What I Wrote Before the Season: This will be Robb's third season in this series. He has the one podium finish. I think he is just a good driver and instead of sliding up into the top tier of drivers in this series the next batch of talent from U.S. F2000 moves in and keeps him in the back half of the top ten. Surprisingly, Robb ended the Homestead test fastest overall and he was second quickest in two of the other four sessions. This could be his best season yet but I am not sure he can keep it up over 16 races.
How incorrect was it: Robb was fourth in the championship with six podium finishes but he did not win a race.
What he should do in 2020: Robb should probably stay in Indy Pro 2000 but not many drivers remain in a series for four years. It almost feels like Robb is going to be forced to Indy Lights, whether it is the right move or not.
Daniel Frost: #68 Den-Jet Mazda (5th, 318 Points)
What I Wrote Before the Season: Frost did not participate in the first day of the Homestead test and in the two Sunday sessions he was running in the middle of the field. I think he will be competing for best out of the Exclusive Autosport drivers but that might be for at best fifth in the championship.
How incorrect was it: Frost was fifth in the championship and he had two victories and six podium finishes.
What he should do in 2020: Stay in Indy Pro 2000. Frost's first year was about what you could expect but he could use another year to learn the circuits.
Nikita Lastochkin: #90 Russkaya Mekhanika Mazda (6th, 237 Points)
What I Wrote Before the Season: This will be Lastochkin's third year in this series and fifth in the Road to Indy. He has never won a race and he has two podium finishes in 59 starts but he was around the top five for majority of this test. This might be his best season in this series but I don't think he is a title challenger.
How incorrect was it: Lastochkin was sixth in the championship and never stood on the podium. His best finish was fourth on the IMS road course and at Mid-Ohio.
What he should do in 2020: Start looking to sports cars. Lastochkin has been in Indy Pro 2000 for just as long as Robb and his results have remained the same. It is time to move on.
Kory Enders: #7 MB Sugarland/Caliber Collision/McLaren Houston Mazda (7th, 211 Points)
What I Wrote Before the Season: Enders has been good but has never been great in his two years in U.S. F2000. He was not at the Homestead test. I think he will be a mid-pack driver.
How incorrect was it: Enders started as a mid-pack driver but climbed to the front. In the final five races he finished in third on two occasions.
What he should do in 2020: Remain in Indy Pro 2000 because Enders had some stronger runs later in the season and that could carry over into 2020.
Moisés de la Vara: #6 UAG/I.E.P/MOTUL/JUMEX/Oil Depot Mazda (8th, 198 Points)
What I Wrote Before the Season: This could be the sleeper of the season. De la Vara looked good in his few starts last year and he was fourth quickest in this test. He could win a race and if he keeps finishing in the top five while Thompson has bad days and Kirkwood might finally have a bad day it could open the door for him to contend for the title.
How incorrect was it: De la Vara's season started with three finishes of sixth in the first four races but his only top five was fourth in the final race of the year from Laguna Seca.
What he should do in 2020: Comeback for another season. De la Vara started off the season well but the results tailed off in the middle of the season. With the additional experience I think de la Vara could make an improvement in 2020.
Jacob Abel: #51 Abel Construction Mazda (9th, 198 Points)
What I Wrote Before the Season: Abel is a young driver and he is still getting a hang of it. I don't think he is going to push his teammate and there will be some days where he will be in the top five and others where he is at the back of the field.
How incorrect was it: Abel had a fifth at Indianapolis Raceway Park and in the final race of the season from Laguna Seca. He had nine more top ten finishes this year.
What he should do in 2020: Comeback for another season. De la Vara started off the season well but the results tailed off in the middle of the season. With the additional experience I think de la Vara could make an improvement in 2020.
Who should we have seen more of?
Ian Rodríguez. The Guatemalan driver had two podium finishes and four top five finishes in eight starts. He very well could have won a race at Road America or Mid-Ohio. He could be a championship contender and a Central American driver is important in the Road to Indy and the ascension of Rodríguez to IndyCar could be big for the series.
While not as bad as Indy Lights, Indy Pro 2000 could use a few more cars. The grids were heading in the wrong direction in 2018. Indy Lights should be somewhere between 16-22 entries and Indy Pro 2000 should be from 20-26 entries.
Who have we seen enough of?
We covered Nikita Lastochkin.
U.S. F2000
Braden Eves: #8 MDRN Livery/Community Choice Financial Mazda (1st, 361 Points)
What I Wrote Before the Season: Eves was not far off Keane and I think those two will both be in the top five of the championship with multiple race victories.
How incorrect was it: Eves won the championship with six victories and eight podium finishes.
What he should do in 2020: Graduate to Indy Pro 2000. The season might not have ended the way Eves liked but he has speed. The results did trail off but he was still running consistently well and it was really a bad race in Toronto and an average weekend at Mid-Ohio that made this championship come down to the wire. He will learn and he will continue his growth at the next level.
Hunter McElrea: #22 Mazda/Doric NZ/Miles Advisory Partners Mazda (2nd, 356 Points)
What I Wrote Before the Season: I think he will be good but his testing results had him toward the back of the top ten. This could be a case where his results improve throughout the season.
How incorrect was it: McElrea started the season with four consecutive podium finishes, seven podium finishes from the first eight races including a victory at Road America and he picked up three more victories and a pair of runner-up finishes. Unfortunately, he lost the title on the last day of the season when he had to start at the back and Eves started third. Eves got the victory and McElrea finished three positions shy of getting the title after finishing seventh in the finale.
What he should do in 2020: Move to Indy Pro 2000. McElrea and Eves were the class of the field in U.S. F2000 this year and both are ready. They rarely put a foot wrong. McElrea ended on a stronger note but he showed the Road to Indy scholarship money was not wasted.
Christian Rasmussen: #6 JHDD/CSU One Cure/Lucas Oil Mazda (3rd, 282 Points)
What I Wrote Before the Season: This is going to be a fun season in U.S. F2000 because it seems like there are at least six drivers you would not be surprised by if they won the championship and this is one of them. Rasmussen should win a few races.
How incorrect was it: Rasmussen was third in the championship with three victories and he was 79 points off Eves. The Dane had seven podium finishes in the final eight races.
What he should do in 2020: I think Rasmussen is ready for the next level. He had some similarities to Darren Keane in that he was quick but had weekends where something would go wrong at the wrong time. However, he won a pair of races.
Colin Kamiskey: #23 Slicks Locks Mazda (4th, 282 Points)
What I Wrote Before the Season: If enough drivers run full-time I think Kamiskey finishes outside the top ten of the championship.
How incorrect was it: This was very wrong. Kamiskey was fourth and he had six podium finishes and 11 top five finishes. A victory eluded him but he surprised me.
What he should do in 2020: Remain in U.S. F2000. Kamiskey has made some nice gains over this three years in U.S. F2000 but I am not sure he is ready for Indy Pro 2000 yet. I think he needs to win at this level and then he will be good to move on.
Darren Keane: #2 Cal Development/Keane Architectural Woodwork Mazda (5th, 270 Points)
What I Wrote Before the Season: Keane was the fastest at the Homestead test and he is with the benchmark team when it comes to U.S. F2000. I think his results improve and he wins a few races. It would not be surprising if he was in the championship discussion.
How incorrect was it: Keane had a rollercoaster year. He had speed and then stubbed his toe and had to fight from behind. He had one victory and only four podium finishes.
What he should do in 2020: Move on up to the next level. Keane's results are a tad disappointing because he had more speed than his final points total shows. It seemed like the first four race weekends he had something go wrong in qualifying that put him toward the back of the grid or something would happen when he had a strong starting position. He recovered nicely but his key thing will not repeat that trend.
Manuel Sulaimán: #12 DEForce Racing Mazda (6th, 211 Points)
What I Wrote Before the Season: Sulaimán was at the top for most of this test and was not far off Keane for best overall time. If he runs the series he should be a title contender.
How incorrect was it: The season started with a second and a third in the first three races but those were his only podium finishes and he had only two other top five finishes all season.
What he should do in 2020: Remain in U.S. F2000 because while he started 2019 strong his results faded. Another year should get him more track time and it will be a chance to improve.
Jak Crawford: #52 DEForce Racing Mazda/#4 Cape Motorsports Mazda (7th, 183 Points)
What I Wrote Before the Season: (Crawford was not entered until the second round at the Grand Prix of Indianapolis and was not included in the Road to Indy Preview).
How incorrect was it: The late addition to the series had five top five finishes.
What he should do in 2020: Crawford is only 14 years old and he was not eligible to run the opening round in St. Petersburg this year. There is plenty of time for him to get to IndyCar. A full season in U.S. F2000 will go a long way. He just has to be patient. His first year in the ladder system showed he has raw talent and a second year in U.S. F2000 will allow him to develop but not be overwhelmed. If Crawford is back with Cape Motorsports in 2020, I think he will be a championship contender.
Bruna Tomaselli: #24 Bruna&Bia Mazda (8th, 174 Points)
What I Wrote Before the Season: I think Tomaselli and Kamiskey will be near each other on the racetrack and in the championship and that will not be toward the front.
How incorrect was it: This was wrong in that Kamiskey was further up the order than Tomaselli. She had one top five finish.
What she should do in 2020: Tomaselli has been around for a while now. This was her third season. Before 2019, she had one top ten finish in U.S. F2000. This year she had ten top ten finishes. She just turned 22 years old. The results do not point that she should move up but she is 22 years old. There are not many 22 years old in U.S. F2000.
Who should we have seen more of?
Cameron Shields. Shields won the Indianapolis Raceway Park race and he was gone after Toronto despite being in contention for the top five in the championship. He had some other good runs on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course and Road America.
Alex Baron. The mysterious case of Alexandre Baron continues. The 2014 Toronto Indy Lights race winner returned to U.S. F2000 for the third consecutive year and for the second consecutive year he started the year but he could only get to Road America before his season ended. If this guy can win in Indy Lights, he should be in Indy Lights. Let's not forget it has been six years since he won on his U.S. F2000 debut at Laguna Seca. Six years ago it seemed he would be destined for IndyCar and yet he is back where he has started.
Who have we seen enough of?
Alex Baron. I think he is a good driver and I think he should be in something higher than U.S. F2000 but if this is going to be a yearly game of trying to run U.S. F2000 only to not make it through half a season I would rather see Baron try and make it in sports cars because there has to be a place where his talent is seen and properly rewarded.
Looking to 2020
We know Oliver Askew will be going to IndyCar. It seems like Rinus VeeKay will be going to IndyCar. Outside of that it appears the rest of the Indy Lights grid will either return or move out of the system.
The problem for Askew is he is entering a series that really isn't look for full-time drivers. No one is clamoring for this kid and while he has drawn interest from Chip Ganassi Racing, CGR has a history of not sticking around young drivers for long, look at the careers of Alex Lloyd and Sage Karam.
Askew could get three races as a Ganassi driver and then be gone. Ganassi has a young driver in Felix Rosenqvist and while Scott Dixon turns 40 next season I doubt CGR is looking for a predecessor just yet.
VeeKay may have a greater opportunity if he ends up at Ed Carpenter Racing but just as short a leash. ECR has had five different drivers as the road/street course driver in the #20 Chevrolet for ECR in the team's six seasons of splitting that car with Ed Carpenter driving on the ovals. The only driver to get multiple seasons is Spencer Pigot. VeeKay may be able to turn that ride into a full-time seat but it will be a one-year audition.
Kyle Kirkwood's championship was important because it proved his U.S. F2000 championship could not be chalked to another Cape Motorsports driver coming out on top. Kirkwood moved up and went to the relatively new RP Motorsport. It is likely Kirkwood will move up to another new team and the change of scenery should not be a stumbling block for him.
Juncos Racing will likely be losing an Indy Lights driver in VeeKay but it has two Indy Pro 2000 drivers ready to move up and Rasmus Lindh would be the natural choice to fill that seat.
Braden Eves or Hunter McElrea could have won the U.S. F2000 title. Eves came out on top but it will be a toss up in Indy Pro 2000 next year if both drivers are competing.
The good news on the team front is Exclusive Autosport announced its expansion to Indy Lights for the 2020 season. Andretti Autosport had three drivers in 2019, Juncos Racing had two, Belardi Auto Racing had two for most of the season and BN Racing/HMD Motorsports had two cars. One car from Exclusive Autosport would be good, two would be great but there would still be work to get the grid to a more respectable level.
Next year will be the sixth season for the IL-15 chassis. There is no excuse that the car is too new and there is a shortage of tubs and spare parts. The 2020 season is one where an increase is imperative.
The good news is the Road to Indy got through the first year without the support of Mazda. While grids were low in Indy Lights and Indy Pro 2000 were not as strong as were are accustomed to seeing, none of the three series appear to be in a dire situation. The ladder system is holding strong but greater support and participation in 2020 are an easy way to clear up any long-term concerns.
