By Sandy Magrath

Rounds 11 & 12 of the Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear – Southwest were held at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit on July 23-24-25. We welcomed a special guest; Moses Smith (FM Manufacturer), who is trying to visit the different FM Series around the country. Thanks to Moses for his dedicated support!

We also welcomed two new drivers into the 2010 Series. Thanks to Darrell Mease and Phil Brown for joining and racing with us.

We got lots of track time as we usually do at the COMMA sanctioned events at Hallett. Friday was "open track" all day with 4 sessions on Saturday and 2 on Sunday.

One would think with only 6 FM's in attendance, there wouldn't be much excitement, but that was far from the truth on Saturday with 4 drivers fastest race laps within a 1/2 second.

Davis Parr qualified on the pole Saturday but had to really work hard for the win with David Vanhooser and George Jackson on his tailpipe. You could have thrown a blanket over the Top 3 for most of the race with countless unsuccessful pass attempts. Initially, Darrell Mease was also in the mix until a spin on Lap 3. Parr won with Vanhooser in a very close 2nd and Jackson 3rd.

Parr got the pole again on Sunday with Jackson qualifying 2nd and Vanhooser in 3rd. Parr pulled out into a comfortable lead with Jackson, Vanhooser, and Mease battling. Jackson spun out on Lap 2 leaving Mease to put the pressure on Vanhooser, both racing on their home track. On Lap 8, Mease spun out and Vanhooser finished 2nd with Mease in 3rd.

Congrats to George Jackson for getting his 1st Fastest Race Lap on Saturday.

Thanks to Connie and Scott Stephens at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit for their usual terrific hospitality.

Our next and final Series event will be at Eagles Canyon Raceway in Decatur, Tx on Oct 15-16-17 which is an SCCA Reg/Reg. We will have our Series Awards presentation Saturday evening. Saturday's race will be for points and Sunday's race will be for fun!

Race/Qualifying Results and Point Standings for TWS can be found on our Results & Points page.

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By Sandy Magrath

Rounds 9 & 10 of the Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear – Southwest were held at Texas World Speedway (College Station, Tx) on May 29-30 on the fun and challenging 2.9 course. The event was the Lone Star Grand Prix Regional/National sanctioned by SCCA. There were 10 FM's on Saturday and 11 FM's on Sunday.

For Saturday's race, Darryl Wills qualified on the pole with Davis Parr in 2nd and Dave Zavelson in 3rd. Wills won the race with Parr in 2nd, Stuart Rettie 3rd, and Philip Miller finishing 4th.

Saturday evening, all the FM drivers were treated to a wonderful meal prepared by Linda Jackson, who is driver George Jackson's mother. Thanks goes to Linda for the great grub!

For Sunday's race, the Top 3 Qualifiers were Darryl Wills, Davis Parr, and Russ Hillenburg. Russ's kind wife just had a baby boy but allowed him to come play with us on Sunday. Congrats goes to Russ for his new little racer. The Top 3 Qualifiers finished in the same order. All of the passing was going on behind them. R. David Jones (Qualifying 6th) got off to a bad start and faded back to 9th. He methodically worked his way back up the field and finished in 5th place behind Walter Gragert who placed 4th.

The Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear – Southwest will hold its next event at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit on July 23-24-25 which is a COMMA Regional/Regional. Race/Qualifying Results and Point Standings for TWS can be found on our Results & Points page.

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By Sandy Magrath

Rounds 7 & 8 of the Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear – Southwest were held at Texas Motor Speedway on May 1-2. The event was the Sunburn Grand Prix Double National sanctioned by SCCA.

For Saturdays race, Darryl Wills qualified on the pole with Davis Parr in 2nd and Russ Hillenburg in 3rd. On Lap 2, Hillenburg took the 2nd place position and held it strong. However on Lap 14 of the 20 Lap race, Hillenburg spun and 6 FM's got by. There was a lot of tight racing amongst Kirk Miller, Phil Miller, David Vanhooser, and George Jackson. Wills won the race with Parr in 2nd and Stuart Rettie in 3rd. Of the “tight racing pack”, Phil Miller prevailed and finished in 4th.

For Sundays race, the Top 3 Qualifiers were a repeat. Sam Ryan, visiting us from White Haven. PA, qualified 4th. Thanks to Sam for joining and participating in our Southwest Series. Sunday's race started out with a Full Course Yellow at Turn 1 of Lap 1. Unfortunately, David Vanhooser was involved in the incident with a CSR and could not finish the race. The incident subsequently brought out the Black Flag and all participants sat on the grid for many minutes. When they finally took the track, there were only 9 minutes remaining in the race. After 1 Lap following the restart, an FE spun out and several cars got entangled including Russ Hillenburg. The checkered flag was then thrown due to inadequate time to clear the track. Wills won with Parr in 2nd and R. David Jones in 3rd.

The Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear – Southwest will hold its next event at Texas World Speedway on May 29-30 which is an SCCA Regional/National. Race/Qualifying Results and Point Standings for TMS can be found on our Results & Points page.

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By Sandy Magrath

Rounds 5 & 6 of the Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear - Southwest were held at the Screaming Eagles SCCA Regional/National event at Eagles Canyon Raceway in Decatur, Texas on March 27-28.

Darryl Wills not only won FM both days, but also had the Overall Pole and Overall Win on both days beating a 30 car field of FE, FC, FA, CSR, DSR, and S2. What an endorsement for Formula Mazda! The FM can not only compete with, but beat, the far more expensive race cars.

For Saturday's race, Wills qualified on the pole with Kirk Miller in 2nd and Russ Hillenburg in 3rd. But Hillenburg had a clutch problem and Kirk Miller experienced an off track excursion and both did not make it past Lap 2 leaving Stuart Rettie and Phil Miller in 2nd and 3rd. Rettie and Phil Miller held strong to their positions and attained their best finishes of the season so far. There was a huge battle for 4th place. George Jackson, John Hugon, and David Vanhooser each held the spot for several laps with some tight racing amongst themselves and Walter Gragert hot on their heals. Vanhooser prevailed with only 2 laps to go. The "four" racing for "Fourth" had only a .399 second difference between all of their fastest race laps.

The grand battle on Sunday was for 2nd Place amongst Russ Hillenburg, Stuart Rettie, and Davis Parr. Parr, missing Friday and Saturday's events, didn't qualify as well as he would have hoped. But he worked his way up the pack and caught Hillenburg and Rettie on Lap 6. Rettie missed a gear and Parr made the pass. Parr then closed the gap with Hillenburg and passed him on Lap 12. Hillenburg took it back on the next lap and seized the 2nd place finish. Parr and Rettie finished 3rd and 4th. There was only a .307 difference in the fastest race laps of the 3 drivers battling for 2nd.

We had 2 new drivers join the Series this weekend. Kirk Miller joined us after a 17 year hiatus from racing. Kirk has raced FV, FF, SV, Shelby CanAm and IMSA. George Jackson (19 yrs old) starts his road racing career in FM with a background in Mini Sprint Car racing.

The Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear-Southwest will hold its next event at Texas Motor Speedway on May 1 & 2 at the SCCA Sunburn Double National.

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Rounds 3 & 4 of the Formula Car Challenge Presented by Goodyear - Southwest were held at Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas March 4-7. It was an SCCA Double National.

We had 2 very fast visiting drivers (Jamie Slone from Tucson, Arizona and Russ Lindemann from Longmont, Colorado) who graciously joined our Series and provided our drivers with good competition and camaraderie. We would like to thank them for coming down to play with us and would like to invite others outside our region to do the same.

The Texas World Speedway 2.9 course is a very fast and technical race track. Fortunately, there was a Thursday test day with lots of sessions in addition to the Friday test day provided by SCCA.

For Saturday's race, Darryl Wills got the pole on his home track with Jamie Slone and Russ Lindemann qualifying 2nd and 3rd. Davis Parr, Dallas Texas, showed his knowledge of the track by passing Lindemann early on for 3rd position. However, with only 4 laps to go, Parr missed a gear and gave up his Podium Spot to Russ Lindemann. The real battle was for 6th between Rookie Stuart Rettie and long time Series driver Walter Gragert making his return after a racing hiatus. Rettie held the spot for most of the race with Gragert getting around him on Lap 12. But Rettie didn’t give up and re-passed Gragert with 2 laps to go.

Sunday's race started even before the green flag as a light rain started to fall about 30 minutes before race time. Some drivers showed up at the grid in Slicks, some in Rains, and some in Rains mounted backwards. Although the rain stopped before the end of the race, it was a little too late for those who chose Slicks. Darryl Wills demonstrated how many years of Sprint Car racing helps with rain driving by not only winning the FM race but also the Overall (beating FA, FB, FC, CSR, DSR, S2000) John Hugon was the hard charger of the day moving up from 9th to 4th on his new Goodyear Rains. Jamie Slone and Russ Lindemann finished 2nd and 3rd.

Goodyear Tire Drawings for the weekend went to Russ Hillenburg, Russ Lindemann, Jamie Slone, and Davis Parr. There were 11 FM's participating at this event.

Our next event will be an SCCA Reg/Nat to be held at Eagles Canyon in Decatur, Tx on March 26, 27, 28.

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After months of planning, it was recently announced that the various Mazda powered series across the country would work together towards promoting all four of the regions and a national championship showdown under the official banner; The Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear.

Each region has their own unique characteristics that make them attractive to drivers in their locale. Some are primarily full of Formula Mazdas, while others have a very strong Pro Formula Mazda contingent. So, the Southwest Formula Mazda Series is now known as the Formula Car Challenge Presented by Goodyear – Southwest.

The National website is www.formulacarchallenge.com You can find our info by clicking on the link to the Southwest Region. Info regarding our Series will be posted there as well as texasautosports.com

2010 Formula Car Challenge Presented by Goodyear – Southwest – Opening Weekend

Rounds 1 & 2 of the Formula Car Challenge Presented by Goodyear - Southwest (formerly known as the Southwest Formula Mazda Series) were held at the SCCA Queen of Hearts Double National run at Motorsport Ranch Houston on Feb 13-14. We had a lower car count than expected since some drivers were snowed in by the biggest snow storm to hit Dallas/Fort Worth in record history. Not to mention last year's Rookie of the Year who hurt his knee snow skiing right before the event.

The weather in Houston was snow-less but a bit chilly. Which may account for the early excitement in Saturday's race. Darryl Wills, Pole Qualifier and 3 time SWFMS Champion, spun out on the pace lap. Wills made his way up the field before the race started to assume his Pole Position. Wills won the race, but SCCA penalized him to last place. (If you spin out on pace lap you cannot assume your qualifying position). So, Davis Parr took the win, with 2007 SWFMS Champion Dave Zavelson finishing 2nd and Rookie Stuart Rettie in 3rd.

We were short another driver (Philip Miller) on Sunday due to the flu. Wills qualified on the pole with Parr in 2nd and Zavelson in 3rd. The race was completed as qualified. John Hugon, having missed practice on Friday, improved his lap times by over 5 seconds after Sunday's race.

Full race results and point standings can be found by clicking on our Results & Points page.

Our next event will be at Texas World Speedway in College Station, Texas held at the SCCA Double National on March 4, 5, 6, 7. Saturday’s race is one of the SCCA Super Sweep Races.

Texas Autosports will be attending with full FM parts support. For SCCA on-line entry or to download SCCA entry forms, go to www.sowdivscca.org There is also a great video at the SCCA site regarding this event. Direct link to video is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqZcukKpf20

There should be lots of FMs in attendance. So, come join the fun in sunny South Texas!

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Darryl Wills Wins Championship in 12th Year of SWFM Series

By Sandy Magrath

The 12th Year of the Southwest Formula Mazda Series concluded at Eagles Canyon Raceway on
September 12th at the Texas Region SCCA Fall Roundup Double Regional. Eagles Canyon Raceway is in Decatur, Texas and the folks there are very hospitable and the track is great fun.
The weather, however, was very grumpy and everyone spent the entire weekend on their rain
tires. There were 8 FM’s present and all took the track for the morning Qualifying session
in the pouring rain. Davis Parr got the pole with newcomer Matt Stephenson qualifying 2nd
and Russ Hillenburg 3rd. Darryl Wills failed to get his transponder on his car for qualifying
and was not scored. But starting in the back (in the rain) didn’t keep Wills from his 11th
2009 Series win. Davis Parr finished the race in 2nd with Russ Hillenburg in 3rd.
Frank Newman, having his best finish of the year, finished 4th.

Champion Darryl Wills (L) being presented with his trophy and extras by Texas Autosports owner, Tim Magrath (R)

The 2009 Series Awards Presentation was held upstairs in the Eagles Canyon Raceway
Meeting Room following Saturday’s event. Frank Newman was crowned the Masters Champion
after battling for that title all season with David Vanhooser from Oklahoma. Newman, a
Motor Cycle Road Racer, just started racing FM’s this year. Russ Hillenburg, coming
to FM this year from Sprint Cars, was awarded Rookie of the Year.

The Top Ten were each awarded a case of Royal Purple and a fine bottle of wine with a
photo of their race car on the label.

Finishing the Series in 5th place was 17 year old John Logan. Louisiana racer Philip
Miller finished the Series in 4th with Russ Hillenburg taking the 3rd place Bronze Rotary trophy.

Davis Parr finished 2nd in the Series with 2 wins, 4 second place finishes, and 3 third
place finishes and was awarded the 2nd place Silver Rotary trophy.

Darryl Wills was crowned the Champion. Wills returned to the Southwest Formula Mazda Series
in 2009 after dedicating a handful of years to Sprint Car racing. Wills also won the SWFMS
Championship in 2003 and 2004. Wills was awarded the Gold Rotary Championship trophy.

Wills, along with many of the 09 Series participants, plans to run the 2010 Southwest Formula
Mazda Series. The 2010 Series looks to be better than 2009….and 2009 was AWESOME! We had a great bunch of drivers, some good competition, and a whole lot of fun! In 2010, Wills is setting his sights on being the only "4 Time" SWFMS Champion (Quad Boenker has also won 3) But Wills likes a challenge, so we need to get as many FM drivers as possible out to the races next year. If you think you’ve got what it takes, stop by our shop at Motorsport Ranch Cresson to check out the FM's and join us in 2010!

2010 will be Texas Autosports 14th year as a Formula Mazda dealer. Texas Autosports continues its quest to be the best in FM Parts Sales, Service, Arrive & Drive, Rentals, and Trackside FM Support.

2009 Southwest Formula Mazda Series Cash and Awards:

1. Darryl Wills - $3,700. Cash, $750 Taylor Race Eng Certificate, 1 case Royal Purple,
   8 Sessions at MSR-Cresson, Championship Royal Purple Jacket, Wine, Rotary Trophy


2. Davis Parr - $2,700. Cash, $500 Taylor Race Eng Cert, 1 case Royal Purple,
   8 Sessions at MSR-Cresson, Series Royal Purple Jacket, Wine Rotary Trophy


3. Russ Hillenburg - $1,900. Cash, $250. Taylor Race Eng. Certificate,
   1 Case Royal Purple, 8 Sessions at MSR-Cresson, Series Royal Purple Jacket, Wine, Rotary Trophy


4. Philip Miller - $1,200. Cash, 1 Case Royal Purple. Wine, Trophy


5. John Logan - $500. Cash, 1 Case Royal Purple, Wine, Trophy


6. Frank Newman - 1 Case Royal Purple, Wine


7. David Vanhooser - 1 Case Royal Purple, Wine


8. Roger Addison - 1 Case Royal Purple, Wine


9. Dave Zavelson - 1 Case Royal Purple, Wine


10. Jeff Tucker- 1 Case Royal Purple, Wine

Rookie of the Year—Russ Hillenburg – Sparco Jumbo Gear Bag and Trophy

Masters Champion – Frank Newman - Sparco Jumbo Gear Bag and Trophy

Awarded throughout the Season:

• Goodyear Tires ($5,730. Value)


• 2 cases Royal Purple ($430 Value)

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