2013 Indy Lights schedule announced
Its no surprise there are so few competitors in Indy Lights, the 'official' feeder Series of the IZOD IndyCar Series. In ANY other feeder series on this planet race-meetings consist of either 2 and sometimes 3 separate races. International Series like GP2 and GP3, both in the F1 program, use this doubleheader format, as do World Series by Renault, Formula 2, Auto GP, Formula Nippon, etc.
In Formula 3 many (inter)national championships even run 3 races per race-event: Euroseries F3, FIA F3, British F3, German F3 etc. The same applies for Formula Renault 2.0, Formula Ford (GB), Formula Abarth (Italy / China), Formula 4 (GB), Formula ADAC (Germany), Formula BMW (int) etc, etc. Even IndyCar itself has 3 double-headers planned for 2013, so why (on earth) not Indy Lights at every meeting?
Most drivers (80%-90%) from all over Europe, Middle-East, Russia, Asia, Australia, New-Zealand, Central and South America and Africa now compete in Europe to get as much possible race-time, and therefore experience out of their investment (i.e. sponsorship money). There have even been US based drivers or drivers from Central and South America and Europe, who started their career in the USA, and then 'moved' to Europe to gain more race-time, race-craft and experience, that's no secret. Best examples are Alexander Rossi (USA), Felipe Nasr (BR), Richard Philippe (F) and Esteban Gutierrez (MEX). By doing so all of these drivers spend tens of millions of dollars with European race-teams, whereas part of this investment could actually have ended up with North American race-teams … but how?
Well, if IndyCar indeed wants to attract more investment in the future for their teams in both IndyCar and Indy Lights, they will need to adapt to the 'European way' of motorsport by educating and nursing young talent in Indy Lights, their main feeder series. This will undoubtedly even benefit Star Mazda and F2000, as drivers from all over Europe, Middle-East, Russia, Asia, Australia, New-Zealand, Central and South America and Africa, who are aware the road to F1 is just too steep, but want to make a career in motorsport anyway, won't hesitate and make the jump to the USA at an earlier stage in their career. Sometimes they now stay too long in a European feeder series and then reckon they are too old to make the jump and turn their back to motorsport, eventually leaving unknown talent to be never discovered, and … lots of investment money unspent in North American motorsport.
10/18/12 Firestone Indy Lights announced today a 12-race schedule for its 2013 season, featuring a diverse line up of ovals, road and street circuits, designed to prepare drivers for the for the next step on the Mazda Road to Indy ladder – the IZOD IndyCar Series.
New additions to the schedule for 2013 are the historic 2.5-mile oval at Pocono Raceway, the 1.7-mile, 10-turn temporary street course at Reliant Park in Houston and the series' return to Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, its first race at the 2.258-mile natural terrain road course since 2010.
"Our goal is to create a schedule that will challenge our up-and-coming drivers while preparing them for the diversity of the IZOD IndyCar Series," said Tony George Jr., director, Firestone Indy Lights. "For the 2013 season, we are adding one new oval, road course and temporary street circuit, which only enhances the strength of our schedule. To be crowned champion and earn the $1 million Mazda Road to Indy scholarship to the IZOD IndyCar Series, a driver must master each discipline on the circuit in order to maximize points opportunities."
The season will open March 23-24 on the streets of St. Petersburg and the season finale will once again be hosted at Auto Club Speedway, Oct. 18-19. Nine venues that hosted Firestone Indy Lights races in 2012 return and all event weekends will be run in conjunction with the IZOD IndyCar Series and complemented by other series in the Mazda Road to Indy.
George added: "We feel it's important to create opportunities to expose the talents of our Firestone Indy Lights and Mazda Road to Indy drivers alongside the IZOD IndyCar Series. We want to showcase the strength of our ladder system and there is no better way to do that than to run at the tracks where the IZOD IndyCar Series competes."
The first oval of the season will be the Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 24, two days before the Indianapolis 500. In total, five ovals appear on the 2013 Firestone Indy Lights schedule.
All Firestone Indy Lights races will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network, with dates and times to be announced soon.
2013 Firestone Indy Lights Schedule
| Date | Track | City | Venue |
| March 23-24 | Streets of St. Petersburg | St. Petersburg, Fla. | 1.8-mile street course |
| April 6-7 | Barber Motorsports Park | Birmingham, Ala. | 2.38-mile road course |
| April 20-21 | Streets of Long Beach | Long Beach, Calif. | 1.968-mile street course |
| May 24 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway | Indianapolis | 2.5-mile oval |
| June 14-15 | The Milwaukee Mile | West Allis, Wis. | 1-mile oval |
| June 22-23 | Iowa Speedway | Newton, Iowa | .875-mile oval |
| July 6-7 | Pocono International Raceway | Long Pond, Pa. | 2.5-mile oval |
| July 12-13 | Streets of Toronto | Toronto | 1.75-mile street course |
| Aug. 3-4 | Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course | Lexington, Ohio | 2.258-mile road course |
| Aug. 31-Sept. 1 | Streets of Baltimore | Baltimore | 2.04-mile street course |
| Oct. 5-6 | Reliant Park | Houston | 1.7-mile street course |
| Oct. 18-19 | Auto Club Speedway | Fontana, Calif. | 2-mile oval |
Schedule subject to change