Eight Candidates Named for 21st Annual Team USA Scholarship
Elkhart Lake, Wis. – The Team USA Scholarship enters its third decade of providing opportunities for talented young American race car drivers with today’s nominations for the “Class of 2010” who will vie for a pair of scholarships to contest the traditional end-of-season Formula Ford events in England in October and November.
Mazda, Bob Bondurant School, Styled Aesthetic Lend Support to Team USA
Elkhart Lake, Wis. – The Team USA Scholarship is proud to announce the addition of three new corporate partners – Mazda, the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving and Styled Aesthetic – all of which share the same goal: to help promote the careers of this country’s most promising young race car drivers.
Team USA Enters New Decade; Graduates Still Making Headlines
Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif. – Almost 20 years have elapsed since the Team USA Scholarship was founded with the intention of assisting talented, young American race car drivers in the early stages of their careers.
Age 16 (born December 25, 1992), lives San Clemente, Calif. After starting go-karts at age 5, Connor won many championships in IKF, WKA and SKUSA and was chosen to represent the United States in the Granja Viana 500 go-kart race in Brazil in 2007. Victory in the Skip Barber National Shootout earned him a full ride in the National Series for 2008 as part of the MAZDASPEED Driver Development Program. Connor finished sixth in the National Series and won the Skip Barber West Coast Regional Championship, plus top rookie honors, after which he was voted E-Karting News Rising Star of the Year. This year he has won the Legends Silver State Championship at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and leads the BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda by 52 points heading into the final race weekend.
Brett Smrz
Age 18 (born February 28, 1991), lives Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Brett started racing at age 12 after his parents bought him a go-kart for Christmas. Brett won multiple national championships before moving into the car racing world in 2007. One week after qualifying on pole and finishing third in his first-ever professional race, a round of the Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup Series in Houston, he suffered an off-track incident which resulted in the amputation of his left leg below the knee. Brett recovered from the accident remarkably quickly and resumed his career in the Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup, Jim Russell Championship Series and the BFGoodrich Presents the Skip Barber National Powered by Mazda. He won the 2008 Russell Championship Series and claimed a Skip Barber victory earlier this year at VIR.
Age 16 (born December 25, 1992), lives San Clemente, Calif. After starting go-karts at age 5, Connor won many championships in IKF, WKA and SKUSA and was chosen to represent the United States in the Granja Viana 500 go-kart race in Brazil in 2007. Victory in the Skip Barber National Shootout earned him a full ride in the National Series for 2008 as part of the MAZDASPEED Driver Development Program. Connor finished sixth in the National Series and won the Skip Barber West Coast Regional Championship, plus top rookie honors, after which he was voted E-Karting News Rising Star of the Year. This year he has won the Legends Silver State Championship at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and leads the BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda by 52 points heading into the final race weekend.
Age 18 (born February 28, 1991), lives Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Brett started racing at age 12 after his parents bought him a go-kart for Christmas. Brett won multiple national championships before moving into the car racing world in 2007. One week after qualifying on pole and finishing third in his first-ever professional race, a round of the Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup Series in Houston, he suffered an off-track incident which resulted in the amputation of his left leg below the knee. Brett recovered from the accident remarkably quickly and resumed his career in the Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup, Jim Russell Championship Series and the BFGoodrich Presents the Skip Barber National Powered by Mazda. He won the 2008 Russell Championship Series and claimed a Skip Barber victory earlier this year at VIR. 