Firestone Indy Lights driver Jack Hawksworth has his eye on a 2014 ride in the IZOD IndyCar Series. Locked in a heated battle for the scholarship prize that comes with winning the series title, he took advantage of the best opportunity that came along in the meantime: a test.

The 22-year-old completed his first outing in an IZOD IndyCar Series car Sept. 17 with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing at Sebring International Raceway, where Hawksworth tested in the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports Firestone Indy Lights car.

"I really enjoyed it," Hawksworth said. "I worked well with all the guys, the engineers, mechanics, it was just a fantastic day. It was a lot of fun, and I think we had a really strong day as well.

"What was really cool about it was that we actually went into test plan, we were testing things. We weren’t just going out and doing laps. You were working with an IndyCar team on a test day and try to develop the car and things that they want to test. I really enjoyed that part of it. It was obviously a bit of an eye-opener working with an IndyCar team and the way they work, and it was a great day."

The native of Bradford, England, has won three Firestone Indy Lights races and is 11 points behind championship leader Sage Karam heading into the penultimate race of the season. He earned the Mazda Road to Indy scholarship in 2012 after winning the Star Mazda Championship in his first season of racing in America.

After winning his Firestone Indy Lights debut at St. Petersburg, Hawksworth fell back through the middle portion of the season before a rebound victory almost four months later in Toronto. He followed the surge with a win on the streets of Baltimore, and believes the test in an IndyCar has helped him focus more on the prize awaiting him should he follow up with strong showings at Houston and Fontana.

"Any track time in any car for me is great, seat time is seat time, and I’m really happy I’ve done this," he said. "I feel really sharp and I feel in good form, and I feel ready for Houston now to get back in the Lights car and go out there and get after it. We’ve had a bit of a gap now between Baltimore and Houston, so to get some seat time in a real race car and get a lot of laps in, that can only help me for Houston."

Title contender Carlos Munoz already has two starts in the IZOD IndyCar Series, including a second-place finish in the Indianapolis 500, and Hawksworth knows his peers will soon get their chance in an IndyCar as well.

"(The testing was) a great experience, and for sure it’s opened my eyes to IndyCar," he said. "If anything it’s just made my desire to be in IndyCar more real and just made me even more passionate about it, because I had such a fun day and such a great day. But whether it gives me a leg up on the other guys ... I’m sure they’re going to get their shot as well, and they’ll get their chance to drive and I’m sure they’ll have as much fun as I did."