The sunny skies of St. Petersburg, Florida welcomed the first practice and qualifying sessions of 2017 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires competition. The Andretti quartette, inclusive of veteran driver Dalton Kellett and rookies Colton Herta, Nico Jamin and Ryan Norman all showed promising speeds throughout practice. Herta led the pack, finishing today’s practice P3 with Jamin and Kellett just behind in positions four and five. Norman took the 13th spot.
A string of unfortunate luck hit the Andretti team during the qualifying session. Herta, driver of the No. 98 Deltro Energy Mazda, shot to the top and concluded his session with a fifth position finish. Within six minutes of qualifying, Jamin got caught up in Turn 10, getting stuck in the runoff due braking issues. Once back on track, Jamin recovered to finish the session in the eleventh position.
Mid-way through qualifying, the No. 48 Flip Side Mazda brought out the red flag when it clipped the inside curb and scraped the wall of Turn 10. Though okay, Norman looks to recover with a second chance during Sunday’s Round 2 race.
Dalton Kellett, driver of the No. 28 K-Line Insulators USA Mazda, finished in the 12th position. Looking to progress, Kellett expressed persistence in finding the key to recover moving forth in the remaining sessions this weekend.
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