December
10, 2001
The Southwest Formula Mazda Regional Series concluded at Motorsport Ranch on December 1-2. There were 11 Formula Mazdas in the competition with 7 battling for Series points. Going into the weekend, the chase for the Championship was so close that any one of the top four (Tom Woodman, Nur Ali, BobStallings, Kevin Dutton) were capable of taking it. Unfortunately, Tom Woodman suffered some bad luck in Saturday's Qualifying session and was unable to participate in Saturday's race due to incomplete repairs. This pretty much eliminated his chances for the Championship. Bob Stallings started Saturday's race on the pole with Kevin Dutton in 2nd. Dutton went off in the "rattlesnake" early on and was moved back to 7th position overall. But, Dutton worked his way back up to the front and passed Stallings on Lap 20. Dutton won the Series competition with Stallings 2nd and Ali 3rd. Saturday's race was filmed by Dallas Community Television and will be aired at a later date on Dallas cable channel 27.
After Saturday's race, Bob Stallings led the points race with Nur Ali only trailing by 2 and Kevin Dutton by 5. So, for Sunday's race, the pressure was high. Bob Stallings again qualified on the pole with Kevin Dutton 2nd and Nur Ali 3rd. To say this race was exciting would be an understatement. The drivers put on a great show for the many spectators. On lap one, Stallings spun out leaving Dutton in 1st and Ali in 2nd. On Lap 7, Dutton & Russ Wiseman got together. Dutton spun out and Wiseman was able to continue. So again, Dutton was forced to work his way back up to the front of the pack. In the meantime, Stallings had worked his way back up to 2nd behind Ali. Stallings went for a pass around Ali and spun again. Dutton passed Stallings on Lap 22 but Ali had too good a lead. A very ecstatic Nur B. Ali won the race and the 2001 SWFM Regional Series Championship. Following the race on Sunday, the Series held it's awards banquet in the Motorsport Ranch Drivers Lounge. Cash and prizes were awarded to all 8 drivers in the Series. All Series race results can be found at www.texasautosports.com