ANDRETTI - Freedom 100 Preview

by Tom Beeler

	Andretti Autosport RACE PREVIEW

FREEDOM 100 AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

THE CIRCUIT.

FAST FACTS.

The 2018 Freedom 100 will be the 16th Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Series race on the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the second largest racing venue by capacity and includes the IMS Museum
Dalton Kellett has collected a third-place finish at the Freedom 100 in both 2016 and 2017 races
Colton Herta has two top-three finishes at Indianapolis Motor Speedway after winning both races in this year's Grand Prix of Indianapolis
Ryan Norman is making his second Freedom 100 appearance and is looking to capture his first podium finish at IMS
Patricio O'Ward heads into the weekend leading the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires Series championship, with only a one-point lead over teammate Colton Herta

Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires

No. 27 RIVERINA CDMX MEXICO CITY MAZDA

The Freedom 100 will be my first oval in the Indy Lights car so it will be a learning experience but I'm ecstatic to be in the race, and I will definitely make the most out of this opportunity. I'm going to have to play catch up a little bit during the [oval] test day on Monday, but I'm confident that the No. 27 crew will give me a great car and this one is a challenge I am more than ready to take on!"

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING
1st (145 pts.)
STATS ON INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY OVAL
STARTS	BEST START	BEST FINISH
This will be O'Wards first Freedom 100 race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

No. 98 ANDRETTI-STEINBRENNER RACING / CURB MAZDA

"So far it's been a strong month of May for me and the No. 98 Andretti-Steinbrenner Racing crew sweeping the Grand Prix of Indianapolis a couple weeks ago. I'm hoping to continue this form into the Freedom 100 and kiss the bricks."

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING
2nd (144 pts.)
STATS ON INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY OVAL
STARTS	BEST START	BEST FINISH
1	2 (2017)	13 (2017)

No. 48 JOURNEY MAZDA

"I'm really excited to hit the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway at over 200 mph! We showed great speed last year and hopefully we can build off that. We had a good shot at winning the Freedom 100 last year if we didn’t have that accident, so we're looking to have a clean, strong run at Indy."

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING
5th (102 pts.)
STATS ON INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY OVAL
STARTS	BEST START	BEST FINISH
1	4 (2017)	14 (2017)

No. 28 K-LINE INSULATORS USA MAZDA

"I'm super excited to be on track for the Freedom 100. This is the biggest event of the year for us and the last couple of years we've had a really good showing on the oval. The Andretti Autosport cars have always been really competitive on ovals. I think we do a lot working with our engineers and definitely hone in on having a good race and good qualifying setups so I'm confident that the No. 28 K-Line car will be competitive and it'll be a fun race. We came third that last two years so we're looking to move up a couple positions on Carb Day."

CHAMPIONSHIP STANDING
7th (87 pts.)
STATS ON INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY OVAL
STARTS	BEST START	BEST FINISH
2	3 (2017)	3 (2016,2017)

Tom Beeler

Tom has been a contributor to RIS since 1992. He was invited to join the staff as a full-time reporter/editor in 1995, and has covered IndyCar, Formula 1, NASCAR, Grand-Am, ALMS and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In addition to his RIS work, Tom has been a contributor for General Motors, Nissan, Toyota and the ACO.