The Southwest Formula Mazda Series returned to Hallett Motor Racing Circuit for Rounds 9 and 10 on August 27-28. There were 13 Formula Mazdas present with 9 competing for series points. This time, the track was run in the opposite direction from our last visit in July. On Saturday, David Stover qualified on the pole with Russell Walker and Steven Hickham in 2nd and 3rd. They finished the race in the exact same order. Most of the tight racing was going on between Michael Tari, JW Roberts, and Richard Stephens. Roberts passed Tari on Lap 12, and kept him behind him for the remainder of the race, finishing in 4th. With Saturday's race being fairly uneventful, the drivers more than made up for it on Sunday. There were 2 "Full Course Yellows" and every position (other than first) changed hands numerous times. Again, Stover qualified on the pole with a 1:15:15. Steven Hickham had a remarkable morning with a qualifying time of 1:15:35 placing Walker (1:15:50) in an uncharacteristic 3rd place starting position. At the start of the race, Hickham's inexperience showed and he drove off the track on Turn 1 of the first lap of the race. Michael Tari took the same route and ended up at the very back of the pack. At the conclusion of Lap 1, Richard Stephens was in 3rd and JW Roberts (starting last because of a date Saturday night in Dallas with his wife) was in 4th. But Roberts had trouble and again found himself trailing at the back. A Full Course Yellow was called to clear debris from the track giving Walker a great opportunity at Stover who was holding his lead comfortably. But Walker still could not get by. On Lap 14, Richard Stephens noticed his wheel was loose and had to "call it a day". This left new teen driver Alex Ardoin (Sunset, Louisiana) in 3rd - but not for long. JW Roberts made his way up the pack for the 3rd time and got around Alex - only to spin out 2 laps later. Alex, with nowhere to go, hit Roberts, taking them both out. By now, Tari had made his way up from the back and took the revolving 3rd place position. With a 2nd Full Course Yellow sucking the pack up, Russell Walker had a second chance to put the hammer on Stover. But Walker spun leaving Tari in 2nd and Robert Baker (current Masters Champion leader) in 3rd. Walker slid in with a 4th and Steven Hickham finished in 5th. David Stover leading for the entire 25 laps - won the race. The Southwest Formula Mazda Series wishes to thank the WONDERFUL people at Hallett Motor Racing Circuit. They are so hospitable and we really enjoy racing there. At the conclusion of the weekend, Robert Baker is still in the lead for Masters Champion and J.W. Roberts is leading for Rookie of the Year. There are only 4 points between Walker and Stover for the Championship. Come see them battle it out at Texas Motor Speedway for Rounds 11 and 12 on October 14-15-16. The final race will be held at No Problem Raceway in November (if Katrina was nice enough to leave us a track). For more info on Formula Mazda and the Southwest Formula Mazda Series, go to www.texasautosports.com.