NA-F2000: F2000 Hall of Fame Nominees

F2000 HALL OF FAME INITIAL NOMINEES ANNOUNCED

FAIRFIELD, N.J. (April 12, 1999)—The U.S. F2000 National Championship has announced the formation of the U.S. F2000 Hall of Fame to recognize the accomplishments of F2000 graduates in the motorsports industry.

Hall of Fame nominations are made by series co-promoters and voted on by a group including staff, competitor, sanctioning body and media representatives. One class of two to five members will be enshrined each calendar year.

"One of the most satisfying things we do in F2000 is chart the progress of our alumni," said series co-promoter Dan Andersen. "The new Hall of Fame recognizes the best of the best to come out of the series, be it driver, team owner, mechanic or official."

Drivers dominate the nominees for the initial class. To qualify, a driver must have competed in no less than 10 F2000 races in his career, or finished in the top-10 in any given season's final point standings. A driver becomes eligible 12 months after his last F2000 start.

"The major difference between this hall of fame and others is that ours is based on outstanding accomplishments after F2000 rather than within the series," continued Andersen. "Oftentimes, we'll get a driver early in his career and he may not win the Championship or even races, but gains valuable experience to help his career progress up the ladder. These drivers are just as likely to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame as a driver who won an F2000 Championship."

The inaugural class will be announced at the series' second round race at Lowe’s Motor Speedway at Charlotte, April 30.

The inaugural Nominees are:

Alex Barron —Seventh in U.S. F2000 National Championship, 1996.

1997 - Won the KOOL/Toyota Atlantic Championship in his rookie season with five wins, four poles and nine podiums in 12 events. Won his third U.S. Gearbox Championship in a 125cc kart. 1998 - Signed to drive for Dan Gurney's AAR CART team in an Eagle with Toyota power, finishing 27th in points. 1999 - CART Driver with AAR.

Mike Borkowski —SCCA Pro Racing ACC Champion, 1994.

1997 - SCCA Pro Racing Trans-Am Rookie of the Year with two wins to break Tom Kendall's historic streak of 11-straight wins. Finished third in the Championship. 1998 - Finished 21st in Indy Lights Championship with Team Rahal recording a best finish of fourth at Vancouver. Finished third in GT1 at the Rolex 24 At Daytona. 1999 - Passed Indianapolis Rookie test. Plans a limited Indy Racing League schedule.

Robby Flock —Seventh in USAC FF2000 Championship, 1990.

1993 - USAC Western States Midget Champion. 1994 - 36th in USAC Silver Crown Points, contesting five races. 1995 - Recorded four top-five finishes to finish seventh in USAC Silver Crown Points. 1996 - Recorded four top-fives to finish fifth in USAC Silver Crown Points. 1997 - Recorded five top-10s in Silver Crown Competition finishing seventh in the Championship. Finished ninth in the National Midget Series. 1998 - Finished ninth in the USAC Silver Crown Championship.

Steve Knapp —U.S. F2000 National Champion, 1996.

1997 - Finished sixth in the KOOL/Toyota Atlantic Series with five top-fives and a season-best finish of second. Passed IRL Rookie test at Las Vegas. 1998 - Made IRL debut at the Indy 500, finishing third and earning Bank One Rookie of the Year. Contested six IRL races, finishing 22nd in points. Had a career-best start of fifth at Dover. 1999 - IRL driver with PDM Racing.

Greg Moore —USAC FF2000 West Champion, 1992.

1993 - Moved to Indy Lights, finishing ninth in points. 1994 - Finished third in Indy Lights with three wins, becoming the youngest (18) driver to ever win a CART-sanctioned event. 1995 - Won the Indy Lights title with 10 wins and seven poles in 12 races. Set record for most career Indy Lights wins (13). 1996 - Moved to CART, finishing ninth in points, second in Rookie of the Year to Alex Zanardi. Had three podiums with a best finish of second to Michael Andretti at Nazareth. Led eight times for 73 laps. 1997 - Finished seventh in the CART Championship with two wins–becoming the youngest CART winner ever at 22 years, one month and 10 days. 1998 - Finished fifth in the CART Championship with two wins and four poles. 1999 - CART driver with Forsythe Racing.

Greg Ray —SCCA Pro Racing ACC Champion, 1992.

1993 - Won Formula Atlantic Championship at the SCCA Runoffs. Received Mark Donohue Award. 1994 - Finished third in Player's Toyota Atlantic Championship with three wins, six poles and seven podiums. 1996 - Finished 12th in Indy Lights points with a best finish of second at Milwaukee. 1997 - Finished 29th in IRL Points with five starts with Thomas Knapp Motorsports. 1998 - Finished 21st in IRL points in nine starts with Thomas Knapp. Recorded a career-best finish of second at Texas and qualified on the Indy 500 front row. 1999 - Replaced Winston Cup-bound Tony Stewart at Team Menard in the IRL.

Sam Schmidt —Fourth in U.S. F2000 National Championship, 1996.

1997 - Made six starts in the Indy Racing League with a best finish of 10th in debut at Phoenix, despite crashing with 20 laps to go. Became first driver to go from F2000 straight to Indy, qualifying 23rd for the 500, finishing 34th after suffering an engine failure on the pace lap. Finished 28th in points, 11th among rookies. 1998 - Finished 14th in IRL points, including a career-best second at Las Vegas. 1999 - IRL driver with Treadway Racing, replacing the retiring Arie Luyendyk.