The 2010 BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda season is drawing to a close and with two rounds left, the championship is mathematically still open to the top six contenders: Spencer Pigot, Isaac Lyons, Felix Serralles, Dennis Trebing, Ashley Freiberg and Nick Andries. Comprised of seven doubleheader weekends, the young drivers of the National Series have been racing on some of America's best tracks, providing some of the best on-track entertainment of the year.
The final two rounds of the season will take place Sept. 28-Oct. 1 at Road Atlanta. With 11 podium finishes in 12 rounds under his belt, championship points leader and MAZDASPEED Development driver Pigot has a strong championship lead, but Lyons is just 20 points behind and determined as ever. Last month at Road America, Pigot and Lyons earned finishing spots on both podiums with race winners Trebing and Serralles. Trebing claimed his third win of the season at the historic track, breaking the three-way championship points tie between him, Serralles and Freiberg. Serralles, Skip Barber Karting Shootout winner and MAZDASPEED Development driver won his first National race in July at New Jersey Motorsports Park then carried that momentum to Road America and won the second race event in the doubleheader weekend.
Recently at Mid Ohio Sports Car Course for a Skip Barber Regional Summer Series race weekend, Freiberg not only won a formula race, but two MAZDASPEED Challenge races in a Mazda MX-5 Cup car as well. Showing improvement with every race, Freiberg will carry this momentum into the final rounds and prove to be a serious runner for position. Currently fifth in the championship, Freiberg has shown herself to be a consistent and focused young driver, as have all the competitors this season.
Freiberg's closest competitor in the point standings is Nick Andries, following just six points behind. In the last four rounds, Andries has claimed the fastest laps of three races. If he qualifies well and continues to set the fastest lap, Andries could claim his first race win of the season. Scott Anderson claimed his first top five finish in Round 5 at Virginia International Raceway and has made it in the top five twice more since. With one podium under his belt, Anderson has had an impressive rookie season, learning the tracks with skill and knowing when to fight for position. In the previous round at Road America, Brandon Newey stood out, running near the front of the pack and even leading laps before contact took him out in the final lap of Round 12. Also improving with every race, Newey will be one to watch this race weekend. Mukul Sud, who previously this year won a scholarship at the Skip Barber Karting Shootout, was absent in the last event at Road America, but will be returning to the track for the final two rounds of the weekend.