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With another weekend on the Podium, driver Court Vernon clinches second in the 2009 BFGoodrich/ Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda standings.

Court Takes a Stand on the Podium - Twice at Road of America in Wisconsin

Race 9, Saturday, August 22, 2009

MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development driver Court Vernon works his way to second.
Race 1, Vernon started on the grid in fifth place and quickly made his way to the top three. The Road America track has long straight-aways, giving competitors the opportunity for a nice draft. Vernon took advantage as the top drivers volleyed for position with Court consistently maintaining a position in the top three.  On the last lap Court moved up to second place and was gearing up to pass again when a crash further back on the track occurred and a full course yellow flag was thrown.  Because there was only one lap to go the officials decided to end the race under yellow and Court finished a hard earned 2nd place.  “I was glad with a second place finish, but was disappointed that the race ended when it did.  I had the fastest lap of the race on the lap before the yellow was thrown and felt that if there had been one more lap I would have pulled off a first place finish.”

Race 10 – Sunday, August 23, 2009

Turn 12, also known as Canada corner, is one of Road America’s signature corners. On Sunday it was also the sight of two big incidents.   Court Vernon picked up his series leading fourth pole position in the morning’s qualifying session and led the field to the green for the final race of the weekend.  Between the draft and some spectacular moves, the top positions switched hands multiple times each lap, with Vernon holding the lead most laps at the stripe.  The quick finish set up a drag race between Vernon and De Phillippi as they crossed the stripe with Vernon coming in second by the slimmest of margins – four one-thousandths of a second.

With another weekend on the Podium, driver Court Vernon clinches second in the 2009 BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda standings.  The Skip Barber National next visits Braselton, Ga. for Rounds 11 and 12 of the 2009 season, supporting the American Le Mans Series for the 12th Annual Petit Le Mans Powered by Mazda6 September 22-25 at Road Atlanta.

MAZDASPEED’s John Doonan with the two big-prize winners, Court Vernon (blue suit) and Sage Karam.

12/30/2008 12:00:00 AM
Court competed for the Skip Barber Karting Shootout and placed first place!!
Karting Shoot-out: Vernon & Karam Both Win Top Prize SEBRING, Fla.
At the 12th annual Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shoot-out at Sebring International Raceway, 51 star karters spent three days driving Skip Barber F2000 open-wheel race cars in hopes of winning seat-time scholarships for 2009. In what the judging panel claimed was one of the most closely contested Shoot-outs in its decade-plus existence, four drivers earned scholarships.

The competition was so close, in fact, that an unprecedented award scenario played out: Not one but two paid seasons in the 2009 BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda were presented, each with a value approaching $50,000: Court Vernon, 16, of Key Biscayne, Fla., and Sage Karam, 13, from Nazareth, Pa., will both race under the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development ladder system banner. Karam is the youngest driver to win the Shoot-out’s biggest prize.

With 41 drivers from the U.S. and 10 others from Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Mexico, Northern Ireland, Russia, Spain and Puerto Rico, the 12th annual Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shoot-out was at its most international in its history.

Skip Barber V.P. of Competition Todd Snyder said, ‘‘The field this year was ridiculously deep – we had many, many good drivers worthy of recognition. When it came to the top prize of a season in the National, well, it was just impossible to choose between Court and Sage. They’re both very quick, very smart… complete packages. So they both won.’’

Vernon said, ‘‘Oh, man, this is soooooo good – absolute highlight of my career. I had butterflies in my stomach all three days! But now that I won this… It’s hard to describe. All I know is I can’t wait for the season to start.’’

Karam said he came into the Shoot-out ‘‘…with high hopes. I mean, I knew I could place well. But to win it, wow. It was such a long weekend, so many sessions… This is tremendous, and I plan on making Skip Barber Racing and Mazda proud.’’

Mazda’s John Doonan, who leads the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development team, said, ‘‘The Skip Barber Shoot-out is a perfect reflection of Mazdaspeed’s ethos – get bright, young talent started on the best ladder system. Significant help within a proven system of Skip Barber, Star Mazda, Atlantic Powered by Mazda and beyond is what Mazda racing is all about.’’

The Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shoot-out has been responsible for launching the auto racing careers of dozens of topline drivers including A.J. Allmendinger, Scott Speed, Patrick Long, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Michael Valiante, as well as numerous others who have gone on to post significant achievements in the world of racing. Two recent champions of the BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda – Jonathan Goring in 2006 and Joel Miller in 2007 – won scholarships at previous Shoot-outs.

The 2009 BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda opens its 14-race season with rounds one and two at Sebring International Raceway March 17-20, supporting the 12-Hour. The Skip Barber National’s Spring Training test days are also at Sebring, February 28 - March 1.

2008- Court Vernon won the 2008 Eastern Series Championship in the Skip Barber RT-2000 car.

8- wins, 2- 2nd places, 2- 3rd places, 1- 6th place, 1- 7th place

2008 Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shoot-out: Conner De Phillippi Wins Biggest Prize Feb 04, 2008

The Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shoot-out Class of 2008

SEBRING, Fla. – Scholarship sponsorship worth approximately $130,000 was awarded to five young karters at the 11th annual Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shoot-out following three days of on- and off-track assessment at Sebring International Raceway driving the Skip Barber Formula 2000 open-wheelers. Winning the biggest prize – a fully paid 14-race season in the BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda – was Conner De Phillippi, 15, of San Clemente, Calif. De Phillippi bested 50 of some of karting’s best drivers looking to jumpstart their careers using the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development ladder system. De Phillippi’s paid ride in the 2008 Skip Barber National comes courtesy of Mazda and MAZDASPEED.

De Phillippi’s award is worth approximately $45,000 – seven double-race National weekends and their associated practice, qualifying and warm-up sessions. The Skip Barber National is the leading pro development series, an early step on the Mazda-driven motorsports ladder system that includes the Star Mazda Series and Champ Car Atlantic Powered by Mazda. The Skip Barber National champion wins one of the largest title bonuses in entry level pro racing: a paid ride in the following year’s Star Mazda series, worth on the order of $350,000.

In addition to Di Phillippi, another Shoot-out entrant won a full season of competition in the Skip Barber Regional Race Series (choice of East, West, South or Midwest): Brett Smrz, 16, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, earned the prize that’s worth approximately $30,000.

Winning another significant prize, a paid half-season of Skip Barber National worth roughly $22,000, was
20-year-old Fabio Orsolon of Cabo Frio, Brazil.

Shoot-out winners (from left) Maverick Bartlett, Fabio Orsolon, Conner De Phillippi, Brett Smrz, Michael Denino and Court Vernon join John Doonan, Manager of Motorsports Team Development for Mazda North America, on Sebring's winner's rosterum

Three more karters each won $10,000 scholarships to race with Skip Barber: Michael Denino, 18, of Gaithersburg, Md.; Maverick Bartlett, 17, from Jackson, Wyo.; and Court Vernon, 15, Key Biscayne, Fla.

De Phillippi said, “I’m shocked, I’m so happy. I’ve been trying so hard, working hard, and it paid off! I think I proved today that I’m ready for the National. I want to run top five, maybe win a race,” he said. “Coming in, I thought I had a realistic chance to win something. But the big prize? Wow... My mom, she was crying she was so happy. This proves to me, never give up.”

MAZDASPEED’s John Doonan, a member of the judging panel, said, “No two companies in the world care more about driver development than Mazda and Skip Barber Racing. It was my distinct pleasure to award Conner his season in the 2008 BFGoodrich/Skip Barber National Presented by Mazda, the first pro rung on the MAZDASPEED Motorsports Development ladder system.”

De Phillippi and the five others now join a list of past Skip Barber Karting Scholarship Shoot-out awardees including A.J. Allmendinger, Scott Speed, 2006 Skip Barber National champion Jonathan Goring, and the reigning National titlist, Joel Miller. back to top