Polesitter Connor De Phillippi won his first race of the season in the final round of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear at Road Atlanta. De Phillipi's win also clinched the "Rookie of the Year" award, along with third place in the championship. His drive was a study in excellent execution and he led from start to finish, crossing the finish line with 4.5 seconds in hand over the second-place finisher, Anders Krohn.
Conor Daly, who clinched the series championship with a win from the pole in Round 12 at Mosport, took the last podium spot and added another title to his resume: the VISITFLORIDA Cup, a 7-race championship-within-a-championship sponsored by the official tourism and marketing corporation for the state of Florida.
"We've been building up to this result during the last half of the season with teamwork and strong practice, qualifying and finishes," said De Phillippi. "The JDC Motorsports team worked extraordinarily hard and smart at this race and then it was up to me to execute the plan, which I did. We got a great start, managed the tires, managed the distance back to the second-place car and won the race. This is obviously a great way to end my rookie season in and I'm hoping to be back in Star Mazda next year and run for the championship."
De Phillippi, the 2009 Skip Barber Pro Series champion, won his drive in the 2010 Star Mazda Championship courtesy of the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Driver Development Ladder, the unique automaker-backed program that provides funding for champions from karting to the top levels of the sport to move up the ladder.
Rounding out the top-5 were Argentine rookie Martin Scuncio, who finished fourth in his first start in the Star Mazda Championship, and Frenchman Tristan Vautier, who placed fifth in the championship.