Race Weekend Central

Dean Stoneman Finds First U.S. Victory in Indy Lights Grand Prix of Indianapolis

Searching for his first win in the United States, Dean Stoneman found the elusive checkered flag at America’s most famous track.

Stoneman held off challenges from Felix Serralles and Santiago Urrutia to claim his first Indy Lights victory in the Mazda Indy Lights Grand Prix of Indianapolis. The win also marked the first of the season for Andretti Autosport.

While Stoneman found his drive to be relatively smooth at the front of the field, behind him things were much more dramatic. Andre Negrao found the wall before the race could begin. Trying to warm up his tires on a frigid Midwest day, Negrao lost control of his No. 17 on the front straightaway, slamming into the outside wall and irreparably damaging his machine.

Later, multi-car shunts would eliminate both RC Emerson and Zachary Claman De Melo. A single-car incident for Neil Alberico would end his day with six laps remaining.

Up front, Stoneman took advantage of clean air to keep Urrutia in his mirror through the closing stages. Urrutia crossed the line just 0.8659 seconds back but was unable to make an attempt at the lead.

Kyle Kaiser drove from the back half of the grid to claim a strong third and finish out the podium. Ed Jones and Serralles rounded out the top-5 finishers. Felix Rosenqvist, Shelby Blackstock, Scott Anderson, Scott Hargrove and Zach Veach rounded out the top 10 in what was a small 16-car field.

The Indy Lights tour will resume on May 27, when the field competes on the IMS oval for the Freedom 100.

2016 INDY LIGHTS RESULTS

PosNo.StartDriverTeamLapsStatus
1275Dean Stoneman (R)Andretti Autosport35 Running
2552Santiago Urrutia (R)Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian35Running
31811Kyle KaiserJuncos Racing35Running
4111Ed JonesCarlin35Running
543Felix SerrallesCarlin35Running
6144Felix Rosenqvist (R)Belardi Auto Racing35Running
75110Shelby BlackstockAndretti Autosport35Running
8778Scott AndersonSchmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian35Running
939Scott Hargrove (R)Team Pelfrey35Running
1057Zach VeachBelardi Auto Racing34Running
11216Juan PiedrahitaTeam Pelfrey34Running
122813Dalton Kellett (R)Andretti Autosport34Running
132214Neil Alberico (R)Carlin29Contact
141315Zachary Claman De Melo (R)Juncos Racing18Contact
1576RC EnersonSchmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian3Mechanical
161712Andre Negrao (R)Schmidt Peterson Motorsports with Curb-Agajanian0Contact

About the author

A graduate of Ball State, Aaron rejoins Frontstretch for his second season in 2016 following a successful year that included covering seven races and starting the popular "Two-Headed Monster" column in 2015. Now in his third year of covering motorsports, Aaron serves as an Assistant Editor for Frontstretch while also contributing to other popular sites including Speed51 and The Apex. He encourages you to come say hi when you see him at the track.

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