With Rounds 7 and 8 of the 2011 BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National presented by Mazda championship complete, sophomore racer Scott Anderson still holds onto the championship lead, but by a smaller margin. Clinching the win for Round 8, Anderson was able to maintain his lead, but Brandon Newey closed the championship points gap from 10 points to two after last weekend's event at Road America by adding a pole position, a race win and another podium finish to his season.
Skip Barber Racing School Karting Scholarship winners and MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development drivers Trent Hindman and Danilo Estrela were the only other two drivers to place in the top five for both events, solidifying Hindman's third place in the points, and advancing Estrela up from seventh to fifth. Estrela is only two points away from Thomas McGregor, who currently remains in fourth.
Race 1, Round 7 of 16 California Scents polesitter Brandon Newey led the field to the green flag for Round 7, but
by Turn 5, moved to second as Sebastian Ordonez took the lead. The draft at Road America added another strategic element to the equal car championship, allowing drivers to work with or against each other to gain advantage on track.
Thomas McGregor made good time on the first laps, impressively working his way up from starting 10th to the front of the pack. Trent Hindman and McGregor fought their way up to the front of the field, both shortly assuming the lead. At the halfway point, Ordonez re-assumed the lead over Hindman and started to gain a several car length lead, with Hindman and Newey in tow.
Newcomer Jack Mitchell Jr. suffered a possible mechanical issue and was forced to retire in lap nine. Hindman led the field to the white flag with McGregor in tow. In the final corner, Newey and McGregor passed Hindman to take the first two spots on the podium, marking Newey's second win of the season. Only 0.084sec separated Newey from McGregor. Danilo Estrela smoothly progressed with each lap and crossed the finish line in fourth, 0.430sec ahead of newcomer Kyle Kaiser. A blocking penalty on McGregor moved Hindman and Estrela each up one position to take second and third on the podium.
OFFICIAL Results for Round 7 of 16 at Road America, 4-mile road course
Saturday, July 2, 2011
1. (1) Brandon Newey, 18, Indianapolis, IN
2. (2) Trent Hindman (+0.209), 15, Wayside, NJ
3. (8) Danilo Estrela (+0.254), 17, Goiania, Brazil
4. (9) Kyle Kaiser (+0.684) 15, Santa Clara, CA
5. (7) Zachary Silver (+1.669), 14 ,Hinsdale, IL
6. (5) Scott Anderson (+1.676), 22, Fort Collins, CO
7. (11) Andrew Hobbs (+7.741), 17, Glendale, WI
8. (4) Shelby Blackstock (+ 14.585), 21, Nashville, TN
9. (10) Thomas McGregor (+20.084) 19, Saskastoon, Canada
10. (3) Sebastian Ordonez (+21.889), 16, Deerfield Beach, FL
11. (6) Jack Mitchell, Jr. (+2 Laps), 14,Clarendon Hills
Race length: 10 laps of 4.0-mile road course
Time of race: 25 minutes
Conditions: Sunny, dry and warm
Margin of victory: 0.029 sec.
Lap leaders: Brandon Newey 1; Thomas McGregor 2; Trent Hindman 3; Brandon Newey 4; Sebastian Ordonez 5; Newey 6; Hindman 7-9; Newey 10
Fastest race lap: Zachary Silver (2:32.498 / 94.427 mph)
California Scents Most Progressive: Danilo Estrela and Kyle Kaiser
Race 2, Round 8 of 16 California Scents polesitter Sebastian Ordonez led the field to green for the second time in the 2011 race season but a clean race start combined with the draft at the historic track allowed the field to stay close. By the end of the first lap, Trent Hindman passed Ordonez for the lead.
By lap two, points leader Scott Anderson caught up and gained the lead with the rest of the field close behind. Laps two through 10 were a constant game of musical chairs between Anderson, Brandon Newey and newcomer Zachary Silver. The three young racers exchanged the top three positions with almost every turn, and slowly worked their way away from the field. At the halfway point, Shelby Blackstock was running in ninth when a mechanical issue took him out of the event.
MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development drivers Trent Hindman and Danilo Estrela found themselves fighting over the fourth and fifth positions and wisely started to work together to use the draft to catch back up to the race leaders. With one lap to go, Estrela made a pass on Hindman in Turn 5, but ultimately Hindman took the position as they crossed the finish line in fourth and fifth. The finish marked Hindman's eighth top five finish in eight races.
Anderson took home his third win of the season with Newey only 0.021sec behind. Skip Barber National newcomer Silver impressed all in attendance by not only battling upfront with the sophomore racers for the entirety of the event but also leading laps and finishing third on the podium.
Results for Round 8 of 16 at Road America, 4 mile road course
Sunday, July 3, 2011
1. (7) Scott Anderson, 22, Fort Collins, CO
2. (5) Brandon Newey (+0.021), 18, Indianapolis, IN
3. (8) Zachary Silver (+0.047), 14, Hinsdale, IL
4. (3) Trent Hindman (+1.691), 15, Wayside, NJ
5. (4) Danilo Estrela (+1.899), 17, Goiania, Brazil
6. (2) Thomas McGregor (+10.673) , 19, Saskastoon, Canada
7. (9) Kyle Kaiser (+10.753) 15, Santa Clara, CA
8. (1) Sebastian Ordonez (+11.316), 16, Deerfield Beach, FL
9. (10) Andrew Hobbs (+ 1 Lap), 17, Glendale, WI
10. (6) Shelby Blackstock (+ 5 Laps), 21, Nashville, TN
11. (11) Jack Mitchell, Jr. (+9 Laps), 14,Clarendon Hills
Race length: 10 laps of 4.0-mile road course
Time of race: 25 minutes
Conditions: Overcast, dry and warm
Margin of victory: 0.021 sec.s
Lap leaders: Sebastian Ordonez 1; Scott Anderson 2-3; Zachary Silver 4; Brandon Newey 5-6; Silver 7; Newey 8; Anderson 9-10
Fastest race lap: Trent Hindman (2:32.670 / 94.321 mph)
California Scents Most Progressive: Zachary Silver
Parathyroid.com Most Cumulative Points Winners:
1. Brandon Newey
2. Trent Hindman and Scott Anderson
3. Danilo Estrela and Zachary Silver
Championship Point Standings after 8 of 16 Rounds
2011 BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National presented by Mazda
1. 246 Scott Anderson
2. 244 Brandon Newey
3. 234 Trent Hindman
4. 217 Thomas McGregor
5. 206 Sebastian Ordonez
6. 202 Shelby Blackstock
7. 200 Danilo Estrela
8. 135 Devin Jones
9. 92 Remo Ruscitti
10. 90 Franco Aragones
11. 54 Scott Heckert
12. 45 Mukul Sud
13. 41 Patrick Gallagher
2011 BFGoodrich/Skip Barber Cup
1. 70 Brian Cook
2. 70 Peter Ludwig
3. 64 Greg Strelzoff
4. 30 Pat Daly