EDWARDS QUICKEST IN BOTH FRIDAY STAR MAZDA CHAMPIONSHIP PRACTICE SESSIONS AT THE MOBIL1 GRAND PRIX OF MOSPORT
American John Edwards, the first two-time winner in the 2008 Star Mazda Championship with victories at Miller Motorsports Park and Portland, turned the quickest times in both the morning and afternoon sessions… though rising heat during the day slowed times for most of the front runners. Edwards, who is currently 5th in the 2008 Star Mazda Championship points battle, ran a 1:15.842 (116.722 mph) in the #7 AIM Autosport Mazda during the muggy morning under slightly overcast skies. In the afternoon, under sunny skies, he was still fastest, but with a 1:16.247 (116.102 mph).
The driver who made a major leap forward in mastering the technical Mosport track during the afternoon session was Billy Goshen, driver of the #82 Goshen Motorsports / Merv Griffin Entertainment / Global Tracking Communications Mazda. He was 8th fast in the morning with a 1:17.179 (114.700 mph), but rose to second on the time sheet in the afternoon by virtue of a lap at 1:16.577 (115.601). Also moving up, from 6th fast to 3rd with a lap of 1:16.807 (115.255 mph) was series points leader Charles Hall in the #77 Andersen Racing / Blimpie / AccentBanking.com/ Allied Building Products Mazda. Rounding out the top-5 were Tom Gladdis and Joel Miller. Gladdis, in the #5 Andersen Racing / Marrache & Co. / Allied Building Products Mazda was 4th in both sessions, turning a 1:16.865 (115.168 mph), while Miller slipped from 2nd-fast in the morning to 5th in the afternoon with a 1:17.045 (114.899 mph).
The fastest driver in the Expert Series (ages 30 to 44) was again Phil Fogg, Jr., with an afternoon lap of 1:17.611 (114.061 mph), which was both fastest among the Expert drivers and 10th fast overall. Fogg is currently 3rd in the Expert Series points battle with one win and three podium finishes driving the #29 Northwest Autosport / Consonus Health Services Mazda. The honor of quickest Master Series driver (ages 45 and older) in the session changed from one JDC Motorsports teammate to another; in the morning it was Master Series points leader Chuck Hulse, but in the afternoon, Gerry Kraut turned a lap of 1:18.075 (113.383 mph) in the #55 JDC Motorsports / Dougherty & Co. / Dougherty Funding LLC Mazda.
The next time the Star Mazda Championship cars take to the track will be for a 45-minute qualifying session from 8:00 am to 8:45 am Saturday, August 23, with the 45-minute race, Round 8 of the 2008 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear, scheduled to take the green flag at 3:50 pm Saturday afternoon. The race will be broadcast on SPEED TV at 1:00 pm (ET) Sunday, October 12.
Pos No. Name Best Tm In Lap Diff Gap Points 1 7 John Edwards 1:16.247 17 - - 0 2 82 Billy Goshen 1:16.577 22 +0.330 +0.330 0 3 77 Charles Hall 1:16.807 20 +0.560 +0.230 0 4 5 Tom Gladdis 1:16.865 7 +0.618 +0.058 0 5 20 Joel Miller 1:17.045 16 +0.798 +0.180 0 6 24 J.C. Kester 1:17.092 16 +0.845 +0.047 0 7 21 Peter Dempsey 1:17.185 16 +0.938 +0.093 0 8 18 Ernesto Otero 1:17.543 18 +1.296 +0.358 0 9 22 Rusty Mitchell 1:17.569 16 +1.322 +0.026 0 10 29 Phil Fogg Jr. 1:17.611 22 +1.364 +0.042 0 11 34 Natalia Kowalska 1:17.868 17 +1.621 +0.257 0 12 15 Taylor Hacquard 1:17.999 16 +1.752 +0.131 0 13 16 Chris Cumming 1:18.070 20 +1.823 +0.071 0 14 55 Gerry Kraut 1:18.075 21 +1.828 +0.005 0 15 17 Scott Rettich 1:18.120 7 +1.873 +0.045 0 16 48 Kristy Kester 1:18.511 18 +2.264 +0.391 0 17 12 Chuck Hulse 1:18.562 21 +2.315 +0.051 0 18 19 Caio Lara 1:18.803 13 +2.556 +0.241 0 19 65 J.W. Roberts 1:19.047 21 +2.800 +0.244 0 20 25 Richard Kent 1:21.400 3 +5.153 +2.353 0 21 13 Carlos Conde 1:23.073 3 +6.826 +1.673 0 22 51 Alex Ardoin -.--- 0 - - 0
