The top rung on the Mazda Road to Indy open wheel development system, the Firestone Indy Lights Championship features a diverse schedule of 12 races for 2012, with ovals, temporary street circuits and permanent road courses all on the docket. With its sponsorship from tire maker Firestone, Indy Lights helps prepare drivers who come up through the ranks for careers in the IZOD IndyCar Series.  There are eight circuits returning to the schedule for 2012 with four new contests on the agenda. The season begins in Florida–for a tenth straight year–as the Lights cars converge with their larger and more powerful brethren on the streets of St Petersburg; the series then moves with the Indy cars to permanent Barber Motorsports Park venue and then to the streets of Long Beach, California