Southwest Formula Mazda Series
by
Sandy Magrath
The
2002 Southwest Formula Mazda Series ran Rounds 1 & 2 at the Texas Region
SCCA Polar Prix Double National held at Texas World Speedway on February 16-17.
On Saturday, Brad Pollard qualified on the pole with Bob Stallings 2nd
and Kevin Dutton in 3rd. On Lap 6,
Nick Leber and Dutton battled it out but Dutton prevailed and went on to pass
Stallings on Lap 12. Pollard won
the race with Dutton in 2nd and Stallings in 3rd.
Unfortunately, the Adjustable RPM chips in the FM’s will change over
time and Dutton’s was found slightly over the limit upon SCCA technical
inspection. So, Stallings was
awarded the 2nd place finish and R.David Jones the 3rd.
Nick Leber had the fastest race lap with a 1:42:08.
On Sunday, Brad Pollard again qualified on the pole with Bob Stallings in
2nd and R.David Jones in 3rd. With
Jones having some trouble on Lap 3, Greg Byrne moved into 3rd position with Nur
B. Ali in 4th. Nick Leber, starting
in last place because of the same chip problem that Dutton encountered on
Saturday, fought his way up through the pack and passed Byrne on Lap 11.
Leber then set his sites on 2nd position.
Leber took 2nd on Lap 13. The
race concluded with Pollard in 1st, Leber in 2nd, and Byrne in 3rd.
Stallings finished in 4th position with a punctured tire and only 7 lbs
of air. Brad Pollard had the fasted
race lap with a 1:42:10.
| Round 1 (TWS SCCA National 2/16/02) | |
| Qualifying | Race |
| 1. Brad Pollard (1:40:93) | 1. Brad Pollard (1:42:62) |
| 2. Bob Stallings (1:43:27) | 2. Bob Stallings (1:43:71) |
| 3. Kevin Dutton (1:43:49) | 3. R.David Jones (1:44:01) |
| 4. R. David Jones (1:43:71) | 4. Tom Woodman (1:47:17) |
| 5. Nick Leber (1:44:32) | 5. Greg Byrne (1:48:71) |
| 6. Frank Tomlinson (1:45:37) | 6. Nick Leber (1: 42:08) |
| 7. Nur B. Ali (1:45:74) | 7. Dena Tomlin (1:53:11) |
| 8. Greg Byrne (1:47:10) | 8. Nur B. Ali (1:46:20) |
| 9. Tom Woodman (1:48:10) | 9. Kevin Dutton (1:42:57) |
| 10.Dena Tomlin (1:52:68) | 10.Frank Tomlinson (1:47:15) |
|
|
|
| Brad Pollard out in front | Bob Stallings and Kevin Dutton |
| Round 2 (TWS SCCA National 2/17/02) | |
| Qualifying | Race |
| 1. Brad Pollard (1:41:88) | 1. Brad Pollard (1:42:10) |
| 2. Bob Stallings (1:42:89) | 2. Nick Leber (1:43:54) |
| 3. R.David Jones (1:44:12) | 3. Greg Byrne (1:45:80) |
| 4. Greg Byrne (1:44:88) | 4. Bob Stallings (1:44:70) |
|
5. Frank Tomlinson (1: 46:67) |
5. R.David Jones (1:44:62) |
| 6. Nur B. Ali (1:47:99) | 6. Tom Woodman (1:44:73) |
| 7. Tom Woodman (1:48:07) | 7. Frank Tomlinson (1:44:94) |
| 8. Dena Tomlin (1:49:80) | 8. Nur B. Ali (1:45:50) |
| 9. Nick Leber | 9. Dena Tomlin (1:46:59) |
| Point Standings (as of 2/20/02) | |
| 1. Brad Pollard â (Fairview, Tx) | 58 |
| 2. Bob Stallings â (Dallas, Tx) | 45 |
| 3. Nick Leber â (Irving, Tx) | 43 |
| 4. R. David Jones (Ft. Worth, Tx) | 41 |
| 4. Greg Byrne (Southlake, Tx) | 41 |
| 6. Tom Woodman â (Dallas, Tx) | 38 |
| 7. Dena Tomlin â (Dallas, Tx) | 32 |
| 7. Nur B. Ali (Euless, Tx) | 32 |
| 9. Frank Tomlinson â (Hutto, Tx) | 31 |
| 10. Kevin Dutton â (Colleyville, Tx) | 15 |
â = Rookie
Drivers are scored on their best 12 out of 14 races.
Drivers that attend all races will drop 2 of their worse finishes.
Race Results and Point Standings can also be found at www.texasautosports.com
Photos by Digital Race Photography