Weekend preview: Third Canadian in Indy Lights

Normally, in doing a preview of weekend racing, the focus is usually on the big series.

But I want to draw your attention today to the Indy Lights race taking place this weekend on the IZOD IndyCar Series program at Infineon Raceway in California. A young guy from St. Catharines named Alex Ellis has got a one-off with Sam Schmidt Racing.

I think this young driver might be the real deal.

I first met Ellis, along with fellow St. Catharines racer Gianmarco Raimondo (he also has promise), a year ago June during an open house at the Vaughn headquarters of Team Autotecnica, which – at the time – was competing in the now-defunct Formula BMW-Americas Series.

Ellis and Raimondo were the only two Canadian drivers in the series and they came from the same town, lived in the same neighbourhood, went to the same school and drove for the same team, which was really quite a coincidence.

Said Ellis at the time: “It seems like I’m in the middle of a dream. If someone had told me two years ago that I would be here on this team, running with Gianmarco, I wouldn’t have believed them.”

Raimondo, who finished third in the BMW-Americas standings, went off to Italy this season to race in the Formula 3 Italia Series. Ellis, who was sixth, opted for the U.S. Jim Russell Series and earned his Indy Lights ride by winning the championship.

 The 19-year-old had four wins and two seconds in the six-race series that started in June. When he wrapped up the title early in August, he had a perfect day: he won the pole and the fifth and sixth races.

He had a seat-fitting in Indianapolis several weeks ago and then a test at the Putnam Park road course near Indianapolis in the car he’ll drive this weekend.

Said Ellis: “The test went amazingly well. I was so pleased with how quickly I was able to get up to speed in the car. As odd as it sounds, I feel that the faster a car gets, the more power and grip that I have; I feel more at home and comfortable. I love the Firestone Indy Lights car as it is a truly fast vehicle. The transition wasn’t that hard to make.”

Seventeen cars have been entered in the Indy Lights race at Infineon and drivers include fellow Canadians James Hinchcliffe of Oakville and Philip Major of Ottawa. Hinchcliffe is currently second in the standings, while Major is eighth.

The Indy Lights race will take place on Sunday at noon Pacific (3 p.m. Eastern). You can watch it at www.indyracing.com

Here’s what else is happening this weekend:

•     The NASCAR Canadian Tire Series Dickies 200 will get the green flag at Mosport Speedway on Saturday night.

The 200-lap feature will start at 7 p.m. Practice and qualifying are scheduled for Saturday afternoon, starting at 1:30.

J.R. Fitzpatrick of Cambridge is leading in the standings by one point over D.J. Kennington of St. Thomas.

•     The Indy Grand Prix of Sonoma will go to the post Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. Pacific (5 p.m. Eastern) and can be seen on TSN2.

•     NASCAR is in Bristol this weekend. The Nationwide Series race can be seen Friday night on TSN but will be tape-delayed until 11:30. The Sprint Cup race Saturday night at 7 p.m. will be live on TSN.