The 2007 IRL Indy Pro Series was the sixth season of the developmental open-wheel racing series under the Indy Racing League ownership, and the 22nd in Indy NXT combined history, as officially recognized by IndyCar. All teams used Dallara IL-02 chassis, which was fitted with a new wing package, as well as unbranded TWR engines and Firestone tires.
In his second season in the series, Alex Lloyd became the runaway champion with Sam Schmidt Motorsports, clinching the title with two races remaining at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma. Lloyd won the first five races of the season, tying the late Greg Moore's start of the 1995 season for the all-time consecutive wins record in Indy Lights history. Aided by an expanded schedule, Lloyd won eight races including the Freedom 100, and became the third driver to reach that number after Paul Tracy's nine wins in 1990 and Moore's ten wins in 1995.
Japanese driver Hideki Mutoh, driving for the returning Panther Racing and backed by Honda through an association with Super Aguri, finished second in the standings despite missing the final round due to his IndyCar debut. He also won Rookie of the Year honors, with wins at the Indianapolis road course and Kentucky. Former champion Wade Cunningham finished third ahead of Bobby Wilson, with one win apiece, while Richard Antinucci scored two wins in a road course-only campaign for his uncle's team Cheever Racing.
Indy Pro Series teams and drivers competed for 3.7 million dollars, a 24 percent increase from 2006. This resulted in a sizeable influx of new or returning teams, led by Chip Ganassi Racing, Panther Racing and Rahal Letterman Racing, all of them also benefiting from a rule that gave extra test days to IndyCar teams competing in the Indy Pro Series. AFS Racing blended their efforts with Andretti Green Racing, while Rahal partnered with newcomers Andersen Racing. Other new teams were Team Moore Racing (a spin-off of Kenn Hardley Racing), Team KMA Racing, Mile High Racing and Apex Racing. Speedworks entered the series by buying the equipment of Dave McMillan Racing, while Playa Del Racing embarked on its own after fielding the Racing Professionals effort in 2006, and Part Sourcing International was renamed into SWE Racing after entering halfway through 2006.
The car counts increased dramatically as a result, with 25 entries for the Miami 100, a first for the series since 1998, and a record 24 drivers at the Freedom 100. At least 20 drivers were present at every round, a number not reached in any of the previous seven seasons, and thirteen drivers competed in every race. In total, 43 different drivers competed during the year, which is the all-time Indy NXT record as of 2024. The last race of the season featured the closest finish in motor racing history as claimed by IndyCar, when Logan Gomez beat Alex Lloyd to the line by just 0.0005 seconds.
Drivers and teams
TeamDriversRounds Brian Stewart Racing1 Bobby Wilson All3 Brad Jaeger All33 Shane Jantzi 4 Team Moore Racing 2 Tom Wood 1 Jonathan Klein 2–12, 14–16 Travis Gregg 13 Guthrie Racing 4 Sean Guthrie 1–11, 14–15 Tom Wieringa 12–13, 16 40 1–8, 11 Arie Luyendyk Jr. 9–10 RLR Andersen Racing 5 Andrew Prendeville All 15 Joey Scarallo 1–13 J. R. Hildebrand 14–15 Michael Crawford Motorsports 6 C. R. Crews 1, 9–10, 12 Matt Jaskol 2–3, 14–15 Marc Williams 4–8, 11 Richard Heistand9–10 Ben Petter 16 8 Shane Lewis 1 C. R. Crews 2–3 Matt Jaskol 4 P. J. Abbott 5, 11, 16 Doug Boyer 6–7, 9–10, 12 Ben Petter 8 Steve Ablondi 14–15 Sam Schmidt Motorsports7 Alex Lloyd All23 Logan Gomez All 38 Ryan Justice 1, 4–15 Travis Gregg 1657 Leilani Munter 13, 16 Target Chip Ganassi Racing9 Chris Festa All10 Pablo Pérez Companc 1 Andretti Green Racing/AFS11 Jaime Camara All27 Wade Cunningham All Playa Del Racing 12 A. J. Russell 1 Phil Giebler 2–3, 6–7, 9–10, 14–15 Al Unser III 4–5, 8, 11 Sean Guthrie 12–13, 16 Team KMA Racing13 Robbie Pecorari All Kenn Hardley Racing24 Stephen Simpson All SWE Racing34 Jon Brownson 1–10, 12–13, 16 43 Jimmy Kite 16 SpeedWorks 44 Jay Howard 1–3 Daniel Herrington 6–7, 9–10, 12 Adam Andretti 16 Cheever Racing51 Richard Antinucci 2–3, 6–7, 9–10, 12, 14–15 Apex Racing52 Ken Losch All53 Mike Potekhen All Mile High Motorsports54 Mickey Gilbert 1–4, 6–7, 14–15 Scott Mayer9–10 Super Aguri Panther Racing55 Hideki Mutoh 1–15
Schedule The schedule expanded to a record 16 races for 2007, with the addition of two new venues and more double-headers. All racetracks from 2006 stayed on the schedule, as Indy Pro Series joined IndyCar at the newly constructed Iowa Speedway and the returning Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, which had hosted the original Indy Lights series in its final 2001 season. The Liberty Challenge at Indianapolis was split into two shorter races, and the round at Watkins Glen was also converted to a double-header format, with Mid-Ohio being the only single-race road course. Rd.DateRace nameTrackLocation1March 24Miami 100 Homestead–Miami SpeedwayHomestead, Florida2March 31 – April 1Grand Prix of St. Petersburg Streets of St. PetersburgSt. Petersburg, Florida34May 25Freedom 100 Indianapolis Motor SpeedwaySpeedway, Indiana5June 2Milwaukee 100 Milwaukee MileWest Allis, Wisconsin6June 16–17Liberty Challenge Indianapolis Motor Speedway road courseSpeedway, Indiana78June 23Iowa 100 Iowa SpeedwayNewton, Iowa9July 7–8Corning 100 Watkins Glen InternationalWatkins Glen, New York10Glen 10011July 14Sun Belt Rentals 100 Nashville SuperspeedwayLebanon, Tennessee12July 22Mid-Ohio 100 Mid-Ohio Sports Car CourseLexington, Ohio13August 11Kentucky 100 Kentucky SpeedwaySparta, Kentucky14August 25–26Carneros 100 Infineon RacewaySonoma, California15Valley of the Moon 10016September 9Chicagoland 100 Chicagoland SpeedwayJoliet, Illinois
Race results RoundRacePole positionFastest lapMost laps ledRace WinnerDriverTeam1Homestead–Miami Speedway Chris Festa Logan Gomez Alex Lloyd Alex LloydSam Schmidt Motorsports2Streets of St. Petersburg Alex Lloyd Hideki Mutoh Alex Lloyd Alex LloydSam Schmidt Motorsports3 Bobby Wilson Alex Lloyd Jonathan Klein Alex LloydSam Schmidt Motorsports4Indianapolis Motor Speedway Ken Losch Alex Lloyd Alex LloydSam Schmidt Motorsports5Milwaukee Mile Alex Lloyd Alex Lloyd Alex Lloyd Alex LloydSam Schmidt Motorsports6 Hideki Mutoh Hideki Mutoh Hideki Mutoh Hideki Mutoh7 Ryan Justice Bobby Wilson Bobby Wilson Bobby WilsonBrian Stewart Racing8Iowa Speedway Wade Cunningham Alex Lloyd Wade Cunningham Alex LloydSam Schmidt Motorsports9Watkins Glen International Alex LloydAndretti Green Racing/AFS10 Alex Lloyd Alex Lloyd Alex LloydSam Schmidt Motorsports11Nashville Superspeedway Alex Lloyd Robbie Pecorari Alex Lloyd Robbie PecorariTeam KMA Racing12Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course Alex Lloyd Richard Antinucci Richard Antinucci Richard AntinucciCheever Racing13Kentucky Speedway Hideki Mutoh Alex Lloyd Hideki Mutoh Hideki MutohSuper Aguri Panther Racing14Infineon Raceway Richard Antinucci Hideki Mutoh Alex Lloyd Alex LloydSam Schmidt Motorsports15 Ryan Justice Richard Antinucci Ryan Justice Richard AntinucciCheever Racing16Chicagoland Speedway Alex Lloyd Travis Gregg Alex Lloyd Logan GomezSam Schmidt Motorsports
Race summaries Round 1 of 16: Miami 100 Saturday March 24, 2007 Homestead-Miami Speedway, Homestead, Florida Race weather: , fair skies Pole position winner: #9 Chris Festa 28.5455 sec Race Summary: The race which saw a Pro Series record 25 entries was marred by two major incidents. The first occurred when Wade Cunningham lost control of his car. Ryan Justice made contact with a large piece of debris from Cunningham's car and made hard contact with the wall at the exit of turn 2. He was unconscious as he was removed from the car but regained consciousness on the way to the infield care center. The next incident came just two laps after the end of the lengthy caution following the first incident. Sean Guthrie and Pablo Pérez Companc made contact between turns one and two and Perez's car launched over Guthrie's and into the catch fence. Perez was transported to the hospital with leg injuries. The race was prematurely ended after 57 laps due to damage to the catch fence from the second incident with Alex Lloyd leading and gaining his first IPS victory on an oval.
Top Five Finishers Fin.Pos St.Pos CarNo. Driver Team Laps Time LapsLed Points 12 7 Alex LloydSam Schmidt Motorsports570:57:45.96372752 21 9 Chris FestaChip Ganassi Racing57+0.79712241 33 55 Hideki MutohSuper Aguri Panther Racing57+2.0759035 424 11 Jaime CamaraAndretti Green Racing57+2.9581032 521 5 Andrew PrendevilleRLR Andersen Racing57+5.6602030Race average speed: Lead changes: 5 between 3 driversCautions: 3 for 36 laps
Round 2 of 16: St. Petersburg Grand Prix 1 Saturday March 31, 2007 Streets of St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Florida Race weather: , mostly sunny Pole position winner: #7 Alex Lloyd 1:07.1404 sec Race Summary: Alex Lloyd dominated the first race at St. Petersburg leading all 40 laps of the race and winning from pole position. Lloyd held off Super Aguri Panther Racing's Hideki Mutoh for the final 22 laps. Mutoh had the best chance to take the win away from Lloyd but it just was not meant to be. Lloyd now has 3 wins in a row dating back to the final race of 2006. Top Five Finishers Fin.Pos St.Pos CarNo. Driver Team Laps Time LapsLed Points 11 7 Alex Lloyd Sam Schmidt Motorsports400:56:59.29674053 24 55 Hideki MutohSuper Aguri Panther Racing40+1.6038040 37 2 Jonathan KleinTeam Moore Racing40+8.3402035 45 24 Stephen SimpsonKenn Hardley Racing40+9.3671032 53 44 Jay HowardSpeedWorks40+16.1795030Race average speed: Lead changes: 0 between 1 driverCautions: 3 for 14 laps
Round 3 of 16: St. Petersburg Grand Prix 2 Saturday April 1, 2007 Streets of St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Florida Race weather: , sunny Pole position winner: Bobby Wilson Top 6 finishers from Race 1 inverted Race Summary: Alex Lloyd had the car to beat in St. Petersburg, winning both races of the double-header. Lloydhad to start race 2 from 6th place because of the inverted field after race 1, but that didn't stop him from getting to the front. On lap 21 of 40 Lloyd took the lead and was never to lose it, winning now the first 3 races of 2007.
Top Five Finishers Fin.Pos St.Pos CarNo. Driver Team Laps Time LapsLed Points 167 Alex Lloyd Sam Schmidt Motorsports400:58:35.87071950 2927 Wade CunninghamAndretti Green Racing/AFS40+0.2542040 311 Bobby WilsonBrian Stewart Racing40+0.3308135 4555 Hideki MutohSuper Aguri Panther Racing40+1.6818032 5713 Robbie PecorariTeam KMA Racing40+2.7977030Race average speed: Lead changes: 2 between 3 driversCautions: 5 for 18 laps
Round 4 of 16: Freedom 100 Friday May 25, 2007 Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, Indiana Race weather: , cloudy with scattered showers Pole position winner: #52 Ken Losch Race Summary: Top Five Finishers Fin.Pos St.Pos CarNo. Driver Team Laps Time LapsLed Points 127 Alex Lloyd Sam Schmidt Motorsports400:46:39.60294050 279 Chris FestaChip Ganassi Racing40+0.4131040 31811 Jaime CamaraAFS/Andretti Green40+1.2815035 4105 Andrew PrendevilleRLR Andersen Racing40+1.7873032 5455 Hideki MutohSuper Aguri Panther40+2.5715030Race average speed: Lead changes: 0 between 0 driversCautions: 4 for 16 laps
Round 5 of 16: Road Runner 100 Saturday June 2, 2007 Milwaukee Mile, West Allis, Wisconsin Race weather: , partly cloudy Pole position winner: #7 Alex Lloyd Race Summary: On turn 2 of the first lap Hideki Mutoh spun in front of most of the field, collecting 5 cars including Jaime Camara and Chris Festa. Jon Brownson shortly after the restart on lap 11. On lap 17 the race restarted and ran green until lap 81, during which time leader Alex Lloyd was able to pull out a 4-second lead on his closest pursuer Mike Potekhen and lap all but 3 of his competitors, cruising to his 5th straight victory to start the season. Lloyd now held the league record for consecutive wins and sat second on the series' all-time wins list.