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Special Motorsports Event - Veach Enters Final Formula Car Challenge Winter Series


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FONTANA, January 18, 2011: Andretti Autosport Star Mazda Championship driver Zach Veach hopes to use his 11-point lead to his advantage in the Formula Car Challenges presented by Goodyear Winter Series' final three races at Auto Club Speedway this weekend.

"I'm really looking forward to racing this weekend at Fontana with the FormulaCar Challenge Winter Series. Right now we have the points lead and if we have the luck we did at Sonoma, I think it will be a great weekend for the team and I. I would like to thank Andretti Autosport, my sponsors, and all the guys back at the shop who have made this all possible!"

The Formula Car Challenge is a regionalized open-wheel racing series with an annual NASA-sanctioned national championship. The series, powered by Mazda and equipped with Goodyear Racing tires, features a multi-class format with Veach competing in the Pro Formula Mazda (PFM) class. Heading into the weekend, Veach holds an 11-point lead over Carlos Linares.

In late 2011, Veach used two pole positions and two race wins to sweep the entire Formula Car Challenge weekend at Infineon Raceway in his No. 77 Zakosi Data Backup Star Mazda machine as part of the Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear Winter Series opening weekend.

Veach is competing in the Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear Winter Series as a testing platform during the off-season as he prepared to move up from the USF2000 National Championship to the Star Mazda Championship for the 2012 racing season. Veach spent two seasons in USF2000, where he won the inaugural Cooper Tires presents the USF2000 Winterfest Championship title.

While not the first "Mazda Road to Indy" driver to compete in the Formula Car Challenge, 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.

The Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear Winter Series returns to the track on Fri., Jan. 20 for a full day of testing, followed by qualifications and Race No. 3 on Sat., Jan. 21, with the final two races (Race No. 4 & Race No. 5) on Sun., Jan. 22. At press time, the event includes 19 driver entries.

To follow along with on-track activity, please visit http://www.formulacarchallenge.com/.