Rinus VeeKay, from Hoofddorp, Netherlands, Braden Eves, from New Albany, Ohio, and Christian Rasmussen from Copenhagen, Denmark, set the pace today as the ninth annual Chris Griffis Memorial Road to Indy Test kicked off at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix road course

The tires and engines have barely cooled down after a rousing final weekend for all three open-wheel development racing series that comprise the Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires on the West Coast, yet an intriguing mix of veteran and rookie drivers will converge this week on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Grand Prix course, anxious to begin preparations for the 2020 season.

Open-Wheel Champions Askew, Kirkwood, Eves the Big Winners in Monterey

The good news for Kyle Kirkwood is that he needed only to start today’s Cooper Tires Indy Pro 2000 Grand Prix Presented by Allied Building Products in order to clinch the Indy Pro 2000 Championship Presented by Cooper Tires and a scholarship valued at almost $600,000 to advance one step on the Road to Indy to Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires in 2020

Victory in Race One means Kirkwood needs only to take the green flag in tomorrow’s 16th and final race of the season to clinch his second successive Road to Indy Presented by Cooper Tires championship crown