From the Star Mazda Championship
Irishman Peter Dempsey scored a long-overdue first win in the 2008 Star Mazda Championship in an intense see-saw battle in round 6 at Road America.
Driving the #21 Mazda, Dempsey qualified on the front row fought a race-long battle with pole-sitter John Edwards and made the pass for the lead on the next-to-last lap.
Edwards, with victories at Miller Motorsports Park and Race 2 at Portland, started from the pole and finished second in the #7 Mazda. Rounding out the top-3 was Watkins Glen winner Charles Hall, who started from 5th in the #77 car.
Sebring race winner Joel Miller led in the early stages in the #20Mazda, but slowed in the closing stages of the race with mechanicalproblems.
The top-finishing Master Series driver (45 and older) was the current points leader in the category, Californian Chuck Hulse. Driving the #12 Mazda, he has now scored three class wins and finished 11th overall at Road America.
Making his first visit to the podium as winner of the Expert Series (drivers 30 to 44) was J.W. Roberts. Racing the #65 Mazda, he has finished top-3 in class at every race this season and was 16th overall in today's race.
The race was a nail-biter right from the start, including a first-turn, first-lap incident that saw two cars off into the gravel trap. That seemed to set the tone for the race, a series of fullcourse yellow flags interspersed with some extremely high-caliber racing.
The battle throughout the field was so fierce that the final race action occurred when two cars (including the one of Texan Kristy Kester) crashed on the front straight 50 yards past the finish line.
After round 6 at Road America, Charles Hall leads the championship battle with 211 points, followed by Alex Ardoin with 202 and Joel Miller with 200. Rounding out the top-5 are race winner Peter Dempsey in 4th with 184 points followed by tom Gladdis in 5th with 182.
The next event on the Star Mazda Championship schedule takes place next weekend at the 30th annual Grand Prix of Trois Rivières, a historic and notoriously technical street circuit in the middle of Quebec city.
Race Results; Round Six - Road America:
Pos No. Name Laps Total Tm Diff Gap Best Tm Best Spd
1 21 Peter Dempsey 16 45:25.201 - - 2:07.557 114.245
2 7 John Edwards 16 45:25.717 +0.516 +0.516 2:08.520 113.389
3 77 Charles Hall 16 45:29.544 +4.343 +3.827 2:08.541 113.371
4 51 Alex Ardoin 16 45:30.037 +4.836 +0.493 2:08.865 113.086
5 5 Tom Gladdis 16 45:30.340 +5.139 +0.303 2:09.293 112.711
6 17 Scott Rettich 16 45:31.733 +6.532 +1.393 2:10.242 111.890
7 48 Kristy Kester 16 45:34.650 +9.449 +1.071 2:12.255 110.187
8 18 Ernesto Otero 16 45:32.599 +7.398 +0.866 2:09.172 112.817
9 19 Caio Lara 16 45:33.579 +8.378 +0.980 2:09.549 112.489
10 88 Bobby Caldwell 16 45:34.685 +9.484 +0.035 2:11.808 110.561
11 12 Chuck Hulse 16 45:35.060 +9.859 +0.375 2:11.725 110.630
12 55 Gerry Kraut 16 45:36.338 +11.137 +1.278 2:11.395 110.908
13 33 Natalia Kowalska 16 45:37.222 +12.021 +0.884 2:10.771 111.438
14 82 Billy Goshen 16 45:38.613 +13.412 +1.391 2:08.927 113.031
15 57 Robert Kaminsky 16 45:39.488 +14.287 +0.875 2:11.440 110.870
16 65 J.W. Roberts 16 45:40.700 +15.499 +1.212 2:12.298 110.151
17 66 Richard Zober 16 45:41.059 +15.858 +0.359 2:11.852 110.524
18 52 Dave Mundy 16 45:47.221 +22.020 +6.162 2:16.390 106.847
19 20 Joel Miller 15 43:19.368 1 Lap 1 Lap 2:08.817 113.128
20 24 J.C. Kester 15 45:33.773 +2:14.405 +2:14.405 2:10.657 111.535
21 22 Rusty Mitchell 14 45:35.674 2 Laps 1 Lap 2:11.428 110.880
22 15 Taylor Hacquard 13 45:39.805 3 Laps 1 Lap 2:11.584 110.749
23 45 Jason Vinkemulder 7 21:21.195 9 Laps 6 Laps 2:11.556 110.773
24 16 Chris Cumming 4 11:07.404 12 Laps 3 Laps 2:13.095 109.492
Irishman Peter Dempsey scored a long-overdue first win in the 2008 Star Mazda Championship in an intense see-saw battle in round 6 at Road America.
Driving the #21 Mazda, Dempsey qualified on the front row fought a race-long battle with pole-sitter John Edwards and made the pass for the lead on the next-to-last lap.
Edwards, with victories at Miller Motorsports Park and Race 2 at Portland, started from the pole and finished second in the #7 Mazda. Rounding out the top-3 was Watkins Glen winner Charles Hall, who started from 5th in the #77 car.
Sebring race winner Joel Miller led in the early stages in the #20Mazda, but slowed in the closing stages of the race with mechanicalproblems.
The top-finishing Master Series driver (45 and older) was the current points leader in the category, Californian Chuck Hulse. Driving the #12 Mazda, he has now scored three class wins and finished 11th overall at Road America.
Making his first visit to the podium as winner of the Expert Series (drivers 30 to 44) was J.W. Roberts. Racing the #65 Mazda, he has finished top-3 in class at every race this season and was 16th overall in today's race.
The race was a nail-biter right from the start, including a first-turn, first-lap incident that saw two cars off into the gravel trap. That seemed to set the tone for the race, a series of fullcourse yellow flags interspersed with some extremely high-caliber racing.
The battle throughout the field was so fierce that the final race action occurred when two cars (including the one of Texan Kristy Kester) crashed on the front straight 50 yards past the finish line.
After round 6 at Road America, Charles Hall leads the championship battle with 211 points, followed by Alex Ardoin with 202 and Joel Miller with 200. Rounding out the top-5 are race winner Peter Dempsey in 4th with 184 points followed by tom Gladdis in 5th with 182.
The next event on the Star Mazda Championship schedule takes place next weekend at the 30th annual Grand Prix of Trois Rivières, a historic and notoriously technical street circuit in the middle of Quebec city.
Race Results; Round Six - Road America:
Pos No. Name Laps Total Tm Diff Gap Best Tm Best Spd
1 21 Peter Dempsey 16 45:25.201 - - 2:07.557 114.245
2 7 John Edwards 16 45:25.717 +0.516 +0.516 2:08.520 113.389
3 77 Charles Hall 16 45:29.544 +4.343 +3.827 2:08.541 113.371
4 51 Alex Ardoin 16 45:30.037 +4.836 +0.493 2:08.865 113.086
5 5 Tom Gladdis 16 45:30.340 +5.139 +0.303 2:09.293 112.711
6 17 Scott Rettich 16 45:31.733 +6.532 +1.393 2:10.242 111.890
7 48 Kristy Kester 16 45:34.650 +9.449 +1.071 2:12.255 110.187
8 18 Ernesto Otero 16 45:32.599 +7.398 +0.866 2:09.172 112.817
9 19 Caio Lara 16 45:33.579 +8.378 +0.980 2:09.549 112.489
10 88 Bobby Caldwell 16 45:34.685 +9.484 +0.035 2:11.808 110.561
11 12 Chuck Hulse 16 45:35.060 +9.859 +0.375 2:11.725 110.630
12 55 Gerry Kraut 16 45:36.338 +11.137 +1.278 2:11.395 110.908
13 33 Natalia Kowalska 16 45:37.222 +12.021 +0.884 2:10.771 111.438
14 82 Billy Goshen 16 45:38.613 +13.412 +1.391 2:08.927 113.031
15 57 Robert Kaminsky 16 45:39.488 +14.287 +0.875 2:11.440 110.870
16 65 J.W. Roberts 16 45:40.700 +15.499 +1.212 2:12.298 110.151
17 66 Richard Zober 16 45:41.059 +15.858 +0.359 2:11.852 110.524
18 52 Dave Mundy 16 45:47.221 +22.020 +6.162 2:16.390 106.847
19 20 Joel Miller 15 43:19.368 1 Lap 1 Lap 2:08.817 113.128
20 24 J.C. Kester 15 45:33.773 +2:14.405 +2:14.405 2:10.657 111.535
21 22 Rusty Mitchell 14 45:35.674 2 Laps 1 Lap 2:11.428 110.880
22 15 Taylor Hacquard 13 45:39.805 3 Laps 1 Lap 2:11.584 110.749
23 45 Jason Vinkemulder 7 21:21.195 9 Laps 6 Laps 2:11.556 110.773
24 16 Chris Cumming 4 11:07.404 12 Laps 3 Laps 2:13.095 109.492