Ryan Justice dominates again in round 3 of the Star Mazda Championship

 May 20, 2006.  Ryan Justice, of Portland, Oregon, captured his second consecutive victory in the Star Mazda Championship at Mid-Ohio this weekend in another dominating performance behind the wheel of the number 38 Northwest Autosport Machine. The 20 year old Justice gave the field little hope when he captured his second consecutive pole earlier in the day by over a full second, securing a new track record in the process.

Jonathan Branam was able to get a great start to lead Justice into turn one, but was quickly relieved of leading when Justice passed him at the end of the first lap, gapping the field by over a second in the process. “I am just really excited to be driving for such a great team. My Father Jim has done an exceptional job taking a team that was nothing more than an idea eighteen months ago, and turning it into a championship contending effort. I simply cannot say enough about these guys, we have a synergy and confidence that is unrivaled in the series,” Justice commented in a post race interview.

Justice’s performance this weekend was especially important for the championship standings, as his points for pole position and the victory move him into second place in the championship, just seven points out of the lead. “After a transmission failure in Sebring, the entire team knew that we have no choice but to win races if we want to be champions. I think these performances in Houston and here at Mid-Ohio have shown just how good this team really is,” Justice stated with a smile of excitement. “I really have to thank all the Northwest Autosport guys and my father especially for making this possible. This season is shaping up to really have the potential to launch my career at a much higher level, and it simply would not be possible without this special group of people, they are fantastic!”

The Northwest Autosport team will head to the Milwaukee Mile to prepare for the series’ next round with a two day test on Tuesday and Wednesday of this coming week. Justice is extremely excited about this event as his race engineer, Peter Jacobs, has won races at every oval he has ever competed, including winning the inaugural IRL championship.

Based in Milwaukie, Oregon, Northwest Autosport is one of the top teams participating in the Star Mazda Championship presented by Goodyear, which will feature twelve races across the United States and Canada supporting the American Le Mans Series, ChampCar and the GrandAm series. For more information please visit www.northwestautosport.com.