newey-and-thompson-nominated-for-team-usa
Sharon, CT -Two F1600 Formula F Championship Series drivers have been nominated for the Team USA Scholarship: Brandon Newey and Colin Thompson. Both are race winners so far in 2012 and Newey leads the Championship points.
The candidates will vie for three fully funded rides in England later this year. Two youngsters will be entered under the Team USA Scholarship/Cliff Dempsey Racing banner in the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch on October 27-28 and the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone on November 3-4, while one slightly more experienced driver will be invited to contest the final two rounds of the Formula Renault BARC Championship at Silverstone on October 6-7.
The adjudicating panel will include INDYCAR CEO Randy Bernard, American Le Mans Series President Scott Atherton, Director of Motorsports at Mazda North American Operations John Doonan, Cooper Tires Director of Motorsports Chris Pantani, USF2000 series promoter Dan Andersen, ALMS team Level 5 Motorsports Race Engineer Jeff Braun and, representing the Road Racing Drivers Club’s widely acclaimed SAFEisFAST.com initiative, Performance Prime founder Dr. Jacques Dallaire and PitFit Training President Jim Leo. Former Team USA Scholarship winners Herta, Kimball, Hildebrand, Newgarden, Hand and Sellers also will be on hand to assist and offer advice.
“The Team USA Scholarship continues to be an important part of shaping our home-grown stars of INDYCAR,” said Randy Bernard, INDYCAR CEO. “Drivers such as J.R. Hildebrand, Charlie Kimball and Josef Newgarden have come through this program and I look forward to working with the panel to identifying future talent for our sport.”
“I’m excited to meet some of the up-and-coming racers with the Team USA Scholarship program,” added Kimball, who recently stepped onto an IZOD IndyCar Series podium for the first time after guiding his No. 83 NovoLog FlexPen, Novo Nordisk Chip Ganassi Racing entry to a fine second place on the streets of Toronto. “Having the opportunity to compete as part of Team USA in 2004 is still one of my best memories as a young driver and a real help to my career. I look forward to seeing this year’s candidates and hopefully I can pass along some advice to them too.”
The Team USA Scholarship is supported by Doug Mockett & Company, Road Racing Drivers Club, Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, Walldinger Racing, Robo-Pong, INDYCAR’s Mazda Road to Indy, Mazda, Honda Performance Development, NameSilo, Silicon Salvage, McMurry Inc., Robertson Racing, PitFit Training, Sparco USA, RACER Magazine, eFormulaCarNews.com, Speedstar Management, Styled Aesthetic and Manifest Group as well as numerous past Scholarship winners.