Dempsey wins Star Mazda Round 2 at VIR
Surviving a race liberally sprinkled with punts, shunts, debris and yellow flags, Irish racer Peter Dempsey pulled off the 'hail Mary' pass of the weekend to win Round 2 of the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear at VIR.
Nicknamed 'the Irish Steamroller' for his four wins, including three in a row, during the 2008 Star Mazda season, Dempsey, the Dunlop Motorsport Ireland Young Driver of the Year 2009, who started on the outside of the front row, drove his #3 AIM Autosport /Motorsport Ireland / Quayside.ie Mazda to a 0.038-sec. margin of victory over Louisiana native Alex Ardoin, rounding out the top-3 was Joel Miller. It was the battle between Miller, Ardoin and pole-sitter Adam Christodoulou -- all team mates on the JDC Motorsports team -- that allowed Dempsey to slip through with two laps to go into first place on the re-start after the final full-course yellow.
"I was swallowed by JDC cars, but I knew they weren't going to take each other out, so I was able to use that and squeeze my way through right at the end," said Dempsey. "I drafted Alex and Joel stayed tight, but I knew the pit lane exit was right there and I figured if I ended up in the grass then so be it. I more or less had to make the pass because I barely made it to this race and wouldn't be at the next one if I didn't win, so I'm really happy to have crossed the finish line first. I really need to thank Motorsports Ireland, Dunlop and the Irish Sports Council, as well as a bunch of other friends and supporters, for helping me get here. This one is for them."
Finishing first (and 15th overall) in the Expert Series for drivers 30-44 years old was another Irishman, Patrick Q'Neill, driving the #64 Mundill / O'Neill Construction Mazda. This was O'Neill's first start of the 2009 season and provided an interesting lesson in the fruits of generosity; Dane Cameron, the 2007 Star Mazda champion, won his title driving a car borrowed from O'Neill.
"The race was pretty chaotic on the re-starts, so it was important to get a good draft on the inside, minimize the risks and get the car home/' said O'Neill. "I'm really proud of Peter today and really happy to be one of two Irish winners on the same podium."
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