Firestone Freedom 100
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| Venue | Indianapolis Motor Speedway |
|---|---|
| Corporate sponsor | Allied Building Products |
| First race | 2003 |
| Distance | 100 miles (160 km) |
| Laps | 40 |
| Previous names |
Firestone Freedom 100 (2008–2013) Futaba Freedom 100 (2004–2005) |
| Most wins (driver) | Wade Cunningham (3) |
| Most wins (team) | Sam Schmidt Motorsports (7) |
The Mazda Freedom 100 presented by Cooper Tires is a Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires auto race held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It is currently held the Friday before the Indianapolis 500, a day which is nicknamed Carb Day. It is the biggest race for the Indy Lights series and often has higher participation than many of the series' other races.
The modern open wheel support series has its origins in USAC's Mini Indy series, and later CART's ARS/Indy Lights series. None of those support series ever raced at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Typically the support series would take the month of May off of the schedule while the top-level Indy cars were at the Indianapolis 500. In 1979, USAC's Mini-Indy series scheduled a support race on the oval at nearby Indianapolis Raceway Park, but it was held only once.
When the IRL started the Indy Pro Series in 2002, officials began exploring the possibility of holding a support race at Indianapolis in the days leading up to the Indianapolis 500. It was an attempt to fill an otherwise slow part of the month, and an opportunity for exposure for up-and-coming drivers and teams. The race was added to the calendar for 2003.
For the first two years, the race was held during the second weekend of Indianapolis 500 time trials, scheduled for Saturday which was at the time, used only for Indy 500 practice. The date proved to be unpopular and drew small crowds. In 2005, Carb Day, the traditional final day of practice for the Indy 500, was moved from Thursday before the Indy 500 to Friday. Series officials moved the Freedom 100 to Carb Day, immediately following the final Indy 500 practice session. The move proved popular with fans and competitors.
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