INDYCAR: Negrao, Urrutia, Veach set for Sonoma test

The final test during the season will take place on Sept. 8 at Sonoma Raceway, where all nine Verizon IndyCar Series teams and three Indy Lights drivers will lap the 2.3-mile road course.

Belardi Racing Indy lights veteran Zach Veach will share Josef Newgarden's Ed Carpenter Racing Chevy (pictured above) for a half-day, and the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Indy Lights duo of Andre Negrao and Santi Urrutia will split the day in the SPM Honda Indy cars of Mikhail Aleshin (Negrao) and James Hinchcliffe (Urrutia).

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The test will take place the day before practice begins for the Indy Lights season finale at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, and at present, Urrutia leads the standings, Veach is sixth, and Negrao is seventh.

Other than the three-half day tests for Newgarden, Aleshin, and Hinchcliffe, the rest of the field for the Sonoma IndyCar title decider is scheduled to participate in the test ahead of the Sept. 18 championship showdown.

"I'm honestly just very thankful to finally get this opportunity," Veach told RACER. "There have been multiple times where I thought I was going to be able to test an Indy car, and I have to thank Ed Carpenter, who I've been close to throughout my career, and [ECR] team manager Tim Broyles, who I called in May and asked about their testing plans. I'm lucky it turned out that they chose to put me in the car for the test at Sonoma."

The 21-year-old Ohio native (pictured, IMS photo) is also thankful for the chance to turn his first laps with a team that makes every effort to support young American talent.

"I'm excited to be testing with them because it's the American wonder team Ed has assembled," he said. "If we look at what he's been doing, what Josef's been doing, and the opportunity they've given to Spencer [Pigot], they give back to promising American Indy Lights drivers. It's the best way to develop something for further down the road."

Signing up to wrangle a notoriously physical, high-downforce Dallara DW12 Indy car the day before an Indy Lights weekend could leave Veach – and the SPM duo – with aching arm and neck muscles. In light of the chance to sample the No. 21 Fuzzy's Vodka Chevy, Veach says he's more than happy to deal with any pain that follows his Sonoma outing.

"There's a little bit of concern there, but I was fortunate to do tire testing on the Indy road course [with Cooper Tires] on their Lights tire for next year and we did close to three complete Lights races, and that prepared me for what it might be like jumping from a lot of heavy work at the test to the Lights car," he said. "But maybe you should check with me the day after Sonoma at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to see how sore I am..."