Following the two races at Road America last month, Carlin’s Jones, Andretti Autosport’s Dean Stoneman and Schmidt Peterson Motorsports’ Santiago Urrutia were cited for misconduct which led race director Tony Cotman to place all three under probation.
An Indy Lights statement said any additional incidents, including unsportsmanlike conduct and dangerous or over aggressive driving during the remaining eight races, will result in the loss of a minimum of 10 championship points.
“The notices issued do not preclude a driver from racing hard but serve as a reminder on how to race over the final eight rounds of the championship,” said Cotman.
Heading into Iowa, the practice race for which was held late last night, Jones leads the championship with 213 points, while rookies Stoneman and Urrita are second and third on 194 and 189 respectively.
At the end of the season, the Indy Lights champion gets a Mazda Scholarship valued at $1m, which will guarantee entry into at least three Verizon IndyCar Series events in 2017, including the Indianapolis 500.
Jones, who has started on pole in six of the last seven races, is the only one of the three drivers with previous Indy Lights experience on the tricky, high-banked oval having finished second last year behind teammate Max Chilton.
Combined times - @TheDeanStoneman @JPiedrahita77 & @Edjonesracing under the quali record #MRTI #TeamCooperTire pic.twitter.com/9OUHKoUada
— Indy Lights (@IndyLights) July 9, 2016
The 21-year-old has shown remarkable expertise by finishing second in the last three Indy Lights oval races – at Iowa, Phoenix and the Freedom 100, which he lost to Stoneman by just 0.0024 second.
Indy Lights did not specify the indiscretion that led to the probation, but all three were involved in contacts during the two races at Road America on June 25 and 26.
In the first race, Stoneman made contact with Andre Negrao, forcing him off the track. Stoneman had to serve a five-second time penalty afterwards.
In the same race, Urrutia bumped into Juan Piedrahita in Turn 5 on a restart, also resulting in a five-second penalty.
In the second race, Jones blocked Stoneman going into Turn 6, which forced Stoneman on the grass. Jones was then hit from behind by Felix Serralles, causing him to spin and cause damage to the wings.
Qualifying is scheduled for 20:00 GST Sunday, while the 11th round will begin at 23.15.
