Prior to 1999, the Star Mazda Series, created by Gary Rodrigues, had a number of regional championships. With the formation of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), a National division, with backing from the Best Western hotel chain, was established to act as a support series for the ALMS. The inaugural championship was won by Joey Hand, who scored five victories in seven starts.

The 2000 Best Western Star Mazda Championship started on the last weekend of March at Lowes Motor Speedway. For round two, the series traveled to the west coast for an event at Sears Point Raceway. Next, teams made their only stop in Canada at Mosport International Raceway. Three race weekends were held in September, starting with Texas Motor Speedway and followed by contests at Portland International Raceway and Road Atlanta. The penultimate round was held at Laguna Seca Raceway, with the finale taking place during the last weekend of October at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

In addition to the National Championship, there were titles to be won in a Masters class (drivers 45-years of age and older) and five geographic divisions (West, Southwestern, Eastern, Northwestern and Northeastern).

The Star Formula Mazda is constructed by Valley Motor Center. The tube-frame chassis is fitted with shear plates, which ensure relatively quick and easy damage repairs. The car weighs 1140-pounds and is equipped with a Mazda 13B rotary engine and five-speed transmission. The motor, which uses a 48 DCOE carburetor, produces 170-horsepower.

The penultimate round of the 2000 Best Western Star Mazda Championship was conducted at Laguna Seca Raceway. Drivers would compete for twenty-six-laps around the eleven-turn 2.238-mile road course.

As the result of victories at Mosport International Raceway and Texas Motor Speedway, Grant Ryley entered round seven at Laguna Seca Raceway third in the title chase. Ryley recorded the fifth-fastest time in the qualifying session at Laguna Seca. During the race, he moved into contention, getting by Bernardo Martinez on lap-16. On the final circuit, lapped traffic allowed Ryley to get by Jason LaPoint for the win.
At Laguna Seca, Jason LaPoint was well-positioned to earn his first series victory of the season. LaPoint put the No. 11 Thrasher Skateboard / Trackmagic Karts Star Mazda on the pole. Early in the contest, he was able to hold off challenges from the points leader, Bernardo Martinez. LaPoint faced a new pursuer after Martinez was passed by Grant Ryley. Ryley used lapped track to relegate LaPoint to a second-place finish.
The championship points leader, entering round seven at Laguna Seca, by a margin of forty-markers, was Bernardo Martinez. Martinez scored victories at Lowes Motor Speedway and Road Atlanta. He was second fastest in qualifying, driving the No. 25 3-Dimensional Services Star Mazda. Martinez was unable to get by the pole-sitter, Jason LaPoint, and was passed by a hard-charging Grant Ryley to finish third during the race.
To date, the highlight of Bryan Selby’s Best Western Star Mazda Championship season was a pole position in round one at Lowes Motor Speedway and a fifth-place finish at Mosport International Raceway. However, Selby was also participating in the series West Division and led the standings. Selby set the sixth quickest time during time trials at Laguna Seca and finished fourth in the twenty-six-lap contest.
Another driver collecting championship points in the West Division was Matt Beardsley. Beardsley grabbed a win in round two at Sears Point Raceway but trailed the leader, Bryan Selby. Beardsley, piloting the No. 12 Alpine Bank sponsored Star Mazda, qualified ninth fastest at Laguna Seca Raceway. He chased his archrival, Selby, to a fifth-place finish. With one race remaining, Beardsley trailed Selby by seventeen-points.
Throughout the year, Alex Figge was fast in qualifying. Unfortunately, the same could not be said about his race results until round five at Portland International Raceway. At Portland, it appeared that Figge’s season turned around after he qualified third and claimed his first series victory. In the next race, Figge started fourth and finished fifth. In the penultimate event, he qualified third but failed to finish.

FINISHSTARTDRIVERSPONSOR / CARLAPSRETIREMENTS
15Grant RyleyWorld Speed Motorsports / Star Mazda26-
21Jason LaPointValley Motor Center / Star Mazda26-
32Bernardo MartinezTeam Bucknum Racing / Star Mazda26-
46Bryan SelbyTeam Bucknum Racing / Star Mazda26-
59Matt BeardsleyValley Motor Center / Star Mazda26-
612Scott BradleyWorld Speed Motorsports / Star Mazda26-
74Scott JenkinsJenkins Racing / Star Mazda26-
88David SterenbergStar Mountain Racing / Star Mazda26-
914Pierre EhretTeam Bucknum Racing / Star Mazda26-
1013Mike PotekhenStar Mountain Racing / Star Mazda26-
1117Doug PetersonFormula Cars East / Star Mazda26-
1210Chris McMurryTeam Bucknum Racing / Star Mazda26-
1319Moses SmithStar Mountain Racing / Star Mazda26-
1418Scott KusyTeam Bucknum Racing / Star Mazda26-
1525Will HillValley Motor Center / Star Mazda26-
1624Bob HatleR.H. Racing / Star Mazda26-
177Chantz WadeWorld Speed Motorsports / Star Mazda26-
1821Michael ChoquetteChoquette Racing / Star Mazda26-
1922Dick DownsEurosports Racing / Star Mazda26-
2015Matt DownsEurosports Racing / Star Mazda26-
2128Bryan WillmanTeam Bucknum Racing / Star Mazda26-
2230David LewisLewis Racing / Star Mazda26-
2326Tom MabeyRocky Mountain Motorsports / Star Mazda26-
2433Ray NeveauValley Motor Center / Star Mazda25-
2516Bob NegronRaceland / Star Mazda25-
2631Taylor FletcherBullet Racing Team / Star Mazda25-
2734Rick WaddellWorld Speed Motorsports / Star Mazda25-
2829Ginni SwantonTeam Bucknum Racing / Star Mazda24-
2932Larry CoutureTeam Hope Racing / Star Mazda24-
3011Chad BlockValley Motor Center / Star Mazda24-
3127Dave McMillanSports Car Ltd / Star Mazda24-
323Alex FiggeWorld Speed Motorsports / Star Mazda17Not Running
3320Dan WeylandEurosport Racing / Star Mazda12Not Running
3423Tom NastasiLight Speed / Star Mazda8Not Running

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