April 24 , 1999 - Buttonwillow Raceway Park   (Round 1)
New Season Kicks Off With Hand Out Front

The 1999 Star Mazda Series West Division Championship kicked off the new season at this San Joaquin Valley road course with Joey Hand, of Sacramento, Calif., leading all 20 laps of the 58.2-mile race, which was held in conjunction with Cal Club's SCCA National weekend.

From the pole, Stacy Suspension Systems' Hand was very much in control, eventually increasing his lead over Bucknum by nearly six seconds at the checker. World Speed's Bucknum, who is the 26-year-old son of Formula 1, Indy car, Trans-Am and sports car legend Ronnie Bucknum, held onto second place for all 20 laps even after mid-race challenges from third-place finisher Brandon Peterson, from the Valley Motor Center stable.

Sports Car Ltd.'s Michael Potekhen actually jumped into third on the start, but Peterson stayed close and re-claimed the position as the pair entered the Sunset turn (aka Turn One). "I just wanted to hang on and get onto the podium," said the 20-year-old Peterson.

Back up front, Bucknum was obviously trying very hard to close in on Hand, dropping wheels in the East Loop near the sequence of Grapevine turns. "I sure missed that braking point," Bucknum admitted. "That's what really made that six-second margin. What I was concerned about at that point was shaking out any dirt or grass that might have gotten stuck in the radiators. I didn't need to overheat the car."

With the green flag shown from the I-5 straight as the pack headed into the Riverside left-hander, Hand eventually got the jump as he and Bucknum raced side-by-side. "Once I got ahead of Jeff, I ran as hard as I could for a few laps," said the 20-year-old karting champion. "The car really felt good all race long."

Behind the top three, Potekhen defended his fourth-place position from challenges by several drivers, including Bruno Lambert, Paul Beregsaszy and Alan Benson, who eventually led Lambert to the line in fifth. Unfortunately, Beregsaszy fell back to 12th on lap 13 after running as high as fifth before a miscue in the Off-Ramp turn on the East Loop.

With Lambert in sixth, series rookie and Canadian resident Darrin Millar finished an impressive seventh. Fellow rookie contender Tim Enoch, of Mission Viejo, Calif., climbed all the way from last on the grid to finish eighth. Formula Mazda veteran Bob Negron was ninth with Beregsaszy moving up to round out the top 10 when Sara Senske penalized two positions for passing under the yellow.

In the championship points race, Hand leads Bucknum 45 to 40, earning an extra point for the pole position. Peterson is third at 37, followed by Potekhen at 34 and Benson is fifth with 32 points.

The second round of the Star Mazda Series West Division Championship is slated for May 30, at Phoenix Int'l Raceway. For more information about the Star Mazda Series West Division Championship, please contact series administrator Gary Rodrigues at (818) 909-5319 or check out the Star Mazda Series website at www.starmazda.com. -Jane Anderson

 

Top 10 Points Standings (After 1 of 12 rounds):
1. Hand, 45; 2. Bucknum, 40; 3. Peterson, 37; 4. Potekhen, 34;
5. Benson, 32; 6. Lambert, 30; 7. Millar, 29;
8. Enoch, 28; 9. Beregsaszy, 27; 10. Beardsley, 26.

Finishing Order
1st Joey Hand
2nd Jeff Bucknum
3rd Brandon Peterson
4th Michael Potekhen
5th Alan Benson
6th Bruno Lambert
7th Darren Millar
8th Tim Enoch
9th Bob Negron
10th Paul Beregszaszy
11th Matt Beardsley
12th Sara Senske
13th Pierre Ehret
14th Grant Riley
15th Bob Hatle
16th Les Phillips
17th Bryan Willman
18th Brady Gross
19th Tom Dyer
20th T.J. Acker
21st Dave McMillan
22nd Dave Lewis
23rd Brian Reuter
24th Peter West
25th Chris Emanuel
26th Frank McCormick
27th Ginni Swanton
28th Kyle Rachaschine
29th Carol Siska
30th Alex Figge
31st Kenneth Mollenauer
Time of Race: 36:00.103
Race Average Speed: 92.585 mph
Lap Leaders:
Hand 1-20
Fastest  Lap: 1:49.221 by Joey Hand
Margin of Victory: 5.838 seconds