RACE CONTROL • 105Sowery kept some pressure on Askew for the first couple of laps before
Askew hit his stride and began to edge away. Instead of pressuring the
leader, Sowery instead found his mirrors filled by Megennis. The pair then
involved in a titanic battle for position, exchanging places on numerous
occasions on different parts of the race track as Askew disappeared into
the distance.
By the end, Askew had stretched his advantage to a whopping 24.6800
seconds, one of the largest margins of victory in Indy Lights history. In doing
so he joined St. Petersburg winner VeeKay in becoming only the ninth driver
to win on all three levels of the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires
open-wheel ladder.
The championship chases for both teams and drivers have tightened
considerably after the first of the two races at COTA. Despite a disappointing
seventh-place finish for Canada’s Zachary Claman after an early drive-
through penalty, Belardi Auto Racing now leads the Team standings by
four points over Andretti Autosport and five over BN Racing. In the drivers’
standings, VeeKay now leads by two points, 73-71, over Claman, with Askew
just five points further back in third.