Karting Scholarship Shoot-out Day Three: Vorrath Is Biggest Winner

Sunday, January 09, 2005 MONTEREY, Calif. (Jan. 9) - Scholarships totaling almost $100,000 were awarded to five young karters at the ninth annual Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shoot-out following three days of on-track assessment at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. The biggest winner was Jordy Vorrath of White Rock, B.C., Canada: He earned a fully paid season of competition in the 2005 Skip Barber National Championship Presented by RACER magazine, worth $39,000. The 23-year-old was quickest in almost every session over the three days, then won the final shoot-out session early Sunday afternoon. ''Fantastic, outstanding,'' said Vorrath after he was named the winner of the full National seat. ''That last session, I said to myself, 'Be consistent, do NOT fall off the road, and go fast.' It worked!''

Jordy Vorrath, seen here entering Laguna Seca's tricky Turn Six in the final ''shoot-out'' session, won almost $40,000 to compete in this year's Skip Barber National Championship.

Two karters earned half-seasons in the National. Chris Carmody, 20, of Valencia, Calif., and Cole Nelson, 17, of Atwater, Calif., now have approximately $18,000 each to enter the 2005 championship. Two scholarships for the Skip Barber Regional Race Series were won by Justin Moon, 16, of Shingle Springs, Calif., and Chris Wehrheim, 18 of Norcross, Ga. Each of these scholarships has a value of approximately $12,000, enough for a half-season of racing in any of the four (East, West, South, Midwest) championships.

The five winners: From the left, Chris Carmody (in plaid shirt), Cole Nelson, Justin Moon (brother of four-time 2004 National race winner Benny), Chris Wehrheim and Jordy Vorrath.

Vorrath, Carmody and Wehrheim were part of the group of 16 karters -- half of which are Snap-On Stars of Karting competitors -- that are automatically invited to each year's Shoot-out. Nelson and Moon were part of the 30 at-large entrants that qualified for this year's scholarship run-off. The Skip Barber National Championship Presented by RACER is the junior-formula pro championship won last year by Marco Andretti. Photos by Rock Rizzo Rick Roso