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Provisional point standings (after 10 of 12 rounds):
check out www.PatrickBarrettRacing.com, www.PR1motorsports.com and www.PacificF2000.com for the latest information and news. |
The Pacific F2000 Championship Presented by Hankook Tires Intense Three-Way Battle for Second Place Highlights Las Vegas Season Finale While Patrick Barrett clinched the Pacific F2000 Championship Presented by Hankook crown with a pair of dominant victories recently at Infineon Raceway, the battle for second place is still finely poised. Three drivers are separated by a scant two points going into this weekend's final two races at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Jeff Westphal, from San Carlos, Calif., leapfrogged from fourth to second in the standings by virtue of a pair of podium finishes at Infineon. Thomas Merrill, from Salinas, Calif., and Chris Spreitzer, from Phoenix, Ariz., are currently tied on points just two markers behind. Westphal and Merrill also will battle it out for Rookie of the Year honors. Mitchell Cunningham, from Auckland, New Zealand, and impressive Masters contender (aged 51 or older) Chuck Hulse, from Yorba Linda, Calif., also have an outside shot at the rookie title. "I definitely want to claim second and Rookie of the Year honors -- that would be huge for me -- so it means I'll be pushing 120 percent rather than 110 percent," said Westphal, who has scored five podium finishes this season with the #39 Team G.FRO/MCGC/DG Flooring Van Diemen but is still seeking his maiden victory. "I think we've been capable of winning in one or two races but we've had some unfortunate luck. I would love to roll the momentum over from Infineon. We've made some improvements the last few races and I think we're on the right track. We have a couple more things we want to try and hopefully that will be the hammer on the head of the nail!" Fellow 21-year-old Merrill also has claimed five podium finishes with his #81 Merrill Farms LLC/The Don Chapin Company/Ron Sutton's Winner's Circle Van Diemen. Merrill scored his first win in fine style at Miller Motorsports Park in July, beating PR1 Motorsports teammate Barrett fair and square, and is looking forward to his first experience of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway road course. "I've heard the track is quite technical and very good fun, so I'm looking forward to finding out for myself," said Merrill, who has his sights set firmly on clinching the top rookie award. "That's definitely my goal but I know it's going to be tough. Jeff has come back strong [after a mid-season dip in his results] and Chris is always fast." Spreitzer has more experience than his two main rivals, having finished fourth in the 2006 Pacific F2000 standings for preparation expert Bill Wilson's team, and is looking to rebound from a string of mediocre results after starting the year as a strong championship contender. "We've been battling a few handling issues with the car and we're trying to get those worked out and hopefully get up on the podium again," said Spreitzer, 20, who has one race win to his credit this year in the #7 BWM Engineering Van Diemen. Spreitzer also claimed a pair of fourth-place finishes at this same venue in '06. "Las Vegas is kind of like a go-kart track and I have quite a bit of experience in karts, so I think we should be OK." All eyes will doubtless be focused on the battle for second in the championship, but the top protagonists can expect no favors from Barrett, who has won seven times this year with the PR1 Motorsports team's #3 Jim Russell Racing School/Alpinestars Van Diemen. "I really want to perform well this weekend," declared Barrett, 18, from Los Osos, Calif. "Everyone involved with PR1 Motorsports has given me everything I've needed to win the championship, and I would like nothing more than to end the season on a high with this team." The action will comprise a qualifying session and a 30-minute race on both Saturday and Sunday as part of VARA's Jeff Saltman Memorial Race weekend.
Barrett Looking to Continue Wining Ways in Las Vegas
Patrick Barrett Barrett Scores Another Double Victory, Seals Championship at Infineon September 23, 2007 Infineon Raceway rates as a happy hunting ground for Patrick Barrett. In 2006, the talented teenager won the Formula Russell Championship, based at the wine country venue, and romped to an impressive double victory on his debut in the Pacific F2000 Championship. One year on, Barrett, 18, from Los Osos on the central California coast, showed no mercy on the Pacific F2000 field as he returned to score two more handsome race wins, each time from the pole, with PR1 Motorsports' #3 Jim Russell Racing School/Alpinestars Van Diemen. The double triumph was enough to clinch the championship title with two races still remaining. "Accomplishing what I did here this weekend is a great feeling," said Barrett. "These wins are very special to me because of the history I have here from the Jim Russell Raciing Schools. Also, this is where I competed in and won my first Pacific F2000 events last year so I was really motivated to perform well here again." Barrett's task in Saturday's race was eased when PR1 teammate Thomas Merrill, who had qualified second, lost control and crashed his #81 Merrill Farms/The Don Chapin Company/Ron Sutton's Winner's Circle Van Diemen on the formation lap. Fellow rookie (and Jim Russell School graduate) Jeff Westphal, 21, from San Carlos, Calif., inherited the position and left the rest of the field firmly in his wake as he chased gamely after Barrett to emerge with the best finish of his young career. "The car was good," said Westphal of his #39 MCGC/DG Flooring/Team G.FRO Van Diemen. "The team did a great job. You always want to win but I'm pretty happy with second place." Teammate Philip Metzger (#29 G.FRO/Phoebe Hair/Sovereign Energy Van Diemen), from Littleton, Colo., finished third after a race-long battle with young New Zealander Mitchell Cunningham (#99 Windward Properties/Robert Cunningham Construction/Sniper Systems Van Diemen) and Arizonan Chris Spreitzer (#7 BWM Engineering/Anglo American Racing Van Diemen). Spreitzer made a bold bid for fourth place on the final turn of the final lap, only to lose out by a mere fraction in the dash for the finish line. Chuck Hulse, in a third Team G.FRO Van Diemen, won both the Nordskog Hard Charger Award and the Masters class (for drivers aged 51 and older) following a magnificent drive from last on the grid (following an engine problem in qualifying) to sixth. Ex-pat Briton James Hakewill (#88 ARC International Van Diemen) won the Expert class (for drivers over 35), despite losing three places due to increasing oversteer in the closing stages. Sunday's race saw another clinic from Barrett, who stormed to a two-second lead on the opening lap and then controlled his advantage en route to his seventh win of the year. Merrill, from Salinas, Calif., rebounded strongly from his dismal Saturday to finish a clear second ahead of Westphal, who secured his fifth podium finish of the season and vaulted from fourth in the point standings to second -- and top rookie -- with just two races remaining at Las Vegas Motor Speedway next month. "I was trying to stay with the PR1 cars at the beginning but on cold tires they're very stable and it was really tough to stay with them," said Westphal. Hulse (#19 Silicon Salvage/Team G.FRO Van Diemen), from Yorba Linda, Calif., finished fourth and won the Masters class for the seventh straight time following an exciting back-and-forth battle with Cunningham. "I wasn't willing to go flat through Turn 10 on cold tires, so that's when Mitchell got past me," related the veteran, who repaid the favor with a clean pass at Turn Seven on Lap 5. Cunningham earned the Wine Country Motorsports Outstanding Performance Award for his pair of top-five finishes on his first-ever visit to the challenging 2.52-mile road course. Metzger looked set for sixth until tangling with a lapped car on the final circuit. Hakewill again won the Expert category following his eighth-place finish, while fellow Expert Bob Negron, from San Jose, Calif., took the Nordskog Hard Charger Award after rising from 15th on the grid to 10th in his #17 Fengshui5.com Van Diemen. RESULTS -- Infineon Raceway, Sonoma, Calif. -- September 22/23, 2007: Round 9 (17 laps): 1. Barrett, 26m29.571s; 2. Westphal, 26m36.818s; 3. Metzger, 26m49.066s; 4. Cunningham, 26m50.858s; 5. Spreitzer, 26m50.888s; 6. Hulse, 27m10.719s; 7. Freytag, 27m11.813s; 8. Modisette, 27m14.721s; 9. Hakewill, 27m16.077s; 10. Fierberg, 27m22.652s; 11. Negron, 27m40.085s; 12. Kincaid, 27m51.001s; 13. Hansel, 27m57.527s; 14. Pizzo, 16 laps; 15. Hastrup, 0 laps, not running/accident; DNS, Merrill, accident. Round 10 (16 laps): 1. Barrett, 24m52.520s; 2. Merrill, 24m56.954s; 3. Westphal, 25m00.731s; 4. Hulse, 25m06.436s; 5. Cunningham, 25m11.095s; 6. Spreitzer, 25m15.507s; 7. Modisette, 25m20.376s; 8. Hakewill, 25m27.597s; 9. Freytag, 25m28.440s; 10. Negron, 25m48.044s; 11. Hansel, 25m51.801s; 12. Hastrup, 25m58.801s; 13. Kincaid, 26m00.300s; 14. Metzger, 15 laps, not running/accident; 15. Fierberg, 15 laps; 16. Pizzo, 14 laps, not running/accident.
Next races: October 13/14, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas, Nev.
Barrett Extends Championship Lead with Win and Second at Miller
Patrick Barrett claimed his fourth consecutive win of the 2007 Pacific F2000 Championship Series season on July 6 and took second on the 7th at the new Miller Motorsports Park near Salt Lake City, Utah. Rounds Seven and Eight of the twelve race series were held in conjunction with the NASCAR West Grand National event weekend. The 17 year old from Los Osos, California claimed maximum points in Round Seven with pole, fast lap and the win in his #3 Jim Russell Racing School/Alpinestars PR1 Motorsports Van Diemen and led every lap to finish 3.722 seconds ahead of Team GFRO driver Chuck Hulse and PR1 teammate Thomas Merrill. Barrett pulled out a 6 second lead by the beginning of the second lap but saw it evaporate after a full course yellow and restart. He again built a substantial lead only to see it go away for another double yellow flag incident and a second restart. “This race wasn’t as easy at it may have looked,” said Barrett. “The restarts really kept my on my toes, and Hulse really put up a fight on the first restart. Also, the team and I were having radio communication problems. They couldn’t hear me and I could barely hear what they were telling me. I’m very happy with how everything turned out today, but I think Tom (Merrill) will be my biggest competition tomorrow.” Round Eight on Saturday saw a seesaw battle for the pole between Barrett and PR1 teammate Merrill. The two went at it hard early in the session trading the top spot three times. Barrett was ahead by .3 seconds but Merrill edged him out by .12 seconds on their final lap. “It was quite intense. He would lay down a hot lap, and then I would try to best it. Finally on my fifth lap, I knew it was fast and I radioed in that I’m done and didn’t want to put any more time on the tires, but Tom just bested me.” stated Barrett. In the race Merrill and Barrett maintained the top two positions and eventually finished that way with Merrill claiming his first Pacific F2000 win. Barrett finished second 4.5 seconds behind and Team GFRO driver Phillip Metzger rounded out the podium in third. “Tom just had the better car today. I pushed 100% for the first half of the race, but when he kept pulling a way from me I started focusing on maintaining my gap over Phil,” Barrett explained. “The team really worked very hard today though. There was a problem with the engine after morning qualifying and they took it out and put in a spare.” Barrett saw his points lead almost double to 75 over second place which is now occupied by his PR1 teammate Merrill, who leap frogged from fourth to second in the championship standings.
Barrett goes back-to-back at Buttonwillow for third straight Pacific F2000 victory Patrick Barrett proved this weekend that he has the tricky Buttonwillow Raceway Park all figured out, as he took the pole, set fastest lap and led flag-to-flag en route to victory in Sunday's(6th May) 15-lap Round Six of the Pacific F2000 Championship, duplicating his winning performance in Saturday's Round Five. The 17-year-old driver from California collected his third consecutive series win behind the wheel of the No. 3 Russell Racing School/Alpinestars/GoPro/PR1 Motorsports Van Diemen and enters the midway point of the season with a 38-point lead in the championship chase. Finishing second, just 0.802 seconds back, was teammate Tom Merrill in the No. 81 Merrill Farms/Smith & Hook Wineries/Winner's Circle/PR1 Motorsports Van Diemen, who equalled his career-best had opened a whopping 21.1-second gap on the No. 7 Anglo-American Racing/BWM Engineering Van Diemen of Chris Spreitzer, who rounded out the podium. Merrill, a series rookie, climbs to fourth in the points on the strength of his back-to-back runner-up finishes this weekend. At the drop of the green, Barrett, who completed the 45-mile race in 26 minutes, 32.004 seconds at an average speed of 102.437 mph, said he was able to take off like a shot, but about halfway through the race, changing track conditions threw off the delicate balance just enough to make him concerned. "The track started getting really hot and greasy with six or seven laps to go, and the GoPro car just wasn't staying hooked up like it was at the start. But I could still lay down some pretty good laptimes and even though (Merrill) was reeling me in a bit at the end, I knew he didn't have enough time to catch me. I think keeping the Hankook tires in good shape yesterday really helped today, because I was able to run smooth and not worry so much about burning them off today." Barrett, who has now won four of the six races contested thus far this season, is brimming with confidence in his performance and that of his PR1 Motorsports team, and he believes that if the team just keeps working together, he can keep winning. With the win, pole and fastest lap, Barrett collected the maximum available 34 points on the day, doubling his advantage over Spreitzer in the battle for the points crown. Barrett now leads 176-138. That title has become even more valuable, as PR1 Motorsports recently announced that the Pacific F2000 champion would be awarded a fully-supported test day in a Mazda-powered Swift Atlantic car, preparing the title-winner to take the step up to Champ Car Atlantic competition. "Everything went just about as good as it can get this weekend," Barrett said. "Yesterday, PR1 had a huge accomplishment in sweeping the podium for the first time in three years, and we did another great job today. I really feel that we can make the second half of the season as good as the first." For his part, Merrill, who started second, said he was able to close the gap through judicious use of his car's cockpit-adjustable anti-roll bars. By tweaking on the setup in the middle of the race, he found just a touch more grip, and that gave him the advantage he needed to try and chase down his teammate. "I found a little something there at the end with the anti-roll bar, but it was a little too late," Merrill said. "It was going to be tough to try to pass anyway, because Pat and I have such equal equipment. The PR1 crew did a great job putting together really fast cars for both of us, and I feel confident every time I strap in that I'm going to have one of the best cars on the grid." Spreitzer, who sits second in the points, lost ground to Patrick this weekend, but he's not too disappointed with the result. The noted that he hasn't finished outside the top-5 this season. He said he just couldn't quite keep the pace with the PR1 teammates in first and second. The challenge of the twisting, 3.0-mile road course was compounded by Spreitzer's battle with the flu, which hit him on Friday during testing. "Right after I went into the first turn, the front two just pulled straight away from me, and I pulled out on fourth place," Spreitzer said. "This place is so long, it tends to string everyone out, which puts a real premium on consistency. I tried to just run my own race and hope that I could close the gap a bit, but the BWM Engineering car didn't seem to quite have enough grip in some turns that the PR1 cars were really hooked up in. There's six races to go and we'll just try to get a couple wins and do what we can to make up the points." In a strong rookie performance, Max Hyatt brought his No. 25 Front Range Motorsports Van Diemen home in fourth, a career-best finish coming in just his fourth Pacific F2000 start. For his efforts, Hyatt won the Williams Racing Development Drive of the Race Award. Behind him came Mitchell Cunningham in the No. 99 Windward Properties/Cunningham Construction/Sniper Systems Van Diemen, finishing fifth. One of the best battles of the race was waged for sixth place, as second-generation driver Ricky Taylor, making just his second-ever Pacific F2000 start in the No. 96 GS610 Maximum Performance Brake Fluid/SunTrust/Comar Performance Van Diemen, beat out series veteran Nicky Freytag for the spot by just six inches at the flag. Taylor, the son of sports car legend Wayne Taylor, had challenged Freytag's No. 9 BWM Engineering Van Diemen for the position for several laps before finding a way around at the last possible moment. For his valiant but unsuccessful effort to hold off Taylor, Freytag won the Primus Racing Parts Award. Coming home in eighth was the No. 19 Silicon Salvage/Team G.FRO Van Diemen of Chuck Hulse, who captured the Masters category victory, followed by teammate Philip Metzger in ninth, driving the No. 29 Phoebe Hair/Sovereign Energy/Team G.FRO Van Diemen. Completing the top-10, Scott Rarick took top honors in the Expert category in his No. 34 Red Line Oil/Hertfelder Motorsports Piper -- quite the comeback, considering that Rarick's car was one of three whose races were ended in a first-lap, first-turn melee on Saturday. Ira Fierberg, whose No. 27 Cole Morgan/Personal Injury Law/Dave Freitas Racing Van Diemen was eliminated in that crash as well, also made a statement, driving from last on the grid up to 14th to capture the Hard Charger Award.
Cunningham and Barrett Share the Pacific F2000 Spoils at Willow Springs New Zealander Mitchell Cunningham, taking part in only event in car racing, stunned everyone with a dominant performance on Saturday. When the Kiwi hit bad luck the next day Patrick Barrett, from California took advantage by leading from lights to flag to top the championship points table. Race One was all about Cunningham. The 20-year-old former kart racer from Auckland, New Zealand, qualified Dave Freitas Racing's Windward Properties/Robert Cunningham Construction/Sniper Systems Van Diemen on pole. Despite being beaten off the line by the more experienced Barrett, Cunningham quickly retook the lead to score his first race win in only his third start. "Really pleased," he summarized succinctly. "The guys did a great job and gave me a really good race car. We had a safety car [full-course caution] about halfway through the race and I wasn't particularly sure what to do at the restart, but I managed to get a bit of a lead and then hold him [Barrett] back." Barrett wasn't at all happy with the handling of his Jim Russell Racing School/Alpinestars/PR1 Motorsports Van Diemen, which was suffering from understeer, but the 17-year-old kept up the pressure on Cunningham to finished just one second down at the end. Third was Jeff Westphal aso from California in the MCGC/DG Flooring/Team G.FRO Van Diemen. " On Sunday, Cunningham once again took pole however his hopes of another win were dashed awhen his engine refused to run cleanly. A faulty plug was to blamet. Cunningham rejoined several laps down but he served notice of his speed by snaring the bonus points for fastest lap. Barrett gratefully edged away to a comfortable win, his second of the year. "We were pretty baffled because we never got the car handling as well as it had in testing on Friday," related Barrett, "but when Mitchell had his trouble and we got to the front, it was pretty much plain sailing." Chris Spreitzer Anglo American Racing/BWM Engineering Van Diemen), from Phoenix held second until the final stages when Modisette came charging through from the back of the pack to snatch the runner-up spot. Spreitzer finished third RESULTS -- Rounds 3 & 4 (of 12), Willow Springs International Raceway, March 31/April 1, 2007: Round 3 (19 laps): 1. Cunningham, 28m41.962s;2. Barrett, 28m42.984s; 3. Westphal, 28m47.721s; 4. Merrill, 28m48.130s; 5. Spreitzer, 28m53.536s; 6. Rarick, 28m56.963s Round 4 (17 laps): 1. Barrett, 23m28.317s; 2. Modisette, 23m31.340s; 3. Spreitzer, 23m35.248s; 4. Westphal, 23m35.860s; 5. Hulse, 23m45.399s; 6. Merrill, 23m46.423s Championship Positions 1. Barrett, 110; 2. Spreitzer, 94; 3. Westphal, 84; 4. Cunningham, 63; 5. Modisette, 56; 6. Rarick, 5
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