2003 Results - Star Mazda Series Red Line Oil Championship

Pacific Raceway
May 24 - 25, 2003
 

John Olsen sweeps Rounds Seven and Eight at Seattle

 

May 25, 2003, Seattle, WA. Fresh off of his podium finish at Nazareth Speedway, Team Bucknum driver John Olsen swept to victory in both rounds of the Star Mazda Series Red Line Oil Championship at Pacific Raceway.

“This was an excellent weekend for me and Team Bucknum, and relief to get my first wins,” Olsen commented, adding,  “the past couple of weekends have been great. After the podium at Nazareth and the victories here, we are going to work hard to keep that momentum going at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.”

The race weekend at Pacific Raceway, (Formerly Seattle International Raceway), would be the end of a logistically challenging weekend for several teams and drivers, including Olsen and the Team Bucknum crew, as they worked to get their equipment back across the country and their cars converted from oval to road course setups. “My car was perfect,” Olsen stated, “the team did a very good job under the circumstances between the tight schedule and preparing the car.”

While Olsen would ultimately prevail in the first of the two rounds, championship points leader Mike Anderson continued his streak of pole positions at Red Line Oil Championship events he entered in his HASA Pool Products Formula Mazda, capturing his fourth consecutive pole for Saturday’s race, with Olsen alongside in second. At the start of the race Olsen was able to jump into the lead and Anderson would fall back as his car started to develop an oversteer condition around the 2.25 mile track.

While Anderson was fading, Olsen was able to establish a healthy lead ahead of non-championship entrant Melvin Kemper, Jr. and his Team Bucknum teammate, Alan Rudolph, who had recovered from a difficult start to work his way back up the field. Rudolph managed to work his way past Kemper but ran out of laps before he could make a bid for Olsen’s spot. Anderson, despite his handling woes was able to hold on to claim the points for third place.

Continuing their battle from the previous week at Portland International Raceway, Kyle Kelley and Phil Fogg Jr fought back and forth with Kelley being able to get thought he traffic to claim the fifth finishing sport overall. “After the victory last weekend I was a little disappointed,” Kelley commented. “The top group was able to get away from me in traffic, but to finish in the top five against these superb drivers is still a good performance.”

With the first of two races in the books the drivers and crews had just enough time to recover and prepare to qualify for the race on Sunday, and for the first time since Phoenix, Anderson would not be the pole sitter as Olsen would continue on his hot streak and lead the field to the green flag for Sunday’s 20-lap event.

As the 21 cars entered in the event raced down into the first turn, Olsen was able to maintain and lengthen his lead until a full course caution came out for an incident involving Dave Gaylord, allowing the rest of the field to close the gap. On the restart, Olsen would be held up by the slower cars, from a different class of SCCA Competition, ahead of him, the result of a split start format. Taking advantage, both Anderson and Kelley moved past Olsen, with Rudolph joining the battle as well.

“That restart worried me,” Olsen commented. “I was stuck behind slower cars and both Anderson and Kelley got around me. Once I was able to emerge from the traffic I was able to get past Kelley in turn three and was able to reclaim the lead from Anderson the next time around I turn two. From there it was just a run to the finish thanks to the work of Team Bucknum. This weekend’s results are for them and my sponsors Rotary Rockets, Derek Daly Academy and my friend Ross and Don.”

Despite losing the lead to Olsen, Anderson was able to use the lapped traffic to establish a gap between himself and Rudolph and Kelley, who were locked in battle for third place. “I had quite the battle with Kyle Kelley which let Olsen and Anderson get away,” Rudolph lamented. “At the end I was able to catch up to Anderson on the final lap but I needed one more lap to get by him. Never having raced here before, and having missed the test day, I’m happy to have scored a second and a third place finish and look forward to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. 

Things have closed up at the top of the championship battle, for while Anderson was able to extend his lead over Rudolph by one point with 297 to 261, by virtue of his pole position run for Saturday’s race, Phil Fogg Jr with 258 points and Olsen with 244 have jumped back into the fray with three races remaining in the championship.

In Masters Championship competition for drivers aged 45 and older, Bob Negron retains his lead over Phil Fogg Sr. by a slim ten point margin with 134 points to Fogg’s 124.

Round nine of the Star Mazda Series Red Line Oil Championship will be held in conjunction with the Star Mazda Series North American Championship at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca as part of the ChampCar weekend June 13-16.

 

 
Results
 

Pacific Raceway - Race One
  

Pos Driver Qual  Laps Qual Lap Race Lap
           
1 John Olsen 2 19 1:25.226 1:25.119
2 Alan Rudolph 3 19 1:25.401 1:25.335
3 Melvin Kemper, Jr 5 19 1:25.561 1:25.805
4 Mike Anderson 1 19 1:25.048 1:25.730
5 Kyle Kelley 4 19 1:25.525 1:26.056
6 Phil Fogg, Jr 6 19 1:25.863 1:26.150
7 Ryan Justice 8 19 1:26.275 1:26.388
8 John Green II 9 19 1:26.523 1:26.632
9 Garrett Drysdale 11 19 1:26.969 1:26.712
10 Dave Gaylord 10 19 1:26.752 1:27.104
11 Brian Thienes 12 19 1:27.034 1:27.055
12 Ethan Hernandez - 19 no time avail 1:26.766
13 Bob Negron 7 19 1:26.134 1:27.210
14 Brian McAtee 15 19 1:29.161 1:27.813
15 Phil Fogg, Sr 13 19 1:27.216 1:27.818
16 Doug Evans 14 18 1:28.876 no time avail
17 Norman Hernandez - 18 no time avail 1:28.857
18 Ginni Swanton 18 18 1:30.102 1:29.390
19 Bob Hatle 17 18 1:29.704 1:30.028
20 Timothy Osborne 16 18 1:29.578 1:28.942
21 Rick Waddell 19 18 1:30.405 1:30.979
22 Chuck Helm - 7 no time avail 1:28.325

Pacific Raceway - Race Two
   

Pos Driver Qual Laps Qual Lap Race Lap
           
1 John Olsen 1 20 1:24.608 1:23.857
2 Mike Anderson 3 20 1:25.071 1:24.407
3 Alan Rudolph 2 20 1:24.830 1:24.205
4 Phil Fogg, Jr 4 20 1:25.148 1:25.236
5 Melvin Kemper, Jr 11 20 1:26.445 1:25.188
6 Kyle Kelley 5 20 1:25.241 1:24.439
7 Ryan Justice 6 20 1:25.490 1:25.506
8 Brian Thienes 9 20 1:26.183 1:25.401
9 Garrett Drysdale 15 20 1:27.211 1:25.356
10 Bob Negron 10 20 1:26.224 1:25.471
11 Ethan Hernandez 8 20 1:25.885 1:25.483
12 Phil Fogg, Sr 13 20 1:26.592 1:25.462
13 John Green II 12 19 1:26.495 1:27.692
14 Doug Evans - 19 no time avail not avail
15 Timothy Osborne 17 19 1:28.436 1:27.286
16 Rick Waddell 18 19 1:28.523 1:27.543
17 Bob Hatle 19 19 1:29.132 1:27.585
18 Norman Hernandez - 19 no time avail 1:28.614
19 Ginni Swanton 16 17 1:28.291 1:29.068
20 Brian McAtee 14 10 1:27.080 1:26.634
21 Dave Gaylord 7 0 1:25.593 not avail

    

Points

   
Current Series Points

 

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