The 2008 Star Mazda Championship was a season of the open wheel racing series the Star Mazda Championship. It consisted of a 12-race schedule beginning in March and ending in October, with only the best eleven race results counting towards the championship. As with 2007, the series featured races exclusively on road and street courses. In addition to the main championship that is typically tested by young, developing drivers, there were also additional class titles for older drivers.
John Edwards won the championship ahead of Joel Miller and Peter Dempsey despite missing the first round of the championship., Junior Open Wheel Talent, October 19, 2008, Retrieved 2011-07-25 Edwards won four races, the same as Dempsey, but Dempsey had three finishes of 20th or worse, one of which counted in his points total, while Edwards worst points-scoring finish was 4th. Miller won only once, in the season opener. Noted British drivers Charles Hall and Tom Gladdis also participated in the series and finished fifth and sixth in points, respectively. Each won a single race. British driver Richard Kent won the final race of the season in his series debut, despite not being registered for the championship. Notable international female drivers Natalia Kowalska and Michele Bumgarner also competed in the series despite not being registered for the championship.Bumgarner: From karting to formula racing, Manila Standard Today, May 30, 2008, Retrieved 2011-07-04
Chris Cumming won the Expert class for drivers 30 and older and Chuck Hulse won the Masters class championship for drivers 40 and older.2008 Star Mazda points , Star Mazda Championship, Retrieved 2011-07-25
Race calendar and results Round Circuit Location Date Pole position Fastest lap Winning driver Winning team Supporting 1 Sebring International Raceway Sebring, Florida March 14 Joel Miller Tom Gladdis Joel Miller JDC MotorSports American Le Mans Series 2 Miller Motorsports Park Tooele, Utah May 17 John Edwards John Edwards John Edwards AIM Autosport American Le Mans Series 3 Watkins Glen International Watkins Glen, New York June 7 Alex Ardoin Charles Hall Charles Hall Andersen Racing Grand Am Rolex Sports Cars 4 Portland International Raceway Portland, Oregon July 26 Tom Gladdis Tom Gladdis Tom Gladdis Andersen Racing stand-alone 5 July 27 Tom Gladdis Tom Gladdis John Edwards AIM Autosport 6 Road America Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin August 9 John Edwards Peter Dempsey Peter Dempsey Andersen Racing American Le Mans Series 7 Circuit Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières, Quebec August 17 Peter Dempsey Peter Dempsey Peter Dempsey Andersen Racing stand-alone 8 Mosport International Raceway Bowmanville, Ontario August 23 John Edwards Peter Dempsey Peter Dempsey Andersen Racing American Le Mans Series 9 New Jersey Motorsports Park Millville, New Jersey September 13 Joel Miller John Edwards John Edwards AIM Autosport stand-alone 10 September 14 John Edwards Peter Dempsey Peter Dempsey Andersen Racing 11 Road Atlanta Braselton, Georgia October 3 Peter Dempsey Peter Dempsey John Edwards AIM Autosport American Le Mans Series 12 Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca Monterey, California October 18 Peter Dempsey not available Richard Kent Andersen Racing American Le Mans Series
Championship standings
Driver's Pos Driver SEB SLC WGL POR ROA TRO MOS NJ ATL LAG Points Overall1 John Edwards 1 6 26 1 2 2 4 1 3 1 2 4222 Joel Miller 1 3 2 22 3 19 4 2 2 4 2 4 4063 Peter Dempsey 3 4 4 24 27 1 1 1 3 1 19 3 3984 Alex Ardoin 4 10 3 2 6 4 3 5 23 2 18 5 3655 Charles Hall 2 2 1 29 4 3 5 19 6 5 22 3426 Tom Gladdis 5 5 1 2 5 8 3 5 13 8 3347 Billy Goshen 10 8 5 3 5 14 19 7 12 6 7 7 3248 Caio Lara 12 28 22 10 11 8 7 8 16 14 6 6 2869 Kristy Kester 8 18 13 4 12 7 17 12 13 12 16 10 28410 Taylor Hacquard 9 6 18 5 10 22 10 20 9 11 10 20 28111 Scott Rettich 14 24 15 23 18 6 9 21 7 8 5 22 26912 Chris Cumming 17 15 11 6 8 24 11 13 21 10 17 21 25913 Jeffery Kester 16 25 20 9 9 20 15 9 8 9 20 19 25914 Chuck Hulse 18 26 14 13 16 11 12 16 11 15 12 11 25915 Ernesto Otero 26 13 8 8 7 8 6 6 20 23 24316 J. W. Roberts 21 19 23 16 20 16 14 14 19 22 14 14 23017 Rusty Mitchell 19 13 21 20 11 14 18 13 9 20318 Gerry Kraut 19 17 17 12 28 12 15 11 24 19219 Rick Rosin 20 14 10 15 16 3 8 17620 Phil Fogg, Jr. 11 14 14 16 18 13 13521 Michael Guasch 29 11 22 17 19 16 10622 Richard Zober 22 16 17 22 17 9923 Mike Hill 13 9 7 7924 Eric Freiberg 11 7 21 7125 Chris Hundley 15 18 4526 Nick Haye 6 3027 John Zartarian 7 2928 Juliana González 15 2129 Carlos Conde 17 2030 Cody Jolly 27 1430 Keith Young 22 1432 Dan Tomlin, III 23 1333 Dan Tomlin, Jr. 24 1234 Yannick Hoffman 25 11 Expert class1 Chris Cumming 17 15 11 6 8 24 11 13 21 10 17 21 1882 J. W. Roberts 21 19 23 16 20 16 14 14 19 22 14 14 1663 Phil Fogg, Jr. 11 14 14 16 18 13 1004 Richard Zober 22 16 17 22 17 745 Dan Tomlin, III 23 14 Masters class1 Chuck Hulse 18 26 14 13 16 11 12 16 11 15 12 11 1922 Gerry Kraut 19 17 17 12 28 12 15 11 24 1503 Michael Guasch 29 11 22 17 19 16 844 Chris Hundley 15 18 285 Carlos Conde 18 145 Keith Young 22 146 Dan Tomlin, Jr. 24 12 Unregistered drivers Richard Kent 1 Valle Mäkelä 4 7 21 Kyle Marcelli 4 Patrick O'Neill 16 7 17 18 21 15 Jonny Baker 12 9 23 Court Vernon 9 Natalia Kowalska 12 30 29 13 13 10 Kevin Toledo 10 20 Bobby Caldwell 10 Ron White 12 Michele Bumgarner 27 20 19 27 15 David House 23 15 21 25 Bob Kaminsky 15 Frank McCormick 17 24 17 Dave Mundy 21 18 Michael Gesser 18 25 Stan Kohls 21 20 19 Brian Johnson 25 23 Jason Vinkemulder 23 Pedro Serramalera 28 26 Color Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green 4th & 5th place Light Blue 6th–10th place Dark Blue Finished(Outside Top 10) Purple Did not finish Red Did not qualify(DNQ) Brown Withdrawn(Wth) Black Disqualified(DSQ) White Did not start(DNS) Blank Did notparticipate(DNP) Not competingIn-line notationBoldPole position(1 point)ItalicsRan fastest race lap
Note: Expert and Masters classes have different point system than the overall championship.
References
External links Star Mazda Championship Official website Star Mazda Racing Teams