James Hinchcliffe held off Pippa Mann by 0.0159 of a second – the third-closest margin of victory in Firestone Indy Lights history – on the 67th and final lap on the 1.5-mile Chicagoland Speedway oval.
The race was so close that Dan Clarke, who crossed the finish line two-tenths of a second behind “Hinch”, placed fifth.
Mann, who started on the front row beside pole sitter Martin Plowman, led her first laps of the season (a field-high 35), recorded a career best and led three Sam Schmidt Motorsports drivers across the line. Canadian Philip Major also posted a career best and series championship points leader J.K. Vernay was fourth.
Hinchcliffe, who started 13th because of a reported fuel pump issue, was driving the high line and caught Mann on lap 66 following a lap 63 restart. It was his third victory of the season (first on an oval). Mann battled Plowman for the lead through the first half of the race. On lap 30, the front wing of her car cut the right-rear tire of Plowman’s car creating a caution period. After the final yellow flag – for Plowman’s car stalled on the Turn 1 apron on lap 61 – Mann led Hinchcliffe by 0.0815 on lap 65 after the restart. It was a battle side-by-side that Hichcliffe won by inches. Indy Lights Chicagoland – Results Pos. Driver Team Laps 1. James Hinchcliffe Team Moore Racing 67 2. Pippa Mann Sam Schmidt Motorsports 67 3. Philip Major Sam Schmidt Motorsports 67 4. J.K. Vernay Sam Schmidt Motorsports 67 5. Dan Clarke Walker Racing 67 6. Stefan Wilson Bryan Herta Autosport 67 7. Arie Luyendyk Jr. Alliance Motorsports 67 8. Adrian Campos Jr. Team Moore Racing 67 9. Dillon Battistini Team PBIR 67 10. Rodrigo Barbosa PDM Racing 67 11. Sebastian Saavedra Bryan Herta Autosport 64 12. Etc. Indy Lights Standings Pos. Driver Points (Diff.) 1. J.K. Vernay 444 2. James Hinchcliffe 391 (-53) 3. Charlie Kimball 343 (-101) 4. Martin Plowman 338 (-106) 5. Sebastian Saavedra 303 (-141) 6. Dan Clarke 271 (-173)
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