Pat Barrett Extends Championship Lead in Rounds Seven and Eight.
Pat Barrett increased his Formula Russell Championship points lead with a win Saturday and a second place finish and a lap record on Sunday at Infineon Raceway.

Barrett started Saturday’s race from the off pole position and took the lead from Jeff Westphal going into Turn Two. He led for the next twenty five minutes to claim his fourth consecutive victory in the series and extend his points lead over Chuck Hulse who finished second in the race. Westphal joined Barrett and Hulse on the podium.

“Starting on the front row here is very important because your only opportunity to take the lead at the beginning of a race is either in the first two turns or a half a lap later in turn seven. Hopefully tomorrow will be just as successful as today. ”

(Photo: Steve Snyder Motorsports Photography)

Barrett’s record lap, came in the twenty third minute of Sunday’s twenty five minute qualifying session, and eclipsed the old mark by half a second. He again got an excellent start in his Formula Mazda and for the first half of the race maintained an eight car lengths lead over second place Stephen Hill. Hill was passed by a hard charging Tyler Dueck who subsequently got around Barrett as the two karting veterans battled with three laps to go. Barrett finished second followed by Hill in third. Chuck Hulse, closest to Barrett in the championship, finished out of the points in eleventh.

“The track was hot and slick, so it was a challenge to keep the car balanced and stable. It is unfortunate that I didn’t win today but what’s important is that I scored more valuable points towards the championship.”

Barrett, the sixteen year old karting champion from Los Osos, California, has been on the podium in all eight rounds of the Formula Russell Championship Series, with five wins, two seconds and a third. He will continue his pursuit of the season title at Rounds 9 and 10 on the weekend of June 10-11 at the 12 turn, 2.22 mile road course just north of San Francisco.

The SCCA Formula Russell Championship presented by Yokohama is a seventeen race series that runs monthly at Infineon Raceway through October. Information about the series and Russell Racing can be found at www.jimrussellusa.com.