Askew locks up 2019 Indy Lights title

Team boss Michael Andretti and Oliver Askew

Following a dominate season, rookie Oliver Askew has clinched the 2019 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Driver Championship. Askew’s championship hands Andretti Autosport its second Indy Lights Team Championship and marks the fourth driver championship for the team.

There were two winners in today’s Cooper Tires Indy Lights Grand Prix Presented by Allied Building Products at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. Teenaged Dutchman Rinus VeeKay drove a flawless race from the pole position to secure a sixth race win of the season for himself and Juncos Racing, but that wasn’t enough to prevent Florida’s Oliver Askew from clinching the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires championship. Askew’s low-key fourth place finish for Andretti Autosport was all he required to clinch a scholarship valued at a cool $1.1 million to guarantee entry into a minimum of three NTT IndyCar Series races in 2020, including the 104th Indianapolis 500.

Toby Sowery, from Cambridge, England, finished a distant second for HMD Motorsports/Team Pelfrey, while Askew’s Andretti Autosport teammate Robert Megennis, from New York, N.Y., completed the podium in third.

Race start – just 8 cars

Just three short years ago, Askew, now 22, was wondering how, if ever, he could make the transition to junior open-wheel auto racing after a stellar career in the karting ranks. The answer came initially in the form of a coveted Team USA Scholarship, which ensured him entry into the inaugural Mazda Road to Indy $200K USF2000 Scholarship Shootout in 2016. After winning that event – coincidentally also at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca – Askew went on to win the 2017 Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship, which earned him another Mazda scholarship to step up to the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires in 2018.

He had to give best to his perennial rival VeeKay last year, but Askew has bounced back in style. He topped the points table for the first time following a double-header sweep at Circuit of The Americas in March and has never been headed since scoring a dramatic last-gasp victory in the season’s crown jewel event, the Freedom 100 Presented by Cooper Tires at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May.

Today, though, neither Askew nor anyone else was able to match VeeKay. Ten days after celebrating his 19th birthday, the gifted young man from Hoofddorp, Netherlands, took off like a scalded cat from pole position. He was never seriously challenged throughout a somewhat processional 30-lap race. He finally crossed the line a commanding 9.8874 seconds clear of Sowery, whose fourth podium finish from the last six races – including his maiden victory at Portland three weeks ago – elevated him to third place in the points table with just one race remaining.

Askew, who started third, maintained his position at the start but did not offer up any resistance when teammate Megennis made a nice move around the outside of the Andretti Hairpin on the opening lap. Secure in the knowledge that merely a top-five finish would be enough to ensure that the championship would be beyond VeeKay’s reach, Askew slotted in behind and was content to shadow him to the checkered flag.

Third place for Megennis was enough to claim his fourth Tilton Hard Charger Award of the year. He also closed to within just six points of Andretti teammate Ryan Norman, from Aurora, Ohio, who fell just over a half-second shy of snatching sixth place from Canadian Dalton Kellett (Juncos Racing) at the finish line.

Provisional championship points after 17 of 18 races:
1. Oliver Askew, 461
2. Rinus VeeKay, 433
3. Toby Sowery, 345
4. Ryan Norman, 342
5. Robert Megennis, 336
6. David Malukas, 287
7. Dalton Kellett, 260
8. Lucas Kohl, 240
9. Aaron Telitz, 133
10. Zachary Claman, 124

The 18-race season will conclude tomorrow morning with VeeKay once again on pole position and Askew alongside him on the front row of the grid for the series finale for which the green flag will fly at 9:10 a.m.

Race Podium

Oliver Askew (#28 Index Invest Dallara-Andretti Autosport Dallara-AER IL-15): “Looking back nine months ago, I didn’t even have a ride, and it was a struggle to put it together since we didn’t have the scholarship from 2018. If you had told me then that I would be the Indy Lights champion, I wouldn’t have believed you. When we won the race in St. Louis, it began to sink in that this was ours to lose. To do this for Andretti Autosport, back to back champions, I’m so privileged to have raced with them this year. I’ve learned so much, and I’m ready to go IndyCar racing next year.

“I’ve been so lucky in my Road to Indy career. The Andretti system was very similar to the Cape Motorsports system, so they prepared me very well, as well as the Andretti team prepared me to test an Indy car. That’s the beauty of the Road to Indy: each step is in sync so to go from karts to cars in four years is crazy. But honestly, I’m already thinking about tomorrow, how to execute to be on top of the podium tomorrow. That’s all I’m thinking about – we can celebrate tomorrow night!"

J-F Thormann, President Andretti Autosport: “I take such great pride in having Oliver as our champion this year. I’ve been following him since he was in karts. Michael has tasked me with the Indy Lights program and we thought that Oliver was the total package, in and out of the car. We’ve watched him since he joined the Road to Indy, watching how he handled victories and defeats. It’s been amazing to watch him this year, staying so calm and level-headed. Those are the things Michael likes and appreciates, and we know it will serve Oliver well in the future."

Rinus VeeKay (#21 Mazda/Jumbo Supermarkets/La Place Restaurants/KNAF Talent First-Juncos Racing Dallara-AER IL-15): “I’m happy. This was all I could do this weekend. I knew Oliver had the championship, so I focused on doing the best I could, and that worked. It’s a tough track, especially when you only have one practice session, but this track rewards my style of driving. It’s a lot of fun, even in a race like this where there was no grip and I was sliding around. Today was really about tire management, to start on new tires and stay quickest through the race. The car was tough to drive but I’m happy to show the IndyCar team owners what I can do. Oliver is the champion, but I put myself into the spotlight today."

Toby Sowery (#2 Gap Guard/Rich Energy-HMD Motorsports/Team Pelfrey Dallara-AER IL-15): “Everyone knows this track – every kid playing racing games learns this track. But knowing which direction the track goes is an easy task: coming to grips with the radius of the corners, the camber, the curbs is quite tough, but you pick it up quick. It’s a cool stage to perform on. It was good to get that many laps under my belt. It’s the most laps in one stint that I’ve done. I’m always learning, as are all the drivers who haven’t been here before. I think we showed that we can compete. With all the changes and development for the team this year, it’s not easy to put results in. But it’s been great cooperation inside the team to battle into a podium finish in the season standings. I hope other teams have taken notice – not just in the Indy Lights paddock, but in the IndyCar paddock as well."

Robert Megennis (#27 Cybersecurity Dallara-Andretti Autosport Dallara-AER IL-15): “I was just going to go for it. (Askew) just had to finish in the top five to take the championship, so that wasn’t my concern. But thank you, Zach Veach, for the inspiration. He told me what to do and it worked out. We started off strong and we want to keep that going. I think I’ve shown people what I’m made of and I hope I can come back next year and do what Oliver did this year."Since 2005, Andretti Autosport has earned four driver titles (‘08/Matos, ’09/Hildebrand, '18/O'Ward and '19/Askew) two team Indy Lights Championship titles (2018, 2019) and three Freedom 100 wins ('16/Stoneman, '18/Herta and '19/Askew).

Andretti Autosport fields three full-time entries in Indy Lights with Askew, Robert Megennis (No. 27 Cybersecurity Dallara) and Ryan Norman (No. 48 Three Chord Dallara).

Race Results