Freedom 100

Mazda Freedom 100 presented by Cooper Tires
Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tire
Venue Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Corporate sponsor Allied Building Products
First race 2003
Distance 100 miles (160 km)
Laps 40
Previous names Firestone Freedom 100 (2008–2013)
Futaba Freedom 100 (2004–2005)
Most wins (driver) Wade Cunningham (3)
Most wins (team) Sam Schmidt Motorsports (7)

The Mazda Freedom 100 presented by Cooper Tires is a Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires auto race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It is currently held the Friday before the Indianapolis 500, a day which is nicknamed Carb Day. It is the biggest race for the Indy Lights series and often has higher participation than many of the series' other races.

Race history

The modern open wheel support series has its origins in USAC's Mini Indy series, and later CART's ARS/Indy Lights series. None of those support series ever raced at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Typically the support series would take the month of May off of the schedule while the top-level Indy cars were at the Indianapolis 500. In 1979, USAC's Mini-Indy series scheduled a support race on the oval at nearby Indianapolis Raceway Park, but it was held only once.[1]

When the IRL started the Indy Pro Series in 2002, officials began exploring the possibility of holding a support race at Indianapolis in the days leading up to the Indianapolis 500. It was an attempt to fill an otherwise slow part of the month, and an opportunity for exposure for up-and-coming drivers and teams. The race was added to the calendar for 2003.

For the first two years, the race was held during the second weekend of Indianapolis 500 time trials, scheduled for Saturday which was at the time, used only for Indy 500 practice. The date proved to be unpopular and drew small crowds. In 2005, Carb Day, the traditional final day of practice for the Indy 500, was moved from Thursday before the Indy 500 to Friday. Series officials moved the Freedom 100 to Carb Day, immediately following the final Indy 500 practice session. The move proved popular with fans and competitors.

In 2008, in the wake of the merger between IRL and Champ Car, the series was renamed from Indy Pro Series to the Firestone Indy Lights Series. The new sponsorship extended to this race, renaming it the Firestone Freedom 100.[2]

In the first nine runnings, the race was won six times from the pole and three times from second starting position. Therefore, the race had always been won from the front row until Esteban Guerrieri won in 2012 from the 18th starting position.[3] In 2013, Peter Dempsey, who started third, won the Freedom 100 in the closest finish in Speedway history (0.0026 secs) in a four-wide finish over Gabby Chaves, Sage Karam, and Carlos Muñoz. Dempsey went from fourth to first on the final straightaway.[4]

Race results

Year Date Day Winning Driver Race Distance Time of Race Winning Speed Starting
Cars
Lead
Changes
Miles Laps
2003 May 17–18 a Sat.–Sun. United States Ed Carpenter 100 40 55:02.1661 109.019 mph 19 2
2004 May 22 Saturday Brazil Thiago Medeiros 100 40 42:16.4388 141.931 mph 17 2
2005 May 27 Friday Brazil Jaime Camara 100 40 40:52.6390 146.780 mph 18 7
2006 May 26 Friday New Zealand Wade Cunningham 100 40 32:29.3233 184.679 mph 19 0
2007 May 25 Friday United Kingdom Alex Lloyd 100 40 46:39.6029 128.590 mph 24 0
2008 May 24 b Saturday United Kingdom Dillon Battistini 100 40 39:46.9495 150.820 mph 27 4
2009 May 22 Friday New Zealand Wade Cunningham 100 40 50:42.2548 118.333 mph 22 9
2010 May 28 Friday New Zealand Wade Cunningham 100 40 39:55.4552 150.285 mph 16 4
2011 May 27 Friday United States Josef Newgarden 100 40 55:38.9881 107.817 mph 18 6
2012 May 25 Friday Argentina Esteban Guerrieri 100 40 40:09.1965 149.427 mph 19 c 3
2013 May 24 Friday Republic of Ireland Peter Dempsey 100 40 36:48.6540 162.995 mph 11 2
2014 May 23 Friday Colombia Gabby Chaves 100 40 41:46.9680 143.600 mph 11 9
2015 May 22 Friday United Kingdom Jack Harvey 100 40 33:21.2712 179.886 mph 11 6
2016 May 27 Friday United Kingdom Dean Stoneman 100 40 41:08.6299 145.830 mph 16 3
a In 2003 the race started on Saturday May 17, but was halted by rain. It was completed the following day.
b The 2008 race was scheduled for Friday May 23 but postponed one day due to rain.
c In 2012, Anders Krohn qualified for the race, but was unable to start due to mechanical problems. He was credited with the 19th-place finish. Therefore, only 18 cars took the green flag.

Qualification results

Year Date Day Pole Sitter /
Fast Qualifier
Pole 2-Lap
Qualifying Time
Pole Speed Number of
Qualifiers
Slow Qualifier
Speed
Mean Qualifying
Speed
2003 May 16 Friday United States Ed Carpenter 1:35.4958 188.490 mph 18 179.550 mph 184.460 mph
2004 May 21 Friday Brazil Thiago Medeiros 1:35.1000 189.274 mph 17 178.100 mph 186.302 mph
2005 May 26 Thursday Brazil Jaime Camara 1:34.8018 189.870 mph 17 168.816 mph 184.892 mph
2006 May 25 Thursday New Zealand Wade Cunningham 1:36.5546 186.423 mph 18 171.844 mph 181.753 mph
2007 May 24 Thursday Canada Ken Losch 1:35.6271 188.231 mph 24 183.436 mph 186.052 mph
2008 May 22 Thursday United Kingdom Dillon Battistini 1:35.5430 188.397 mph 27 178.497 mph 186.196 mph
2009 May 21 Thursday New Zealand Wade Cunningham 1:34.6485 190.177 mph 22 185.269 mph 187.749 mph
2010 May 27 Thursday United Kingdom Pippa Mann 1:35.7505 187.989 mph 15 183.479 mph 185.988 mph
2011 May 26 Thursday United States Bryan Clauson Grid set by entrant points due to rain.
2012 May 24 Thursday Colombia Gustavo Yacamán 1:35.9913 187.517 mph 19 184.494 mph 185.828 mph
2013 May 23 Thursday United States Sage Karam 1:35.1160 189.243 mph 11 185.967 mph 187.412 mph
2014 May 22 Thursday Brazil Luiz Razia 1:35.8926 187.710 mph 11 182.697 mph 185.056 mph
2015 May 21 Thursday United States Ethan Ringel 1:31.0545 197.684 mph 12 194.404 mph 195.909 mph
2016 May 26 Thursday United Arab Emirates Ed Jones Grid set by entrant points due to rain.

Event records

Year Driver
Fastest race 2006 New Zealand Wade Cunningham Time: 32:29.3233 Speed: 184.679 mph 100 Miles 40 Laps
Fastest qualification run 2015 United States Ethan Ringel Time: 01:31.0545 Speed: 197.684 mph 5 Miles 2 Laps
Fastest qualifying lap 2015 United States Ethan Ringel Time: 00:45.4854 Speed: 197.866 mph 2.5 Miles 1 Lap
Fastest race lap 2016 United States Neil Alberico Time: 00:45.4526 Speed: 198.008 mph 2.5 Miles 1 Lap
Most wins by a driver 2006; 2009; 2010 New Zealand Wade Cunningham 3 Wins
Most starts by a driver 2005 - 2010 New Zealand Wade Cunningham 6 Starts
Most participants 2008 27 Starting Drivers

Drivers

In the first eleven years that this race has been contested, 124 drivers have participated:

drivers who went on to race in the Indianapolis 500, after first participating in the Freedom 100.
drivers who had already driven in the Indianapolis 500, before participating in the Freedom 100.
drivers who attempted unsuccessfully to race in the Indianapolis 500
Driver Nation Starts First Latest Best
Finishing Position
Best
Finish Year
Laps led
Abbott, MishaelMishael Abbott  USA 2200520061120050
Alberico, NeilNeil Alberico  USA 120162016720160
Allemann, CyndieCyndie Allemann   Switzerland 1200820082620080
Anderson, ScottScott Anderson  USA 220142015320150
Andretti, MarcoMarco Andretti  USA 1200520051620050
Antinucci, RichardRichard Antinucci  USA 120082008220080
Austin, ChaseChase Austin  USA 420112014820130
Barbosa, RodrigoRodrigo Barbosa  Brazil 2200920101220100
Baron, AlexandreAlexandre Baron  France 120142014720140
Battistini, DillonDillon Battistini  United Kingdom 1200820081200838
Beardsley, MattMatt Beardsley  USA 220032004820040
Figueiredo, Ana BeatrizAna Beatriz Figueiredo  Brazil 220082009520080
Blackstock, ShelbyShelby Blackstock  USA 220152016420160
Brabham, MatthewMatthew Brabham  USA 1201420142201428
Brownson, JonJon Brownson  USA 220072008920070
Bussell, NickNick Bussell  USA 2200620061020060
Camara, JaimeJaime Camara  Brazil 3200520071200533
Campos, Jr., AdrianAdrian Campos, Jr.  Spain 1201020101020100
Carbone, VictorVictor Carbone  Brazil 2201120126201225
Carlson, TyceTyce Carlson  USA 1200620061520060
Carpenter, EdEd Carpenter  USA 1200320031200339
Carter, ColeCole Carter  USA 1200520051820050
Chaves, GabbyGabby Chaves  Colombia 220132014120146
Chesson, JamesJames Chesson  USA 1200620061820060
Choi, HeaminHeamin Choi  South Korea 1201620161220160
Cioci, MarcoMarco Cioci  Italy 120032003920030
Clarke, DanDan Clarke  United Kingdom 120102010420100
Clauson, BryanBryan Clauson  USA 120112011520110
Cunningham, WadeWade Cunningham  New Zealand 62005201012006; 2009; 201099
Dana, PaulPaul Dana  USA 220032004720030
Davison, JamesJames Davison  Australia 220082009620091
Day, AlonAlon Day  Israel 120122012820120
DeMelo, Zachary ClamanZachary Claman DeMelo  Canada 1201620161320160
Dempsey, PeterPeter Dempsey  Ireland 320112013120131
Dodge, GeoffGeoff Dodge  USA 120062006820060
Dollansky, CraigCraig Dollansky  USA 1200320031720030
Donoso, PabloPablo Donoso  Chile 220082009920090
Drake, JayJay Drake  USA 220042005320050
Ebrahim, ArmaanArmaan Ebrahim  India 1201220121320120
Enerson, RCRC Enerson  USA 220152016420150
Erwin, BrandonBrandon Erwin  USA 1200320031120030
Ferreira, DuarteDuarte Ferreira  Angola 1201120111320110
Festa, ChrisChris Festa  USA 420052008220070
Fike, AaronAaron Fike  USA 120032003620030
Fletcher, TaylorTaylor Fletcher  USA 220042005920050
Garcia, Juan PabloJuan Pablo Garcia  Mexico 420112014620140
Garcia, VictorVictor Garcia  Spain 120112011320110
Giebler, PhilPhil Giebler  USA 220042006520040
Gilbert, MickyMicky Gilbert  USA 2200720081520070
Gomez, LoganLogan Gomez  USA 220072008720080
Goncalvez, JorgeJorge Goncalvez  Venezuela 320112013620130
Gregg, TravisTravis Gregg  USA 120052005620050
Grenier, MikaelMikael Grenier  Canada 1201120111020110
Guerrieri, EstebanEsteban Guerrieri  Argentina 220112012120125
Guthrie, SeanSean Guthrie  USA 3200620081120060
Hamilton, MatthewMatthew Hamilton  New Zealand 1200620061320060
Hargrove, ScottScott Hargrove  Canada 120162016520160
Harrington, ScottScott Harrington  USA 1200320031220030
Harvey, JackJack Harvey  United Kingdom 1201420151201510
Hawksworth, JackJack Hawksworth  United Kingdom 1201320131020130
Herb, JonJon Herb  USA 3200420061320051
Herrington, DanielDaniel Herrington  USA 120092009720090
Hildebrand, J.R.J.R. Hildebrand  USA 2200820092200923
Hinchcliffe, JamesJames Hinchcliffe  Canada 220092010320100
Howard, JayJay Howard  United Kingdom 220062009220060
Horto, João VictorJoão Victor Horto  Brazil 120122012720120
Husain, ImranImran Husain  India 1200520051420050
Jackson, AlistairAlistair Jackson  United Kingdom 1200920091920090
Jaeger, BradBrad Jaeger  USA 1200720072120070
Jantzi, ShaneShane Jantzi  Canada 1200720071820070
Jaskol, MattMatt Jaskol  USA 120072007720070
Johncox, RonnieRonnie Johncox  USA 120032003820030
Jones, EdEd Jones  UAE 2201520162201610
Justice, RyanRyan Justice  USA 1200720071320070
Kaiser, KyleKyle Kaiser  USA 220162015520150
Karam, SageSage Karam  USA 1201320133201312
Kellett, DaltonDalton Kellett  Canada 1201620163201612
Kimball, CharlieCharlie Kimball  USA 220092010220102
Klein, JonathanJonathan Klein  USA 220062007620060
Krohn, AndersAnders Krohn  Norway 2201120121220117
Larrison, MikeMike Larrison  USA 120122012920120
Lloyd, AlexAlex Lloyd  United Kingdom 2200620071200740
Losch, KenKen Losch  Canada 1200720072420070
Luyendyk Jr., ArieArie Luyendyk Jr.  Netherlands 420032010320040
Maia, LeonardoLeonardo Maia  Brazil 120042004620040
Major, PhilipPhilip Major  Canada 120102010620100
Mann, PippaPippa Mann  United Kingdom 2200920101620100
Mason, JesseJesse Mason  Canada 220042009820090
Matos, RaphaelRaphael Matos  Brazil 1200820081020080
Medeiros, ThiagoThiago Medeiros  Brazil 2200320041200435
Meyer, ZackZack Meyer  Canada 1201420141020140
Mitchell, RustyRusty Mitchell  USA 120112011720110
Moran Jr., RockyRocky Moran Jr.  USA 1200520051720050
Muñoz, CarlosCarlos Muñoz  Colombia 2201220132201227
Mutoh, HidekiHideki Mutoh  Japan 120072007520070
Negrão, AndréAndré Negrão  Brazil 1201620161520160
Newgarden, JosefJosef Newgarden  USA 1201120111201130
Newton-John, EmersonEmerson Newton-John  USA 1201220121720120
O'Gara, KyleKyle O'Gara  USA 1201320131120130
Olson, MarkMark Olson  USA 1200820082520080
Ostella, DavidDavid Ostella  Canada 220112012820110
Pecorari, RobbieRobbie Pecorari  USA 220072008420080
Peterson, GaryGary Peterson  USA 2200320041320040
Piedrahita, JuanJuan Piedrahita  Colombia 320142016720150
Pigot, SpencerSpencer Pigot  USA 120152015920150
Plowman, MartinMartin Plowman  United Kingdom 220092010520100
Pollard, BradBrad Pollard  USA 1200420041120040
Potekhen, MikeMike Potekhen  USA 320072009620070
Prendeville, AndrewAndrew Prendeville  USA 320072009420070
Quintanilla, RolandoRolando Quintanilla  Mexico 2200320041020030
Quiroga, GermanGerman Quiroga  Mexico 1200520051020050
Rayhall, SeanSean Rayhall  USA 120152015620150
Razia, LuizLuiz Razia  Brazil 120142014420145
Reid, JonnyJonny Reid  New Zealand 1200820082020080
Ringel, EthanEthan Ringel  USA 1201520152201530
Roe, BillyBilly Roe  USA 220032004920040
Romancini, MarioMario Romancini  Brazil 120092009320090
Rosenqvist, FelixFelix Rosenqvist  Sweden 120162016920160
Roth, MartyMarty Roth  Canada 220042005520050
Saavedra, SebastianSebastian Saavedra  Colombia 32009201252009; 20123
Scarallo, JoeyJoey Scarallo  Australia 1200720072020070
Serrallés, FélixFélix Serrallés  Puerto Rico 220152016620160
Sherman, BrentBrent Sherman  USA 1200820081620080
Simmons, JeffJeff Simmons  USA 520032010220045
Simpson, JimmyJimmy Simpson  USA 120132013720130
Simpson, StephenStephen Simpson  South Africa 1200720071420070
Slotten, JakeJake Slotten  USA 1200820082320080
Stoneman, DeanDean Stoneman  United Kingdom 1201620161201630
Strous, JuniorJunior Strous  Netherlands 1200920091020090
Summerton, JonathanJonathan Summerton  USA 1200920091220090
Taylor, MarkMark Taylor  United Kingdom 120032003320031
Unser III, AlAl Unser III  USA 320052008420050
Urlin, JonathanJonathan Urlin  USA 120032003520030
Urrutia, SantiagoSantiago Urrutia  Uruguay 1201620161420160
Van Blankers, BrettBrett Van Blankers  Canada 1200620061420060
Vautier, TristanTristan Vautier  France 1201220123201211
Veach, ZachZach Veach  USA 320132016320141
Vernay, Jean-KarlJean-Karl Vernay  France 1201020101320100
Wagner, BrandonBrandon Wagner  USA 420092012820100
Webb, OliverOliver Webb  United Kingdom 1201220121520120
Wieringa, TomTom Wieringa  USA 3200620081220060
Williams, MarcMarc Williams  New Zealand 2200720081520080
Wilson, BobbyBobby Wilson  USA 320062008620080
Wilson, StefanStefan Wilson  United Kingdom 220102011420111
Winslow, JamesJames Winslow  United Kingdom 1201120111720110
Witherill, CoryCory Witherill  USA 220032004220030
Wood, TomTom Wood  Canada 320032006920060
Yacaman, GustavoGustavo Yacaman  Colombia 420092012420121

Freedom 100 and Indianapolis 500 "Double"

Since the Freedom 100 began in 2003, seven different drivers have competed both in this race and in the Indianapolis 500, during the same month.

Year Driver Freedom 100
Finish
Indianapolis 500
finish
2004Canada Marty Roth 16 24
2004United States Jeff Simmons 2 16
2005Canada Marty Roth 5 31
2008United States Jeff Simmons 8 28
2010ColombiaSebastian Saavedra 9 23
2012ColombiaSebastian Saavedra 5 26
2013ColombiaCarlos Muñoz 4 2

Sources

References

  1. 1979 Mini-Indy Series IRP at ChampCarStats.com
  2. "Firestone Freedom 100 To Feature Firestone Indy Lights May 23 At IMS". name. 2008-03-26. Retrieved 2008-03-31.
  3. "Guerrieri charges from back to win Freedom 100". name. 2012-05-25. Retrieved 2012-05-25.
  4. Marot, Michael. Indianapolis Motor Speedway With Historic Final Lap, Huffington Post, May 24, 2013, Retrieved 2013-05-24
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