Junior Open Wheel Talent

STORM BREWING: USF2000 drivers test at Iowa Speedway in 2010. The event marked the first time the entire 'Road to Indy' development ladder raced together at one venue.
(Photo: Ryan - JuniorOpenWheelTalent.com)

Are you looking to keep track of who’s racing with whom in the Mazda Road to Indy development ladder?  Well, you’re in luck.

Make the jump to read about each of the USF2000 National Championship drivers who committed early for the 2012 season.

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Happy 2012, everyone.

Thank you for your support and readership in 2011. Bring on the new season.

For those who were unable to attend PRI this year, Fox Sports Net will air two episodes of the Red Bull Kart Fight. I set my DVR this morning. Here’s the schedule:

• Jan. 2 – 4:30 p.m. simulcast – Karter Division
• Jan. 9 – 4:30 p.m. simulcast – All Star Division

For up-to-date news and views on karting and junior formula racing follow @JOWT on Twitter or follow on Facebook.

Indy Lights cars are lined up post-qualifying at Iowa Speedway. (Photo: Ryan - JuniorOpenWheelTalent.com)

INDYCAR released the 12-race 2012 Firestone Indy Lights schedule earlier this week. One event in mid-October is yet to be named.

The current release has eight venues returning from 2011, but drops the Milwaukee Mile, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and Kentucky Speedway. A few new additions have been added.

On June 2-3, the Series will run at Raceway at Belle Isle Park. On July 21-22 — midway through the Canadian stops — drivers will compete at Edmonton City Centre Airport. Then, on Sept. 15, teams will make the haul to Fontana Speedway in California for the first time in seven years.

The schedule is split between road courses, street circuits, and ovals. Here’s how it breaks down.

• 63.6% – Street Circuits (including Edmonton)
• 9.0% – Road Courses
• 27.3% – Ovals

*excluding the yet-to-be-named event in October.

The current list is certainly street-circuit heavy, but that’s not a bad thing. Drivers have less (or zero) opportunity to do pre-event testing on those tracks, which should help level the playing field. Additionally, street circuits tend to provide additional challenges for drivers and engineers (surface paint, bumps, manhole covers, surface oils, less run-off area, etc.) which, in theory, requires more of the driver in terms of feedback and adaptability.

Hit the jump to see the 2012 Firestone Indy Lights schedule.

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Happy Holidays from JuniorOpenWheelTalent.com.

A special thank you goes out to everyone who has visited JOWT and supported the coverage of today’s up-and-coming drivers.

Posting will be a bit light over the next few days as I enjoy some much-needed downtime with family and friends. Hopefully, you will be doing the same.

Happy Holidays. Bring on 2012!

-Ryan

Danilo Estrela (4) leads Nick Neri (7), Jake Eidson (46) and the rest of the field through the Corkscrew on his way to victory in Round 3 at Mazda Raceway. (Photo: Debbie Ebalobo, courtesy of Skip Barber)

Several drivers have been honing their skills this off-season in the Skip Barber Winter Series and will continue to do so over the coming months.

Thankfully, the dreadful non-racing months are no longer wholly encompassed with bench racing. Drivers are actively prepping for 2012. The following is a brief update on the Skip Barber Winter Series.

Round 1-2

The Series opened midway through November with two races at Road Atlanta. Two extremely talented up-and-coming drivers earned a trip to victory lane despite fierce competition from other junior open-wheel talent.

Nick Neri — runner-up in the 2011 Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shootout — picked up his first career open-wheel win on the 12-turn, 2.5-mile undulating Georgia circuit. Neri passed pole-sitter Danilo Estrela under hard-braking into Turn 10a on Lap 8. The two would trade the point five times until Estrela suffered an off in the closing laps. Jake Eidson clocked the fastest lap of the race en route to second place at the checkered flag. Azim Gandhi worked his way from 18th to sixth-place, improving 12 spots.

The second race of the weekend presented onlookers with an equally competitive battle for supremacy. After running at the front and then suffering an untimely demise from the opening race (due to a mechanical issue), Jack Mitchell Jr. proved he belongs at the sharp-end of the field by surviving a multi-car battle for the race win. Mitchell Jr., Estrela (2nd), Eidson (3rd), and Neri (4th) all took their turn at the front before the checkered flag waved. Estrela picked up seven spots in his charge to second-place.

Round 3-4

On Dec. 10-11 the drivers traveled West to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for Rounds 3 and 4 of the 2011-12 Winter Series. Estrela dominated the opening race by snaring pole and later leading every lap of Round 4 on the prestigious 11-turn circuit. Finishing second was newcomer Adrian Starrantino, who proved his mettle by edging Neri and Mitchell Jr. at the stripe. Starrantino clocked the fastest lap of the 16-lap race (140.510) under cloudy skies.

In Round 4, Mitchell Jr. returned to the top-spot after repeatedly swapping the lead with Neri. Eidson was third with Starrantino fifth. Thanks to his consistency, Neri leads the drivers’ championship with 125 points after four races. Eidson is second, trailing by 11 points with Jack Mitchell Jr. (-13) in third.

The drivers return to action for Rounds 5 and 6 on Jan. 21-22 and Homestead-Miami Speedway.

For up-to-date news and views on karting and junior formula racing follow @JOWT on Twitter, or follow on Facebook.

Check out the official SKUSA SuperNationals XV highlight video. It’s a great edit by Wyatt Lloyd which truly captures the excitement surrounding North America’s largest go-kart race. Enjoy.

The 2012 Ontario Formula Ford Championship schedule was announced this morning. The Series — recently renamed the Toyo Tires F1600 Championship — will feature 14 races over seven stops at three venues.

2012 Toyo Tires F1600 Championship Schedule

May 5-6                    Mosport International Raceway
May 26-27              Shannonville Motorsports Park
June 30-July 1      Mosport
July 21-22               Mosport
Sept. 1-2                    Calabogie Motorsports Park
Sept. 15-16               Mosport
Sept. 29-30               Mosport

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For up-to-date news and views on karting and junior formula racing follow @JOWT on Twitter or follow on Facebook.

For those missing the Atlantic Championship cars, all is not lost. Not completely.

The Atlantic Championship Series will be launched in 2012 by Formula Race Promotions with sanctioning from SCCA Pro Racing. The new series will be open to SCCA-legal Formula Atlantic cars and will run a six-race championship with stops at Road Atlanta, New Jersey Motorsports Park, and Summit Point.

2012 Atlantic Championship Schedule

• May 10-12 Road Atlanta
• June 29-July 1 NJMP
• August 24-26 Summit Point

The F1600 Formula F Championship Series revised its 2012 schedule today, dropping the May 10-12 Road Atlanta stop from the tentative list. The Georgia event was removed at the request of team owners and drivers looking to reduce costs. The Series will now run 12 races at six venues.

The updated F1600 schedule can be found below.

April 14 – 15: VIRginia International Raceway (with Historics)
May 25 – 26: Lime Rock Park (with TransAm)
June 30 – July 1: New Jersey Motorsports Park (with ARCA and TransAm)
July 28 – July 29: Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (with SCCA)
August 25 – 26: Summit Point (with CCS Motorcycle Racing)
October 13 – 14: Watkins Glen International (with Historics)