Firestone Indy Lights returns to action on June 15 at the Milwaukee IndyFest after a thrilling Freedom 100 that reshuffled the top five contenders. Carlos Munoz leads Peter Dempsey by 27 points heading into the 1.0-mile oval where Munoz finished fifth last year. Dempsey, Gabby Chaves and Sage Karam are separated by just three points in the standings, while St. Petersburg race winner Jack Hawksworth lurks close behind. Catch up on every thrill of the 2013 season so far below.
St. Petersburg 100 – Saturday, March 23 at Streets of St. Petersburg, Fla.
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Jack Hawksworth won in his Firestone Indy Lights debut for Schmidt Peterson with Curb-Agajanian Motorsports after leaders Carlos Munoz and Gabby Chaves tangled while battling for the lead.
Munoz, the Sunoco Pole Award recipient in the No. 26 Dialy-Ser-Andretti Autosport car, was battling Chaves in the No. 7 Schmidt Peterson with Curb-Agajanian car entering Turn 1 of Lap 11 when they made contact. Hawksworth made his way around the scene to take the lead, which he held the remainder of the 45-lap race.
Hawksworth, who won the 2012 Star Mazda Championship, led Peter Dempsey across the finish line by 4.9 seconds for the fourth consecutive victory at St. Petersburg for a Schmidt Peterson car. The past three winners (J.K. Vernay, Josef Newgarden and Tristan Vautier) went on the win the series title.
Legacy Indy Lights 100 – Sunday, April 7 at Barber Motorsports Park
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Carlos Munoz completed his domination of Barber Motorsports Park by winning the Legacy Indy Lights 100. The Andretti Autosport driver swept the weekend, topping the time chart in each practice session and earning his second consecutive pole start.
Jack Hawksworth, the St. Petersburg race winner, was 5.0684 seconds behind in the No. 77 Schmidt Peterson with Curb-Agajanian car.
Teammates Gabby Chaves and Sage Karam followed. Jorge Goncalvez was fifth in the No. 4 Belardi Auto Racing car.
Long Beach 100 – Sunday, April 17 at Streets of Long Beach, Calif.
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Carlos Munoz won the Firestone Indy Lights Long Beach 100 from the pole position.
It was the second consecutive flag-to-flag victory for Munoz, driving the No. 26 Dialy-Ser car for Andretti Autosport.
Gabby Chaves finished second for Schmidt Peterson with Curb-Agajanian and Sage Karam was third in another Schmidt Peterson with Curb-Agajanian car.
Munoz moved to first in the championship standings heading to the Firestone Freedom 100 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway on May 24.
Firestone Freedom 100 – Friday, May 24 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
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Peter Dempsey came from fourth place on the final corner of the final lap to overtake Gabby Chaves, Sage Karam and Carlos Munoz and win a thrilling Firestone Freedom 100.
Exiting Turn 4, Munoz, Karam and Chaves were racing side by side to the start-finish of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Suddenly, Dempsey found a seam close to the outside wall on the 50-foot-wide frontstretch.
The 27-year-old native of Ashbourne, Ireland, immediately knew he had won the marquee race of the Firestone Indy Lights season, raising his left hand off the steering wheel, though it was a photo finish. The margin of victory was .0026 of a second -- the closest on an oval in the 100-plus-year history of the Speedway.
Chaves was second and pole sitter Karam was .0280 of a second behind the winner in third. Munoz, who led Laps 13-39, finished fourth, just .0443 of a second off the winner.