Conor Daly quick in final day of Star Mazda practice at NJMP

New Jersey Motorsports Park (June 25, 2010) ? On a day both cooler, iff only a bit, and relatively free of kinetic drama, it was the familiar green-and-white #22 Juncos Racing / INDECK / The College Network / Merchant Services Ltd. Mazda of Conor Daly leading the time sheets in both morning and afternoon sessions. The quick times came in the morning session, with Daly turning a 1:15.204 (103.877 mph), an improvement of 7/10ths on his quick time from Thursday, but still shy of the official lap record of 1:14.744 set in qualifying for Race #2 last year by Englishman Richard Kent, who won from the pole. The track got slower in the afternoon, with Daly slipping to a 1:15.610 (103.320 mph); he was, however, the only car in the 15s in the afternoon, while the top-4 all came in under the 1:16 mark in the morning.

Conor Daly during practice at New Jersey Motorsports Park Credit: Star Mazda

French racer Tristan Vautier led most of the afternoon session in his #38 Andersen Racing / Moulin TP / Cecibon / Circuit du Laquais Mazda, until Daly pitted for new tires and promptly knocked a second off his lap time. Quick runners during the day included Norwegian driver Anders 'The Viking' Krohn with a 2nd-quick time of 1:15.700 (103.197 mph) in his #47 Andersen Racing / Norse Cutting & Abandonment / Trallfa / Colosseum Mazda and Brazilian Joao Victor Horto, piloting the #18 Team Apex / Wabash Capital Investments Mazda to a 3rd-fast lap of 1:15.792 (103.072 mph). Rounding out the top-5 were Texan Rusty Mitchell with a 1:15.974 (102.825 mph) in his #66 Juncos Racing / Motorola / Petro Communications / HRP Racing Products / Texas Autosports Mazda and Quebec driver Mikael Grenier, just outside the 1:15 mark with a 1:16.164 (102.568 mph) in his #17 Andersen Racing / Slow Cow / April Super Flow / NAPA Auto Parts / HS Telecom / Desharnais Mazda.

Among the Expert Series (ages 30-44) drivers, Californian Patrick O'Neill stepped up his game with a 1:17.220 (101.166 mph) in his #64 JDC Motorsports / O'Neill Construction Mazda, a time good for 12th-fast overall. In the Master Series (45 and older), North Oaks, Minnesota racer Gerry Kraut was 16th-fast with a 1:17.906 (100.275 mph) in the #55 JDC Motorsports / Dougherty & Co. / Dougherty Funding LLC Mazda.

The tale of the race, both races actually, may well be told in qualifying. Both Saturday and Sunday are expected to be brutally hot and humid. Qualifying for both weekend races takes place in the morning, and the race takes place in the afternoon. And the New Jersey Motorsports Park track is, shall we say, not noted for its opportunities to overtake. The Star Mazda Championship races at NJMP last year were not a complete parade ? the gods of luck and machines will have their laughs ? but it is safee to say that, barring chance, the better you qualify, the better you finish. This could be said of any track, but it is something to consider when figuring the odds. Physical conditioning may well also play a part; even though Star Mazda Championship races are 'only' 45 minutes long, the drivers take a thorough beating during those minutes, and it's likely the strong ? and well-hydrated ? will prosper.

                                       Best     In
Pos No. Name                 Best Tm   Speed    Lap Diff

1   22  Conor Daly           1:15.204  103.877  17       
2   47  Anders Krohn         1:15.700  103.197  22  0.496
3   18  Joao Horto           1:15.792  103.072  21  0.588
4   66  Rusty Mitchell       1:15.974  102.825  13  0.770
5   17  Mikael Grenier       1:16.164  102.568  19  0.960
6   38  Tristan Vautier      1:16.223  102.489  16  1.019
7    9  Jorge Goncalvez      1:16.280  102.412  26  1.076
8   11  Connor De Phillippi  1:16.341  102.330   5  1.137
9   16  David Ostella        1:16.811  101.704  21  1.607
10  20  Carlos Linares       1:16.914  101.568  21  1.710
11  28  Juan Piedrahita      1:17.029  101.416  18  1.825
12  64  Patrick O'Neill      1:17.220  101.166  23  2.016
13  85  Chris Miller         1:17.321  101.033  18  2.117
14  25  Tatiana Calderon     1:17.367  100.973  24  2.163
15  19  Caio Lara            1:17.416  100.909   4  2.212
16  55  Gerry Kraut          1:17.906  100.275  14  2.702
17  81  Nick Andries         1:18.068  100.067  15  2.864
18  72  Larry Pegram         1:18.243   99.843  15  3.039
19  31  Carlos Conde         1:19.073   98.795  14  3.869
20  23  Walt Bowlin          1:19.101   98.760  17  3.897
21  65  J.W. Roberts         1:19.381   98.411  27  4.177
22  37  Dom Bastien                 -            0       

All the racing action this weekend at New Jersey Motorsports Park, including the Star Mazda Championship, the Cooper Tires Presents USF2000 National Championship powered by Mazda, Mazda MX-5 Cup, IMSA Prototype Lites and the Patron GT3Challenge, will be broadcast live on HDnet. The pre-race show takes place 12:30 pm ? 1:00 pm, and 1:00pm ? 4:00 pm will be livlive coverage of the Playboy Mazda MX 5 Cup, USF2000, and The Star Mazda/Visit Florida Cup. All times are Eastern. Rick Benjamin will call the play-by-play, and a pair of well-known racers, Johnny O'Connell (USF2000 and Star Mazda) and Elliott Forbes-Robinson (Mazda MX-5 Cup) will be the on-air analysts. Todd Lewis will be the pit reporter. In addition to the live broadcast, both Playboy Mazda MX 5 Cup races and one of the two Star Mazda Championship races will be cable syndicated across the USA, Canada and worldwide.

The NJMP weekend is part of the partnership between MAZDASPEED and VISIT FLORIDA that includes the 5-weekend, 7-race VISIT FLORIDA Cup, a championship-within-a-championship in which the driver scoring the most points during the five VISIT FLORIDA weekends will win both the VISIT FLORIDA Cup and a personalized Florida dream vacation.

Qualifying for Race #1 takes place from 9:45 am ? 10:30 am Saturday, June 26. The traditional Star Mazda standing start gets the green light at 3:00 pm Saturday afternoon. Qualifying for Race #2 is from 9:05 am ? 9:50 am Sunday, June 27 with the race start scheduled for 3:05 pm that afternoon.

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