Saturday’s Firestone Indy Lights Auto Club Speedway Foundation 100 brought plenty of heat with air temperatures in excess of 100 degrees and track temperatures approaching 140 degrees at the drop of the green flag. But David Ostella managed to keep a cool head, save his tires, and work his way through the field to a career-best second-place finish.
“We definitely worked on setup for the race and especially for the tires,” said Ostella. “We thought the tires were going to be a big factor and that’s what we focused our setup on and it definitely worked. I barely made any changes inside the car during the race. The car just felt amazing right from the start and I just worked my way through the field.”
The Maple, ON native’s day wasn’t without incident, as he and Patrick Dempsey collided on Lap 25 in Turn 2.
“I had a little bit of contact in Turn 2 that startled me,” said Ostella. “But we were able to recover and continue to move forward.”
At the last Firestone Indy Lights race on the Streets of Baltimore, Ostella tied his previous best finish of fourth after working with INDYCAR driver coach and veteran, Johnny Unser. Ostella brought that confidence with him to Auto Club Speedway in search of his first podium in Indy Lights competition to cap off the season with a high note.
“I am so happy for the team, they worked so hard for this and they definitely deserve it,” said the elated Ostella. “I definitely have to thank all of my sponsors – Global Precast, ProGreen Demolition, LiUNA, JND Erectors, Connolly Marble and Granite, and Masters Insurance. You know, without them, I wouldn’t be here right now and I am just glad I am able to show them that I can do something out there on the track. I am just so excited to finally have a podium finish this season.”
Ostella finishes his second season in Firestone Indy Lights competition with nine top-10 finishes in 12 starts, four top-fives, and today’s season-best second-place finish.
For more information, follow David Ostella on Facebook, Twitter, and on-line, and for racing and news updates, follow @OstellaCorsa.
Courtesy Grand Solutions
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