Sep 25, 2009
\nBraselton, Ga. (September 25, 2009) \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Connor De Phillippi, from San Clemente, Calif., and Brett Smrz, from Coeur d\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Alene, Idaho, have been named today as the latest recipients of prestigious Team USA Scholarships.<\/p>\n
The two teenagers will follow in the footsteps of an array of accomplished American drivers who have earned these awards since Jimmy Vasser became the first Team USA Scholarship winner in 1990.<\/p>\n
De Phillippi (pronounced \u00e2\u20ac\u0153DEE Phi-LEE-pi) and Smrz (\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Smerz\u00e2\u20ac\u009d) will have an opportunity to fly their nation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s colors in two world-renowned events in England later this month \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch and the Walter Hayes Trophy at Silverstone. (Team USA Scholarship drivers swept both events in 2008, with Josef Newgarden becoming the first American ever to win the Formula Ford Festival and Conor Daly becoming the youngest ever winner of the Walter Hayes Trophy.)<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I am thrilled to be representing the United States and the Team USA Scholarship,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said 16-year-old De Phillippi, who has taken a commanding lead in this year\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s BFGoodrich\/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda, winning seven of 10 races held thus far. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153It is my first big shot to prove myself on the European circuit. I look forward to meeting many new people in the racing community and hopefully posting some excellent results.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Winning the Team USA Scholarship feels amazing,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d added Smrz, 18, who secured one Skip Barber victory in addition to posting some impressive results in the Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup. Smrz also leads the Jim Russell Championship Series. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Words can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even describe how excited I am about this opportunity to race for America in a different atmosphere. I expect to learn a lot from the experience, both on and off the track, which will help lead to my success as a professional racing driver. Hopefully Connor and I can share a couple of wins like Josef and Conor did last year! I want to thank the entire Team USA Scholarship crew for this opportunity.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
De Phillippi and Smrz were chosen from an accomplished list of candidates including VW Jetta TDI Cup series leader Timmy Megenbier, 18, from Melrose Park, Ill.; fellow VW Jetta TDI Cup graduate Liam Kenney, 17, from Sterling, Va.; F2000 Championship Series winner Chris Miller, 20, from Edina, Minn.; F2000 Championship Series Rookie of the Year Ben Searcy, 18, from Tuscaloosa, Ala.; and Skip Barber National race winner Court Vernon, 18, from Key Biscayne, Fla.<\/p>\n
After considering the candidates\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 racing resumes and other off-track skills, a smaller group was invited to demonstrate their prowess on Cruden America\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s high-tech, full-motion, F1-style simulator located in Laguna Niguel, Calif.<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s always difficult to tell youngsters they haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t won a scholarship, but I hope they were able to gain satisfaction from being nominated,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Team USA Scholarship founder Jeremy Shaw. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Given the caliber of drivers who have won scholarships in the past, I think that is a worthy achievement in itself. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure each of them has a bright future.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n
The Team USA Scholarship is supported by Doug Mockett & Company, Road Racing Drivers Club, Cooper Tire & Rubber Company, Robo-Pong, Highcroft Racing, American Honda, Silicon Salvage, McMurry Inc., Dyson Racing, Metalore, The Gorsline Company, Integrated Performance Technology, PitFit Training, Sparco USA, OnCars.com, eFormulaCarNews.com, Speedstar Management, Manifest Group and an array of past Scholarship winners including Jimmy Vasser, Bryan Herta, A.J. Allmendinger, Buddy Rice, Andy Lally, Paul Edwards and Memo Gidley.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sep 25, 2009 Braselton, Ga. (September 25, 2009) \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Connor De Phillippi, from San Clemente, Calif., and Brett Smrz, from Coeur d\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Alene, Idaho, have been named today as the latest recipients of prestigious Team USA…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1243,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/teamusascholarship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1242"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/teamusascholarship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/teamusascholarship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/teamusascholarship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/teamusascholarship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1242"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/teamusascholarship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1244,"href":"http:\/\/teamusascholarship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1242\/revisions\/1244"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/teamusascholarship.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/teamusascholarship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/teamusascholarship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/teamusascholarship.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}