Season Review/Preview: Alex Lloyd

In 2009, for the second year in a row, it appeared that even connections with IndyCar Series powerhouse Chip Ganassi Racing could not land Alex Lloyd a stable ride.

The 2007 Indy Pro Series champion was, once again, scheduled only to run the Indianapolis 500 in a car funded by Ganassi but campaigned by another organization. In 2008 it was Rahal Letterman Racing and in 2009, it was Sam Schmidt Motorsports. The Manx had won the first five IPS races of 2007 with Schmidt, so it wasn't as if the team was unfamiliar to him, but again sitting on the sidelines for most of the year was frustrating.

This time around, however, Lloyd brought his own sponsorship instead of relying on a Target brand (Ganassi's primary sponsor) to back him. HER Energy Drink, a Hollywood-based energy drink marketed specifically towards women, joined Lloyd for the month of May. Wearing a hot pink firesuit, he garnered the nickname "Pink Lloyd," fashioned after the famous British band.

Lloyd produced a substantial return on their investment. Besides the new and edgy sponsor attracting attention for the team throughout the month, Lloyd had a strong qualifying effort, putting his car in the 500 on the first day of time trials. Starting 11th, he finished the race on the lead lap in 13th, despite losing a lap early on.

He did this all while wife Samantha was expecting the birth of their second daughter, Bethany. Lloyd joked in interviews that he hoped the baby wouldn't come on race day. She waited for the month to end, and Samantha gave birth on June 2.

The folks at HER were impressed enough with Lloyd's performance at Indy that he secured another ride for the season finale at Homestead. No longer under any obligation to Ganassi, Lloyd joined the Newman/Haas/Lanigan Racing team to pilot their second car in the race. For the first time ever, an IndyCar Series car carried a number with more than two digits; Lloyd's car carried "#40202" decals as part of a breast cancer awareness promotion, denoting a number that fans could text message in order to pledge money to breast cancer research organizations.

Lloyd finished eighth in the caution-free race, two laps down, but did outplace teammate Graham Rahal. It was enough to convince N/H/L to bring aboard Lloyd full-time for the 2010 season, immediately cementing him as a top rookie of the year candidate.

While Lloyd has not competed fulltime in any racing series since 2007, his Indy Pro stats that season were remarkable. Over the 16-race season, he set records in wins (eight), consecutive wins (five), and points scored (652). He also accomplished the remarkable feat of qualifying on the front row in every race where qualifying was held.

Of those eight wins, seven—Homestead, both St. Petersburg races, the first race at Indianapolis, Iowa, the second race at Watkins Glen, and the first race at Infineon—took place on current IndyCar tracks. (The eighth was at the Milwaukee Mile, which held an IndyCar race in 2009 but recently shut down.) Familiarity with most of the tracks on the schedule should bode well for Lloyd, who has always been a quick driver.

As long as he is able to remain in N/H/L equipment, which is solid if not spectacular, Lloyd should see some solid results in 2010, and contend for rookie of the year. As he has performed well in almost every race he's run in the Indy Racing League, he may yet make Ganassi regret letting him get away over the coming years.