From the Star Mazda Championship American racer John Edwards , the only repeat winner so far in the 2008 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear, won the pole this afternoon for the start of tomorrow's Round 6 at Road America. His lap of 2:05.313 (116.291) #7 AIM Autosport Mazda was just 0.227 faster than the man who will start on the outside of the front row, Irishman Peter Dempsey . Dempsey, who did not run in this morning's practice session, led the early stages of qualifying and ultimately posted a 2nd-fast lap of 2:05.540 (116.081 mph) in the #21 Mazda, his best qualifying effort so far this season.Rounding out the top-3 was the winner of Race 1/Round 4 at the Mazda Grand Prix of Portland, Tom Gladdis, the 17 year-old driver from the British territory of Gibraltar. He turned a lap of 2:05.540 (115.815 mph) in the #5 Mazda.MAZDASPEED Motorsports Driver Development Ladder scholarship winner Joel Miller (who also won the season opener at Sebring and is the current championship points leader) was 4th with a 2:05.903 (115.746 mph) in the #20 Mazda. Starting 5th will be Charles Hall, who won round 3 at Watkins Glen and is currently 2nd in the championship battle. He turned a lap of 2:06.250 (115.428 mph) in the #77 Mazda.The top-qualifying Expert was Vancouver native Chris Cumming, who is currently leading the Expert championship battle with four class wins, including both races in Portland. His lap of 2:07.480 (114.314 mph) in the #16 Mazda was 12thfast overall. The quickest Master Series driver was Gerry Kraut, with a 17th-quickoverall lap of 2:08.263 (113.617 mph) in the #55 Mazda. Kraut hasscored one class win and four class podium finishes so far this season.The 45-minute Round 6 of the 2008 Star Mazda championship is scheduled to take the green flag at 2:25 pm Saturday, August 9. Qualifying Results - Round 6 : Pos No. Name Best Tm In Lap Diff Gap Best Spd 1 7 John Edwards 2:05.313 4 - - 116.291 2 21 Peter Dempsey 2:05.540 4 +0.227 +0.227 116.081 3 5 Tom Gladdis 2:05.828 4 +0.515 +0.288 115.815 4 20 Joel Miller 2:05.903 4 +0.590 +0.075 115.746 5 77 Charles Hall 2:06.250 5 +0.937 +0.347 115.428 6 51 Alex Ardoin 2:06.406 7 +1.093 +0.156 115.286 7 17 Scott Rettich 2:07.105 6 +1.792 +0.699 114.652 8 19 Caio Lara 2:07.135 13 +1.822 +0.030 114.625 9 15 Taylor Hacquard 2:07.281 5 +1.968 +0.146 114.493 10 22 Rusty Mitchell 2:07.294 6 +1.981 +0.013 114.481 11 33 Natalia Kowalska 2:07.424 4 +2.111 +0.130 114.365 12 16 Chris Cumming 2:07.480 6 +2.167 +0.056 114.314 13 82 Billy Goshen 2:07.553 6 +2.240 +0.010 114.249 14 18 Ernesto Otero 2:07.561 4 +2.248 +0.008 114.242 15 48 Kristy Kester 2:07.812 10 +2.499 +0.251 114.017 16 55 Gerry Kraut 2:08.263 7 +2.950 +0.451 113.617 17 12 Chuck Hulse 2:08.605 7 +3.292 +0.342 113.314 18 88 Bobby Caldwell 2:08.667 10 +3.354 +0.062 113.260 19 45 Jason Vinkemulder 2:09.298 12 +3.985 +0.631 112.707 20 57 Robert Kaminsky 2:09.306 12 +3.993 +0.008 112.700 21 65 J.W. Roberts 2:09.466 6 +4.153 +0.160 112.561 22 66 Richard Zober 2:09.557 4 +4.244 +0.091 112.482 23 52 Dave Mundy 2:11.035 8 +5.722 +1.478 111.213 24 24 J.C. Kester 2:07.543 11 +2.230 +0.063 114.258 ** Car #24 Moved to back of grid for Technical Violation per Chief Steward
Star Mazda: Edwards on top again