Junior Open Wheel Talent

Connor De Phillippi swept both rounds of the Skip Barber National championship over the weekend at Road America. The 16-year-old phenom now has 7 SBN wins--- which is a new series' record. Grant Maiman held the previous record, having recorded 6 wins during the 2002 Formula Dodge National Championship.

Connor's victory on Sunday didn't come easily. The race was ended prematurely due to several large incidents on track. The decision led to a drag race finish between Court Vernon and Connor De Phillippi. Connor came away with the win by a mere .004 seconds at the stripe (see photo above).

Series rookie Cameron Dodson of Greenfield, Indiana put in the drive of the day. Dodson improved 10 positions in 8-laps, coming from 13th on the grid to finish an impressive 3rd. Dodson improved the most positions earning him the hard charger title.

Honorable mention should go to Nazareth, Pennsylvania's Sage Karam who led 2 out of the final 3 laps after starting fourth. Ultimately, Karam finished the race where he started (4th), but that didn't stop him from setting the fast lap of the day with a 2:33.956. Ashley Freiberg, who earned the hard charger title in Rd. 9, rounded out the top-five. Freiberg managed to improve 4 positions in Sunday's race after starting back in 9th.

Complete Results

(photo: Jim Altemus/ www.skipbarber.com)

J.R. Hildebrand did everything correct in today's Firestone Indy Lights race as he won by a 15.8918 second margin on his home track; Infineon Raceway. The 21-year-old California native led every lap of today's race enroute to his fourth win of the season in the Indy Lights series. He currently holds down the overall championship lead by a large margin. Felipe Guimaraes posted another top-five finish with a very impressive performance to finish 2nd on the day. Guimaraes has finished all three of his Indy Lights races within the top-five this season. James Davison, who won the series' previous race at Mid-Ohio, rounded out the top-three by claiming his 6th top-five finish of the year.

Sebastian Saavedra earned the hard charger title as he improved 12 spots in today's race. Saavedra, who is currently second in the overall standings, had to start from the rear of the field in 19th position (after qualifying 2nd) due to an engine change by the team post qualifying. He put in a very impressive drive to finish 7th.

Complete Results

(photo: www.jrhildebrandracing.com)

Skip Barber National front runner Connor De Phillippi won Round-9 of the season championship earlier today at historic Road America. Today's win marks the sixth win of the season for 16-year-old De Phillippi. Karting scholarship co-winner Court Vernon finished 2nd in today's race after starting 5th. Ashley Freiberg had a phenomenal drive that saw her improve from 14th on the grid to finish 3rd--- a feat that earned her the "hard charger" title.

Full Results
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(photo: Jim Altemus)

This was a busy weekend in the junior formula world with several series competing across the globe. The majority of you have probably already heard who won the race, but you may not have heard who put in a good drive during the event. I've compiled a list of the "hard chargers" via an Excel spreadsheet from the various series that I cover here at Junior Open Wheel Talent.

The weekend "hard chargers" are as follows:
(I've linked to the drivers website when possible)

Formula BMW-Americas/Road America
Round 10- Olivier Lombard (5 positions---12th to 7th)
Round 11- Joao Victor Horto (5 positions---7th to 2nd)
Round 12- Wilson Philippe (4 positions---10th to 6th)

F2000 Championship/Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Race 1: Keith McCrone (Masters Division) (9 positions---26th to 17th)
Race 1: Al Guibord Jr. (4 positions---17th to 13th)
Race 2: Alejandro Munoz (6 positions---23rd to 17th)

Star Mazda/Trois-Rivieres
Round 10- Mikael Grenier (15 positions---19th to 4th)

F3 Euro Series/Nurburgring
Round 11- Johnny Cecotto Jr. (7 positions---23rd to 16th)
Round 12- Cesar Ramos (11 positions---24th to 13th)

Atlantic Championship/Trois-Rivieres
Round 9- Eric Jensen (3 positions---11th to 8th)
Lead Lap Hard Charger: Tonis Kasemets (2 positions---6th to 4th)
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The drive of the weekend goes to Canadian Mikael Grenier for improving the most positions (15 spots) on a tough street course (Trois-Rivieres).
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To look at past hard charger nominations; click here > >.

Even if James Davison's wet-weather victory at Mid-Ohio in 2008 could be termed "a bit of a fluke".... He proved to everyone today, that he is a very capable race winner in the Indy Lights series. Davison won today's Firestone Indy Lights race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course for the second consecutive year. The 22-year-old Australian qualified on pole and led every lap of today's event. The win also gives Vision Racing their first Indy Lights victory.

James Hinchcliffe ran a very solid race and finished 2nd, 4.0420 seconds behind Davison at the flag. The end result marks Hinchcliffe's best finish of the season. He has finished on the podium five times in 2009, which translates to 41.7% of his race starts. Championship leader J.R. Hildebrand finished the race in 3rd.

The hard charger of the race was Stefan Wilson who improved 9 positions in 40-laps. Wilson drove from 17th on the grid to finish 8th.

Honorable mention should go to Felipe Guimaraes who just missed his second podium (finishing 4th) in as many races. Guimaraes improved 5 positions to finish 4th after starting 9th. Martin Plowman rounded out the top-five with a solid run that saw him improve 3 positions (8th-5th). The result ties his best finish in the Indy Lights series as he also finished 5th at Kansas.
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Indy Lights
Mid-Ohio 100
Complete Results > >

(photo: Shawn Payne/indycar.com)

Jonathan Summerton won his second Atlantic Championship race of 2009 in Round 8 at Mid-Ohio earlier today. Summerton, who shattered the course record in qualifying (1:12.970), started from pole position and led every lap of the race.

The win will make a rather large impact in the championship points standings. Current championship leader, Simona De Silvestro finished in second place just 2.000 seconds behind Summerton at the line. John Edwards, who is currently second in the championship, had an unfortunate incident early in the race that caused him to face his first DNF of the season. Spanish rookie Borja Garcia, who was remarkably quick heading into the race, finished third in the final tally.

The hard charger of the event was James Winslow. Winslow improved three positions during the 38-lap event to finish 6th after starting 9th. Today's result marks Winslow's best finish to date in the 2009 Atlantic Championship season.

Honorable mention should go to Max Lefevre (10th-7th) and Michael Mallinen (12th-9th) who each improved three positions.

(photo: atlantic-championship.com)
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Atlantic Championship
Round 8- Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Complete Results > >

After being away from the computer for a few days due to a mini-vacation, it's time to catch up on all the racing news and results. Rather than put all the news into individual posts, which are already dated, I decided to just put everything in one spot via a 'Linkage' post.

Skip Barber
Skip Barber National standout Connor De Phillippi won Round 7 by going from 3rd to 1st in the final lap.
Round 7: Complete Results

Skip Barber Karting Scholarship winner Court Vernon won his first Skip Barber National race over the weekend at Barber Motorsports Park.
Round 8: Complete Results

Formula BMW-Americas
Gabby Chaves won the first race of the weekend at Lime Rock Park in dominant fashion. The win moves the Colombian driver back into the points lead.
Round 8: Complete Results

Australian driver James Kovacic celebrated his 16th birthday in style by claiming his first Formula BMW victory in Race 2 at LRP. Not only did Kovacic win, he became the first driver to win from a spot other than pole position, so far this season. He started the race in 5th. Honorable mention should go to Alex Ellis who led most of the race only to see the victory slip away in the closing laps.
Round 9: Complete Results

F2000 Championship
Matthew Inge ran a solid race to take his second win of the season in the F2000 Championship, while racing at Summit Point Motorsports Park. Championship leader Chris Miller finished the race in second place. Alegra Motorsports driver Fabio Orslon continues to develop as he finished the race in 3rd.
Race 1: Complete Results

Tim Minor found his way to the top spot of the podium in the second race of the weekend at his home track (SPMP). Championship leader Chris Miller continued his renowned podium streak by finishing 2nd. Ben Searcy found his way to the podium after being DQ'd from a fifth place finish in Race 1---due to missing the minimum weight requirement by a mere 3lbs.
Race 2: Complete Results

You can read the F2000 Championship weekend notebook here>>.

Atlantic Championship
Simona De Silvestro made history this weekend by becoming the winningest female driver in the 36-year history of the Atlantic Championship. Simona claimed her fourth career Atlantic victory at Lime Rock Park. The previous record was held by Katherine Legge, who had 3 career Atlantic victories. John Edwards had a great run to finish 2nd after starting 5th. His performance earned him the hard charger award. Borja Garcia put in another solid performance to finish 3rd in Round 5. The result marked his second podium of the season.
Round 5- Complete Results

Formula 3 Euro Series
Jules Bianchi dominated the competition at Zandvoort this weekend for Rounds 7 & 8 of the 2009 championship. The 19-year-old driver has won four races this season and leads the championship by 17 points.

The Hard Charger of Round 7 was Atte Mustonen who improved 11 positions-- 20th to 9th.
Round 7- Zandvoort Complete Results

The Hard Charger of Round 8 was Stefano Coletti who improved 12 positions-- 24th to 12th.
Round 8- Zandvoort Complete Results

World Series by Renault
Bertrand Baguette dominated the weekend by winning both races at Le Mans. Baguette leads the championship by 19 points over Marcos Martinez (2nd) and James Walker (3rd).

The Hard Charger of Round 10 was Dani Clos who improved 10 positions--20th to 10th.
Round 10: Le Mans Complete Results

The Hard Charger of Round 11 was Edoardo Mortara, who improved 15 positions--21st to 6th. Honorable mention should go to Miguel Molina who improved 8 positions--10th to 2nd.
Round 11: Le Mans Complete Results

Star Mazda
Peter Dempsey completed the perfect Friday at Iowa Speedway by leading both practice sessions, qualifying on pole, and winning the 100-lap race under the lights. The win moves him into the championship lead. Conor Daly had an excellent run to finish 2nd after starting 8th. Formula BMW graduate, David Ostella had his best finish of the year by rounding out the top-three.

The hard charger of the event was Michael Furfari who drove an incredible race. The 16-year-old race driver improved 13 positions to cross the stripe in 8th after starting 21st. This is Furfari's second hard charger nomination in as many race events.

Star Mazda
Iowa Speedway
Round 7- Complete Results
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Indy Lights
Sebastian Saavedra drove a near perfect race north of the border as the Indy Lights made their way around the streets of Toronto, Canada. Saavedra is now sitting in second place in the overall championship with 2 victories and 5 top-five finishes. Championship leader, J.R. Hildebrand added another solid finish to his resume by crossing the stripe second. Toronto native, James Hinchcliffe rounded out the top-three. This is Hinchcliffe's fourth podium finish in 2009.

The hard charger of the race was Daniel Herrington, who drove from 18th on the grid to finish 9th.

Indy Lights
Grand Prix of Toronto
Complete Results
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The World Series by Renault visited Silverstone this weekend for Rounds 8 & 9 of the Formula Renault 3.5 championship. Marcos Martinez extended his points lead after taking the race win in Round 8. The victory marked his fourth win of the season. Frenchman Charles Pic dominated Race 2 (Round 9) by driving from flag to flag to take the win.

The hard charger of Race 1 (Round 8) was Guillaume Moreau. The 26-year-old Frenchman made his return to the World Series by Renault after spending some time racing a Corvette in the the FIA-GT1 series. His return to single-seater racing could be considered a success as he improved the most positions in Race 1 at Silverstone. Moreau improved seven spots to finish 16th after starting 23rd.

The hard charger of Race 2 (Round 9) was Sten Pentus, who improved 8 spots. This is Sten's 3rd hard charger nomination this season. The 27-year-old Estonian driver managed to finish 7th after starting 15th. His best finish of 2009 occurred at Cataluyna, where he drove from 19th to 2nd.
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World Series by Renault
Round 8- Silverstone
Complete Results

World Series by Renault
Round 9- Silverstone
Complete Results
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Phil Lombardi had a great run to win today's F2000 Championship race at Watkins Glen International after qualifying 6th. Perennial front runner; Matthew Inge returned to form after a DNF in Race #1, by finishing 2nd in today's race... just 0.545 seconds behind Lombardi. Al Guibord Jr. had an impressive drive to finish 3rd, his best result of the year.

The race, which was termed wild by many in attendance, included several incidents and caution flags. The final results are still under review as various teams filed protests at the conclusion of the event.

The hard charger of the race is Fabio Orsolon, who improved an astounding 24 positions. Orsolon started the race in 31st after failing to complete a lap in qualifying due to electrical problems. The team managed to get the car ready for the event and the Brazilian driver proceeded to charge through the field to finish 7th.

Honorable mention has to go to championship leader Chris Miller, who passed 12 cars in two laps. Miller dropped back to 24th with two laps remaining, due to contact that resulted in a flat tire. After the team replaced the tire, Miller drove through the field to finish 12th.
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F2000 Championship
Round 8- Watkins Glen
Complete Results
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(photo: Janice Eakin/F2000 Championship)

J.R. Hildebrand took his second win of the season, moments ago, in the Corning 100 at Watkins Glen International. The 21-year-old American had a really solid car and managed to improve 3 spots in today's race.

James Davison had a great run to finish 2nd after putting the car on pole in yesterday's qualifying session. Felipe Guimaraes was perhaps the most impressive driver in the field as he made a last lap pass on Sebastian Saavedra to finish 3rd in his first Indy Lights race after qualifying 6th. The Brazilian driver definitely turned some heads today, it will be interesting to see if he can come up with the necessary funding to run a few more races with Bryan Herta Autosport. Charlie Kimball had a breakthrough day by finishing fourth, his first top-five in the Indy Lights series. The track seemed to really suit his driving style and his performance today was rewarded by a solid finish. Sebastian Saavedra narrowly rounded out the top-five after losing two spots on the final lap, following a restart. He was lucky to have finished fifth after turning into Kimball (in an effort to avoid being passed) heading up-the-hill on the last lap. Saavedra is incredibly fast, but needs to learn to settle down in the car and make better decisions. As he develops his race-mode maturity, he will be nearly unstoppable. Saavedra set the quickest lap of the race with a 1:37.6704.

The hard charger of the day was Gustavo Yacaman, who improved 11 positions. The eighteen-year-old Colombian put in an incredible drive to finish 8th after starting 19th.

**update** Richard Philippe was promoted to fifth after Sebastian Saavedra was penalized 30 seconds for his move on Kimball during the last lap of the race. The penalty moves Saavedra to 18th in the final standings.
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Indy Lights
Corning 100
Complete Results
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(photo: Ron McQueeney/ indycar.com)

Chris Miller has had a tremendous start to a big weekend in his racing career. The F2000 Championship drivers are not only racing at the world famous Watkins Glen International this weekend, they are also racing alongside the Indy Car series. Miller did exactly what he set out to do by qualifying on pole---setting a new track record in the process--- and winning Race #1 at Watkins Glen. The win marks his third victory of the year and his sixth podium in seven races.

Phil Lombardi had a great race and finished 2nd, 5.774 seconds behind Miller. Remy Audette kept his championship hopes alive with a solid third place finish, rounding out the top-three. Matthew Inge wasn't so lucky... as contact with Audette knocked his front wing off, causing him to drop a lap down. He ended the race in 30th position.

The hard charger of today's event was Masters driver Rob Nicholas who improved 13 positions. Nicholas finished 13th after qualifying 26th. Honorable mention should go to Tyler Hunter, who made his F2000 Championship debut at the Glen and improved 10 positions. Hunter qualified 30th and finished the race in 20th position. Other hard chargers include Masters drivers Chris Camadella (15th-5th) and Charles Finelli (28th-18th) who both improved 10 positions.
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F2000 Championship
Round 7- Watkins Glen
Complete Results

(photo: Janice Eakin/F2000championship.com)

The Formula 3 Euro Series drivers spent last weekend at the Norisring circuit in southern Germany. Jules Bianchi and Christian Vietoris claimed the race wins on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. There were a few other drivers who managed to put in some incredible drives and deserve some press.

Johnny Cecetto Jr. earned the hard charger award on Saturday by improving 9 positions. The 19-year-old Venezuelan driver finished 17th after starting 25th.

Round 5- Full Results

On Sunday, Brazilian driver Tiago Geronimi put in the drive of the weekend by improving an astonishing 22 positions. The 20-year-old rookie finished 5th after starting 27th.

Round 6- Full Results
(photo: http://f3euroseries.com)

Just over a year ago, I wrote a piece on JOWT's Top Prospects. It's a little dated now as you can probably tell if you out-clicked on the link.

Recently, I had a request from a reader to create an updated list, featuring my picks, of today's top junior formula drivers. Let me just say, that it is an extremely difficult task to narrow a top prospects list down to only 10 drivers. Add to that, the fact that I cover 7 different North American junior formula series. With that in mind, I put together a list of my (current) top prospects---which features an emphasis on younger drivers in the lower junior formulas--- with hopes of introducing readers to some drivers that they may not have heard of. I've also added a link to each driver's official website, if they have one.

If I were choosing my top-ten prospects---- for a career in motorsports---- without looking at each individual series, my list would likely look much different. Please keep that in mind as you read through the following post.
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1. Alexander Rossi (International Formula Master)

The last time I did a top prospects post, Alexander Rossi held the top spot. It's now a little over a year later and I still place him as my top junior formula prospect. Rossi really developed his craft over the last two seasons in the Formula BMW series and showcased his skills on a global level by winning the 2008 Formula BMW World Final. This season, 2009, he decided to move to Europe and run in the International Formula Master series. Just last weekend, he became the first American driver to win a IFM event.

2. Josef Newgarden (British Formula Ford)

Josef Newgarden has done an extremely nice job of promoting himself and chasing his dream. Last year, he won the Formula Ford Festival (Kent class) and finished 2nd in the Skip Barber National championship. He has, in my mind, taken all the right steps (to date) in pursuing his goal of becoming a Formula One driver. The 18-year-old Tennessee native is now living in England, where he has claimed victories in both the Formula Palmer Audi and British Formula Ford series.

3. Jonathan Summerton (Indy Lights, Atlantic Championship)

Summerton was also on my previous list. At the time, I had him ranked 8th. Since that time he has continued to develop as a driver and has added a tremendous amount of experience. This season alone, he has been running in the Indy Lights series and the Atlantic Championship---developing both his oval and road course skills. I fully expect to see Summerton take that next step...whatever it might be.

4. John Edwards (Atlantic Championship)

Anyone that follows junior formula racing knows the name John Michael Edwards. Edwards has a ton of experience on both sides of the pond. After becoming the youngest open wheel race winner in 2004, he moved to Europe as part of the Red Bull Driver Search program. While in Europe, he continued his development in karts and Formula Renault 2.0 cars. Since that time, he has come back to the United States and run in the Atlantic Championship and Star Mazda series. After moving back to the U.S., he ran one season in Atlantics before deciding to take a step backwards (so to speak) and run Star Mazda. His hope was to win the Star Mazda championship and earn a fully funded Atlantic ride (courtesy of the MazdaSPEED Development Program) for 2009--- which he did. He is currently in third place in the 2009 Atlantic Championship.

5. Anders Krohn (Star Mazda)

Anders Krohn is a driver that certainly deserves a lot of press. He came to the United States from Norway as a relatively unknown commodity. He decided to run the 2008 F2000 Championship with Andersen Racing and he absolutely dominated the series with 9 wins in 14 starts. This year he has been working with a new Star Mazda team, Mundill Racing, and has just recently scored their first Star Mazda win in his first oval race at Milwaukee.

5. Conor Daly (Star Mazda)

Conor Daly has been very impressive in everything he has driven. Last season alone, he won the Skip Barber National championship and became the first American to win the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone (not to mention the fact that he did it on a wet track). This year in Star Mazda... his results have been up-and-down. That said, you can really see improvement from race-to-race. He recently won his first Star Mazda race at New Jersey Motorsports Park and with that one in the books, I fully expect to see many more.

6. Peter Dempsey (Star Mazda)

Peter Dempsey is one of the brightest young stars out there. The Irishman has been incredibly quick over the last two season in Star Mazda competition. A contender every time he steps into a car, Dempsey has finished inside the top-ten in 83.3 % of his Star Mazda starts since the beginning of 2008. He has won the prestigious Walter Hayes Trophy twice, which by itself is fairly impressive. The only limitation to his success is money. If he can find the funding to continue developing his career... watch for a bright future.

7. Gary Carlton (Karting)

Gary Carlton has been a dominant force in the North American shifter kart scene for a number of years now. Just recently he has begun to sample some different race cars. Last winter he tested a Ford Focus Midget and a Star Mazda car. Last week, the California native tested an Indy Lights car at Putnam Park with Michael Crawford and HVM Racing. If Carlton puts his focus towards a career in cars ....he will likely move up this list very quickly.

8. Chris Miller (F2000 Championship)

Chris Miller was put on my previous list as a driver to watch. And since that time, I've been keeping a close eye on his progress. He has taken his time developing his race craft in both karts and the F2000 Championship. If I had to give him a nickname it would probably be Mr. Podium. The 20-year-old University of Minnesota student has finished on the podium in all but one race this season in the F2000 Championship. He plans to run Star Mazda next year.

9. Giancarlo Vilarinho (Formula BMW-Americas)

Giancarlo Vilarinho of Brazil has done an excellent job in the Formula BMW- Americas series this year. He developed as a driver last year and the results are beginning to show. The 17-year-old race driver has won 5 straight Formula BMW-Americas races and finished on the podium in all but one race for 2009. He would likely be higher on the list if the series had a larger entry list. It will be interesting to see which path he chooses for 2010.

10. Connor De Phillippi (Skip Barber National)

Connor has been the driver to beat thus far into the 2009 Skip Barber National championship. He swept the opening rounds at Sebring, set the fastest lap of the race at VIR in Round 3, and most recently swept both rounds at New Jersey Motorsports Park. He also earned the hard charger of the race on Saturday at NJMP, coming from 6th to 1st. He has done an excellent job this season and will likely make a step up the ladder in 2010.
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I spent the majority of last weekend at Iowa Speedway in Newton, IA. for the Indy Lights race. Hence the lack of post updates throughout the weekend. Once again, I was very impressed by the facilities at Iowa Speedway. It was nice to make the trip and watch the Indy Lights drivers compete under the lights in front of an amazing crowd.

I balanced my time between the hot pit, the paddock, and the grand stands in an effort to take in all aspects of the event. I have quite a few pictures from the infield that I will post below.

The biggest problem of the weekend came from a "weeping" track surface. Due to the heavy rainfall leading up to the weekend's races in Iowa, water began to seep through the cracks in the track surface on the back straightaway and in Turn 4. The Iowa Speedway crew did an excellent job of attending to the situation and didn't quit until the racing surface proved safe. The actual start time of the Indy Lights race was delayed about one hour.

The race itself proved quite exciting and didn't disappoint those in attendance. The results were quite historical in several ways.... (read on). Due to the "weeping" track conditions, the series decided to abandon their traditional start and begin the race under a mandatory caution. After the cars began to roll, 3rd place qualifier, Sebastian Saavedra pulled his entry back onto pit lane due to a suspension issue. After the team replaced the faulty hardware, Saavedra returned to the race several laps down.

Wade Cunningham had been the driver to beat all weekend, despite losing the pole at the last possible second to J.R. Hildebrand in qualifying. The two ran several laps side-by-side until Cunningham stole the spot. Cunningham appeared to have things under control after getting past Hildebrand in the opening laps. He led 103 laps of the 115 lap event, despite being reeled in by caution flags. The race featured 4 caution flags for 24 laps, making up nearly 21% of the race.

In the back of the field, the driver to watch was Mario Romancini. Romancini earned the hard charger title by improving 9 positions. The Sao Paulo, Brazil native finished the race in 4th place after starting back in 13th. It looked as if he would finish even higher as he closed a huge gap on the leaders under green flag conditions. Unfortunately, a broken weight jacker on Lap-90 would ruin his ability to make in-car handling adjustments and his pace seemed to fall off slightly. Regardless, it was an impressive drive to say the least.

Before I go any further with this race report, it should be noted that Sebastian Saavedra's suspension was successfully repaired by the AFS/AGR team and he was sent out mid pack despite being several laps down. He was extremely quick, turning the fastest lap of the race with a 20.0883 on Lap-15. It wasn't long before Saavedra was battling (literally) with the race leaders despite being several laps behind. It was really disappointing to see Sebastian fighting so hard for position with race leaders. I admire his aggression and desire to race, but, you would think the team would have come over the radio and told him to back down when putting himself and others into dangerous situations. He had already set the fastest lap of the race and proven his speed. I will say, his aggression added a lot of excitement to the race. It's just unfortunate that a few of the leaders were forced to back down and let him pass rather than the other way around. I think Wade Cunningham would agree with me... (read on).

In the final laps, the leaders were all running very close together... which is no surprise, for anyone that's been watching Indy Lights races this year. Saturday's race featured another exciting conclusion. With about 10-laps remaining, Cunningham had a sizable lead and looked poised to take his second win of the year. After battling with Saavedra for several laps, Wade decided to let Sebastian pass rather than risk a race-ending collision with a driver off the lead lap. Once Sebastian was out front he developed a slight gap only to dramatically slow on Lap-106 heading down the back straight. The reduction in speed caused Cunningham to lift which allowed Ana Beatriz to close the gap and make a pass for the lead. Ana had been running a very solid race and was able to take advantage of the situation in a near perfect manner. Once in the lead, Ana never looked back and claimed her second career Indy Lights victory. This was a huge race for Beatriz who started back in 6th. After a huge crash at Indianapolis in the Freedom 100, Ana had to sit out at Milwaukee due to funding issues. Fortunately, she was able to put everything together and return to the United States from Brazil and win Saturday's race in Iowa. She is a true talent and it would be unfortunate to see her season end prematurely. Wade Cunningham finished the race in second place and was clearly not happy about the race craft of Saavedra. This is the second time that Wade has finished runner-up at Iowa Speedway. James Hinchcliffe, who I've yet to mention, drove a very solid race... crossing the stripe in third place after several hard fought battles for position. Hinchcliffe was very impressive in only his fourth career oval race.

Ana's victory was historic in that she became the first female driver to win a race at Iowa Speedway. It was also historic in the fact, that Sam Schmidt Motorsports claimed all three spots on the podium. This was the first time that the team had filled the podium with their own entries. In 2006, at Nashville, the team ran two cars for AGR and had Jay Howard (SSM) finish on top, with the two AGR cars (being run by SSM) filling the remaining podium spots (Jaime Camara-2nd, Jonathan Klein-3rd).

Indy Lights
Miller Lite 100
Full Results

For a semi-live recap of things, including the fear of race cancellation, you can view my Tweets from the event. (editor's note: just scroll down on the Twitter page to view live updates).
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Honorable Mention

James Davison had a tremendous qualifying effort that saw him set the fastest first lap--- only to lose the rear of the car exiting Turn-4 on his second lap. He had an incredible save and kept the car off the wall but lost enough speed to drop him to the rear of the field for the start of the event. Heading into the event, Davison was the only Lights driver to finish all of the 2009 races. His streak ended one-lap short when he made contact with the lap car of Pippa Mann. Pippa's car ended up flipping upside down, which led to a caution flag that ended the race. Fortunately, she walked away unscathed.

Daniel Herrington was very impressive this weekend. He was able to run at the front of the pack for nearly the entire race until contact with a lapped car caused him to drop back. He was still able to bring the car home in ninth place. It was just an unfortunate end to a very impressive drive.

J.R. Hildebrand was quick the entire weekend and claimed the pole position. Unfortunately, during the race he blocked Herrington who was challenging for the second spot. The move wasn't looked upon kindly and Hildebrand was forced to make a drive-through penalty. He still brought the car home in 6th place.
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The Star Mazda competitors completed their first oval race of the year this weekend at the historic Milwaukee Mile. Not only was this the first oval race of the year for the series, it was also the first oval race (ever) for many of the drivers. That said, the series held official test days at both the Milwaukee Mile and the Iowa Speedway earlier this year.

Due to heavy rain in Milwaukee on Friday, the afternoon qualifying session was cancelled. The grid was formed using the drivers practice times.

Anders Krohn, last year's F2000 Champion, won Saturday's 100-lap race after starting seventh. The event marked his first career oval race as well as his first Star Mazda win. It was a well deserved victory for the Norwegian driver. He has been working very had with Mundill Racing and Larry Nash, developing their Star Mazda program. It seems all of their hard work has finally paid off. You can listen to a post race interview with Anders Krohn here.

Adam Christodoulou earned the hard charger title of the race by improving 10 positions. The Englishman started 12th and finished the race in 2nd place,.... just 1.223 seconds behind Krohn. The final result bumps Christodoulou back into the championship lead after losing it last weekend in New Jersey, due to a mechanical failure that sidelined him for much of the race.

Louisiana resident, Alex Ardoin finished the race in third place. Ardoin has been extremely impressive in his last few race events. He crossed the stripe just off Adam Christodoulou's rear wing --- .0554 seconds back. He trailed Anders Krohn by 1.777 seconds at the finish.

Honorable mention

Canadian driver Michael Furfari also improved 10 positions---earning him a tie with Adam Christodoulou for the hard charger award. Furfari, who is currently the youngest Star Mazda competitor at 16 years-of-age, finished the race in 10th after starting 20th.

The fast lap of the race was set by Peter Dempsey- 28.652 seconds.

Click Here for Full Results.

(photo: Star Mazda)

I realize we just had a World Series by Renault video featuring Chris van der Drift, but with Chris earning the hard charger title last weekend and a good onboard video available.... I decided to feature him again.

Enjoy a lap around the Hungaroring in Budapest, Hungary with Chris van der Drift.

The World Series by Renault drivers spent the weekend in Hungary, racing at the famed Hungaroring circuit.

Chris van der Drift was the hard charger of Race 1 by improving 10 positions. He finished 13th after starting 23rd in the 28-lap event. His best lap was a 1:35.835.

World Series by Renault
Hungaroring
Full Results-Race 1

Michael Herck, of the GP2 series, was the hard charger of Race 2 after improving an impressive 21 spots. Herck started the race in 26th and finished 5th in the 25-lap race. His best lap was a 1:35.868. The final tally was a nice change for Herck, whose results have been marred by a string of DNF's this season.

World Series by Renault
Hungaroring
Full Results- Race 2

The Atlantic Championship was the headline class of the weekend at the Mazda Formula-X event at New Jersey Motorsports Park. The series completed Round 3 & 4 of the 12-race championship over the weekend. The double-header weekend was broadcast live on HDNet...which was great to see (especially with a junior formula series as the headline event).

The weekend produced some great results--unfortunately there wasn't a lot of passing---hence the title above. The ground effects on these cars produce so much downforce that it makes passing tough, especially on a circuit like Thunderbolt Raceway where there aren't a lot of good spots for overtaking.

The hard charger of Round 3 was John Edwards who finished 5th after starting back in 8th. He improved the most positions of any Atlantic competitor on the weekend--a mere 3. The first race of the weekend (Round 3) was won by American Jonathan Summerton. It was a nice win that was likely overdue for the 21-year-old race driver, as he has qualified on the front row of every Atlantics race (to date) in 2009. The win marked his first Atlantics victory in 2009 and his 3rd career victory in the series. It was also the first Atlantics victory for Genoa since the 1994 season. Simona De Silvestro continued to showcase her speed and finished 2nd. Borja Garcia finished the race in 3rd, which marked his best finish of the year. The 26-year-old Spaniard has been impressive all season and only seems to be getting quicker.

The hard charger of Round 4 was James Winslow who improved a mere 1 position. Winslow started the race in 10th and finished 9th. Despite the lack of an impressive # next to the hard charger title... Winslow did have a great race with Frankie Muniz throughout the 38-lap event. Richard Zober also improved one spot, finishing 12th after starting 13th. The big story of the day was Simona De Silvestro. The Swiss race driver was quick all weekend and claimed Sunday's win by 0.910 seconds over Jonathan Summerton. With the win, Simona becomes the second female to lead the Atlantic Championship (Danica Patrick also led the championship for a short time in 2004). The final result also marked Simona's 3rd career Atlantic Championship win--which ties Katherine Legge's record for the most career Atlantic Championship victories by a female driver. Frederic Vervisch ran another impressive race to finish 3rd. The 22-year-old race driver has finished on the podium in all but one Atlantic race this season.

After a pre-race penalty, for qualifying interference, Frederic Vervisch was docked two starting spots. After the penalty was assessed, he started the race in fifth---which means--- Vervisch was technically the hard charger of Round 4 for improving two spots. (see comment section below).
(photo: Atlantic Championship)

Atlantic Championship
New Jersey Motorsports Park
Round 3 Results
Round 4 Results

The Star Mazda competitors were in New Jersey this past weekend as part of the Mazda Formula-X event. The drivers completed Round 4 & 5 of the championship, which was broadcast live on HDNet.

The hard charger of Round 4 at New Jersey Motorsports Park was Irishman Peter Dempsey. Dempsey improved 9 positions----which turned out to be the most of all the open wheel competitors over the weekend---to finish 6th after starting 15th. Overall, the weekend wasn't one of Dempsey's best, but he did finish both races inside the top-ten... which moved him into the overall lead for the points championship. Conor Daly had a breakthrough weekend, taking his first Star Mazda win. Daly won the race by 1.292 seconds over Adam Christodoulou. Canadian driver, Mikael Grenier finished third, which marks his best career Star Mazda finish. I was very impressed by Mikael this weekend, he improved 5 spots (8th-3rd) to obtain his first career Star Mazda podium. (he repeated the result in Round 5--see below).

The hard charger of Round 5 was Kevin Toledo who drove from 23rd to 16th...improving 7 positions. Englishman Richard Kent returned to his winning ways and claimed the top spot in Sunday's race. Kent ran a near perfect race but was followed closely by Louisiana's Alex Ardoin. Alex ran a great race and, once again, impressed everyone with his speed. Mikael Grenier returned to the podium for the second time in as many races. Adam Christodoulou had a suspension failure early in the race which sidelined him and ultimately dropped him from the top spot in the overall points.
(photo: Eric McCombs/Star Mazda)

Star Mazda
Thunderbolt Raceway (NJMP)
Round 4 Results
Round 5 Results