Valiante returns to karting roots.

Toyota Atlantic Series hotshoe Michael Valiante may be on the radar screens of several CART team but the young Canadian has also been keeping his foot in at the other end of the racing ladder recently, both on and off the track.

Lynx Racing driver Michael Valiante, who was an international karting champion before starting his climb up the racing ladder at the Skip Barber Racing School, has been invited to join the "Panel of Experts" who will judge the 2002 "Skip Barber Scholarship Runoff" at Sebring in December.

The panel of judges is expected to include 2002 Barber Dodge Pro Series Champion A.J. Allmendinger, CART Ladder System Manager Robert Dole, Skip Barber Race Series Manager Divina Galica, as well as racing experts including factory Chevrolet Corvette ALMS team driver Kelly Collins, champion racer Richard Spenard and racing legend Terry Earwood.

The Skip Barber Racing School has selected 16 young karters who will participate in the 6th annual Barber-CART Karting Scholarship Run-off. The karting element of the Barber-CART Scholarship Ladder provides the first step in a comprehensive system designed to place talented and deserving young racers from the karting ranks into the Skip Barber competition program.

The karters have a clear path ahead of them, from the "Karting Run-off" to the Formula Dodge National Championship Series, on to the Barber Dodge Pro Series, through the Toyota Atlantic Championship and ultimately to the CART FedEx Championship Series. Each of the karters will participate in a Skip Barber Three-Day Racing School, the established foundation for any racer, before taking part in the Run-off.

Four winners will receive a ride in the Formula Dodge National Championship Series presented by RACER magazine, the official National Amateur Championship of CART, as well as additional training from the Skip Barber Racing School. The value of the package is worth nearly $40,000 to the winners of the run-off.

"It wasn't very long ago that I was a driver in the Skip Barber ladder," says Valiante, who won three races and finished second in the 2002 CART Toyota Atlantic Championship in his first full year with Lynx Racing. "To now be invited to be on the judging panel really shows how fast things are moving for me, and what a great launching platform the Skip Barber program provides."

This year's invitees are the sixth group of karters to be selected to participate in the program, and the class is joining an impressive list of drivers who have moved up the ladder before them. This years CART Toyota Atlantic Championship runner-up Michael Valiante, 2000 Barber Dodge Pro Series "Rookie of the Year" and CART Toyota Atlantic Championship multiple race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, as well as the 2002 Barber Dodge Pro Series Champion A.J. Allmendinger and 2002 Formula Ford 2000 Zetec Champion, Bryan Sellers are all previous winners of the Karting Scholarship Run-off.

In addition to his duties off the track, Valiante has been busy behind the wheel of a kart, finishing a close second in the hotly contested SKUSA 'SuperNationals' at Las Vegas.

Running on a track named after another Lynx Racing driver, the 0.7-mile Memo Gidley Signature Circuit, Valiante qualified on the pole and finished second in the Formula ICC race. And it was a 1 - 2 finish for Italkart drivers as Valiante's teammate, David Jurca won the event.

"I led 14 laps before David passed me, and rather than slowing both of us down by battling with him, I just tucked in behind and made sure the third-place guy didn't get by us," said Valiante. "It wasn't quite a case of team orders, just a bit of experience and wisdom gained in the Atlantic series last year. We raced on a great new track designed by Memo Gidley and set up in the parking lot of the Rio hotel. I won the Skip Barber 'Rio Big Scholarship' a couple of years ago, so it was great to come back and do well in another Rio racing event.

Dane Cameron, the 14-year old son of Lynx Racing Technical Coordinator Rick Cameron, did well to finish 12th in the 80 Junior Shifter class driving another Italkart. There were 43 karts in the race, only three of which were not regular competitors in the class, and Cameron was the highest finisher of the three.