With a win in the first of two weekend races at DaytonaInternational Speedway, Marco Andretti clinched the Skip Barber Formula Dodge SouthernRegion Race Series championship. It was his second Skip Barber title, Andretti having won theEastern Region laurels in 2003.

Andretti, 16, son of Michael, won 10 races in 14 starts and finished off the podium just once(eighth place, in the Daytona weekend's second race) to score a total of 242 points. Going intothe weekend, rookie Victor Ramos had a mathematical chance of earning the title, but only ifAndretti went scoreless. Unfortunately, Ramos had a torrid weekend: An off-course excursioncoupled with a throttle cable hang-up resulted in an uncharacteristic 12th in race one, putting theend to any championship hopes, slight as they were. For the year, Ramos won six times and hadjust two non-podium results, finishing second in the title chase with 206 points. At 182, JeffRelic took third, thanks to four victories and five other podiums.

Both Ramos and Andretti have entered the 2004 Skip Barber Formula Dodge NationalChampionship Presented by RACER. The $190,000 series opened mid-March at the Sebring 12-Hour; Ramos had a win and a third and leads the points standings with 35, while Andrettinotched a seventh and a third to sit fifth, 12 points behind Ramos.