New Supporters Join Team USA Scholarship Lineup

Dec 17, 2004
Rancho Santa Margarita, California (December 17, 2004) –– Now in its 15th year, the prestigious Team USA Scholarship is proudly boasting several new supporters whose assistance will make it possible for 18-year-old Oklahoma racer Slade Miller to contest six Talley’s New Zealand Formula Ford Championship races in January.

Doug Mockett & Company, a Torrance, California-based producer and supplier of “Fine Architectural Hardware For Your Fine Furniture,” has joined the program as a primary sponsor, while stalwart Champ Car World Series driver-turned-team owner Dale Coyne also will provide a valued contribution.

Mockett, an accomplished vintage car racer who in recent years has helped further the careers of two more Team USA Scholarship winners, Paul Edwards (1998) and Joe D’Agostino (2003), will join long-time program advocates Jimmy Vasser (who was the first-ever Scholarship recipient in 1990) and Bryan Herta (1991), plus Steve and Christine Horne, Sparco racewear and RACER magazine, in continuing one of the sport’s most worthwhile traditions.

“It’s very simple,” said Doug Mockett in explaining his involvement with the program. “Since big corporations and organizations who could easily fund up-and-coming racers don’t do it, it really comes down to enthusiasts like myself. I think this is a great program. It’s helped a lot of very talented youngsters at an early stage in their careers, and I’m proud to put my name behind it.”

Among active participants in the Champ Car World Series, only 2004 champion team Newman/Haas Racing has been around longer than Dale Coyne’s eponymous organization. Coyne, 50, first entered the series as a driver in 1984, and this year his Plainfield, Illinois-based team enjoyed its most successful season to date as Spanish veteran Oriol Servia claimed eight top-10 finishes and 10th in the final points table.

“I’ve been impressed by the quality of the drivers who have benefitted from the Team USA Scholarship program,” said Coyne, who has given many talented up-and-coming drivers their first opportunity to shine in the Champ Car series, including Paul Tracy, Eric Bachelart, Robbie Buhl and Darren Manning. “This is a great way to put something back into the sport.”

Coyne has recently completed a series of test sessions in Florida as he works toward finalizing his 2005 Champ Car World Series program. Among the drivers invited to sample one of his team’s well-developed Lola-Ford Cosworths was 2001 Team USA Scholarship winner Bryan Sellers, who this year finished sixth in the Champ Car Toyota Atlantic Championship with LynxoRacing.

Other past Team USA Scholarship recipients include Buddy Rice (1997), who scored a momentous victory in the 2004 Indianapolis 500, driving for Rahal Letterman Racing, and A.J. Allmendinger (2001), who cemented his position as one of the nation’s most promising young stars by adding to his 2002 Barber Dodge Pro Series and 2003 Toyota Atlantic Championship crowns by claiming Champ Car’s 2004 Roshfrans Rookie of the Year title with the RuSPORT team.

Photo: Doug Mockett