Current Series (2002 To Present)
The current series was founded by the Indy Racing League and began racing in 2002, the year after the original series' demise. Prior to the series' inception, the Indy Racing League had no in-house developmental league. It is a spec series using a modified 3.5L version of the V8 engine used in the Infiniti Q45 combined with Dallara chassis producing 420 horsepower (310 kW). The series initially struggled to attract drivers and some races have had fewer than 10 entrants. However, with the introduction of a number of road-course races to the schedule in 2005, many of America's top prospects like Marco Andretti and Phil Giebler were attracted to the series to run part-time schedules on road courses. In 2006, a boost in prize money even further increased car counts to 16 or more, with an even six oval and six road course mix. The selected races being double races, and a stand-alone race (independent of the IndyCar Series) were scheduled on the USGP weekend.
The series was called the Menards Infiniti Pro Series (MIPS) until 2006 when both Menards and Nissan dropped their sponsorship of the series. It was then known as the Indy Pro Series. 2007 car counts improved further with 20 or more cars in every race. On March 26, 2008, the series announced a changing of names. The historical records and proprietary information of Champ Car were acquired by the IRL. The series then became known as Firestone Indy Lights. The name reflects the heritage of the original Indy Lights series, which has been merged into the current series' official history.
The centerpiece of the Indy Lights schedule is the Firestone Freedom 100, contested at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on the Friday prior to the Indianapolis 500. The series also held a support race for the U.S. Grand Prix, the Liberty Challenge, from 2005 to 2007. It was the series' only event that was not a support race to an IndyCar event.
On September 9, 2007, during the Chicagoland 100, Logan Gomez beat Alex Lloyd by 0.0005 seconds (approximately 1.65 inches (42 mm) at 188 mph) which reflects the closest recognized finish in the over century-long history of organized automobile racing throughout the world. In 2008, the margin was established by the Guinness Book of World Records as the closest finish ever in a car race.
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“We all participate in weaving the social fabric; we should therefore all participate in patching the fabric when it develops holes—mismatches between old expectations and current realities.”
—Anne C. Weisberg (20th century)
“The professional celebrity, male and female, is the crowning result of the star system of a society that makes a fetish of competition. In America, this system is carried to the point where a man who can knock a small white ball into a series of holes in the ground with more efficiency than anyone else thereby gains social access to the President of the United States.”
—C. Wright Mills (1916–1962)