Junior Open Wheel Talent

The Skip Barber National drivers completed Rounds 3 & 4 of the championship at Virginia International Raceway over the weekend.

Brett Smrz ran a solid race in Round 3 to take his first career SBN victory. He improved five positions in the race, making an impressive run from 6th to 1st in 11 laps. Connor DePhillippi finished second and set the fastest lap of the race at 2:05.391. Felipe Polehtto claimed the third and final spot on the podium after qualifying on pole.

The Hard Chargers of the race were Julian Camilo Albarracin, Matthew Mair, and Arrie Maree. All three drivers managed to improve six positions. Albarracin drove from 14th on the grid to finish 8th. Mair drove from 15th to finish 9th. While Maree drove from 16th to 10th.

Full Results: Round 3
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Felipe "Pole-Sitter" Polehtto (the nickname seems to be a decent fit after this weekend where he claimed the pole position in both qualifying runs) ran a great race in Round 4 to claim the win. The victory marked the 19-year-old Brazilians second career Skip Barber National win. He won Round 9 at Road America last season. Corey Lewis had a great run to finish second--marking his best finish at the national level. Court Vernon put in the drive of the weekend, making a run from 18th on the grid to finish 3rd. This was a very impressive run for the co-recipient of the 2009 Skip Barber Karting Scholarship (he shared the honor with Sage Karam).

As stated above, the Hard Charger of the day was Court Vernon--who improved 15 positions by going from 18th on the grid to 3rd. Vernon also set the fast lap of the race with a 2:05.590.

Round 4 actually had quite a few movers who deserve mention. See below:

Ian Costa improved 9 positions--21st to 12th.
Isaac Lyons improved 8 positions--14th to 6th.
Sage Karam improved 7 positions--17th to 10th.
Michael Vincec improved 7 postions--22nd to 15th.

Full Results: Round 4
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The Skip Barber National drivers return to action on June 12th-14th at Thunderbolt Raceway.