BN Racing will continue its steady rise up the Mazda Road to Indy ladder, by expanding to field at least one car in the Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires in 2019.
The Chicago-based team, which joined the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship powered by Mazda in 2017 and fielded cars in USF2000 and Pro Mazda Championship this season, will be one of two teams with plans to field cars on all three rungs of INDYCAR's official driver development ladder series next season along with Team Pelfrey.
BN Racing, led by Englishman Bryn Nuttall, has become an established front running team in the Road to Indy, with race wins, podiums, pole positions and lap records strewn across its impressive first full season in 2018 after bursting onto the scene with a partial season of USF2000 competition in 2017.
BN guided teenager David Malukas to a pole position in just his second USF2000 event start at Road America and ended the 2017 season with a best finish of second, as well as three consecutive top-six results to round out its initial campaign. The progression continued into 2018 as BN added a pair of Pro Mazda cars to its roster. The young team’s highlight came once again at Road America, where Malukas and Englishman Toby Sowery finished first and second in each of the two races and Keith Donegan earning his first podium finish in USF2000, claiming a season record of five podiums during a race weekend.
The team finished the 2018 season in style with Malukas winning the last race of the year at the Portland GP this past weekend.
“I’m delighted to be able to announce we will enter the 2019 Indy Lights championship and complete the team’s ability to offer all three categories of these outstanding racing series operated by Andersen Promotions,” said Nuttall. “Not only is this a key step in moving forward as a racing team but with the extra personnel coming in, this will also strengthen my already established USF2000 and Pro Mazda teams, which is a very critical point for me. My aim is to have the capability of winning in every series we enter.
“I’m under no illusions on how tough 2019 in Indy Lights is going to be, but we’ve shown many times over the last 18 months what we are capable of, so let’s see what happens when March arrives.”
BN will announce its driver and testing plans in the coming weeks.
“We are very excited to welcome BN Racing to the Indy Lights paddock,” said Dan Andersen, Owner and CEO of Andersen Promotions. “Bryn has established his credentials with front-running teams in both USF2000 and Pro Mazda, and I expect no less from him in Indy Lights. His dedication and passion in helping drivers reach the top level of our sport is underscored with his expansion to now include all three levels of the ladder system. Bryn is a go-getter and has put a great program in place in a short amount of time. We are looking forward to seeing his hard work and commitment pay off with continued success in Indy Lights.”