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VEACH CLINCHES FORMULA CAR CHALLENGE WINTER SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP
Star Mazda Driver Zach Veach Uses Four Race Wins And Four Pole Positions To Secure Series Title

FONTANA, CA (January 22, 2012) – Andretti Autosport Star Mazda Championship driver Zach Veach used four race wins and four pole positions to capture the Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear Winter Series championship, his second straight career winter series championship. Veach needed to simply start the final race to clinch the regionalized open-wheel racing series title, capping a five-race winter tour in his No. 77 ZAKOSI Data Backup Mazda.

"Today went a little better than yesterday did. We managed to win the first race from the pole. Then in the second race we started from 14th and were able to move up to first within 20 feet of the start finish line on the end of the first lap. I'm really proud of what we accomplished here this weekend and can't thank my crew enough for their hard work and support along the way. It's a great honor to win the Formula Car Challenge Winter Championship and I would like to thank Michael (Andretti) for giving me this opportunity! This will create great momentum moving toward the 2012 Star Mazda season with Andretti Autosport and Zakosi Data Backup."

Heading into the final round in a two-weekend winter series battle, Veach opened his first visit to Auto Club Speedway with an 11-point lead before taking the wheel for the final three races, following his clean sweep at Infineon Raceway, where he won both races from the pole position.

Veach, a 17-year-old from Stockdale, Ohio, began the first day of practice for the final three races in stellar fashion, topping the speed charts two-tenths of a second off the class track record. Following the first day of practice, Veach felt he still had speed left in his Star Mazda machine, though; weather officials were predicting rain for qualifications and ultimately the race the following day.

"I have always loved racing in the rain and there was a pretty good chance for it in our first race, which will be a really good learning experience with more seat time in the rain with this car," said Veach.

For the first race of the weekend and third in the series, Veach used a seven-second advantage to gain the pole position (for regional race one) during qualifications for the third straight time. With moisture gaining access to the electrical system in his car, Veach was forced to retire during the race with an electrical failure, producing his first DNF during the series.

"We ripped the car apart after qualifications and thought we had everything fixed before the first race, but as soon as the race went green we started having the electrical problem again and it ended our day early," said Veach.

In the second qualifying session (for the national race), Veach again secured the pole position for the fourth race in the series; where he would go on to take the checkered flag.

For the final race of the series, Veach would start from the back of the field, given his DNF result in race three, and as soon as the race went green, Veach plowed to the front of the field, winning by a margin of 15 seconds. With the win, Veach put the finishing touches on clinching the Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear Winter Series championship.

With the championship secured, Veach earned his second straight winter series championship, following his 2011 effort in capturing the Cooper Tires USF2000 Winterfest championship with two race wins and three pole positions. With the championship in hand, Veach hopes to follow in the footsteps of the 2011 Star Mazda overall champion Tristan Vautier and the 2009 overall champion Adam Christodoulou both whom competed in the Formula Car Challenge during their championship winning seasons.

His efforts in the Formula Car Challenge Winter Series served as a testing platform for Veach during this off-season as he prepares to move up from the USF2000 National Championship to the Star Mazda Championship for the 2012 racing season.

For a post-race recap of Veach's experience in the Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear Winter Series, he will blog about his experience in his exclusive RACER magazine blog, which can be found at http://www.Racer.com.

Veach returns to the racetrack for the 2012 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear season later this year, which is set to begin March 24 in St. Petersburg, Fla. For more information and a full season schedule, visit www.ZachVeach.com or www.StarMazda.com.