Crawford Race Cars to Provide Daytona Prototype Test for Series Champion

October 20, 2006. Monterey, California. The Star Mazda Championship prize package just got a little sweeter as Series President Gary Rodrigues announced today that the winner of the 2006 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear will be awarded a test in a Crawford Race Cars Daytona Prototype.

“We are very pleased to announce this opportunity for our series champion and would like to express our appreciation to Max Crawford for making this award possible,” Rodrigues commented. “It has always been the goal of our championship to prepare the next generation of racing champions for the next steps up the motorsports ladder and we are confident that our champion will shine in this test.”

Crawford Race Cars is one of the leading manufacturers of Daytona Prototypes used in the Grand American Road Racing Association’s Rolex Sports Car Series, with the Crawford chassis capturing four victories and seven additional podium finishes in the 2006 season. Max Crawford, President and co-founder of Crawford Race Cars and Crawford Composites, looks forward to working with the Star Mazda Champion.

“I’m happy to be in a position to provide this test to the next Star Mazda champion,” Crawford explained. “The Rolex Sports Car Series has seen recent graduates of this championship, such as Michael McDowell, Colin Braun and Mark Patterson, all capture victories which reflects highly on the competition. ”

The championship battle, and winner of the test, will be decided on Saturday, October 21 st at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in the final round of the 2006 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear. With one race remaining, Adrian Carrio, from Monument, Colorado, holds a thirty-five point edge over his championship rival Kevin Lacroix, of St. Eustache, Quebec.

Graduates of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear have taken the racing world by storm in 2006. In addition to victories by Patterson and Braun in the Rolex Sports Car Series Marco Andretti became the youngest driver to win an IndyCar event with his victory at Infineon Raceway, backing up his second place finish in the Indianapolis 500; 2005 Champion Raphael Matos and fellow 2005 race winner Jay Howard captured victories in the Indy Pro Series, with Howard claiming the title; Matos, Graham Rahal, Robbie Pecorari and James Hinchcliffe all climbed the top step of the podium in ChampCar Atlantic competition; Brad Coleman rolled to victory at Kentucky Speedway in ARCA; McDowell and Mikel Miller earned victories in Grand Am Cup; and 2002 graduate Scott Speed is completing his first full season driving for Scuderia Torro Rossa in Formula One.