Junior Open Wheel Talent

Josef Newgarden can cross his name off my list of talented drivers without a ride for 2010.  The young American has just signed with Carlin for the 2010 GP3 season.

For the last week or so there was a rumor floating around that Newgarden had signed with the team following a successful test at Paul Ricard.  However, nothing was confirmed until this morning.

It’s great to see Carlin pick up both Dean Smith and Josef Newgarden heading into the GP3 season.  Both drivers have shown tremendous talent but have struggled to find the necessary funding for a good ride this year.  Those worries have dissipated with a signed contract- thanks to Trevor Carlin (Carlin Racing Director).

Newgarden, 19, finished 2nd in the 2009 MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain while driving for JTR.  He completed the season with 9 wins, 4 pole positions, 16 podiums and 20 top-five finishes.  GP3 will be a pretty big jump for Josef but I’m confident in his ability to adapt quickly, especially under the team guidance of Carlin.  I’m really looking forward to watching his progress and development in 2010.

American driver Joel Miller is currently planning to run a one-off Indy Lights race at Long Beach with Andersen Racing.  His entry is yet to be made official but things are looking very promising for the 21-year-old formula car star. 

Update:  I received confirmation that his entry is official for Long Beach.

The opportunity to run at Long Beach is a dream come true for the Hesperia, California native.  He has been working extremely hard this off-season to find the funding for a Indy Lights ride and now with the help of several local businesses and family friends – his dream just might become a reality.

“I literally just took off driving from home to Long Beach, and I visited
every single company and person I knew along the way,” Miller said in a press release written by Restart Communications.  ”I started when the first place opened and I stopped when they were closed. My dad has a little electrical contracting shop, and he has been keeping people informed about how my racing has been going. Even if I didn’t know them but Dad did, I stopped by.”

As noted above, the opportunity is just a one-off for now, but Joel remains hopeful that he will be able to run a few more Indy Lights races this season.  Regardless of what the future holds, the University of California, Riverside mechanical engineering major is very appreciative of all the support he has received.  It hasn’t come from just one individual or one business, he has reached out to as many people as possible and, fortunately, many of them seem willing to help him take the next step in his racing career.

“You can’t walk into a small company and throw a big figure at them and
expect them to be able to do anything with you,” Miller continued. “But with smaller amounts from a lot of different companies and individuals added together, by the end of the day I was able to get close enough to call Dan [Andersen] and say I think I can do it.  I still have some more calls to make, but I feel confident I’ll have enough by the race weekend.”

This is really great news for Joel.  I’m excited to see him back behind-the-wheel of a race car in 2010.  He’s been impressive in everything he’s ever driven.  I knew he was a very talented driver during his days in go-karts so it was disappointing to see him miss all the junior formula season-openers in 2010.  He certainly deserves this opportunity – so, it’s nice to see people working with him to achieve it.

Miller tested an Indy Lights car with Andersen Racing last December at Palm Beach International Raceway.  Just over a year prior to that, he tested a FIL car on the Sebring short course.  If he’s given a proper opportunity, there is no doubt in my mind that he could be a front runner in any series.

Australian driver Daniel Erickson, 22, is planning to team up with Jon Baytos for this weekend’s opening round of the F2000 Championship Series at Virginia International Raceway.

Erickson was originally planning to run the 2010 Star Mazda Championship after testing with Mundill Racing in early December.  Unfortunately, funding woes put that championship just out of reach for the time being.  If he does come up with adequate funding for a Star Mazda ride in the near future, his experience this weekend in a F2000 car will only prove beneficial for his development.

Last season, he competed in the MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain and had a very successful year.  He won the Donnington round after starting from pole position and compiled a total of 1 win, 3 pole positions, 7 podiums and 22 top-ten finishes in 25 starts.  He finished fifth in the final standings.

He should do quite well this weekend.  It will be interesting to see if he’s able to come up with some additional funding to run a full season.

Tim Kautz will join Bobby Caldwell at Liberty Motorsports this season for a full 14-race campaign in the 2010 F2000 Championship Series.  Kautz, of Geneva, Illinois, has a strong background in Formula Ford racing, which includes SCCA Club Championships and a win at the 2009 June Sprints where he started from pole and set the fastest lap of the race.  You can learn more about his racing endeavors here.

Under the guidance and assistance of FAZZT Racing Team Maryeve Dufault will join Team Apex for three Star Mazda events in 2010.  She will run two ovals and one street course this year as a FAZZT development driver.

It was announced back in January that the 27-year-old was chosen as the team’s development driver.  I stand by my statement then, she is a bit of a surprise pick for the program, but it’s great to see more teams stepping up to the plate to help develop drivers.

Maryeve will test a Star Mazda car with Team Apex at O’Reilly Raceway Park on May 5th, 2010 in preparation for her first event with the team: the Night Before the 500.  She will follow that up with the June race at Iowa Speedway and then conclude her season at Trois-Rivieres in August.  It’s possible that a few more events could be added at a later date.

Zach Veach Testing an Atlantic Championship car

Zach Veach has signed with Andretti Autosport for the 2010 USF2000 National Championship.  The 15-year-old race driver was originally planning to compete in the Atlantic Championship with Jensen Motorsport.  Unfortunately, due to the series demise, those plans were abandoned.

It’s probably a better fit for Zach to spend a year or two in the USF2000 National Championship anyway.  The jump to the Atlantic Championship–without any previous car experience would have been huge.  That said, all his off-season training in a Formula BMW and an Atlantic Championship car, under the guidance of Eric Jensen, should prove beneficial this season.

Veach will partner fellow 15-year-old race driver Sage Karam at Andretti Autosport this season.  Zach’s first event with the team will take place May 29th, 2010 at O’Reilly Raceway Park in Indianapolis the night before the Indy 500.

It was announced this morning that 2007 F2000 Championship Series champion Cole Morgan will make his return in 2010.  Morgan will be driving for Greisiger Motorspots and K-Hill Motorsports as part of a joint venture between Kurt Greisiger and Kris Kaiser.

After missing the opening round of the 2007 F2000 Championship, Morgan went on to win 6 races.  He stood on the podium seven times in 10-races.  Unfortunately, following the 2007 championship, his racing career was put on hold due to inadequate funding.  A battle he is still fighting.  For now, his contract is only for Virginia International Raceway and Watkins Glen but he remains hopeful that he will be able to run a full campaign.

Cole has always been a fierce competitor.

“My expectations are as high as you can possibly imagine,” commented the 2007 Series champion in a release. “Last time I ran a race in F2000 I won and took the championship, so anything short of a win will be a disappointment. I’m not here to participate; I’m here to continue to make a name for myself as well as K-Hill and Greisiger.”

The addition of Morgan to the field will certainly add some depth and make things interesting.  I’m hopeful that he will be able to run a full season.  Stay tuned for additional updates.

Jonathan Summerton at St. Petersburg (2009)

It was confirmed yesterday that Jonathan Summerton will drive the Walker Racing entry at this weekend’s Indy Lights race in St. Petersburg, Florida.  Summerton, a Florida native himself, is looking forward to getting back behind the wheel after a few different opportunities dissipated over the 2009-2010 off season.

Fortunately, he had the opportunity to test an Indy Lights car with Team PBIR last week at Putnam Park, IN. in preparation for this weekend’s race.

At this time, the race with Walker Racing is strictly a one-off opportunity but if all goes well this weekend, there is a good chance we will see him back in the car soon.

Jonathan, 21, ran six Indy Lights’ races last season with Andersen Racing and two of them occurred at St. Petersburg.  He finished 2nd in his debut race and put in an astonishing drive in Race-2 by going from 14th to 4th on the street circuit.

He completed the 2009 season in the Atlantic Championship where he logged 4 wins, 5 pole positions and 9 podiums en route to a 2nd place finish at season’s end.

I had the opportunity to hold a Live Q & A session with Jonathan a few weeks ago.  If you missed it, make sure to replay it here.

James Winslow

It was made official today that British driver James Winslow will pilot the 4th car at Sam Schmidt Motorsports during this weekend’s season opener on the Streets of St. Petersburg.  I contacted James shortly after hearing the news and he confirmed that he will, in fact, be driving the car for the full season.

Earlier this month James completed a very successful test with the squad at Sebring International Raceway.

In order to prepare for this weekend’s debut on the Streets of St. Petersburg, Winslow completed another test with the team yesterday at Homestead.

Last season, James competed in the Atlantic Championship.

Nick Andries

Nick Andries will make his Star Mazda debut this weekend on the Streets of  St. Petersburg with Andersen Racing.  The 19-year-old race driver is currently competing in the Skip Barber National Championship but decided to make a one-off appearance in Star Mazda.  This will be his first career Star Mazda start.

Away from his racing endeavors Nick is currently pursuing a mechanical engineering degree at St. Petersburg College.

After four races in the 2010 Skip Barber National championship, he is ranked fourth in the points.  He has finished all but one race inside the top-5, including a near win at Homestead-Miami Speedway where he finished 2nd trailing Spencer Pigot by 0.013 seconds.

This will be a pretty big transition for Nick but he has a lot of potential and I’m sure he was able to garner quite a bit of support from the local community for this weekend’s  “home” race.