Atlantic: John Edwards youngest champion, thanks to second place finishes

John Edwards won Sunday a fourth race in 2009 also clinching the 2009 title not by points lead, neither by number of victories, but because he earned one second place finish better than his closest rival, second place finisher Jonathan Summerton.

It is the second year in a row that the driver entering last race's third in the championship standing wins the title after Markus Niemela did the exact same thing one year ago.

At age 18 and seven months, Edwards becomes the youngest champion in the 36 years of the series beating Summerton by 1.380 seconds at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. He had started from the pole and led every lap of the 50-minute race.

Simona de Silvestro entered the last race of the season in first position in the standing, as she did most of the season long. An incident with Niemela forced her to retire in the opening lap, hitting a tire barrier as a result of a push from the 2008 champion.

Stewards later penalised Niemela two positions for this "avoidable" incident but de Silvestro nevertheless finishes dead last and falls to third in 2009 standing.

John Edwards wins a second title in as many years as he is the 2008 Star Mazda champion. He finishes this 2009 season with nine podiums in a total of twelve races.

Summerton is left as runner-up for a second straight year. He earned the same amount of podiums, victories and even points as the new champion... but only three second places compared to four for Edwards.

Belgian rookie driver Frederic Vervisch had already been given the rookie of the year honors. He earns his fifth podium of the season thanks to Niemela's penalty.

Race results for Round 12 at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca:

1. (1) John Edwards, Cincinnati, Ohio, No. 36 Newman Wachs Racing, 36.
2. (2) Jonathan Summerton, Kissimmee, Fla., No. 34 Newman Wachs Racing, 36.
3. (7) Frederic Vervisch (R), Belgium, No. 6 Condor Motorsports, 36.
4. (6) Tonis Kasemets, Estonia, No. 35 Polestar Motor Racing, 36.
5. (4) Markus Niemela, Finland, No. 1 Jensen MotorSport, 36.*Penalty
6. (9) Barrett Mertins (R), Alexandria, Va., No. 3 Jensen MotorSport, 35.
7. (10) James Winslow (R), United Kingdom, No. 45 Paladin Motorsports, 35.
8. (3) Jonathan Bomarito, Monterey, Calif., No. 77 Team Stargate Worlds, 22, mechanical.
9. (8) Max Lefevre (R), France, No. 7 Condor Motorsports, 15, mechanical.
10. (5) Simona De Silvestro, Switzerland, No. 78 Team Stargate Worlds, 0, contact.

Series Points Leaders: 1. Edwards, 182; 2. Summerton, 182; 3. De Silvestro, 176; 4. Vervisch, 131; 5. Kasemets, 103; 6. Niemela, 98; 7. Borja Garcia, 88; 8. Winslow, 72; 9. Frankie Muniz, 62; 10. Lefevre, 58.