2015 Formula Car Challenge Alumni Report

Bringing home championships, trophies and awards in open-wheel, prototypes, and sedans 

January 4th, 2015

Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear competitors are showing up all over the map, and winning some very serious races and championships. Here's what a few of them have been up to recently.

Gabby Chaves, who competed in the Formula Car Challenge in 2012 went on to win multiple races in the 2012 Pro Mazda Championship finishing second overall in the championship. After the season closed Chaves went to the  Superkarts! USA SuperNationals in Las Vegas and took the Tag Senior Championship. In 2013 Chaves finished 2nd in the 2013 Indy Lights championship. In 2014 Chaves won the Indy Lights championship.

Zach Veach, the 2011/12 FCC Winter Series Champ, finished 7th in the 2013 Indy Lights championship. In 2014 Veach podiumed multiple times in Indy Lights, and led the points during much of the season. He finished third overall in the championship.

Neil Alberico who competed in the Formula Car Challenge in 2011 in both the Pro FM and FM classes was selected as a Team USA Scholarship driver and went on to win FF races in Britain. In 2012 he moved back to the US to compete in the USF2000 Championship where he finished 7th in points and closed the season with a podium finish. In 2013 Alberico finished second in the USF2000 Championship, and won six out of the 14 races. In 2014 Alberico finished third in the Pro Mazda Championship in his rookie season.

Doug Peterson is a long time competitor in the FCC. Peterson has won the Ferrari Challenge, the SCCA Runoffs, and countless races in a variety of cars. In 2011 Peterson did select races in the Trans-Am series and was the fastest Trans-Am driver at the Road America event. In 2012 Peterson also competed in multiple Trans-Am events in the new Dodge Viper, and in select Grand Am events. Peterson placed 2nd in FM, and GT-1 during the 2012 SCCA Runoffs Championship. In 2013 Peterson won the Trans-Am Championship for Chevrolet, and he backed it up in 2014 with a second consecutive championship.

Mike Anderson 

Dane Cameron raced in the FCC Indy GP of Sonoma event in 2010, and won both races in the Pro FM category. Cameron went on to compete in a Mazda RX-8 GT in the 2011 and 2012 Grand American ROLEX Series. Cameron won the 12 Hours of Sebring in the Prototype Challenge class in 2012, and secured pole position at Petit LeMans in 2013. In 2014 Cameron won the TUDOR GT Championship driving the Turner Motorsports BMW Z4.

Michael Guasch raced in the Formula Car Challenge presented byGoodyear from 2005-12, and has a large collection of FCC pole awards and wins to his credit. Guasch won the 59th Annual 12 Hours of Sebring, and also won the 2013 American LeMans Series Prototype Challenge Championship. Guasch will be back in the LeMans Prototype Challenge for 2015 with PR1/Mathiasen Motorsports.

Chris Cumming raced in the FCC during the 2006-2007 seasons. In 2007 he won the West Coast Star Mazda Championship. Cumming then went on to win the 2008 and 2009 Pro Mazda Championship Expert titles. He finished second in the 2013 American LeMans Series Prototype Challenge Championship, only one point behind Guasch.

Kevin Woods competed in the 2008 and 2009 Formula Car Challenge, and won his first race in only his sixth start. In 2013 Woods won the Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy Championship. In 2014 Woods ran a partial schedule in Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy Championship and scored multiple podiums including an overall win at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Phil Fogg Jr. raced a partial schedule in the Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy Championship in 2014 and won 5 of 9 races ending up 4th overall in the points for 2014. Fogg podiumed multiple times during the Formula Car Challenge 2011 season.

Zack Meyer, who finished in 4th place in the FCC 2011/12 Winter Series, finished in the top ten in his rookie season in the 2014 Indy Lights Championship.

2012 FCC Pro FM Champion Kyle Kaiser  drove for World Speed Motorsports in the 2013 Pro Formula Mazda Championship where he finished 7th in points with multiple top 5 finishes in his rookie season. Kaiser returned to the Pro Mazda Championship for 2014, won at Sonoma, and finished 6th overall.

2013 FCC National Champions Michael Whelden and TJ Fischer were selected by Mazda Motorsport to compete in the Mazda Club Racer Shootout. In 2014 Whelden won his third FCC Championship, and Fischer competed in his first full season of racing in Europe in the Protyre Formula Renault Championship.

Jorge Goncalvez, who won the 2009 FCC Winter Series Championship in the Pro FM class, went on to podium at the Daytona 24 in 2012, and finished 6th in the 2013 Indy Lights championship.

2011 FCC Pro FM Champion Lloyd Read finished 8th in the 2013 Pro Formula Mazda Championship. In 2014 he raced a partial schedule in Indy Lights, and recently tested with Flying Lizard Motorsports.

2011 Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear National FM Champion Darryl Wills went on to win the 2011 SCCA FM National Championship, and became a "Super Sweep" champion. The SCCA Super Sweep recognizes drivers that win a key national event, the nation-wide points championship, their divisional championship and the SCCA National Championship Runoffs-all in the same class. In 2012 Wills ran a limited schedule in Indy Lights, and in 2013 he secured another SCCA National Championship. In 2014 Wills won the Mid-States Conference SCCA Majors Championship, and finished fourth at the Runoffs.

"We are proud of these drivers and all of our racers, as this is a very difficult sport." noted Series Official Jeff Loge. "When these drivers move up and go and win a world class events that just makes all the hard work we do worth it. We hope to have more of our alumni take some serious wins next season, and having watched them up close and personal I know it's going to happen."

Racers have been using the FCC as a springboard to pro racing since 2005, and many of them continue to race in the series in between their other events. Racing in the Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear is very cost effective was to stay competitive.

More information:

www.FormulaCarChallenge.com