THE LUCK OF THE IRISH – PETER DEMPSEY'S 'HAIL MARY' PASS IN THE CLOSING LAPS PRODUCES A SURPRISE WIN IN STAR MAZDA CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND 2 AT VIR

VIR (April 26, 2009) – Surviving a race liberally sprinkled with punts, shunts, debris and yellow flags, Irish racer Peter Dempsey pulled off the 'hail Mary' pass of the weekend the weekend to win Round 2 of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear at VIR. Nicknamed 'the Irish Steamroller' for his four wins, including three in a row, during the 2008 Star Mazda season, Dempsey, who started on the outside of the front row, drove his #3 AIM Autosport / Motorsport Ireland / Queyside.ie Mazda to a 0.038-sec. margin of victory over Louisiana native Alex Ardoin who started from 5th on the grid in the #51 JDC Motorsports / Oral & Facial Surgery Center Mazda.

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CHRISTODOULOU CAPTURES TIGHT BATTLE FOR POLE IN ROUND 2 OF THE 2009 STAR MAZDA CHAMPIONSHIP AT VIR

VIR (April 25, 2009) – The name at the top of the qualifying sheet was the same as the previous five practice sessions -- and it was the expected, thoroughly-smashed track record – but the rest of the names, and the small gaps between lap times, were more of a surprise.

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5 FOR 5 – CHRISTODOULOU MAKES A CLEAN SWEEP OF PRACTICE SESSIONS LEADING UP TO SATURDAY QUALIFYING FOR ROUND 2 OF THE 2009 STAR MAZDA CHAMPIONSHIP AT VIR

VIR (April 24, 2009) – It's extremely unusual for a single driver to be the fastest in every session leading up to a race, and Englishman Adam Christodoulou isn't there quite yet – but he's well on his way. Driving the #11 JDC Motorsports Mazda, he has set the fastest time in five straight sessions, three 'promoter test day' sessions on Thursday and two official practice sessions on Friday. All that remains is Saturday morning's qualifying session and Sunday afternoon's race – and while he started from the outside of the front row at Sebring rather than on the pole, he did go on to win the race, so the odds seem stacked in his favor.

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SEBRING WINNER ADAM CHRISTODOULOU TOPS THE TIME SHEETS IN FIRST STAR MAZDA CHAMPIONSHIP PRACTICE FOR ROUND 2 OF THE 2009 SEASON AT VIR

VIR (April 24, 2009) – After topping the time sheets in all three sessions during 'promoter test day' on Thursday, Englishman Adam Christodoulou – winner of Round 1 of the 2009 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear at Sebring – unsurprisingly set the fastest time on the 17th lap of the first official practice session on Friday morning. He turned a 1:46.746 (110.280 mph) around the 3.27-mile, 17-turn VIR road course driving the #11 JDC Motorsports Mazda. The time is just shy of a full second faster than the existing Star Mazda Championship lap record of 1:47.607, set by James Davison in 2007. Also under the record is his teammate, American Joel Miller, who turned a 1:47.257 (109.755 mph) on lap 15 in the #2 JDC Motorsports Mazda.

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SHOOTING STARS AT VIR – MORE THAN 25 CARS EXPECTED FOR ROUND TWO OF THE 2009 THE STAR MAZDA CHAMPIONSHIP PRESENTED BY GOODYEAR AT VIR THIS WEEKEND

When you have a 25+ field of racing drivers in which three of the top four and seven of the top ten from last year's championship are back to do battle again, you know you have a hot racing series. And so it is with the 2009 Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear, now entering its 19th year as one of the premier open-wheel driver development series in the world today with a list of graduates as long as your arm – with Indy Car stars Marco Andretti, Graham Rahal and Raphael Matos, along with NASCAR driver Michael McDowell, Grand Am Rolex Series racers Guy Cosmo, Brad Jaeger among the most recent.

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