Peterson eyes entries in Lights and IndyCar

Gary Peterson fielded his first Firestone Indy Lights entry in its inaugural 2002 season as an owner/driver and made 22 starts through 2004 before taking a permanent seat on pit lane to focus on team ownership.

He's since enjoyed success – series championship-winning entries for J.R. Hildebrand in 2009 and Raphael Matos in ’08 – through a joint venture with Andretti Autosport. That partnership continues this season with AFS Racing Andretti Autosport cars prepped for Martin Plowman and Charlie Kimball.

This weekend, Peterson will have a third entry to watch on the 2.258-mile Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. Adam Carroll will drive the No. 27 Automatic Fire Sprinklers car in the Honda Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio presented by Westfield Insurance.

It will be the second time the red and yellow AFS livery will be on the grid (2009 Infineon Raceway with Franck Montagny) and the third time Peterson is a co-entrant with Andretti Autosport.

“Gary’s commitment to the future of the sport is a perfect example of what the Road to Indy and Firestone Indy Lights are designed to accomplish," said Tony George Jr., manager of business development for Firestone Indy Lights. "Not only are we excited about graduating drivers to the highest levels of the sport, we also want to provide opportunities for team owners, sponsors and everyone in the industry to do the same."

Carroll tested at Mid-Ohio on June 30 before making his IZOD IndyCar Series debut later in the week at Watkins Glen International (started 10th; finished 16th).

"My experience so far in an IZOD IndyCar has been really good," he said. “The test at Mid-Ohio was great because I was finally able to get in the car and got a lot of laps in. The race in Watkins Glen was a good learning experience for all of those little things — leaving the pits, entering the pits, getting strapped into the car at the start.

"One thing that's hard is that when you haven't been in car for a while, sometimes driving the car isn't the tough part, it's all the little details that you have to learn. These (IZOD IndyCar Series) races are almost two-hours long — almost half an hour longer than an F1 race. From warming up your tires to things like hitting the push-to-pass button by mistake with my knee, there are so many little details that can add up to make a big difference." IndyCar.com