Star Mazda: Connor De Phillippi Kicks Off The 2011 Star Mazda Season in Championship Form
Connor De Phillippi began the 2011 Star Mazda Championship just as he finished the 2010 season, by capturing round one at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Although the back-to-back wins were 6 months apart, he was more than happy to take the win!
- Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA (1888PressRelease) May 04, 2011 - Team Pelfrey driver Connor De Phillippi began the 2011 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear just as he finished the 2010 season, by capturing round one at the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. Although the back-to-back wins were 6 months apart, the No. 11 Oakley/Justice Brothers/Hernan Capdevila/Lithionics Battery/Trademark Garage Floors/HP Spartacote/Team Pelfrey driver was more than happy to take the championship lead from the get go.
"I was amazed at how good a car Team Pelfrey gave me for the race; it was absolutely consistent throughout and never faded at all," said De Phillippi, who finished third in the championship and was Rookie of the Year last year. "We were hoping for a podium finish and wanted to strike a balance between being aggressive and still bringing the car home in the points. I was able to keep out of trouble in the race and it feels great to head into Round 2 at Barber Motorsports Park in two weeks leading the championship!"
With the season opener in the books, De Phillippi and Team Pelfrey entered its second-ever Star Mazda Championship focused on continuing their winning ways. The team worked extremely hard to find the right car balance for the always-technical Barber Motorsports Park track. In the opening two practice runs, it appeared the squad was headed in the right direction, with both De Phillippi and his teammate within the top-10. Things however did not go exactly as planned in qualifying, as neither Team Pelfrey racer was able to turn the fast lap flyer they desired in the timed session. This resulted in De Phillippi earning a row three starting position with the fifth best time overall.
Following a rare two-day break between sessions, in which the Team Pelfrey crew and drivers discussed ways to go quicker, De Phillippi returned to action on Sunday morning confident they could advance up the charts and challenge for top honors. That confidence proved to be well justified, as De Phillippi got a great launch from the traditional standing start and immediately was running for the podium.
Unfortunately, De Phillippi's chances of a podium finish vanished just past the halfway mark of the 33-lap affair, when he tangled with another racer while battling for position. The incident, which happened along the straightaway, resulted in a flat right front tire, right front suspension damage, and a bent front wing. De Phillippi immediately pitted for repairs and the Team Pelfrey crew quickly went to work, changing the right front tire and straightening the bent suspension enough to get him back out on the lead lap. Although he had to finish the race with a slightly cock-eyed steering wheel due to the suspension damage, De Phillippi still was able to pull off a 10th place finish, earning ever so valuable championship points.
"Going into this weekend at Barber we were looking to keep our momentum going after a successful St. Petersburg weekend," added De Phillippi. "A podium was the goal and that is exactly what we had ourselves in position to do. Unfortunately, when we challenged for the fourth position, some wheel-to-wheel contact brought our podium effort to an end due to right front damage. As a team, we kept our composure and managed a top-10 finish, which was very important for the championship. Up next are the ovals, and I know we will be working very hard as a team to prepare for the next three events. I cannot thank the team and Dale Pelfrey himself enough for their commitment and hard work, and I'm looking forward to getting us back on top. Also a massive congratulations to my teammate Nick Andries on his first podium finish in Star Mazda."
Up next is the famous "Night Before the 500" race at O'Reilly Raceway Park from May 27-28 in Indianapolis, which is ran in support of the USAC Midget Series and the 100th anniversary of the prestigious Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.
More information on Connor De Phillippi can be found here:
www.connordephillippi.com
https://www.facebook.com/ConnorDePhillippiFanPage
www.twitter.com/CDePhillippi11
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