Ryan Justice storms to top ten after 1 minute penalty in Montreal 

June 26^th 2006, Montreal, Quebec, CANADA - It looked to be another great weekend for Ryan Justice and the #38 Northwest Autosport team in Montreal. That was until suspension damage as a result of a horrific 17 car accident on lap one of the race left Justice’s Northwest Autosport crew with some tough decisions. A flying suspension component from Daniel Herrington’s car had made contact with Justice’s right front suspension, severely damaging it, and the car’s handling. While under red-flagged conditions, the crew of the #38 car decided to gamble on whether officials would penalize them for bending the component back in order to finish the race. This gamble resulted in a 1-minute penalty at the restart, which put Justice at the back of the field from his third place restarting position.

When Justice re-entered the track he was in 26^th place, but he certainly made the most of the little time remaining in the race. In the remaining four laps, Justice drove flawlessly, passing 17 cars to finish ninth, setting the fastest lap of the race by a large margin in the process. “Despite the penalty and damage to the car, I wanted to show that I am a fighter, and that this team never gives up,” Justice said after the race, “We took a chance of getting the penalty for working on the car, and the stewards assessed one for us, end of story. At that point we had to salvage as much as we could from the weekend, and I believe we did that.” 

Despite a result a lot lower in the field than normal, the Northwest team was happy with how the team performed in this situation. “Ryan did a great job all weekend. He was fastest in both practice sessions and did all that he could to try and win this race. The way the race unfolded would discourage most drivers, but Ryan drove his heart out, even when he was looking at a not so great result,” Peter Jacobs, the team’s engineer commented. “Ryan, and this team, did the best they possibly could in this situation, and I am especially proud of Ryan for getting as many points as he did and setting the fast lap in a damaged car, that couldn’t have been easy.”  

New addition to the Northwest Autosport team, Tom Sutherland, had the sort of building weekend needed to lead to some good results in the #40 ClickAway Computers & Networking Pro Mazda. Due to the regulations for the Montreal weekend, it meant that Sutherland would have to start 31^st in the deep 41-car field. After a great start that launched him into the top twenty, contact with a fellow driver ended his racing for the weekend. “I really enjoyed working with the northwest team this weekend. We had a really great car that was capable of much more than we were able to show, but the conditions in the race and our starting position prevented us from doing so,” Sutherland commented. “After being with this team for a race weekend, I am really looking forward to the next round at Salt Lake where we will be able to qualify and show these guys what myself and this team can really do!” 

Northwest Autosport team driver Phil Fogg had another great weekend going in the #29 Consonus Pro Mazda, until the massive 17 car accident collected him on lap one. Fogg was one of the expert drivers to beat, being as high as ninth in the first practice session. “This is disappointing to not be able to finish here in Montreal,” Fogg commented. “I did my best to avoid the accident, but was struck from behind. The damage wasn’t as severe as others’, but it was enough to end our day unfortunately.” Fogg continues to impress, regularly running in the top ten, in both practice sessions and races, in the overall championship. 

The Northwest Autosport team heads back to Portland to prepare for the next race at Salt Lake City, Utah, on July 16^th. Until then Ryan Justice and the Northwest team will be working on their charity programs with the children’s hospitals in the Portland area in preparation for the Portland round of the championship in late July. Northwest Autosport and Ryan Justice are dedicated to these causes throughout the year in almost every city that they race in, working closely with the Racing For Kids® group.

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.