Wednesday, December 08, 2010 After four exciting days of driving education, invaluable seminars, nail biting on track sessions, and much deliberation, the winners of the 14th Annual Skip Barber Karting Shootout have been chosen. Forty-four exceptionally talented karters competed at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for over $200,000 in scholarships to further their motorsports career, courtesy of MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development and the FIA Motor Sport Safety Development Fund. It was no easy task for the panel of judges including Skip Barber Racing School instructors, Team USA Scholarship founder Jeremy Shaw and Speed Channel personality Bob Varsha. Trent Hindman, 15, of Wayside, New Jersey and 17 year old Danilo Estrela of Long Branch, New Jersey became the biggest winners of the weekend, each receiving a scholarship to compete in the full 2011 season of the BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda, valued at $52,000 each. Both young drivers showed incredible skill both on and off the track, applying feedback and improving their on track performance.
15-year old Tristan Nunez of Boca Ranton, Florida won a scholarship for half of 2011 season of the BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda. 17-year old Canadian Stefan Rzadzinski received a full season in the Skip Barber Regional Race Series. There were three drivers that showed equal levels of talent and were each given three half seasons in the Skip Barber Regional Race Series: 16 year old Californian Kenton Koch, 15 year old Canadian Scott Hargrove, and 14 year old Californian Kyle Kaiser.
Pictured left to right: Scott Hargrove, Kyle Kaiser, Tristan Nunez, Danilo Estrela, Todd Snyder, Trent Hindman, Stefan Rzadinski, Kenton Koch
This was of course, no easy choice to make. Each karter was evaluated and every time sheet scrutinized. "As a father of the young driver who has been through the barber system," says Varsha, "I'd like to think I had a special feel for what the family goes through in a competition as tough as this one. I have to say selecting the winners from a field of young drivers is among the hardest things I have to do because I know how much it means to everyone of them. Still there's a lot of satisfaction in helping somebody." Overall, the 14th Annual Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shootout was a great success. Forty-four young karters learned skills that will not only save their lives but help advance their careers. "It's what we're all about," Michael Culver CEO of Skip Barber Racing School. "We're about teaching people how to drive better and it was very rewarding to see how quickly these kids got up to speed. Racings in our DNA. This is the most important event in our calendar. It proves the fact that our system works." With the help of Dean Case from Mazda, Derek Daly, Bob Varsha, Jeremy Shaw and Skip Barber Racing School, these karters have bettered themselves as athletes and aspiring professional race car drivers. "There is a tremendous about of satisfaction from being involved in a program like this," said Jeremy Shaw. "The overall quality of the drivers was very impressive. The Skip Barber Racing School organization does an awful lot of good for drivers young and old and it's good to see so much being put back into the sport."
The competitors of the 2010-2011 14th Annual Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shootout
Photos from the weekend will soon be available
here.
