I apologize for my absence.  It's been over a month since I last wrote a Ladder Report here at PopOffValve.com.  It's been a busy month, to say the least - so I'm still working on getting caught up on everything. I can't promise that I will be updating here weekly, but I will do my best to feed your junior formula cravings on a semi-frequent basis.

Now, ... where to start?  I suppose we should just focus on the month of May.

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It's time to play catch-up on some of the latest junior formula news.  In this week's edition I will recap the latest driver signings, publish my F2000 Championship preview, and summarize all the rest.  As always, I hope you enjoy.

Make the jump for all the details...

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The 'Road to Indy' driver development program made its debut last weekend during the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. By all accounts it was a pretty exciting experience to see all the competitors from the USF2000 National Championship, Star Mazda Championship and the Indy Lights Championship racing together at the same venue as the IndyCar Series.  Interestingly enough, two American drivers found their way to victory lane over the weekend; Sage Karam in USF2000 and Conor Daly in Star Mazda.

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In the previous edition of The Ladder Report, I posted a poll asking readers "Which junior formula championship are you most excited to watch in 2010?".  For those who voted, thank you!  The response was pretty decent and produced the results I expected.  The Indy Lights championship was the clear-cut favorite which isn't surprising considering that this is an IndyCar blog ... but, it was still nice to see some of you vote for the lower level championships as well.  Make sure to continue to tune-in here and learn more about all the championships and follow along as we cover the stars of tomorrow.

Here is the latest from around the junior formula world...

Skip Barber National Championship

Isaac Lyons and Dennis Trebing Leave Sebring Victorious: The Skip Barber National Championship completed Rounds 3 & 4 over the weekend at Sebring International Raceway.  Isaac Lyons claimed his first career SBN win in Round 3 and Florida's Dennis Trebing became the first driver to repeat as a race winner in 2010.  Spencer Pigot, who leads the overall championship through four races, is the only driver to have finished on the podium in every race thus far into 2010.

USF2000 National Championship

This edition of The Ladder Report could have been entirely dedicated to the USF2000 National Championship considering the number of driver announcements over the last week.  The following is a list of who signed with whom during the last week.  Please out-click on the links below for more information on each individual driver. 

• Liberty Motorsports- Terrick Mansur, Matthew Powers
• ZSports Midwest- Ben Searcy
• JDC Motorsports- Mikhail Goikhberg, Raphael Abbate, Martin Sala

Star Mazda

Richard Kent Returns to Star Mazda:  Kent, who recently sampled an Indy Lights car at the Barber Motorsports Park open-test, announced that he will return to Star Mazda competition in 2010.  For now, he has only signed on for two events due to funding issues but remains hopeful that he will be able to run a full season.  

Tristan Vautier Wins Round 1:  French rookie Tristan Vautier won the opening round of the 2010 Star Mazda championship on Friday at Sebring International Raceway.  Jorge Goncalvez and Conor Daly finished 2nd and 3rd, respectively.  The drivers will return to action this weekend on the Streets of St. Petersburg.

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For much more on the junior open-wheel racing scene, be sure and visit JuniorOpenWheelTalent.com and follow JOWT on Twitter!

Well, it's been a busy week. 

There have been several driver announcements this week which is very encouraging after a relatively quiet winter. The grids may not be as full as we had hoped, but they are improving.  Here are a few of this week's announcements...

Skip Barber National Championship

Trebing and Pigot Win Opening Rounds- Two Floridians won the opening two-rounds of the 2010 Skip Barber National Championship, which, ironically, or perhaps not, were held in Florida at Homestead-Miami Speedway.  Dennis Trebing, of Cape Coral, Fla., won Round 1 and Spencer Pigot, of Windermere, Fla.,  won Round 2.  As usual the races were very close and featured several lead changes.

USF2000 National Championship

Patrick McKenna Signs with Cape Motorsports- Irishman Patrick McKenna, who won the prestigious Motorsport Ireland Dunlop Young Driver of the Year Award, has signed with Cape Motorsports for the 2010 USF2000 National Championship.  McKenna, 22, spent the 2009 season in the ultra-competitive MSA Formula Ford Championship of Great Britain. 

Sage Karam Signs with Andretti Autosport- Sage Karam, 15, of Nazareth, Pa., has signed with Andretti Autosport for the 2010 USF2000 National Championship.  Sage has truly impressed me in both karts and cars and I fully expect him to be a standout driver in 2010.  Watch for continued development throughout the season from this talented youngster. 

Josh Fielding Joins the Road-To-Indy- British karting standout Josh Fielding, 20, will join Patrick McKenna at Cape Motorsports for 2010.  This will be his first full-season in the car ranks. 

Chris Miller Plans to Pull Double Duty on the Streets of St. Petersburg- Chris Miller, who won the 2009 F2000 Championship, plans to run both the USF2000 and Star Mazda events during the St. Petersburg, Fla. stop. 

Star Mazda

Juncos Racing Signs Conor Daly- After evaluating some options in Europe, Conor Daly has decided to return to the Star Mazda Championship in 2010.  Last season, while competing in Star Mazda, Conor finished 3rd in the overall championship with 1 win, 1 pole position, 6 podiums and 9 top-five finishes. 

Hayden Duerson Commits to a Two-Race Deal with Juncos Racing- Hayden Duerson, 18, has signed a two-race contract with Juncos Racing to run the opening two events of the 2010 Star Mazda Championship.  Duerson has a pretty impressive resume in the karting and Skip Barber ranks. 

David Ostella Returns with AIM Autosport- Canadian David Ostella will return to Star Mazda competition this season with AIM Autosport.  He will join Michael Furfari who signed with the team in early January.

Indy Lights

James Winslow Tests with Sam Schmidt Motorsports- James Winslow, who competed in the 2009 Atlantic Championship, recently tested an Indy Lights car with Sam Schmidt Motorsports.  The 27-year-old British driver is hoping to join the Indy Lights field full-time in 2010.

Carmen Jorda Signs with Andersen Racing- Carmen Jorda, 21, who was initially linked to Walker Racing, has signed with Andersen Racing to run a full-schedule in the 2010 Firestone Indy Lights series.  She completed her first test with the team last month at the Barber Motorsports Park open-test. 

Junior Strous Joins HVM- After being released from his contract with Team Moore Racing, Junior Strous has signed with HVM Racing for 2010.  The initial plan is to run a full Indy Lights schedule with the possibility of testing/racing in the IndyCar series later this year. 

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For much more on the junior open-wheel racing scene, be sure and visit JuniorOpenWheelTalent.com and follow JOWT on Twitter!

Well, we've made it to March and there was actually a decent number of driver announcements over the past week. The Skip Barber National Championship will hold their first event of the 2010 season this coming weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.  So, the next time you see a Ladder Report ... the 2010 season will officially be underway. 

Here's a look back at some of the junior formula news from the last week.

Skip Barber National Championship

Skip Barber National Champion to Receive an Indy Lights Test with Bryan Herta Autosport: Bryan Herta Autosport announced a new partnership with the Skip Barber Racing School that will provide the 2010 Skip Barber National Champion with an Indy Lights test.  The affiliation will also allow the Skip Barber National competitors a chance to get a behind-the-scenes look at how an Indy Lights team operates during race weekends. 

Skip Barber Releases Entry List for Rounds 1 & 2: As noted above, the 2010 Skip Barber National Championship will get underway this weekend.  The entry list for this weekend's event at Homestead-Miami Speedway consists of 21 drivers (4 of which will be competing in the Skip Barber Cup- a new championship designed for drivers over the age of 26). 

Star Mazda

Tristan Vautier Signs with Andersen Racing: Tristan Vautier committed to running the 2010 Star Mazda Championship with Andersen Racing.  Vautier is a transplant from the Formula Palmer Audi series where he finished 4th in the overall standings.  He tested a Star Mazda car with Andersen Racing at Sebring International Raceway in January and impressed quite a few people with his overall speed. 

Indy Lights

Jean-Karl Vernay Signs with Sam Schmidt Motorsports:  Sam Schmidt signed J.K. Vernay for the 2010 season.  The 22-year-old Frenchman should be a real solid addition to Sam's squad.  Last season, Vernay competed in the Formula 3 Euro Series where he logged 2 wins, 5 podiums, and 13 top-ten finishes.  I fully expect to see Jean-Karl at or near the front of the pack this season.

Sebastian Saavedra Signs with Bryan Herta Autosport: Sebastian Saavedra, who was a front runner during the 2009 Indy Lights season, will return to the series in 2010 with Bryan Herta Autosport.  If Saavedra is able to make better race decisions in 2010, he could quite possibly be an early favorite for the overall title in 2010.

Gustavo Yacaman Signs with Cape Motorsports / Wayne Taylor Racing:  Gustavo Yacaman announced that he will return to Indy Lights competition this season with Cape Motorsports and Wayne Taylor Racing.  The return of the Cape brothers and the addition of Wayne Taylor Racing to the open-wheel world perked quite a few ears this week. 

Indy Lights: Barber Motorsports Park Test- Fourteen Indy Lights' drivers participated in a pre-season open test at Barber Motorsports Park last Friday.  Canadian James Hinchcliffe set the fastest overall time in both sessions and was the only driver to break into the 1:14's (lap time).  For complete results, make sure to outclick on the link above. 

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For much more on the junior open-wheel racing scene, be sure and visit JuniorOpenWheelTalent.com and follow JOWT on Twitter!

I was planning to write this edition last night, but I couldn't pass up watching the USA vs. Canada Olympic hockey game.  I know that Tony is a huge hockey fan as well, so I'm not too worried about the delay in posting this week's Ladder Report.

Without further ado, here is a quick recap from the junior formula world.

Lola Keeps Indy Lights in Mind: Last Monday, Lola introduced their 2012 IndyCar concept which featured a common chassis for the Indy Lights and IndyCar series.  I'm not necessarily a huge fan of the Lola design but I definitely like the idea of commonality between IndyCar and Indy Lights. I'm hopeful that this ideology--- if accepted--- will help bridge the gap for up-and-coming drivers looking to make the jump from Indy Lights to IndyCar.

Team Moore Releases Junior Strous:  Just over a month ago, Junior Strous signed with Team Moore Racing for the 2010 Indy Lights season.  Then, just last week he was released from his contract by Team Moore Racing.  The details of this event have been kept very quiet.

Team Moore Signs James Hinchcliffe: The same day that Team Moore released Junior Strous, news leaked that the team would be signing James Hinchcliffe for the 2010 Indy Lights season.  The official announcement came the next morning and stated that James would indeed fill the second seat at Team Moore Racing.  His teammate this season will be Adrian Campos Jr.

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If you missed the first edition of The Ladder Report... you can read it here.

For much more on the junior open-wheel racing scene, be sure and visit JuniorOpenWheelTalent.com and follow JOWT on Twitter!

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.

For much more on the junior open-wheel racing scene, be sure and visit JuniorOpenWheelTalent.com and follow JOWT on Twitter!