Hindman’s education continues, in and out of the classroom By: Jim Altemus

Wayside, N.J. – Like many cities and towns around the country, yesterday marked the first day of school in Ocean Township, N.J. As boys and girls shuffle into the high school, their heads hung in quiet resignation that summer is in fact over, one student walks in with a bounce in his step. As he finds his locker for the first time and collects his books for the upcoming semester, Ocean Township High School junior and MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development driver Trent Hindman returns to school after a successful (and busy) summer of racing and after a weekend of great accomplishment.

Team USA Scholarship
At a press conference held last weekend at the IZOD IndyCar Series Baltimore Grand Prix, Team USA Scholarship founder Jeremy Shaw announced Hindman, Neil Alberico and Spencer Pigot as the winners of the 2011 Team USA Scholarship. Hindman and Alberico will travel to England to drive for Cliff Dempsey Racing at the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch the weekend of October 15-16 and for the Walter Hayes Trophy at the Silverstone Circuit the weekend of November 5-6.

Hindman was one of 14 drivers initially selected and interviewed by the Team USA Scholarship panel last month at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course during the IZOD IndyCar Series Honda Indy 200. From that initial group, Hindman was one of seven drivers invited to an on-track shootout in USF2000 cars at Andersen RacePark in Florida.

“I was shocked when I found out I was selected”, said Hindman from his New Jersey home as he prepared for his first day of school. “I really thought I was a year away from serious contention so I went into the process looking to get the most out of the experience and to prepare for next year. I can’t thank Jeremy and the Team USA Scholarship panel enough for this incredible opportunity”

Ontario Formula Ford Championship
While the Team USA Scholarship announcement was being made in Baltimore, Hindman was in Bowmanville, Ontario competing in the Ontario Formula Ford Championship, where he races with BGR Team Grote and leads the Formula A Championship with six podiums, including six wins, and seven poles in eight races entered this season, including two poles, a win and a second place this past weekend at Mosport International Raceway.

“Mosport was another productive weekend for me. I have to admit that it was a little hard to concentrate knowing that I was selected for the Team USA Scholarship and that the announcement was about to be made, but Jonatan (driver coach Jonatan Jorge) got me back into focus and BGR Team Grote did the rest, giving me another great car to drive.”

Hindman’s record in Canada also includes a win in Formula Tour 1600 competition earlier this summer at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.

Autobahn Country Club
Hindman’s racing schedule is far from over as he heads to Joliet, Ill. this weekend to compete in the penultimate rounds of 2011 BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda, where he races courtesy of a scholarship from MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development. Hindman is third in the championship with two wins, four poles, and 12 top five finishes in 12 starts this season.

Joliet, Illinois is home to Autobahn Country Club, one of the first purpose built country club race tracks in North America. The multi-purpose facility features track layouts configurations ranging from 1.46 to 3.56 miles. This weekend the BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda will race on the 15 turn, 2.1-mile South Course.

“The South Course reminds me of a scaled up version of a karting track. There are several tight turns and only one true straightaway of any length where the draft might be a factor. I’ve been watching videos on YouTube and studying track maps, but I won’t know what it is really like until I get behind the wheel.”

The weekend kicks off with Qualifying on Friday (time TBD). Follow the action live on your smart phone with Race Monitor, available at your phone’s app store, or semi-live at www.twitter.com by following either @SkipBarberNatl or @altemus_prime.

Top 5 – 2011 Ontario Formula Ford Challenge, after Round 8 of 141. Trent Hindman, 578 points
2. Garrett Grist, -174
3. Shane Jantzi, -212
4. Dalton Kellett, -266
5. Steve Tzountzouris, -272

Top 5 – 2011 BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda, after Round 12 of 161. Scott Anderson, 376 points
2. Brandon Newey, -12
3. Trent Hindman, -164. Sebastian Ordonez, -55
5. Shelby Blackstock, -65

Anderson looks to resume winning ways at Autobahn By: Jim Altemus

Fort Collins, Colo. – There are four races remaining to decide the 2011 BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda title, the winner of which will race next year in the Cooper Tires Presented the USF2000 National Championship Powered by Mazda with the Mazda Road to Indy. Heading into Rounds 13 and 14 of 16 this weekend at Autobahn Country Club, point leader Scott Anderson looks to bounce back after a below average (for him) weekend at Lime Rock Park. While the championship looms large, Anderson isn’t changing his focus from race wins.

“The Lime Rock weekend didn’t go quite as planned”, noted Anderson from the airport in Denver, where he was waiting for his flight to Chicago. “It was my first winless weekend since the beginning of the season in Sebring. I’m looking to change that this weekend at Autobahn.”

To keep his skills sharp during the break between Skip Barber events, Anderson made the trip up to Canada last weekend to make his Ontario Formula Ford Championship debut, joining JJRD teammate Trent Hindman with BGR Team Grote at Mosport International Raceway. Chasing engine problems for most of the weekend, he took fourth place on Saturday and improved to third in the rain in Sunday’s race with limited practice time.

“It was a good ‘get acquainted’ weekend with the team at Mosport. By the time we got to the race on Sunday we were getting things dialed in. I want to thank Brian Graham and the team for working with me for the weekend. I can’t wait to go back.”

Autobahn Country ClubThe BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda makes its first appearance at Autobahn Country Club this weekend, where it will share the 2.1-mile South Course with the Skip Barber Summer and MAZDASPEED Challenge Series. This will also be Anderson’s first visit to the track and he’s looking forward to the technical challenges its 15 turns present.

“From the videos I’ve watched the South Course seems to be a bit slower and a lot more technical than some of the other tracks we’ve visited this season. Normally I prefer faster courses but this track should be minimally affected by the draft.”

The weekend kicks off with Qualifying on Friday (time TBD). Follow the action live on your smart phone with Race Monitor, available at your phone’s app store, or semi-live at www.twitter.com by following either @SkipBarberNatl or @altemus_prime.

Top 5 – 2011 BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda, after Round 12 of 161. Scott Anderson, 376 points
2. Brandon Newey, -12
3. Trent Hindman, -16
4. Sebastian Ordonez, -55
5. Shelby Blackstock, -65

Skip Barber National: Hindman wins again at Lime Rock Park By: Jim Altemus

Wayside, N.J. –Trent Hindman’s three-week, 2,000 mile (give or take a few miles) Summer tour of eastern North America wrapped up this past weekend at Lime Rock Park with theMAZDASPEED Motorsports Development driver picking up a pole and a dominant win in BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda competition. In doing so, the Wayside, N.J. driver extended his season long Skip Barber National Top 5 finish streak to 12, closed in on the Top 2 in the championship and further cemented his claim on the Rookie of the Year title.

Round 11
A combination of a small field and a small track made conditions ideal for the Skip Barber National to run its first ever NASCAR style single-car qualifying session; an overwhelmingly popular decision with drivers weary of another session dominated by drafting and gamesmanship. With the qualifying order determined by points, Hindman was third from last to go out for a time, clocking in with a 59.747 sec. lap that placed him third on the grid behind championship leader Scott Anderson and second-in-points Brandon Newey.

“I really liked the single car qualifying session”, said an excited Hindman after Friday’s session. “These cars are so dependent on the draft that a slower driver can luck his way into a better starting position than they might have gotten on their own.”

In the opening laps, Anderson built a comfortable lead while Hindman battled with Brandon Newey and Sebastian Ordonez for the top three. After building a nearly three-second lead, the field began to reel the leader back in and caught him by Lap 17. On Lap 18, Ordonez made an outside pass.

The dust up between Anderson and Ordonez opened the door for Hindman, who led the next two laps before surrendering the point to Newey and second to Ordonez. Ordonez would eventually take the lead and score his first Skip Barber National win followed by Newey while Hindman held on for third.

“The car started getting loose late in the race; so much so that I thought I had a puncture. I was happy to see the checkered flag.”

The oversteering condition was later traced to a leaking radiator, a condition confirmed by the drivers immediately behind Hindman for the last few laps of the race. The car was otherwise undamaged so the radiator was replaced and Hindman’s car was ready to go on Saturday.

Round 12
“Be safe. Good luck.”

Words of encouragement from Doug Hindman as his son climbed over the wall to head to his car before the start of Round 12. A day earlier, Trent was the last car out for the second single-car qualifying session of the weekend. After a 59.591 sec. lap on his second lap, Hindman secured his series lead tying fourth California Scents Pole Award of the season.

From the drop of the green flag, Hindman was off; building a three-second lead and leaving his competitors to fight for the scraps.

“I could see Scott getting closer in my mirrors. If the race were a couple laps longer I might have had my hands full. Having Jonatan (driver coach Jonatan Jorge) on the radio was a great help. He kept me focused on hitting my marks until the last corner on the last lap.”

With two podium finishes to go along with the pole position, Hindman not only crept closer to Anderson and Newey in the standings, he also collected the $500 award for scoring the most points on the weekend from Parathyroid.com. The championship may be a long shot at this point, but mathematically Hindman is still in contention, a fact not lost on the young driver.

“With four races to go there are 140 points still on the table. I’m going to do what I can to collect as many of those points as possible.”

Top 5 – 2011 BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda, after Round 12 of 161. Scott Anderson, 376 points
2. Brandon Newey, -12
3. Trent Hindman, -16
4. Sebastian Ordonez, -55
5. Shelby Blackstock, -65

Next up
Trent Hindman returns to Mosport International Raceway the weekend of September 3-4 with BGR Team Grote for Rounds 9 and 10 of the 2011 Ontario Formula Ford Championship. From Ontario Hindman heads to Autobahn Country Club in Joliet Ill. for Rounds 13 and 14 of the BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda. Follow the Skip Barber National action live on your smart phone with Race Monitor, available at your phone’s app store, or semi-live at www.twitter.com by following either@SkipBarberNatl or @altemus_prime.

Scott Anderson looks to continue win streak at Lime Rock Park By: Jim Altemus

Lakeville, Conn. – While other drivers continue to work on cracking the code on how to get into Victory Lane, Scott Anderson is looking to keep his winning ways going. Coming into Round 11 of the 2011 BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda this weekend at Lime Rock Park, Anderson has five wins in 10 starts, including the last three races in a row; the second race at Road America and the sweep at Road Atlanta. With six races to go, the Fort Collins, Colo. driver is two wins behind 2009 Skip Barber National Champion Connor DePhillippi’s record of seven wins.

Anderson also comes into the weekend fresh off of interviewing at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course with the panel that will select this year’s drivers for the annual Team USA Scholarship. Anderson was one of 14 drivers, along with fellow National drivers Trent Hindman, Brandon Newey and Sebastian Ordonez, selected as candidates for the prestigious driver program, which sends young American racing talent over to England to race at the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch and for the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone.

“Being selected as a candidate for the Team USA Scholarship is a tremendous honor”, said Anderson from his hotel in Great Barrington, Mass. “They have a strong group of candidates at Mid-Ohio. I can’t wait to find out who the selectees are.”

Lime Rock ParkOf the tracks visited this season by the Skip Barber National, Lime Rock Park stands out for a couple of reasons. Besides being the shortest track by far, its layout is made up predominantly of right hand turns, starting with Big Bend, the first turn on the track.

“While the Downhill is the most important turn on the track, the only true passing zone at Lime Rock Park is under braking at the end of the front straight. The net effect of having the best passing opportunity so early in the lap is that Lime Rock races like a longer track than its 1.53 miles would suggest.”

The BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda will run a Thursday to Saturday schedule this weekend at Lime Rock Park, starting with Round 11 Qualifying on Thursday afternoon (stand alone Skip Barber National Race Weekends are not time certain). Follow the action with live timing and scoring on your iPhone with Race Monitor, available at your smart phone App Store. You can also follow the action semi-live on www.twitter.com/SkipBarberNatl or www.twitter.com/altemus_prime.

Top 5 – 2011 BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda, after Round 10 of 161. Scott Anderson, 317 points
2. Brandon Newey, -15
3. Trent Hindman, -23
4. Thomas McGregor, -48
5. Sebastian Ordonez, -57