The Ladder Report: Feb. 14 Edition

First of all, I apologize for the delay in posting news.  The first part of last week was a little slow so I decided to hold off and post everything this weekend.  As it turns out, there has been a fair amount of junior formula news in the last few days, so I'll do my best to give you a recap of the week's happenings. 

Low Entry Numbers

• Who's Going to Step Up and Help Today's Drivers?- It's no surprise that the world economy is having an impact on today's racing drivers and teams.  Unfortunately, this is true in every form of racing today.  I remain hopeful that some of today's top up-and-coming drivers will find the necessary support to compete during these difficult times.  

Skip Barber National Championship

• Daniel Lloyd Commits to Skip Barber National- British sports car racer Daniel Lloyd has committed to running the 2010 Skip Barber National Championship.  The 17-year-old spent last season in the ELF Renault Clio Cup where he won the Winter Championship.

USF2000 National Championship

• Bryson Schutte and Taylor Gates Test with Andersen Racing- After a very successful season in the karting ranks Bryson Schutte, Taylor Gates, Dalton Kellet and Andrew Waring were awarded a USF2000 test at Andersen RacePark.

Star Mazda Championship

• Linares Racing to run 2010 Star Mazda Championship- Carlos Linares will run the 2010 Star Mazda Championship for Linares Racing which will be operated by his older brother Gustavo Linares.  The family-run team will be the first Venezuelan team in Star Mazda history.
• Star Mazda Champ To Receive Indy Lights Test- It was announced last week that the Star Mazda champion will receive a Indy Lights test as part of the Road to Indy.  The addition of a FIL test is great news but it has many wondering, "Is That All?".  

Atlantic Championship


• The Atlantic Championship Offers a Fixed-Budget- The Atlantic Championship has decided to offer drivers a fixed budget of $495,000 USD which includes eight test days.  It's probably a smart move considering that they only have one confirmed driver for the 2010 season.  The first race is just 32 days away.

Indy Lights

• Stefan Wilson Signs with Bryan Herta Autosport - Stefan Wilson, who is the younger brother of IndyCar driver Justin Wilson, has signed with Bryan Herta for the full 2010 Indy Lights season.  Last year, Stefan competed in six FIL events... all of which were road and street course events.  
• Indy Lights: Who's Testing With Who?- Sam Schmidt Motorsports, HVM/Team Stargate Worlds and Andretti Autosport took the opportunity to do some testing last week in Florida.  Notable un-signed drivers taking part were Yelmer Buurman, Esteban Guerrieri, Jean-Karl Vernay and Simona De Silvestro. 
• Team Moore Signs Adrian Campos Jr.-Team Moore signed 21-year-old Adrian Campos Jr. ---who is the son of former F1 driver and current team owner Adrian Campos Sr. --- to compete in the 2010 Indy Lights series.  He will be partnered with Dutch racer Junior Strous.
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If you missed the first edition of The Ladder Report... you can read it here.

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