Star Mazda’s top rookie De Phillippi returns with Team Pelfrey

De Phillippi

Star Mazda Championship newcomers Team Pelfrey have signed Connor De Phillippi for the 2011 Star Mazda Championship Presented by Goodyear season.

The Californian joins the Florida-based team, having captured the Rookie of the Year award in 2010, continuing his streak of winning championship titles in every series he has contested, with four karting titles, a Legend Silver State Championship crown; Skip Barber National title and Walter Hayes Trophy win already on his resume.

"I'm so glad to be a part of Team Pelfrey," said De Phillippi, who also qualified for the A-Main at the Turkey Night Grand Prix USAC event. "This off-season has been a lot of hard work, and we really had to make sure every piece of the puzzle was perfectly in place. I feel that here at Team Pelfrey they have the best of the best, and will give me the greatest opportunity to win this year's Star Mazda Championship title. We as a team are going into this season with the same goal, and that is to win the championship. The resources are there for both myself and the team, and now it is time for us to work hard and do our best to accomplish our goals. I'd like to thank everyone at Team Pelfrey for this opportunity, and I cannot wait to begin pre-season testing!"

As part of a multi-car effort by Team Pelfrey, De Phillippi will pilot the No. 11 Oakley/Justice Brothers/Hernan Capdevila/Team Pelfrey Mazda entry, partnering the previously signed Nick Andries, who will contest his first full-season of Star Mazda action, after running selected races last year in addition to a race-winning run in the Skip Barber National Series.

"Our team keeps getting strong every day," stated Team Pelfrey Team Manager Geoff Fickling. "What we've been able to put together in the last couple of months has been quite remarkable and to have a driver of Connor's caliber put his trust in our hands speaks volumes for what we've built. I knew from the first time I saw Connor race many years ago that he was a special talent, which is why it's so special for us to have him join our driver lineup for this season. Our team is shaping up quite nicely and honestly, I couldn't be happier."

With the support of team owner Dale Pelfrey, a former IZOD IndyCar Series team owner, Team Pelfrey enters the 2011 season with a state-of-the-art facility, top-notch equipment and a highly-talented and experienced staff. With the goal of challenging for both race wins and the series title in its inaugural season of Star Mazda Championship competition, the Team Pelfrey crew has been working long hours since moving into their new 6,300 square foot facility in Clearwater, Fla., in December.

"The boys have been flat-out over the past two months not only re-building the cars, but outfitting our new shop as well," added Fickling. "Our facility is state-of-the-art, and Dale's provided us with top-notch equipment in order to contend right out of the box. It's great that we've been able to assemble such a talented driver line-up, so we can properly showcase what we've assembled."