Adrian Carrio, of Monument, Colorado, survived a first lap scare and then pulled away to victory today in Round Six of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear at the brand-new Miller Motorsports Park circuit. Driving the #14 World Speed Motorsports Rockford Fosgate Mazda, Carrio mastered the 4.468-mile circuit to take the checkered flag 4.153 seconds ahead of second place finisher Ron White, in his #69 Ron White Racing Fulton Valley Farms Mazda. Kevin Lacroix, of St. Eustache, Quebec, completed the podium, finishing third this afternoon in his #74 John Walko Racing Uni- Select Auto Parts Mazda.
After an aborted first start due to the stricken car of Steve Hickham Jr, Carrio, who had qualified on pole position brought the field around for a single-file restart, as the field took the green flag and raced towards the first corner Carrio and fellow front row starter Michael Potekhen touched, knocking the wing off Potekhen’s car and ending his day early. Carrio was able to recover from the contact and would lead every lap to score his second consecutive victory.
“It was really unfortunate what happened there on the start between Michael and myself,” Carrio said afterwards. “The first start was pretty hectic and as we came down the front straight on the restart I felt a thud and in my mirror I saw his wing under my rear tire. After something like that happens you wonder if anything on the car is broken but when you get to the corner you either make the turn and go racing or your day is done, and fortunately we were able to continue. Once the race settled down the car was working well, even though the track was a little slippery, and I was able to open up a gap after each restart and take another victory.”
The conclusion of Round Six marks the halfway point for the season and Carrio becomes the first repeat winner as he stretches his lead over the field with 234 points towards the championship. In the Team Championship World Speed Motorsports holds onto to first with 124 points while John Walko Racing and AIM Autosport climb to second and third place overall with 103 and 100 points respectively.
With half of the 2006 championship complete, the series now travels west with the American Le Mans Series to Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon, for the American Le Mans Series Portland Grand Prix and Round Seven of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear on July 20-22.
Grand Prix of Utah Preview – Carrio Fast as Usual
Salt Lake City, Utah
July 13th, 2006
Round six of the Star Mazda Series is taking place this weekend at the new Miller Motorsports Park facility. Adrian Carrio, driving the #14 Rockford Fosgate World Speed Motorsports Mazda, clocked the second fastest time of the session at 2:36.465 (103.538 MPH), only a couple of hundredths off of Apex Racing’s Michael Potekhen.
“My crew at World Speed Motorsports have been working hard all weekend to find those extra hundredths we need to get out front,” Carrio said. “I’m looking forward to qualifying this afternoon and the race for the pole position.”
This weekend’s Utah Grand Prix marks the first automotive race in history at the new state-of-the- art, 4.5-mile, 24-turn Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, near Salt Lake City. The Miller Motorsports Park complex, developed by Larry H. Miller, actually features two road-racing facilities – a 2.3-mile East track and the 2.2-mile West course. When combined for major events such as the inaugural Star Series event, the full track layout includes a 3,500-foot front straightaway. Miller Motorsports Park is the longest road-racing facility in North America, outdistancing Road America’s 4.048-mile facility.
Thirty-three drivers are expected to participate in this afternoon’s forty-five minute qualifying session, scheduled to begin at 5:15 PM Mountain Daylight Time.