After three days of on- and off-track activities and evaluation, 17-year-old Prescott Campbell emerged as the winner of the inaugural Cooper Tires Karting Scholarship Shoot-out, held December 12-14 at Sebring International Raceway. The Newport Beach, Calif. driver bested the international field to earn the top prize, a fully-funded season in the 2019 Lucas Oil Formula Car Race Series, valued at $75,000.
Four other drivers were awarded seat time in upcoming Lucas Oil School of Racing and Lucas Oil Formula Car Race Series during the Shoot-out:
2nd Place – Hans Thomsen, 18, Mendham, N.J., half-season, Lucas Oil Formula Car Race Series
3rd Place – Jack Dorsey, 15, Carmel, Ind., Two (2) Lucas Oil Formula Car Race Series Race Events
4th Place – Jackson Lee, 16, Avon, Ind., One (1) Lucas Oil Formula Car Race Series Race Event
5th Place – David Dalton, 20, Montclair, N.J., Two (2) Advanced 2-Day programs
Additionally, all five drivers were awarded sim training sessions by Kelly Jones of RaceCraft 1, and will join Jones at their facility in Indianapolis.
“I would like to thank Cooper Tires and everyone from the Lucas Oil School of Racing for this amazing opportunity.” noted Campbell. “Because the Lucas Oil Formula Car Series is an arrive-and-drive program with equally matched cars, the series is an affordable and competitive championship for drivers making the transition from karts to cars. I couldn’t be more grateful for being chosen as the winner of the Karting Scholarship Shootout and cannot wait for the first round in 2019!”
“The quality of the group of karters we had at the Shoot-out made each step in the selection process difficult,” said Lucas Oil School of Racing Founder and CEO Neil Enerson. “Prescott really impressed the judges with both his speed in the car, and his composure out of the car. We are excited to have him race with us next year, and to carry the Lucas Oil School of Racing colors for years to come.”
In addition to multiple on-track in Lucas Oil School of Racing’s fleet of Ray GR-RSC race cars, karters participated in media training and mock interviews with famed motorsports announcer Brian Till, simulator training with Jones and RaceCraft 1 along with Frank Rico and Ricmotech Simulation Racing Systems, and seminars on fitness and nutrition with PitFit’s Jim Leo and auditory health in motorsports with EAR Everything’s Dawn Flinn. Lucas Oil School of Racing Founder and CEO Neil Enerson hosted parents to share his experiences with helping his son, Lead Race Series Instructor RC, work his way up from karting to the IndyCar Series.
Click here to visit the Cooper Tires Karting Scholarship Shoot-out image gallery, courtesy Google Pictures
About Cooper Tire & Rubber Company
Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is the parent company of a global family of companies that specializes in the design, manufacture, marketing and sale of innovative, great-performing tires that you can count on to last for thousands of miles, getting you where you need to go, and back again. Cooper is proud to be the spec tire for all three levels of the Road to Indy presented by Cooper Tires, a development program within the Verizon IndyCar Series. Cooper tires can also be seen on the track in rallycross and short course off-road racing. Headquartered in Findlay, Ohio, Cooper, with its subsidiaries, has manufacturing, sales, distribution, technical and design operations in more than one dozen countries around the world. To connect with Cooper, visit www.coopertire.com, www.facebook.com/coopertire or www.twitter.com/teamcoopertire.
