Carlos Linares / Maracaibo, Venezuela / #20 Linares Racing / Mindeportes

This will be the second season of Star Mazda competition for Carlos Linares; he scored one top-10 finish in 2010, as well as ten top-15s, and was 13th in the championship.  He drives for Linares Racing, owned by his father, Gustavo Linares; this is the first-even Venezuelan-owned team in the Star Mazda Championship.  Linares has been karting since age 7 and competed two seasons in the Venezuelan FF1600 series before winning the championship in 2009 with a record of two victories and seven podium finishes. He has also tested with the Campos Racing F3 team in Spain.  He was born on June 20, 1992 in Maracaibo, Venezuela.