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.
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.”
“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
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.
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.
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