Herta wins pole for 2nd St. Pete Indy Lights race

Colton Herta on pole

The Andretti Autosport foursome set the pace for Race 2 of the weekend’s Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires double-header on the Streets of St. Petersburg, recovering from a string of bad luck in Race 1’s qualifying session to capture the pole. Rookie Colton Herta, driving the No. 98 Deltro Energy Mazda for Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing, earned his first pole in the series while also capturing the first pole for Andretti Autosport in the Dallara IL-15.

During the 30-minute session, Herta, Dalton Kellett (No. 28 K-Line Insulators USA Mazda) and Nico Jamin (No. 27 Synova Mazda) all flirted with first position, competing for the top spot on a fast track in a tight top-eight field. Kellett, who is in his second year in Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires, will start tomorrow’s event in his highest starting position in the series.

Unfortunately for Jamin, due to a late brush with the wall, repairs will need to be made by the crew prior to tomorrow’s race. Aside from the impact, Jamin will start in a strong sixth position.

Continuing to get a feel for his first two events on the street course, rookie Ryan Norman kept his No. 48 Flip Size Mazda clean, attaining valuable seat time on an all-green flag course. Norman, who brushed the wall yesterday in qualifying for today’s first race of the season, felt he struggled a little with a few things on-track, but will debrief and set sights on tomorrow’s 60-lap event.

Green flag drops for Race 2 of the Mazda Indy Lights Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Presented by Cooper Tires tomorrow at 9:45 a.m. ET. Fans can catch the action live by following the team @followAndretti on Twitter, downloading the RoadtoIndy.TV app or logging on to IndyLights.com.

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