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Wilson Wins Indy Lights Race; Newgarden Clinches Championship

Sparta, Ky., Oct. 2 – Stefan Wilson won his second race of the season and his first on an oval in today’s Firestone Indy Lights Kentucky 100 at Kentucky Speedway.

When the green came out S. Wilson led from the pole position as the field went into Turn 1.

By starting the race, Josef Newgarden clinched the 2011 Firestone Indy Lights championship and the accompanying Firestone Firehawk Cup.

As the field went into Turn 2, Jacob Wilson, who started third and was competing in his first Firestone Indy Lights race, spun on cold tires.

As Wilson spun he collected another four other cars with Gustavo Yacaman getting up in the air as he went into the wall over Wilson’s car. Also involved in the melee were Anders Krohn, Estaban Guerreri and David Ostella. Although all the cars involved were severely damaged, all five drivers were checked and cleared to drive by the medical staff.

A long yellow was necessitated to get the damaged cars off the track and clean up the debris, so the track did not go green again until lap 15 with S. Wilson again leading the field into Turn 1.

On the following lap, Newgarden made a pass for the lead in Turn 1.

The pair them ran virtually side-by-side with Newgarden holding a narrow lead until the 39th lap when Wilson took the led by setting up Newgarden on the inside and passing him on the outside.

Even though Wilson had taken the lead, the pair still ran close together until the 50th lap when Wilson began to open up a lead on Newgarden.

On lap 50, Duarte Ferreira was assessed a drive thru penalty for blocking on the track.

Ferreira stayed on the track and did not serve the penalty and was subsequently parked by race officials for not completing the assessed penalty.

As laps ticked off the spread of the field continued to widen until Wilson claimed the victory in the 67-lap race by over a three second margin.

Only five of the 13 cars that started the event completed it and all were on the lead lap.

As Wilson scored his first win on an oval he was followed across the line by Newgarden, Jorge Goncalvez, Brandon Wagner and Bryan Clauson.

Following his victory, Wilson had high praise for his Andretti Motorsport team. “The team did a really good job this weekend and gave me a fantastic car. That was the groundwork for me getting this victory,” he said.

Wilson also commented on his long battle with Newgarden during the race. “It was just so fun to race with Josef; we’re very respectful of each other and gave each other enough room. It was just a fantastic race.”

Newgarden was also celebrating as he clinched the series championship with one race left on the schedule. He also was named the 2011 Perkin Elmer Rookie of the Year.

“It’s a big day for the whole team but it is difficult to celebrate without Chris. (Sam Schmidt Motorsports Indy Light team manager Chris Griffis, who died suddenly two weeks age.) It certainly gave us a lot of motivation to come here and finish it off right for him. The entire team has worked so hard and they really put a lot into this year. It’s a big day for all of them,” he stated.

Sam Schmidt Motorsports also clinched their fourth owner’s title in six years and their fifth driver championship.

The final race of the season will be at Las Vegas Speedway on Oct.16.

Summary

Firestone Indy Lights
Kentucky 100
1. (1) Stefan Wilson, 67, Running
2. (6) Josef Newgarden, 67, Running
3. (4) Jorge Goncalvez, 67, Running
4. (2) Brandon Wagner, 67, Running
5. (11) Bryan Clauson, 67, Running
6. (12) Duarte Ferreira, 53, In Pits
7. (7) Victor Carbone, 48, Mechanical
8. (9) Rusty Mitchell, 35, Mechanical
9. (3) Jacob Wilson, 0, Contact
10. (5) Esteban Guerrieri, 0, Contact
11. (8) Gustavo Yacaman, 0, Contact
12. (10) David Ostella, 0, Contact
13. (13) Anders Krohn, 0, Contact

Race Statistics
Winners average speed: 141.971
Time of Race: 00:41:54.4340
Margin of victory: 3.1136 seconds
Cautions: 1 for 14 laps
Lead changes: 2 among 2 drivers
Lap Leaders: Wilson 1-15, Newgarden 16-35, Wilson 36-67
Point Standings: Newgarden 529, S. Wilson 426, Guerrieri 419, Yacaman 371, Goncalvez 336, Carbone 306, Ferreira 304, Krohn 302, Ostella 287, Peter Dempsey 254.

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