INDY LIGHTS: Kaiser takes Monterey pole

Bay Area product Kyle Kaiser used local track knowledge to his advantage as he took pole position for today's Indy Lights race at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The Juncos Racing driver set a best lap of 1m15.2733s and hopes to use the point for pole in his quest to win the championship.

Presently fifth in points and 39 markers behind championship leader Santiago Urrutia, Kaiser said his mission for the doubleheader weekend is a simple one.

"I only have one mindset: win, so it makes it easier," Kaiser told RACER. "We have the pole; I just need to make the most of it."

With a pole at St. Pete and Phoenix, and a win at Phoenix, Kaiser has used his second season of Indy Lights to demonstrate all he's learned.

"It's just a year of driving experience," said Kaiser, who's now earned street course, oval, and permanent road course poles this year. "Last year I felt pressure to get that first pole, but now it's just about going out and executing and getting the job done."

Behind Kaiser, Carlin Racing's Ed Jones took second (-0.1171) and will start from the front row to try and take the win. Currently second in the championship with a one-point deficit to Urrutia, Jones will have his main rival starting third—directly behind Kaiser—which could make for an interesting run into the first braking zone.

"It's maximum attack for today's race," Jones said. "We have another race tomorrow, there's nothing left to chance, so it's on me to get a good result—to finish ahead of Santi—and then tomorrow should be a lot better."

Urrutia (-0.2031), Belardi Racing's Zach Veach (-0.3341) and Carlin's Felix Serralles (-0.3737) completed a top five where five of the six title contenders were represented. Only Andretti Autosport's Dean Stoneman trailed the group in eighth (-0.8079) and he will have some work to do in the race to keep his championship hopes alive.

The championship contender points table going into Round 1 at Monterey:

1: Urrutia, 319

2: Jones, 318

3: Stoneman, 296

4: Serralles, 281

5: Kaiser, 280

6: Veach, 278