There may be no Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires driver more improved in 2018 than Ryan Norman.
The 19-year-old Ohio native is already off to a strong start to his sophomore campaign. At the season-opening St. Petersburg doubleheader two weeks ago, he scored finishes of sixth and third place. The latter was a career best and has Norman sitting fifth in the overall standings.
The improved pace shouldn’t come as a surprise. After all, it was Norman who led oval testing during Mazda Road to Indy spring training at Homestead-Miami Speedway in February and followed it up with the second-best overall time on the Homestead road course a few days later.
After a 2017 rookie season that saw Norman score a single top-five finish (fourth in Race 1 at Road America) and 14 top-10 finishes – which tied season champion Kyle Kaiser for series honors – Norman feels the year of experience will pay off in 2018.
“Definitely the confidence this year is up way more than last year,” said Norman, driver of the No. 48 Journey Mazda/Dallara IL-15 for Andretti Autosport. “I’ve been there and done that and learned a lot last year and was able to take a lot of good things away from it. This offseason, (we worked) really hard, not only with my driving, but with fitness and everything like that, and just trying to be comfortable and an overall better driver.
“Andretti Autosport have given me a great car, last year and right now. We’re definitely looking forward to going for some wins this year.”
Although capturing the Tilton Hard Charger Award for gaining the most positions in races last year demonstrated Norman’s strength in moving through the field, it also showcased a need for improvement in qualifying.
“What I’m going to focus mostly on this year is starting more up front in qualifying. I think if I can do that, I’ll be pretty good,” said Norman, the 2016 SCCA Pro Formula Atlantic champion. “At the end of the day, I’m just going to take it race by race because, if I need that third year (in Indy Lights), I’ll take it.”
Norman is eager to get back to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Freedom 100 in May. The 2.5-mile superspeedway was the site of a strong fourth-place qualifying effort last year, which brought on elevated expectations. However, the chance to fight for a win was taken away when he was the innocent victim of an opening-lap crash after teammates Colton Herta and Dalton Kellett came together.
Despite a limited oval background, Norman has acclimated quickly due in large part to the approach of Andretti Autosport.
“When I first started on the ovals, which was at (MRTI spring training) last year, they started me with a lot of downforce just so I could easily go flat around the place and they proceeded in taking it off (gradually),” Norman said.
“The whole team dynamic, they made it comfortable for me and we took it by baby steps instead of taking too big of chunks and having a big moment and getting scared and backing off. I think it was just the way we moved into it was the proper way.”
It’s that growth that has Norman eyeing a win when he returns to Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May, or possibly at his home track, Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, in July.
“It’d have to be Indy or Mid-Ohio,” Norman said of the ideal spot to get that first victory. “I really love all the fans out in Indy and all the support they give to this sport. I think it would be really cool to win there.
“If I could win the Freedom 100, that’s the one I really, really want to win. But honestly, it’d be great to win in front of my home crowd (at Mid-Ohio) and in front of all my friends and family as well.”
Before any of that, however, comes the doubleheader weekend at Barber Motorsports Park in Alabama from April 20-22. It’s followed by the two-race weekend May 10-12 in conjunction with the INDYCAR Grand Prix on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. The Freedom 100 on the IMS oval is set for Friday, May 25.