By: Tanner Watkins
February 4, 2019 | 1:00 PM
The Road to Indy added another driver to its slate of entries on Monday when Belardi Auto Racing announced Lucas Kohl will pilot the team’s second of three Indy Lights entries in 2019.
Kohl, 20, has spent the last three years driving in the Road to Indy’s lowest level, USF2000, and will be making the jump straight to the top rung – just one step below the NTT IndyCar Series.
“I know that as a rookie it is going to be challenging,” said Kohl. “But with the experience that Belardi Auto Racing has, I feel that they can help me to learn as much as possible as fast as possible.”
In 2018, the native Brazilian picked up 11 top-10 finishes (including 4 podium runs) while driving for Pabst Racing. His best finish of the season came in a runner-up effort at Mid-Ohio in July. Last season Kohl finished 3rd in the USF2000 championship – his best finish in three years of competition at that level.
Kohl joins Zachary Claman DeMelo as drivers confirmed for an expected three-car line-up in Indy Lights this season.
“We are very excited that Lucas has joined Belardi Auto Racing,” said Brian Belardi, the owner of Belardi Auto Racing. “He is a very bright young man and has a great future in racing. The team and I are very pleased to have Lucas and can’t wait to see him shine this year.”
Kohl auditioned for his Belardi ride by participating at the Chris Griffis Memorial Test in September. It was after the two-day test at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that Belardi decided to pull the trigger on the young driver.
The 2019 Indy Lights championship kicks off in just four weeks time with the season-opening practice live from St. Petersburg on March 8.