Sting Ray Robb cruised to victory for the opening race of the doubleheader weekend for Indy Lights at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, while championship leader Linus Lundqvist officially clinched the title.
The 21-year-old Idaho native navigated the 11-turn, 2.238-mile natural terrain road course after starting on pole, leading all 35 laps en route to victory by 11.0674s. It is the first Indy Lights win for Robb, and also marks the seventh different winner of the 2022 season.
Finishing in the runner-up spot behind Robb’s No. 2 Andretti Autosport entry was teammate Christian Rasmussen in the No. 26 machine.
Hunter McElrea claimed third to give Andretti Autosport a complete podium sweep. The No. 51 Abel Motorsports machine of Jacob Abel ended up fourth, ahead of Benjamin Pedersen in the No. 24 Global Racing Group with HMD Motorsports entry.
Lundqvist delivered a calm drive and took the checkered flag in sixth to lock up the championship with one race remaining.
A crowning moment.@L_Lundqvist76 has clinched the 2022 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires championship.#RoadToIndy // @TeamCooperTire // @HMDMotorsports pic.twitter.com/R8BRzn9HDL
— INDY NXT (@INDYNXT) September 10, 2022
Daniel Frost, Matthew Brabham, Christian Bogle and Nolan Siegel rounded out the rest of the top 10.
Up Next: The second race of the weekend that also serves as the season finale is set for Sunday at 12:55 p.m. ET, with live coverage on Peacock and the IndyCar Radio Network.
