Seventeen Spec Miatas rolled into Carolina Motorsports Park in May to fight it out for the top spot on the podium. On Saturday Keith Williamson set fastest time for pole position with a 1:52.997, followed by Aiden Crouse in P2, Pat Smith P3, Grant West P4, Brad Miller P5 and James Harrell P6.
Williamson got a good run through Turn 1 after the green flag, followed by Crouse and Smith, who quickly began to gap the field. For the next six laps, the three worked their way through traffic as Crouse hounded Williamson, waiting for his chance.
That chance came on lap seven when Williamson got a poor run through Turn 3 and Crouse got to his inside for the pass at Turn 4. Smith then got a run on Williamson coming out of Turn 8 and got on the outside of him approaching the kink. The two then went through the Kink side by side, and entered Turn 11 side by side, with Williamson giving up the position as the two tracked out. Next lap Williamson tried to out-brake Smith going into Turn 11, but locked up, giving Smith a five-car-length gap coming out of the turn.
As the white flag was shown on lap 11, Smith had a run on Crouse, who took a defensive line into Turn 1, but Smith had to back out as they tracked out. As the three cars came out of Turn 1 nose to tail, Smith and Williamson continued to look for a chance to move up. The chance came when Crouse went long in Turn 11, but as Smith tried to dive under, he got loose and that gave Williamson a little run on Smith going into Turn 12, but Williamson had to back out.
Crouse got loose one more time at Turn 14 and went wide, but once again Smith got loose trying to capitalize on it and Crouse brought home the win, with Pat Smith P2, Williamson P3, Yan Dia P4, Brad Miller P5 and James Harrell P6.
On Sunday Aiden Crouse grabbed pole position with a 1:53.072 followed by Smith in P2, Williamson P3, Dia P4, Harrell P5 and West P6. At the start, Crouse got away cleanly to keep the lead through Turn 1. Williamson got by Smith on the inside of Turn 1, but Smith got it back going into Turn 4 and together with Dia the four started gapping the field.
The four stayed together for the first five laps, sometimes strung out a bit, and then closing up. On lap six, Smith tried to carry a bit more speed into Turn 11 but got loose at turn-in and Williamson ducked underneath him to take P2.
On lap seven, Dia got loose in the Carousel and went off, dropping out of the group. Crouse kept his cool and continued to lay down mistake-free laps, never allowing Williamson to get a run on him and finally took the checkered flag on lap 16 with Williamson P2, Smith P3, Dia P4, West P5 and Harrell P6.
