Luke Gabin claims Skip Barber Championship Shootout

With just inches to spare, Luke Gabin won $200,000 with a pass at the finish line.

Gabin, a 19-year-old from Perth, Western Australia, won the Skip Barber Championship Shootout and its $200,000 scholarship to apply next season to USF2000 in a frenetic final race Wednesday at Road Atlanta.

In the final standings, Gabin finished ahead of Michai Stephens, who finished fourth Wednesday in the final of the Shootout's five races. Skip Barber instructors also considered business plans, interviews and an overall evaluation in the scoring format, but it was Gabin's final pass of Jorge Herrera that gave him the overall win.

"My goal is the IndyCar Series, so this is a perfect opportunity to make it happen," Gabin said. "The money tops it all off. I don't come from a rich family, so it really works for me."

Herrera passed Gabin on the final lap, but Gabin regained P1 with a move out of the final turn to pull ahead of Herrera at the finish line. Jack Mitchell Jr. finished third in the overall standings, followed by Herrera, Nikita Lastochkin, Ben Auriemma, Garth Rickards, Matthew Donmoyer and Jackie Ding.

"It's a huge deal for Luke," said Jeff Lail, Skip Barber's race series coordinator. "Luke came into our karts-to-cars shootout last year and won that. That was actually a very close race, as well. He came into our season and did exceptionally well off the bat, won our summer series and then won this. He's going to have a very strong career in the motorsports industry."

Stephens, a 23-year-old from Evanston, Ill., who reached the Championship Shootout by winning the Academy Shootout last November at Sebring, led the standings heading into the final race.

This year's Academy Shootout will be held next month at Sebring.

Gabin will apply the scholarship toward a USF2000 ride next season. USF2000 is the first leg of the three-leg Mazda Road to Indy.

Skip Barber is the official racing school of INDYCAR. Among its more successful alums are Bill Elliott, Bryan Herta, Tony Kanaan, Michael and Marco Andretti, Jeff Gordon, Helio Castroneves, Juan Pablo Montoya, Danny Sullivan, Paul Newman, Kenny Brack, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Joey Logano.