INDY LIGHTS: Veach joins Belardi for 2016

Veteran Mazda Road to Indy driver and three-time Indy Lights race winner Zach Veach will be back behind the wheel next season, as Belardi Auto Racing announced that the American has joined its team for the Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires championship.

Veach spent has two years in the top level of the Mazda Road to Indy, winning three times as a sophomore in 2014 as he battled Gabby Chaves and Jack Harvey for the championship. Veach and his management team were unable to put together a program this year, but Veach was at trackside every weekend working with the IndyCar Radio Network as a driver analyst for IndyCar and Indy Lights events. The team will continue its efforts to fully fund this Indy Lights program, as well as other potential rides next year, but the effort with Belardi is their primary focus for 2016.

"We're really happy to have Zach confirmed with us for next year, and we'll work closely with him to make sure that we can get the funding we need to run him all season," said team owner Brian Belardi. "He's a supreme talent both in and out of the car, and his initial test outings in the car were just as we expected. Zach was on-pace very early in Sebring after familiarizing himself with the new Indy Lights car, and I know that we'll challenge for race wins and the championship next year."

Veach, 20, tested with the Belardi squad at Sebring in late-October, which was his first opportunity to drive the Dallara IL-15, which debuted at the start of the 2015 Indy Lights season. After getting acclimated with the speed and dynamic nature of the new car, Veach was quickly up to speed during the test and he was among the fastest of the seasoned drivers both days at the private test.

"I'm very thankful for this opportunity that Brian Belardi has given me," offered Veach, who has been a star on all three levels of the Mazda Road to Indy. "After racing against his team for so many years, I've always had a ton of respect for him, his crew, and of course, his cars. Belardi Auto Racing competes to win championships and I would love to give them their second Indy Lights title. Right now, we only have a partial program in place, but with a great amount of effort on both sides. We will be doing everything possible to try to get funding together for an entire season, so we can put a championship fight in place. I look towards winter testing, and 2016, with a lot of hope and excitement."

The Indy Lights season opens in St. Petersburg in March.