From the Star Mazda Championship
After a relatively wellmannered season, so far, the Star Mazda Championship was due for a wild one - and Round 11 at Road Atlanta was it. After qualifying third, American John Edwards recorded his fourth win amid a whirlwind of spinning cars on the final lap.
Driver Joel Miller, after leading almost half the race laps - notwithstanding that eleven of them were run behind the pace car - survived a potentially devastating collision with another car to bring the home in second.
Finishing third in his first podium of the season was Brazilian racer Rick Rosin, who qualified 12th.
Also of note was the 4th-place finish by Canadian first-time Star Mazda driver Kyle Marcelli, who also qualified 4th.
The top-finishing Master Series (driver 45 and older) was Gerry Kraut for a third class win of the season. Leading home the Expert Series was J.W. Roberts. This is also his third class win of the season.
The big loser in all the action was pole-sitter Dempsey, who had won four of the last five races and was leading the championship. He was eventually credited with a 14th-place finish, but was further penalized by series officials for 'avoidable contact' and demoted to 19th.
With one race to go, and drivers allowed to drop their worst finish of the season and count the best 11 of 12 races, Peter Dempsey leads with 337 points, followed by John Edwards with 334, Joel Miller with 329 and Louisiana racer Alex Ardoin, with 311.
Englishman Charles Hall is still in with a chance at 309 points. The final contender is young Tom Gladdis with 305 points
The 2008 Star Mazda Championship season finale takes place at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on October 18.
Round Eleven - PETIT LE MANS, Road Atlanta
Provisional Race Results
Pos No. Name Laps Total Tm Diff
1 7 John Edwards 25 45:13.686 -
2 20 Joel Miller 25 45:18.836 5.150
3 30 Rick Rosin 25 45:19.630 5.944
4 71 Kyle Marcelli 25 45:21.059 7.373
...
8 5 Tom Gladdis 25 45:23.106 9.420
...
11 55 Gerry Kraut 25 45:26.475 12.789
...
14 65 J.W. Roberts 25 45:37.319 23.633
...
18 51 Alex Ardoin 24 44:07.558 1 Lap
19 21 Peter Dempsey 25 45:35.716 22.030
...
22 77 Charles Hall 11 14:55.462 14 Laps
Finishing Points:
1st-44,2nd-40, 3rd-37, 4th-34, 5th-32, 6th-30, 7th-29, 8th-28, 9th-27,10th-26,11th-25, 12th-24, 13th-23, 14th-22, 15th-21, 16th-20, 17th-19,18th-18, 19th-17; 20th-16, 21st-15, 22nd-14, 23rd-13, 24th-12, 25th-11,26th-10, 27th-9, 28th-8, 29th-7, 30th-6, 31st-5, 32nd-4, 33rd-3,34th-2, 35th-1 ; Pole = 1 Point
After a relatively wellmannered season, so far, the Star Mazda Championship was due for a wild one - and Round 11 at Road Atlanta was it. After qualifying third, American John Edwards recorded his fourth win amid a whirlwind of spinning cars on the final lap.
Driver Joel Miller, after leading almost half the race laps - notwithstanding that eleven of them were run behind the pace car - survived a potentially devastating collision with another car to bring the home in second.
Finishing third in his first podium of the season was Brazilian racer Rick Rosin, who qualified 12th.
Also of note was the 4th-place finish by Canadian first-time Star Mazda driver Kyle Marcelli, who also qualified 4th.
The top-finishing Master Series (driver 45 and older) was Gerry Kraut for a third class win of the season. Leading home the Expert Series was J.W. Roberts. This is also his third class win of the season.
The big loser in all the action was pole-sitter Dempsey, who had won four of the last five races and was leading the championship. He was eventually credited with a 14th-place finish, but was further penalized by series officials for 'avoidable contact' and demoted to 19th.
With one race to go, and drivers allowed to drop their worst finish of the season and count the best 11 of 12 races, Peter Dempsey leads with 337 points, followed by John Edwards with 334, Joel Miller with 329 and Louisiana racer Alex Ardoin, with 311.
Englishman Charles Hall is still in with a chance at 309 points. The final contender is young Tom Gladdis with 305 points
The 2008 Star Mazda Championship season finale takes place at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on October 18.
Round Eleven - PETIT LE MANS, Road Atlanta
Provisional Race Results
Pos No. Name Laps Total Tm Diff
1 7 John Edwards 25 45:13.686 -
2 20 Joel Miller 25 45:18.836 5.150
3 30 Rick Rosin 25 45:19.630 5.944
4 71 Kyle Marcelli 25 45:21.059 7.373
...
8 5 Tom Gladdis 25 45:23.106 9.420
...
11 55 Gerry Kraut 25 45:26.475 12.789
...
14 65 J.W. Roberts 25 45:37.319 23.633
...
18 51 Alex Ardoin 24 44:07.558 1 Lap
19 21 Peter Dempsey 25 45:35.716 22.030
...
22 77 Charles Hall 11 14:55.462 14 Laps
Finishing Points:
1st-44,2nd-40, 3rd-37, 4th-34, 5th-32, 6th-30, 7th-29, 8th-28, 9th-27,10th-26,11th-25, 12th-24, 13th-23, 14th-22, 15th-21, 16th-20, 17th-19,18th-18, 19th-17; 20th-16, 21st-15, 22nd-14, 23rd-13, 24th-12, 25th-11,26th-10, 27th-9, 28th-8, 29th-7, 30th-6, 31st-5, 32nd-4, 33rd-3,34th-2, 35th-1 ; Pole = 1 Point