New Supporters Confirmed for Team USA Scholarship

Braselton, Ga. (October 19, 2012) – As Matthew Brabham prepares to contest this weekend’s Formula Renault BARC Winter Series opener in the UK and fellow 2012 Team USA Scholarship winners Jack Mitchell and Tristan Nunez ready themselves to travel to England for next week’s Formula Ford Festival, the Team USA Scholarship is pleased to confirm the addition of two new supporters to the program which has been providing opportunities for talented young American race car drivers since 1990.

American Le Mans Series P2 combatants David Heinemeier Hansson and Level 5 Motorsports team owner Scott Tucker are the latest additions to a growing list of supporters headlined by the Road Racing Drivers Club, promoting its series of online video tutorials which can be viewed at www.SAFEisFAST.com, Doug Mockett & Company, purveyors of “fine architectural hardware for your fine furniture,” and Cooper Tire & Rubber Company.

Heinemeier Hansson, who hails originally from Denmark and now lives in Chicago, has displayed tremendous potential this year on his debut in the prototype ranks, despite commencing his racing career only four years ago. He retains a chance to win the ALMS P2 Drivers championship going into this weekend’s Petit Le Mans season finale at Road Atlanta and, ironically, will have to overcome Tucker to secure the honors. Tucker, who also won a pair of SCCA National Championships recently at Road America, holds a 16-point advantage after nine of 10 races.

Irrespective of the outcome, both men are keen to provide some opportunities for emerging talents.

“It’s hard to get a break in motorsports these days without a big checkbook to buy rides, but the sport needs fresh talent to survive, and much of that talent needs a hand to get going,” explained software developer Heinemeier Hansson. “I’m thrilled to be able to play a small part in lending such a hand through the Team USA Scholarship.”

“In racing and business, getting to the front first is the main goal,” added Level 5 Motorsports Owner Scott Tucker. “Level 5 is proud to support young drivers with big aspirations. Being involved with Team USA and this scholarship allows us to help put others on the path to their own success.”

“The Team USA Scholarship has traditionally been geared toward assisting young drivers with aspirations to succeed at the highest levels of open-wheel racing,” said Team USA Scholarship founder Jeremy Shaw. “Indeed that continues to be the case, but the vast majority of top sports car drivers today began their careers in open-wheel cars and I’m thrilled that the sports car world has embraced our concept. We have been privileged to enjoy support from several sports car teams and drivers in recent years, including Dyson Racing, Robertson Racing, Chris McMurry and Grand-Am Rolex GT racer Jim Norman (Parathyroid.com), and I’m delighted to welcome David and Scott to our band of supporters.”

Jimmy Vasser won the first Team USA Scholarship in 1990. Subsequent winners include open-wheel standouts Buddy Rice, Tony Renna, Memo Gidley, Phil Giebler, A.J. Allmendinger, Charlie Kimball, J.R. Hildebrand, Josef Newgarden and Conor Daly as well as sports car stars Joey Hand, Paul Edwards, Andy Lally, Bryan Sellers and Dane Cameron.

The Team USA Scholarship also is supported by INDYCAR’s Mazda Road to Indy, Mazda, Honda Performance Development, NameSilo, Silicon Salvage, McMurry Inc., Parathyroid.com, Dyson Racing, Allen Berg Racing Schools, Seat Time, LLC, PitFit Training, Sparco USA, RACER Magazine, eFormulaCarNews.com, Speedstar Management, Styled Aesthetic and Manifest Group as well as numerous past Scholarship winners.