FIRESTONE INDY LIGHTS TITLE TO BE DECIDED AT LEFTY'S KIDS CLUB 100

Date / Time

5:30 p.m. (ET)

Saturday, Oct. 19

Track

Auto Club Speedway

(2-mile D-shaped oval)

Distance

50 laps/100 miles

TV

NBC Sports Network

(Taped)

7 p.m., Oct. 19

Radio

IMS Radio Network

Sirius 211/XM 211

indycar.com (Live)

2012 Winner

Carlos Munoz

2012 Pole Sitter

Sebastian Saavedra

(1:15.9334, 189.640 mph)

Track Record

Thiago Medeiros

(37.9284, 190.770)

Oct.1, 2004

Title battle hits Golden State

Firestone Indy Lights will decide its 2013 champion with the Lefty's Kids Club 100 at Auto Club Speedway. Rising American star Sage Karam strengthened his points lead with his third win of the season at Houston, but Colombian Gabby Chaves has a chance to take the title from his teammate. Who will take the Firestone Firehawk Cup?

Indy 500 Rookie of the Year Munoz aims to end on high note

Andretti Autosport's Carlos Munoz, who won the Indianapolis 500 Rookie of the Year Award after finishing second, has been equally impressive in his second season in Firestone Indy Lights. The Colombian has won five poles and three races in 11 starts this season and won at Auto Club Speedway in 2012. Will he be able to repeat to cap off a successful 2013?

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports teammates aim for another sweep

Sage Karam and Gabby Chaves are the drivers contending for the series title, but they aren't the only rising stars racing at Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. Teammate Jack Hawksworth won three races (St. Petersburg, Toronto and Baltimore) this season and is aiming for his fourth win. The three drivers swept the podium at Iowa and Baltimore. Can they accomplish the feat again at Auto Club Speedway?

Veach searches for first win in H-town

Zach Veach comes to Fontana hoping to become the sixth driver to win a Firestone Indy Lights race this season. The teenager from Stockdale, Ohio, led his first laps in the series at Milwaukee and has plans to move up the Mazda Road to Indy ladder under the tutelage of Michael Andretti. Can he set the stage for a 2014 championship run with a win in Southern California?

O'Gara returns to Firestone Indy Lights

Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing development driver Kyle O'Gara returns to Firestone Indy Lights with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. The 18-year-old from Beech Grove, Ind., is a veteran of USAC competition and made his series debut at Indianapolis in May. How will O'Gara - the brother in-law of Sarah Fisher - fare in his first race back?

Belardi trio tries to build on superspeedway success

Belardi Auto Racing's Juan Pablo Garcia, Jorge Goncalvez and Giancarlo Serenelli hope to give the team another win on an oval. The team scored its maiden win at Indianapolis. Can Garcia or Goncalvez use their past experience at Fontana to score another superspeedway win?

Mazda Road to Indy scholarship to be decided

With 2013 winding down, the final scholarship winner in the Mazda Road to Indy ladder system will be decided between Sage Karam and Gabby Chaves in the Firestone Indy Lights' Lefty's Kids Club 100 at Auto Club Speedway. Karam leads his teammate by 16 points and the series champion will receive a scholarship of up to $1 million to move up to the IZOD IndyCar Series. Through the program, Mazda is providing scholarships for the 2013 champions of the Cooper Tires USF2000 Championship (Scott Hargrove), the Pro Mazda Championship (Matthew Brabham) and Firestone Indy Lights to advance to the next level in 2014 based on talent and results.

Race Notes:

• This is the 10th Firestone Indy Lights race at Auto Club Speedway and the fifth under INDYCAR sanction. Carlos Munoz won the race in 2012.

• The CART-sanctioned Firestone Indy Lights raced on the 2-mile oval five times from 1997-2000. Past winners include Clint Mears, Scott Dixon, Townsend Bell, Mark Hotchkis and Jonny Kane.

• Carlos Munoz, Sage Karam, Jack Hawksworth and Gabby Chaves are the only drivers entered in the Lefty's Kids Club 100 who have previously won a race in Firestone Indy Lights.

Season To Date:

• Sage Karam won for the third time in 2013 as he led every lap to win the Grand Prix of Houston from pole position.

• Jack Hawksworth won for the third time in 2013 as he led every lap to win the Grand Prix of Baltimore from pole position.

• Gabby Chaves won the Mid-Ohio 100 from the pole to score his first Firestone Indy Lights win.

• Jack Hawksworth won for the second time in 2013 as he led every lap to win the Toronto 100 from pole position.

• Carlos Munoz won for the third time in 2013 as he led all 40 laps in a dominating win at Pocono Raceway from pole position. It was his fifth career victory. Munoz has won five of his six career Sunoco Pole Awards this season.

• Sage Karam won back-to-back races at Iowa Speedway and the Milwaukee Mile. Karam's win at Milwaukee from pole was his first win in Firestone Indy Lights.

• Peter Dempsey won the Firestone Freedom 100 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with a dramatic four-wide pass on the final lap. Dempsey's margin of victory was .0026 of a second, the closest finish on the famed IMS oval.

• Sage Karam won his first pole position in Firestone Indy Lights at Indianapolis.

• Carlos Munoz won back-to-back races at Barber Motorsports Park and the Streets of Long Beach. They were his third and fourth career Firestone Indy Lights wins, respectively.

• Jack Hawksworth won his Firestone Indy Lights debut at St. Petersburg. He became the 11th driver to win his first Firestone Indy Lights start.

Milestones:

• Jack Hawksworth claimed his first career win at St. Petersburg. It was Schmidt Peterson Motorsports' seventh win at St. Petersburg.

• Gabby Chaves, Jack Hawksworth, Sage Karam, Ethan Ringel and Zach Veach made their series debut at St. Petersburg.

• Matthew Di Leo made his series debut at Long Beach.

• Peter Dempsey won his first Firestone Indy Lights race at Indianapolis. It was Belardi Auto Racing's first win in Firestone Indy Lights.

• Kyle O'Gara and Jimmy Simpson made their series debut at Indianapolis.

• Sage Karam won his first Firestone Indy Lights race at Milwaukee. He is the first Mazda Road to Indy driver to win races in the USF2000 Championship, Pro Mazda Championship and Firestone Indy Lights.

• Giancarlo Serenelli and Axcil Jefferies made their series debut at Mid-Ohio.

• Dalton Kellett made his series debut at Baltimore.

At-Track Schedule (all times local and subject to change):

Friday, Oct. 18

9:45 - 10:30 a.m. - Firestone Indy Lights practice 1

1:30 - 2 p.m. - Firestone Indy Lights Sunoco Pole Qualifying (all cars/cumulative time of two laps)

5 - 5:50 p.m. - Firestone Indy Lights practice 2

Saturday, Oct. 19

2:15 p.m. - Lefty's Kids Club 100 pre-race

2:30 p.m. - Lefty's Kids Club (50 laps/100 miles), NBC Sports Network (Taped) 7 p.m. (ET). Oct. 19