This past Sunday, we hosted a Spec Miata Double Header on North Track. The morning started with the air thick as soup. Track conditions were suboptimal given the overnight rain that lingered on every apex. Early morning cloud cover kept the sun at bay and reduced any potential for grip.
During the driver’s meeting, there was definitely something in the air as drivers discussed weather and tire choices due to the ever changing conditions.
In both qualifying sessions, lap times fell faster than grandma’s meatloaf at a vegan party. Right at the checkered flag, Samuel Bowman yanked pole position from Matt Alexander while Brandon Collins and Gavin Gleitsman grabbed the remaining positions in the front two rows. SM2 qualifying saw ever increasing grip levels as the previous group helped dry out the track which led to Bob Reisinger grabbing pole position.
The start of the first SM race, Matt Alexander sustained damage to his rear bumper and it dragged on track like a toddler carrying an oversized teddy bear. Right before he was about to be black flagged, the final fastener let go and a full bumper on track caused a full course caution. This allowed the field to regroup and get ready for the restart. Young guns. Brandon Collins, Samuel Bowman and Gavin Gleitsman jockeyed for top three positions early on the race. After some intense driving, Collins secured victory with a little over 2 second time gap between him and Gleitsman. Samuel Bowman locked down the third step on the podium. Veteran racers, Art Ziesmer and Tom Bagley had a lot of fun battling towards the back of the pack with Bagley coming out on top in race one. In race #2, Brandon Collins had trouble on grid as his car lost its alternator belt causing an early retirement. Gleitsman was able to take advantage and fend off the onslaught of pressure from Ethan Tyler and Taro Kushida to claim the win. The start of the first SM2 race saw #808 Bob Reisinger on pole and had a wonderful start. Right as Bob was creating a gap between him and his competitors, Randy Cochran lost power at turn 9 causing a full course yellow, crushing Reisinger’s lead. Eamon Ryan who was fast all day took advantage and slipped past the 808 to drive all the way into victory lane for race #1. Race #2 was intense as Eli Dysart had a great start and led the first lap with Emmet Ryan behind and Conor Ryan sliding back to 4th. Ryan was able to out maneuver Bob Reisinger to take 3rd after 2 laps. Track Star Connor Miklos and AJ Van Vuren battled it out for multiple laps but on the final lap, Miklos lost a wheel which knocked him out of contention. Thomas Greenwood sustained damage to his front bumper and on the final lap hit the wall at N6 ending his day abruptly. Jason Greenwood had the fight of his life from the onslaught of Adam Lavelle but when the checkered flag flew, Eli Dysart won with Conor Ryan in second and his brother Eamon Ryan held off Bob Reisinger to get third.
Despite the heat and humidity, racers came out in droves as we hit the half way point in the racing season to collect valuable championship points. The next Spec Miata race will be held on August 10th on North Track and will also be livestreamed so be sure to tune in!
