Formula Car Challenge 2009 awards banquet report

2009 Season Review
Molecule Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear had large fields, great venues, and lots of racing action

Today racers from all over the western seaboard converged on Golden Gate Fields to celebrate the NASA Pro Racing 2009 season. The Molecule Formula Car Challenge presented by Goodyear year end cash awards and trophies were presented at the banquet. Thanks to partnerships with Star Mazda and MAZDASPEED there was a total of $18,300 in the cash prize fund for 2009.

Bill Weaver won the SFM class championship and had this to say about his stellar season, "First of all, I would like to give very special thanks to Telo Stewart and the entire staff at World Speed Motorsports. The effort they have put forth in organizing this series, arranging sanctioning with NASA and bringing sponsors forward is greatly appreciated. Without their efforts, this fantastic series would not exist. I would also like to express my appreciation to our series sponsors, Molecule, Goodyear, Red Line Oil and Mazda. Their support of this championship series is also a critical component in it's success. Each of these sponsors produce outstanding products and deserve our support and loyalty as drivers. The 2009 Molecule Formula Car Challenge was outstanding---a great series on three fantastic tracks; what more could we ask for? I look forward to the start of the 2010 series in February.

Dave Freitas Racing won the Pro Formula Mazda class with Chuck Hulse behind the wheel. Freitas has this to add, "We would like to thank Chuck Hulse for giving us the opportunity to run him this past season. Chuck's a great guy, and with all the teams available, it was an honor that he picked us to take care of him. We would also like to thank Telo, Mark, Ben, and all the World Speed guys, along with the other Molecule teams for making us feel right at home, this being our first season in the series. Lastly, we would like to give a huge thanks to Michael Guasch of Molecule Labs for his continuing support for the series along with his being a tough competitor".

In addition to the driver trophies Hulse's mechanic Rick Torres was presented with the 2009 Mechanic of the Year Award, and Glenn and Cameron Parsons received the Mazda Spirit Award in addition to Cameron's 4th place cash award.

At the last race of the regular Molecule Formula Car Challenge season nineteen cars were posted on the grid. In 2009 twenty drivers registered to run for points in the championship, and even though some ran only a limited schedule, the series posted an average of 19 drivers per race throughout the season. "We had a large number of drivers who showed up to the events that were only participating in a partial season and so they are not reflected in our points tally," mentioned Series Official Ben Hettema. "I believe that this is a good omen for the series in the future as there is a very large contingent of racers in our area who are interested in the series. To have such a solid field all season long considering the economic conditions is very encouraging to our industry."

2009 cash awards were paid to the top five in both classes.

The top five competitors in the Pro Formula Mazda class were:
1) Chuck Hulse
2) Stan Kohls
3) Andrew Brown
4) Michael Guasch
5) Sean Prewett

The top five competitors in the Formula Mazda class were:
1) Bill Weaver
2) Derry O'Donovan
3) Stew Tabak
4) Cameron Parsons
5)Bruce Carpenter

The Formula Car Challenge is a regional NASA sanctioned series that features a national championship. The west coast region is called the Molecule Formula Car Challenge.

-source: mfcc