Matt Brabham returns to Andretti

Indy Lights presented by Cooper Tires race winner Matt Brabham will head to Long Beach, CA with two-times series champions Andretti Autosport to contest in the hour-long race this Sunday. The Mazda Road to Indy veteran will pilot the No. 83 Stellrecht Company Andretti Autosport Mazda on the streets of Long Beach.

“I am incredibly happy and grateful to be heading to Long Beach, a big thanks must go to Bob Stellrecht for believing in me and giving me this opportunity,” said Brabham. “I am confident we will be right up there at the top and fighting competitively. 

“The team has been doing a great job and we were constantly learning and improving the car at St Pete. It is an awesome race car and I couldn’t imagine anything better than muscling it around the wall jungle of Long Beach.”  

The 21-year-old experienced his inaugural running on the streets of Long Beach last year, marking a 2014 highlight as he finished third just after making his series debut at St. Petersburg. This Indy Lights career first podium added to the Brabham family’s storied history at the temporary street circuit, which has been in use for over 40 years. Matt’s father Geoff has two IndyCar podiums and two Formula Atlantic race wins on the temporary street circuit.

“Matt is a good kid; always hungry for that win,” said team owner Michael Andretti. “We’re happy to be able to have him come back for Long Beach. We’d love to have the sponsorship to run him the remainder of the season, and are working hard on it. Hopefully something will come through for him.”

Sunday’s race on the 1.968-mile circuit in downtown Long Beach, in addition to all practice sessions and qualifying, will have live commentary and timing & scoring via the Road to Indy TV app which is available on Apple and Android devices. The green flag will fly for the MRTI race at 8:45 a.m. PST/11:45 a.m. ET. You can also follow along via @FollowAndretti on Twitter.