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The scholarship nurturing young American talents in the UK

IndyCar champions Jimmy Vasser and Josef Newgarden are just two of the star graduates from the Team USA Scholarship over the past three decades. The scheme allows talented young Americans the chance to experience the UK racing scene and is still helping to boost fledgling careers today

Max Esterson, Ray GR16

Max Esterson, Ray GR16

Jakob Ebrey

Max Esterson’s victory at the Walter Hayes Trophy last season – having won his heat and semi-final and after leading every lap of the 15-lap finale – made it something of a perfect performance at what is traditionally one of the most hotly contested national race meetings of the year.

The 19-year-old American’s Silverstone triumph was a story of redemption, at least in his own mind, after missing out on Formula Ford Festival glory one week earlier having climbed from 13th on the grid to finish third on the road – before being promoted to second post-race, and just over a tenth of a second from victory.

Esterson’s Walter Hayes success was also significant for another reason, as it puts him among a select group of Americans who have won the trophy while representing their country through the prestigious Team USA Scholarship. The brainchild of journalist, broadcaster, ex-racer and former Autosport scribe Jeremy Shaw, the scholarship has become a mainstay of the end-of-season Formula Ford 1600 events in the UK, but its origins stretch across more than three decades and several categories.

It’s been instrumental in giving young US talent the chance to shine in junior single-seater series, and has grown to become one of the most respected scholarships in motorsport, with its list of alumni testament to its success.

“American racing drivers were kind of treated as sort of a bad joke in the UK,” says Shaw of his reason for creating the scholarship in 1990. “One of the problems was that a lot of the drivers that went over, they had the budget but they didn’t have the experience or the skills to be at the front.

“One of the goals with this programme was to show that there are young Americans who do have the talent to mix it with the best youngsters in the UK. Over the years, I think that myth that Americans cannot be competitive has been well and truly debunked.”

Broadcaster and writer Jeremy Shaw has been the driving force behind Team USA Scholarship

Broadcaster and writer Jeremy Shaw has been the driving force behind Team USA Scholarship

Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images

Future NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon was initially approached about the inaugural scholarship drive for the 1990 Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch – with Shaw having been “massively impressed” by the then 19-year-old – but he turned down the trip to Europe due to a clash with a midget race in America.

Jimmy Vasser, who had won the SCCA Formula Ford National Championship in 1986, was drafted in and sent across to the UK with a Kent engine built by Jay Ivey, which would power a Lanan 1604. With the deal coming together at the last moment, and little in the way of testing, Vasser went with the intention of enjoying the experience.

“I didn’t really feel any pressure,” says the 1996 CART title winner. “I was having success, I was racing Formula Atlantic at the time and I had been racing also in Formula Ford 2000 in Canada and winning. I was confident in my abilities as long as the car would be competitive and I just looked at it for fun. I was kind of jumping in, not a championship runner, I’d never driven at Brands, [and I was] in a one-off, home-built car basically.”

“Jimmy loved it, he very much enjoyed being part of the UK scene, just seeing how racing worked somewhere other than North America. I still knew a lot of people so I was able to introduce him to quite a few and that was useful for him moving forward” Jeremy Shaw

His one-off appearance at the Festival proved to be short-lived as he was taken out at Druids on the opening lap of his heat – ironically the same fate that had befallen Shaw 10 years earlier with the same team.

Despite the last-minute preparation and lack of any result, the scholarship was deemed a worthy success by those in America and plans were put in place to return the following season.

“Other than the actual result it was a great experience,” says Shaw. “Jimmy loved it, he very much enjoyed being part of the UK scene, just seeing how racing worked somewhere other than North America. I still knew a lot of people so I was able to introduce him to quite a few and that was useful for him moving forward.”

Future Indycar race winner Bryan Herta was picked for 1991 and, at the wheel of a Reynard FF91, he managed to finish 11th in the final. With further backing from the US, specifically the Indycar paddock, the programme began to expand and became a two-car entry for the 1992 Festival with Ashton Lewis and Tony Ave, both of whom would go on to race in NASCAR.

Vasser was a Champ Car podium finisher three years after Team USA appearance

Vasser was a Champ Car podium finisher three years after Team USA appearance

Photo by: Motorsport Images

By 1995, and with Formula Ford grids becoming diluted as competitors split between using Zetec and Kent engines, Shaw took the decision to move the programme into Formula 3, and that year’s scholarship winner Memo Gidley competed in the non-championship F3 International Trophy.

It sparked the beginning of scholarship winners experiencing slicks and wings, as between 1996 and 1998 drivers raced in the EFDA Nations Cup, which used Formula Opel/Vauxhall machinery. For 1999, the move into the Formula Palmer Audi Winter Series offered them the chance of competing in a series of races and with a realistic prospect of claiming an outright title – which future GT driver Paul Edwards achieved.

Phil Giebler repeated the feat the following season, but by 2001 the scholarship had moved away from Europe and found a new home in the New Zealand Formula Ford Championship.

“I realised that Formula Palmer Audi was kind of too much car for a lot of the kids that were coming out of F1600 or the school series at Skip Barber in those days, so I thought let’s go back to our roots,” says Shaw.

“Jeremy has provided more opportunities than any other scholarship that exists for North American open-wheel drivers and it’s fantastic, I wish we had more scholarships like it” Josef Newgarden

The series also proved to be cost-effective – which was, and remains, an important element of the scholarship because Shaw relies on the support and generosity of the motorsport community to fund the programme each year. Primary backers include AERO Sustainable Paint Technology, Cooper Tires, the Road Racing Drivers Club and Doug Mockett & Company.

Future IndyCar drivers AJ Allmendinger, Charlie Kimball and JR Hildebrand came through the scholarship during its tenure in New Zealand, before there were two more years back with Formula Palmer Audi for its Autumn Trophy, which double IMSA SportsCar champion Dane Cameron won in 2006.

By 2008 the Team USA Scholarship had returned to its roots at the Festival as well as the popular Walter Hayes Trophy, which offered two future stars of American open-wheel racing the chance to shine.

Porsche LMDh driver Dane Cameron was part of the scheme during the period when drivers entered Formula Palmer Audi

Porsche LMDh driver Dane Cameron was part of the scheme during the period when drivers entered Formula Palmer Audi

Photo by: Gary Hawkins

Josef Newgarden took victory at the Festival in the Kent class, and was leading at the WHT before sliding off, which allowed fellow scholarship recipient Conor Daly to win. Newgarden, who has since gone on to win two IndyCar titles with Team Penske, believes the scholarship was instrumental in his career.

“I don’t know how things would have been different if I wasn’t selected for the scholarship, but for sure it provided the opportunity to race in England and learn about the British Formula Ford Championship, and I don’t know if that’s something that I would have been looking at before the scholarship,” says the 31-year-old.

“I have no idea if I would have made the trek, I would have had to find the resources and, without running the races with Team USA, it’s hard to find the contacts to maybe get some help from some of the teams. It was certainly impactful, winning the Formula Ford Festival and then nearly sweeping the Hayes was helpful in negotiating a great deal with an awesome team.”

Newgarden stayed in the UK the following season with JTR, narrowly missing out on the British Formula Ford title to James Cole before heading Stateside again.

His UK racing career was something of the opposite to Esterson’s. Esterson had already raced in the 2020 editions of the Festival and Walter Hayes – finishing sixth and 14th respectively – and took third in last year’s National Formula Ford Championship. Being part of the programme also meant he stayed with the same team, Low Dempsey Racing – renamed Ammonite Motorsport earlier this year – which has run the Team USA Scholarship winners since 2008.

Esterson’s selection for the scholarship was more than 12 months in the making – he made the shortlist for the 2020 shootout but, with the COVID-19 pandemic plaguing the globe, no on-track assessments took place and he missed out on a prized spot.

“I was definitely a bit bummed to not get it then and I did OK at the Festival that year when I was not part of the scholarship,” he says. “Looking back at it now, winning it last year was obviously a much better thing for me.”

IndyCar ace Newgarden won the Kent class of the 2008 Formula Ford Festival

IndyCar ace Newgarden won the Kent class of the 2008 Formula Ford Festival

Photo by: Jeff Bloxham / Motorsport Images

Esterson and Andre Castro – who also impressed at the Festival after finishing third – were selected in 2021 following two days of on- and off-track assessments at the Polecat Training Academy. Newgarden and fellow scholarship beneficiary Daytona 24 Hours GTD winner Andy Lally were part of the judging panel. Vasser too has contributed to the scholarship since being the inaugural member, and many alumni give back to the next generation.

“It’s extremely important to young Americans, and it’s one of the highest scholarships you can get when you’re coming up because of the recognition,” says Vasser.

Esterson adds: “It’s definitely a big part of American racing in the junior levels. It’s something you want to be a part of.”

Esterson’s Hayes success matched that of fellow scholarship winner Daly, as well as Connor De Phillippi (2009) and Tristan Nunez (2012), and for 2022 the GB3 Championship with Douglas Motorsport now beckons for the American teenager.

“It’s super satisfying to see kids that otherwise wouldn’t have had an opportunity to do anything hopefully make a career for themselves” Jeremy Shaw

But, while Esterson and others have garnered the headlines for their race-winning performances over the years, Shaw is quick to point out that, although good results are a positive, it’s not the sole purpose of the programme.

“One of the goals is to give people an opportunity that they perhaps wouldn’t otherwise have,” he says. “Michai Stephens came from absolutely nothing and when he came over to England in 2014 [as a scholarship winner], he had done maybe a dozen races in his career at that stage in the Skip Barber School series. That’s all he’d done, no karting, no motorcycles, nothing.

“And he came over to England and he finished third in the final of the Walter Hayes Trophy, which to me was astonishing, that he came out of nowhere and finished third – there were over 100 cars entered in that event. He had no money behind him whatsoever.”

Esterson is the latest star to shine as part of the scheme

Esterson is the latest star to shine as part of the scheme

Photo by: Jakob Ebrey

Last year Stephens won the final four races of Stephane Ratel Organisation’s GT4 America Series and could well race full-time this season, making good on the talent that was showcased through the scholarship.

PLUS: The racing comeback artists who resurrected long-dormant careers

“It’s super satisfying to see kids that otherwise wouldn’t have had an opportunity to do anything hopefully make a career for themselves,” adds Shaw, who was given the Bob Akin Award last month for his efforts.

There’s also a strong emphasis around “the whole education we’re trying to provide”, with the winners given the chance to meet a cross-section of the racing industry. Given its success and what opportunities it can offer both on and off the track, it’s little surprise that young American racing drivers still strive to make it onto the Team USA Scholarship. Even for those who have passed through and made it to the top of the sport, it’s still held in high regard.

“I think Jeremy has provided more opportunities than any other scholarship that exists for North American open-wheel drivers and it’s fantastic, I wish we had more scholarships like it,” says Newgarden. “We really need them to provide the opportunities for people that don’t have the means or the connections.

“It’s been instrumental not only for me but for many other drivers and I think you’re still seeing that today. I just wish there were more like Jeremy Shaw, he’s been a huge contributor to help young Americans take that next step.”

While the programme may not last another three decades, there’s certainly no intention of it coming to an end anytime soon, and Shaw is proud of what it has achieved and the drivers it has helped.

“You just look down the alumni and there’s not many in there who haven’t gone on to do something in the sport afterwards which is good,” he says. “I’m very proud of what they’ve all achieved and the fact all of them want to help the next generation of drivers as well.

“I didn’t even know if it would do one or two years let alone 30-odd, it seems crazy to think we’ve been doing it this long.”

Shaw (third from left in back row) with Team USA Scholarship winners in 2011. Also pictured are Buddy Rice, Phil Giebler, Jimmy Vasser, Bryan Herta, JR Hildebrand, Josef Newgarden, Conor Daly and Charlie Kimball

Shaw (third from left in back row) with Team USA Scholarship winners in 2011. Also pictured are Buddy Rice, Phil Giebler, Jimmy Vasser, Bryan Herta, JR Hildebrand, Josef Newgarden, Conor Daly and Charlie Kimball

Photo by: Michael L. Levitt / Motorsport Images

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