FROM THE BOTTOM TO THE TOP – IRISHMAN PETER DEMPSEY
SCORES AN OVERDUE FIRST WIN AT ROAD AMERICA

Road America (Saturday, August 09, 2008) -- Irishman Peter Dempsey scored a long-overdue first win in the 2008 Star Mazda Championship in an intense see-saw battle in round 6 at Road America. Driving the #21 Andersen Racing / LotusWorks/ Center Jewellers.ie/Quayside.ie/ Allied Building Products Mazda, Dempsey qualified on the front row fought a race-long battle with pole-sitter John Edwards and made the pass for the lead on the next-to-last lap. Edwards, with victories at Miller Motorsports Park and Race 2 at Portland, started from the pole and finished second in the #7 AIM Autosport Mazda. Rounding out the top-3 was Watkins Glen winner Charles Hall, who started from 5th in the #77 Andersen Racing / Blimpie / AccentBanking.com/Pardoes Solicitors / Allied Building Products Mazda.

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EDWARDS COMES OUT ON TOP IN A HEATED BATTLE FOR
THE STAR MAZDA CHAMPIONSHIP POLE AT ROAD AMERICA

American racer John Edwards, the only repeat winner so far in the 2008 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear, won the pole this afternoon for the start of tomorrow's Round 6 at Road America. His lap of 2:05.313 (116.291) #7 AIM Autosport Mazda was just 0.227 faster than the man who will start on the outside of the front row, Irishman Peter Dempsey. Dempsey, who did not run in this morning's Practice, led the early stages of qualifying and ultimately posted a 2nd-fast lap of 2:05.540 (116.081 mph) in the #21 Andersen Racing / LotusWorks/ Allied Building Products Mazda, his best qualifying effort so far this season. Rounding out the top-3 was the winner of Race 1/Round 4 at the Mazda Grand Prix of Portland, Tom Gladdis, the 17 year-old driver from the British territory of Gibraltar. He turned a lap of 2:05.540 (115.815 mph) in the #5 Andersen Racing / Law firm of Marrache & Co. / Allied Building Products Mazda.

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THE FIVES AND THE FIVE NOTS – FAST GUYS FORM AN EXCLUSIVE CLUB
IN STAR MAZDA FRIDAY MORNING PRACTICE AT ROAD AMERICA

On as perfect a morning for motor racing as you'll ever see at Road America, a trio of fast guys traded top laps throughout the Friday morning Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear Practice. Two red flags for trips into the gravel were the only, and relatively minor, incidents, and when the tire smoke cleared, it was John Edwards in the #7 AIM Autosport Mazda who pulled out a few extra tenths to set the fastest lap on the final lap of the session, a 2:05.275 (116.326 mph) around the 4.048-mile natural-terrain road circuit through the forests of Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. Edwards is the only double-race winner so far this season, with victories (from the pole) in his debut race at Miller Motorsports Park and again in Race 2/Round 5 at the Mazda Grand Prix of Portland.

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STAR MAZDA STARTS A THREE-RACE ROAD TRIP AT ROAD AMERICA

The Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear begins a three-race 'road trip' with back-to-back weekends at Road America, Trois Rivières and Mosport. The next event, Round 6 of the 12-race 2008 Star Mazda Championship season, takes place during the American Le Mans Series GNERAC 500 at Road America, August 7 - 10. On track activity for the Star Mazda championship series begins with a promoter's Session on Thursday, august 7. Qualifying for the race takes place from 4:05 to 4:50 pm, Friday, August 8 with the 45-minute Star Mazda championship event scheduled to take the green flag at 2:25 pm Saturday, August 8. The race will be broadcast on SPEED TV on August 23 at 12:00 pm (ET).

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