Rounds 4 & 5 of the SWFM Series were held at the SCCA Lone Star Grand Prix Regional/National on May 27-28 at Texas World Speedway.
On Saturday, Lindsey Adams got her first "pole" with Dave Zavelson and Alex Ardoin in 2nd and 3rd. Lindsey, in her first year of Formula Mazda, comes from a successful go karting background. Lindsey held her pole position to the end. The battle was between Dave Zavelson and Alex Ardoin. On Lap 12 of the 17 Lap race, Ardoin finally made the pass around Zavelson for 2nd. Zavelson finished 3rd with Mark Olson in 4th. On Sunday, again Lindsey Adams won the "pole" in her hot pink and florescent orange Formula Mazda. Alex Ardoin qualified 2nd with Dave Zavelson in 3rd. On Lap 2, Ardoin got tapped from the rear and spun off course. Ardoin's day was finished. Lindsey again held the lead for the entire race. Mark Olson held the 2nd place spot for 15 laps until Zavelson got around him at the end of the front straight. A Full Course Yellow appeared on Lap 20 and the race was finished under "yellow". Lindsey Adams won the race with Dave Zavelson in 2nd and Mark Olson 3rd.
The Southwest Formula Mazda Series then traveled to Hallett Motor Racing Circuit for Rounds 6 & 7 on June 24-25. There were 9 Formula Mazdas present with 8 competing for series points. On Saturday, Richard Stephens got the pole with Alex Ardoin in 2nd and Lindsey Adams in 3rd. Stephens lead the race for 14 laps of the 20 lap race. On Lap 15, while passing a lapped car, Stephens lost his line and went off track. Ardoin then got by and won the race with Richard Stephens in 2nd and Michael Stephens (Richard's Dad) in 3rd. Unfortunately, Michael Stephens didn't have as much lunch as he thought that day and came up a little light on the scales giving 3rd place to Mark Olson. Lindsey Adams had problems with her transmission and didn't finish the race. But her mechanics (John Calandra and Michael Conn) pulled an "all nighter" to get her back on the track on Sunday. They hauled her car back to Dallas, swapped out transmissions from another FM, and returned back to Hallett to get her on the track by 8:40 am on Sunday. Hallett is aprox. 5-6 hours from Dallas - that's 10-12 hours round trip. Good job guys!!!!
On Sunday, Alex Ardoin, who was recently selected out of 59 drivers for a Skip Barber Karting Scholarship, qualified on the pole with a 1:15:48. Richard Stephens qualified 2nd with a 1:15 82. Lindsey Adams qualified 3rd. At the start of the race, Alex went off the track in Turn 1. It took him a while to get the car restarted, so he was left far behind the pack. But, he fought his way back up to the top and finished 3rd. Richard Stephens won the race in front of his home fans and Lindsey Adams finished 2nd.
The Southwest Formula Mazda Series has had 4 different winners after running 7 races (Alex Ardoin, Darryl Wills, Lindsey Adams, and Richard Stephens). The Series travels back to Texas World Speedway on August 5-6. Alex Ardoin now leads the race for the Championship by 20 points. Lindsey Adams is in 2nd and Richard Stephens in 3rd. Alex is also leading for Rookie of the Year with Michael Stephens leading for Masters Champion.
For more info on Formula Mazda and the Southwest Formula Mazda Series, go to www.texasautosports.com
